Could Kilmar Abrego Garcia Accompany El Salvador President Bukele Back to U.S.?

(Salvador Melendez/Associated Press)

The Trump Administration, through the State Department, has confirmed that the wrongly deported Kilmar Abrego Garcia is alive but "detained pursuant to the sovereign, domestic authority of El Salvador.”

Of course, this is nonsense.

Abrego Garcia was detained by ICE under the authority of the Trump Administration and, as it turned out, was wrongfully detained. El Salvador is just where he ended up.

The Trump Administration's claim that Abrego Garcia has been detained by El Salvador flies in the face of the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling that they must "facilitate" his release.

The only way I see Abrego Garcia ever leaving El Salvador is if he accompanies President Nayib Bukele to the United States on Monday where he is due in Washington for a White House visit with President Trump.

I could see this happening as a propaganda photo-op masquerading as a goodwill gesture from Bukele in an effort to portray himself as a benevolent figure. Who knows? Bukele might bring Abrego Garcia to the White House and bring Trump into the proceedings?

It would be a great indignity to Abrego Garcia, who would be forced to be in the presence of these two awful men.  Although I suppose a couple of hours with Bukele and Trump are preferable to spending the rest of his life in a supermax. 

There is a certain strategic value for both Bukele and Trump by releasing Abrego Garcia. If Bukele does brings Abrego Garcia back to the United States, it removes scrutiny of his supermax prisons and the Trump Administration who will continue to be under scrutiny from District Court Judge Paula Xinis who is demanding the Trump Administration take steps to facilitate his release. 

As odious as both Bukele and Trump are, this is probably the best opportunity for Abrego Garcia to attain his freedom. That is, of course, assuming the Trump Administration doesn't turn out and try to issue "trumped" up charges of gang affiliation. 

Whatever the case, if Kilmar Abrego Garcia isn't on that plane with President Bukele on Monday, I don't think he will ever leave El Salvador.

My Concerns About What Mark Carney Heard or Didn't Hear About Gaza

When Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney spoke at a Liberal Party rally in Calgary on Tuesday, he was interrupted by an anti-Israel heckler who shouted, “Mr. Carney, there’s a genocide in Palestine”.

To which Carney replied, "I'm aware. That’s why we have an arms embargo.”

This raised the ire of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who stated:

Canada has always sided with civilization. So should Mr. Carney. But instead of supporting Israel, a democracy that is fighting a just war with just means against the barbarians of Hamas, he attacks the one and only Jewish state. Mr. Carney, backtrack your irresponsible statement!

For his part, Carney claims he didn't hear the word "genocide":

I didn't hear that word. It's noisy. If you're up there you hear snippets of what people say and I heard Gaza, and my point was I'm aware of the situation in Gaza.

So, Carney is telling us he heard Gaza, but not genocide. 

I have a hard time believing him. 

If he didn't hear everything or had a hard time hearing, Carney either shouldn't have responded or indicated that he was speaking while not addressing the substance of the heckler's remarks.

I mean it's not like Carney is the first politician to be heckled in this manner. Indeed, Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris was heckled multiple times by anti-Israel protesters all of whom used the term genocide. Frankly, I didn't care for Harris' equivocation. But for a myriad of other reasons, I voted for her. 

Full disclosure. I have applied for a mail in ballot and intend to vote Liberal for the first time in my life.

Nevertheless, I am concerned by Carney's response and equally concerned he didn't reject the heckler's characterization of genocide even if he genuinely didn't hear it at the time.

With that said, I also question Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre's support for Israel while personally praising white supremacist groups. 

You can support one or the other. You cannot support both.

For his part, Poilievre has not chimed in on Carney's heckler incident. Perhaps he is waiting for the French or English language leaders' debates next week to raise the issue.

Back in February, during the Liberal Party leadership debate, Carney stated he was in agreement with Hamas only for his opponent Chrystia Freeland to intervene allowing Carney to correct himself. 

