More like visiting Arkham.
A sharp one.
Answer after today’s talk shows seems to be – no.
Bessent responds to Trump’s post about Mueller’s death
Mueller’s Vietnam leg wound was a lot more serious than Trump’s ear injury, but AFAIK it didn’t lead to anyone’s death being celebrated (and certainly not any American official).
I just watched Meet the Press and Bessent looked terrified and came off like a bumbling fool. “What has been done to President Trump”!? He looked really uncomfortable trying to spit that one out, and rightfully so. I haven’t had a chance to look up a translation of the other ridiculous things he was saying. Some nonsense about de-escalation through escalation. Kristen Welker didn’t seem to get it either, so I don’t feel too bad.
Bessent probably understands just how huge the incipient disaster is going to be that’s looming just ahead, but he’s got to stick with the party line from the big boss, whatever it happens to be at this moment, and there’s no escape hatch for him.
There’s always a way out.
Except that it is “under the bus”.
Do you not have the convention of “resigning to spend more time with the family”?
Pre-trump that was certain a US political convention too.
There is literally no convention trump hasn’t upended. Bessent’s best hope is to be fired. his inevitable pillorying for resigning would be far worse, not better than the one that follows being fired.
Well, he could claim to be resigning for reasons of health. It’d take something more serious than bone spurs to get him out of a desk job, but I’m sure a creative doctor can come up with something.
My wife thinks I’m wrong about this, but I’m going to say it anyway – we are better off with ICE agents trying (with or without success) to assist TSA in the airport than out raiding employers. So I’m glad Linda suggested ICE agents, rather than, say, the capitol police or EPA investigators or forest rangers.
A bit more seriously, I know it is bad for Trump to make ICE into his private police force. That’s a horror. But the short-term effect – ICE being distracted from its mission – may be good.
How do you know that’s the case?
They can intimidate, harass, and attack brown people while checking luggage and monitoring x-ray machines at the same time. Especially if they’re actually prioritizing the former.
I can’t believe how quickly this happened.
ICE is already at my airport as of today (Pittsburgh).
Not feeling good about this.
NBC News reported this evening that ICE agents were at 14 airports today, IIRC.
Not sure of the airport, but the video they aired showed ICE guys mostly standing around watching. They did show one clip where ICE helped a woman out of a car and into a wheelchair.
But, hey, the ICE folks weren’t wearing masks.
So far no evidence of that (see last post).
Estimates vary, but ICE staff seems to be slightly more Latino than America as a whole. That’s not the same as saying they are more brown than America as a whole, but a lot of them do look a bit Latino, and this is likely to influence the rest of ICE.
I think their tasking is anti-migrant AKA nativist rather than race-based. And if they are disproportionately attacking brown people checking luggage, we should have links on it. I cannot find it yet.
Some links related to my last post (I think they support it, but others may disagree):
But San Francisco airport security is AFAIK handled by contractors. so this from HuffPost seems plausible:
ICE Arrests At San Francisco Airport Not Tied To Federal Agents Assisting TSA
Where do you get the idea they’re not on mission any more?
Exactly. They are being sent to airports to continue to carry out their mission, namely, profiling and arresting people who don’t “look like” white Christian Americans.
ICE Agents Are Now Patrolling U.S. Airports. Here’s What to Know.
The deployment comes as a battle over Department of Homeland Security funding has led to closed security checkpoints, long lines and missed flights.
…
ICE officers’ exact duties at airports remained unclear. Officers were seen on Monday at several airports walking in small groups through check-in areas and standing near exits, their faces mostly unmasked. Unlike T.S.A. agents, ICE personnel are being paid.…
Mr. Trump wrote on social media on Saturday that ICE officers’ duties at airports would include “the immediate arrest of all illegal immigrants who have come into our Country.” But there have so far been no reports of arrests connected to the deployment.
…
My bold.
– Pictures of them standing around
– Only report of an airport arrest is at SFO, which is non-TSA
– Mr. Trump wrote on social media on Saturday that ICE officers’ duties at airports would include “the immediate arrest of all illegal immigrants who have come into our Country.” And so much of what he writes on social media is untrue.
Regarding the first sentence of my last bullet point (of course a repeat of what you bolded), Trump cannot admit to his base that airports are a poor place to find lots of undocumented workers.
EDIT: Having written the above, now I’m afraid that maybe Trump will have ICE raid some airport restaurants or similar just to show his base that his ICE deployment to airports isn’t watering down his nativist project. They may do that. I’m just saying that the percent of undocumented, or otherwise deportable, immigrants that ICE would find at an airport restaurant will be less than at a restaurant chosen at random.
“Deportable” is doing a lot of work in that sentence, as that includes anyone who fails the paper bag test, or has a funny name.
I really don’t doubt they’ll be putting people in wheelchairs.
Or casts/splints/slings.
Or hospital beds.
Or coffins.
And/or whose paper work is “oops” lost somewhere by ICE.