Should such a mishap occur again, Poilievre will not be so friendly.

If Poilievre does raise the issue, it will be interesting to see how Carney responds.

Should Carney need to respond, hopefully he will have heard everything beforehand.

Why I Don't Think Trump Has Blinked, Backed Down or Retreated on Tariffs

Earlier this week, when President Trump lifted reciprocal tariffs from most nations while increasing them against China only a week after so-called Liberation Day, some made the case that he had blinked, backed down and retreated.

I don't think Trump has done so at all. At most, call it what you will, the blinking, backing down and retreating is only temporary.

After all, the pause is but for a mere 90 days. Trump's stock and trade (for a lack of a better term) is alternating sticks and carrots even if the carrots taste like sticks. When it comes to Canada and Mexico in particular, Trump has gone back and forth between threatening tariffs, holding off on them, imposing them then scaling them back. As I put it, it is a case of I tariff you, I tariff you not.

French President Emmanuel Macron views the 90-day reprieve as "a fragile pause." After all, there remains a baseline tariff of 10% plus a 25% tariff on steel. aluminum and cars for the EU. 

What makes anyone think Trump is going to change his behavior? Tariffs are the central plank of Trump's economic policy. His hubris is such that he thinks he holds all the cards even if he is leveraged to the hilt to get even get to play at the blackjack table. No wonder he managed to bankrupt a casino. 

In the case of his tariff policy, Trump has undermined the predictability and stability of the marketplace. As I argued back in February, this is bound to lead to a global recession:

No one win with tariffs. Canada, Mexico and China will suffer. So too will the United States. With importers facing heavier costs those costs will be passed onto consumers in the form of higher prices and workers in the form of fewer jobs. The result will be a global recession. 

Trump has acknowledged that Americans will feel the pain of tariffs. It would be a self-inflicted wound but Trump will feel nothing so the policy will continue until he gets bored or leaves office.

Well, Trump isn't about to leave office and might very well decide to stay beyond 2028. In which case, one can only hope he will get bored. But tariffs are as appetizing to Trump as McDonald's Big Macs and Diet Coke. Unfortunately, this means he will never bore of a meal consisting of two Big Macs, a Diet Coke with a side of tariffs.

Trump Admin to Screen Out Immigrants with Anti-Semitic Views, But What About Homegrown Anti-Semites?

Yesterday, the Trump Administration announced it would screen out immigrant applicants who espoused anti-Semitic views. Here's an excerpt from the release put out by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services:

Today U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will begin considering aliens’ antisemitic activity on social media and the physical harassment of Jewish individuals as grounds for denying immigration benefit requests. This will immediately affect aliens applying for lawful permanent resident status, foreign students and aliens affiliated with educational institutions linked to antisemitic activity.

Consistent with President Trump’s executive orders on Combatting Anti-Semitism, Additional Measures to Combat Anti-Semitism and Protecting the United States from Foreign Terrorists and Other National Security and Public Safety Threats, DHS will enforce all relevant immigration laws to the maximum degree, to protect the homeland from extremists and terrorist aliens, including those who support antisemitic terrorism, violent antisemitic ideologies and antisemitic terrorist organizations such as Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Hezbollah, or Ansar Allah aka: “the Houthis.”

The release went on to elaborate:

Under this guidance, USCIS will consider social media content that indicates an alien endorsing, espousing, promoting, or supporting antisemitic terrorism, antisemitic terrorist organizations, or other antisemitic activity as a negative factor in any USCIS discretionary analysis when adjudicating immigration benefit requests. This guidance is effective immediately. 

Now, a part of me is quite sympathetic to these aims and objectives. As a Jewish American, I do not want to live among people who endorse violence against Jews and support terrorist organizations whose goal is the murder of Jews. 

Yet at the same time there are plenty of homegrown anti-Semites who I would rather not live among. Now one might say you cannot deport American citizens. Well, the Trump Administration is thinking of doing exactly that. So, they've cracked open the door.

Even if deportation is neither constitutional nor practical, how does the Trump Administration intend to address domestic anti-Semitism up to and including the Proud Boys, Tucker Carlson and members of the Trump Administration such as Elon Musk? And what of immigrant applicants from Germany who support the AfD? An AfD which has been praised by both Musk and VP Vance.

Of course, I have no such expectation they will address anti-Semitism in this context. All of which makes me question the sincerity of the Trump Administration to combat anti-Semitism in all of its form and substance. 

What it tells me the Trump Administration is fine with anti-Semitism provided the anti-Semite is an anti-immigrant white who believes Trump won the 2020 election.

Supreme Court Ruling Only Tells Trump Admin to "Facilitate" Not "Effectuate" Release of Kilmar Abrego Garcia

(CASA via AP)

Tonight, the U.S. Supreme Court has ordered the Trump Administration to release Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who was wrongfully deported to El Salvador.

Well, not quite.

For all intents and purposes, the High Court split the baby.

District Court Judge Paula Xinis had ordered the Trump Administration to “facilitate and effectuate the return” of Abrego Garcia by midnight on Monday.

However, the Supremes indicated the government had to "facilitate" Abrego Garcia's release while indicating Judge Xinis had exceeded her authority by ruling the government had to "effectuate" his release.

In other words, the Trump Administration is under no obligation to put Abrego Garcia's release into force and effect. 

In the words of the Court, all the Trump Administration has to do "should be prepared to share what it can concerning the steps it has taken and the prospect of further steps."

Share what it can? Prospect of further steps?

The Trump Administration isn't in a sharing mood. Thus, there is no prospect of further steps.

Barring extraordinary public pressure, Kilmar Abrego Garcia will stay put in an El Salvador supermax prison for the rest of his life.

The Troubling Pew Poll Which Says a Majority of Americans Have an Unfavorable View of Israel

From the Pew Research Center this past Tuesday:

A slight majority of Americans (53%) now express a somewhat or very unfavorable opinion of Israel. This marks an 11-point increase in unfavorable views since March 2022, when we last asked this question. The share of U.S. adults who voice very unfavorable views of Israel has roughly doubled over this period, from 10% in 2022 to 19% in 2025.

Democrats are much more likely to express unfavorable opinions of Israel than Republicans (69% vs. 37%). In 2022, 53% of Democrats and 27% of Republicans had negative views of Israel.

Younger and older Democrats alike have turned more negative toward Israel over this three-year period, but negative views among younger Democrats have grown by 9 points, compared with a 23-point increase among older Democrats.

Among Republicans, much of the shift in attitudes has come among younger adults. Republicans under 50 are now about as likely to have a negative view of Israel as a positive one (50% vs. 48%). In 2022, they were much more likely to see Israel positively than negatively (63% vs. 35%).

To say this is troubling would be an understatement.

Let's keep in mind that Hamas killed more than 1200 civilians and took hostage 250 civilians on October 7, 2023.

Many of the hostages freed were done so under hostile conditions with many of the hostages looking like Holocaust survivors. As of this writing, there remain 59 hostages most of whom are believed to be dead.

Yet despite these facts, the American public has soured on Israel in great part because of one-sided media coverage. Older Democrats and Younger Republicans alike now view Israel as a pariah nation.

One could argue that the poll is an outlier. But I suspect that it isn't and that things will get worse than it has already. In 2013, Israel had a net favorability rating of 30% (57% to 27%) by essentially a 2-to-1 margin.

What scares me to no end is the questions Pew didn't ask. Pew did not ask respondents their view of Hamas nor did it ask their views of Jews.

With regard to the former, I have no doubt that Hamas' prestige around the world has gone up. Last month, a Harvard/Harris poll found 21% of Americans favored Hamas over Israel. 

With regard to the latter, there is the ADL Global poll on anti-Semitism released this past January which found 9% of Americans held anti-Semitic attitudes (an estimated 23.5 million people). 

Now some will argue that Americans who have an unfavorable view of Israel do not necessarily have an unfavorable view of Jews. Yet it is impossible to separate Israel from its identity as a Jewish state. I suspect that many who have no trouble indicating they have an unfavorable view of Israel are a little more circumspect if asked if they have an unfavorable view of Jews. 

On the other hand, I wonder if the results would have been different if respondents were asked their views of both Israel and the Israeli government. The survey did ask participants about their attitudes towards Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Of those asked, only 32% had a favorable view of Bibi compared to a 52% unfavorable rating. 

Now it is certainly possible to be Jewish and have an unfavorable view of Netanyahu whether living in Israel, the United States, Canada or anywhere else. But the fact the Pew survey did not specifically delineate Israel and the Israeli government or ask about attitudes towards Hamas and Jews. 

This leaves further room for doubt and unease where it concerns about American attitudes towards Israel, Hamas and other terrorist groups which seeks its destruction and towards Jews at large.

It's Dehumanizing When Acting ICE Director Says Deportation System Should Be Like Amazon, But with Human Beings

During a border security conference in Phoenix earlier this week, Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons stated that he wanted to see our deportation process be "like (Amazon) Prime, but with human beings."

This succinctly describes how the Trump Administration views immigrants, legal and otherwise. 

Immigrants are viewed not as human beings, but as chattel to be shipped around the country before being deported. 

It is because of attitudes such as this that ICE has no compunction about forcibly removing people from the streets with the White House openly contemplating sending incarcerated American citizens to El Salvador. Should this come to pass then the Trump Administration will be perfectly happy to deport American citizens who express opinions contrary to their own. 

The only way such a policy can be implemented is when the government denies the humanity of those they dislike while we accept their actions or simply look the other way.

How Long Will It Be Before the Trump Administration Says Nice Things About Iran?

During Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's hastily arranged visit to the White House yesterday, President Trump revealed that his administration has begun direct talks with Iran.

I cannot say this surprises me a great deal. If the Trump Administration has seen fit to talk directly with Hamas it isn't a stretch that it would seek to talk with its masters in Tehran?

Indeed, Steve Witkoff, who has led the talks with Hamas, will lead the talks with Iran.

Given how complimentary Witkoff has been with Hamas and his indications Hamas will remain in Gaza, how long it will be before he says nice things about the Iranian regime and how they ought to remain in power?

Perhaps the Iranian regime will get a boost from Trump himself as Turkish dictator Erdogan did even going so far as telling Netanyahu he would need to be "reasonable" with him.

I'm sure Netanyahu and the Israeli government were aware the Trump Administration had been engaging directly with Iran. It's bad enough that Trump is saddling Israel with tariffs and will not remove them despite the fact that Israel has removed theirs, but he is also giving Israel's enemies Hamas, Turkey and now Iran legitimacy.

Octavio Dotel, Who Pitched for 13 MLB Teams, Among 79 Dead Following Roof Collapse at Club in D.R.

Tragedy struck in the Dominican Republic early this morning when the roof of a nightclub in the capital city of Santo Domingo collapsed. As of this writing, 79 people have been killed with 160 additional people injured.

Among those killed in the incident were several prominent Dominicans - singer Rubby Perez (who was performing in concert), Nelsy Cruz, the Governor of the province of Monte Cristi (and sister of former MLB slugger Nelson Cruz) along with former MLB players Tony Blanco and Octavio Dotel.

Of the four, Dotel was the best known in this country. Blanco briefly played with the Washington Nationals in 2005 but spent the majority of his professional career in Japan. However, Dotel enjoyed a 15-year MLB career pitching for 13 different teams. For a time, this was a MLB record until pitcher Edwin Jackson surpassed it with 14 teams in 2019.

Dotel signed with the New York Mets as a 19-year-old in 1993 but would not make his big-league debut with the club until 1999 when he was used primarily as a starting pitcher. In 19 appearances (including 14 starts), Dotel went 8-3 with a 5.38 ERA striking out 85 batters in 85.1 innings pitched.

Following the 1999 season, the Mets dealt Dotel to the Houston Astros in the deal which brought pitcher Mike Hampton and outfielder Derek Bell to Queens. By 2001, Dotel was pitching exclusively in relief working as the setup man to future Hall of Famer Billy Wagner. In 2003, Dotel was one of six pitchers who combined on a no-hitter against the New York Yankees. 

Houston would prove to be his longest big league stop pitching in an Astros uniform. Dotel pitched with the Astros through the middle of the 2004 season when he was traded to the Oakland Athletics in a three-team trade with the Kansas City Royals which brought Carlos Beltran to Houston. Dotel saved a career high 36 games combined with the Astros and the A's.

After 1½ seasons in Oakland, Dotel spent 2006 with the New York Yankees. He would split 2007 between the Kansas City Royals and Atlanta Braves before spending two seasons with the Chicago White Sox. In 2010, Dotel pitched for three teams - Pittsburgh Pirates, Los Angeles Dodgers and Colorado Rockies. In 2011, Dotel had a season for the birds pitching for both the Toronto Blue Jays and the St. Louis Cardinals. Among the players who went to the Cardinals along with Dotel was the aforementioned Edwin Jackson.

The trade proved fortuitous for Dotel as he would earn his lone World Series ring as the Cardinals bested the Texas Rangers in 7 games. Dotel would move onto his final big league stop in 2012 and 2013 with the Detroit Tigers. Dotel would pitch in his second straight World Series in 2012, but the Tigers would be swept by the San Francisco Giants. In 758 career games, Dotel went 59-50 with a 3.78 ERA recording 109 career saves. Dotel struck out 1143 batters in only 951 innings pitched.

In 2013, Dotel would end his professional career on a high note as he was part of another championship team as the Dominican Republic triumphed in the World Baseball Classic. 

Dotel was only 51 when he was killed this morning with what should have been many more years to live. The same could be said of most of the others who lost their lives. R.I.P.

What Pam Bondi Really Means When She Says She Wants DoJ Lawyers to Argue "Vigorously"

After D.C. District Court judge Paula Xinis ordered the U.S. government to have Kilmar Abrego Garcia returned to the United States from a Salvadoran prison, the DoJ instead responded by suspending attorney Erez Reuveni who had unsuccessfully argued the case the day before.

For her part, Attorney General Pam Bondi defended the decision to suspend Reuveni during an appearance on Fox News Sunday:

I firmly said on Day 1, I issued a memo that you are to vigorously advocate on behalf of the United States. Our client in this matter was Homeland Security — is Homeland Security. He did not argue. He shouldn’t have taken the case. He shouldn’t have argued it, if that’s what he was going to do. He’s on administrative leave now. You have to vigorously argue on behalf of your client.

When Bondi says that Reuveni didn't argue "vigorously" she means that she wanted him to lie and claim Abrego Garcia belonged to MS-13. But Bondi, unlike VP Vance, couldn't actually bring herself to claim Abrego Garcia was a member of MS-13 let alone state if he would face charges were he to return to this country.

So, what could Reuveni or any other DoJ have done? After all, the Trump Administration has openly admitted that Abrego Garcia was deported in error and cannot produce evidence that Abrego Garcia was a member of MS-13, let alone convicted of any crimes. 

The only argument the Trump Administration can offer is the absurd argument that even though Abrego Garcia was wrongly deported, he cannot be brought back because he is in a sovereign country. As I argued last week:

ICE is essentially telling us that if they make a mistake, they are not responsible for their behavior nor are they subject to any consequences of their errors. 

I would add that the Trump Administration doesn't believe it is under any obligation to remedy their errors. 

How else does one explain Bondi demanding DoJ attorneys to lie to open court about Abrego Garcia?

How else does one explain Bondi demanding of DoJ attorneys what she won't demand of herself?

Why I Have Mixed Feelings About Alex Ovechkin Surpassing Wayne Gretzky as NHL's All-Time Goal Scorer

Alex Ovechkin did the unthinkable this afternoon when he scored his 895th goal to surpass Wayne Gretzky as the NHL's all-time leading scorer in goals.

Although the Washington Capitals lost 4-1 to the New York Islanders, it is difficult to overlook Ovechkin's achievement. Ovechkin scored 895 goals in 1487 career games while Gretzky scored 894 goals in 1487 career games.

And Ovechkin isn't done. The Capitals, for whom Ovechkin has played his entire 20-year career, lead the Metropolitan Division and have the second-best overall record in the NHL trailing the Winnipeg Jets by a single point. Washington, which won its lone Stanley Cup championship in 2018, has a legitimate shot for another title.

Ovechkin has one more year left on his current contract with the Capitals. If he continues to play at the level at which he is playing I don't think 1,000 career goals is inconceivable. Whatever his career goal totals, an argument can made that Ovechkin has surpassed the Great One as the greatest to ever play in the NHL. 

Yet I have mixed feelings about Ovechkin's achievement. Ovechkin is an apologist for Russian President Vladimir Putin. Just take a look at his Instagram profile or the website he launched in 2017 called Putin Team:

The website of the Putin Team movement is [now] open: www.putinteam.ru! Through the site, you can become a member of a huge team. Of Putin’s Team, which unites people who are proud of their country and want to make Russia stronger. In our leader, we value [his] trust in and respect for people, his fairness [and] righteousness, and the fact that he really cares.

Everyone who supports those values is a member of Putin Team. If you want to participate in events with us, join us! Sign up on the website and follow us [on social media], it will be interesting!

And, of course, share this with your friends! Welcome to Putin Team!

I suspect the people of Ukraine would take a much different view of Putin Team.

To paraphrase Ronnie Spector's description of her ex-husband Phil Spector, "Great hockey player, lousy person."

Of course, Gretzky has lost much of his luster in Canada by his support of President Trump in a stunning parallel of Ovechkin's support of Putin. Indeed, Trump went as far as to say that Gretzky should become the next Governor of Canada. 

It is possible to admire what both Alex Ovechkin and Wayne Gretzky have done on the ice while feeling absolute dismay as to how they lead their lives off the ice.

Three Reasons Why Trump Chose to Attend a Golf Dinner Over Honoring Four Fallen U.S. Soldiers

It comes as no surprise to me that President Trump would choose to attend a golf dinner instead of paying his respect to four fallen U.S. soldiers. 

The soldiers were engaged in a training exercise in Lithuania when they and their vehicle disappeared. They were found submerged in a swamp. The four soldiers found dead were identified as Staff Sgt. Jose Duenez, Jr., Staff Sgt. Edvin F. Franco, Pfc. Dante D. Taitano and Staff Sgt. Troy S. Knutson-Collins. All four soldiers were part of the 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division based at Fort Stewart, Georgia.

Under the circumstances, I can see three reasons why Trump did not pay them his respects.

First and foremost, let us never forget Trump believes that fallen U.S. soldiers are "losers and suckers", a fact confirmed by former White House Chief of Staff John Kelly. While Trump has denied making the remarks, the notoriously litigious President has never seen fit to sue anyone regarding the incident. There would be depositions and nothing good would come of it for Trump.

Second, the incident took place in Lithuania, a former Soviet republic and now a NATO member. We all know what contempt Trump has for NATO and Vladimir Putin would very much like to have Lithuania and the Baltic states back under the Russian fold. Given what has happened in Ukraine, Lithuania is preparing for a Russian invasion. Had Trump saw fit to honor the fallen soldiers he would have validated both NATO and Lithuania's presence within which would not have pleased Russia. The fact that Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda and thousands of Lithuanians have expressed more sorrow at the deaths of American soldiers than our own government is quite telling. 

Third, there is Trump's financial self-interest. The dinner he attended took place at his Dorval resort in Miami where a LIV sponsored golf tournament is taking place this weekend. Trump will be making money with this golf tournament. Honoring our fallen soldiers will not line his pockets. Of course, LIV is sponsored by Saudi Arabia where Trump will make his first foreign trip of his second term next month. Needless to say, the Trump family has profited handsomely from their ties with Saudi Arabia.

All things considered, perhaps it is best that Trump didn't honor these four fallen soldiers. Trump would have likely sullied such a ceremony and found a way to make it about himself as he invariably does.

The Trump Administration's Defamation of Abrego Garcia Could Cost Him His Life & They Couldn't Care Less

(Murray Ossorio PLLC via AP)

Last month, the Trump Administration wrongly deported Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia to El Salvador amid mass deportations last month.

Abrego Garcia was alleged to have gang ties, but he has never been charged nor convicted of a crime. 

ICE admitted their error but refuse to correct because he is now in Salvadoran custody.

If not for ICE's actions, Garcia wouldn't be in El Salvador in the first place. 

ICE is essentially telling us that if they make a mistake, they are not responsible for their behavior nor are they subject to any consequences of their errors. 

That's bad enough.

What makes it worse is that Vice-President JD Vance and White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt insist that Abrego Garcia is a convicted MS-13 gang member notwithstanding the error. 

Last I checked, devout Catholics weren't supposed to bear false witness. Alas, Vance and Leavitt have put Trump before G-d.

There's a very good chance that an innocent man will die in a Salvadoran prison because the Trump Administration both refuses to correct their mistakes while wantonly and willfully lying about him to the world.

And if Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia does die, they could care less.

The Trump Administration views people like Abrego Garcia as subhuman and thus deserve death.

However, if Garcia is released, he should not only sue the Trump Administration for wrongful detention but personally sue Vance and Leavitt for defamation. I would like to see how Vance and Leavitt would respond if they were asked if Garcia is a MS-13 gang member while under oath.

One can only hope there will be significant public pressure brought to bear to force Abrego Garcia's release.

Then again, such public pressure might make the Trump Administration even more determined that Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia dies in a Salvadoran prison.

Trump Claims Global Free Trade "Looted, Pillaged, Raped" Our Country When Announcing Tariffs

(Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

As expected, President Trump imposed new tariffs of 10% on virtually every country while adding so-called reciprocal tariffs to 60 additional countries excluding Canada and Mexico which are already to subject to tariffs in the amount of 25%. Russia, not surprisingly, was spared Trump's indignity.

Trump characterized his announcement as "Liberation Day".

When I think of liberation, I think of V-E Day or V-J Day, not creating a global recession.

After all, consider the portion of his remarks when Trump stated, "For decades, our country has been looted, pillaged, raped and plundered by nations near and far, both friend and foe alike."

Given Trump's own troubled history with sexual assault, his use of the word "raped" is ugly, delusional, engages in projection while distorting its meaning beyond recognition.

Without global free trade, the United States would simply not enjoy the prosperity it has had during the decades which Trump claims we were "looted, pillaged, raped and plundered". Even in harder economic times, the United States economy has long been the envy of the world.

But this is Trump we're talking about and, to quote Rick Wilson, "Everything Trump touches dies." In announcing these tariffs, Trump has injected a poison pill into the economy which will do as much damage to the United States as it will the rest of the world. 

Alas, this is what happens when we elect a malevolent, sociopathic, convicted felon who not only doesn't care who he harms, but derives pleasure from it. 

Let's Hope That Trump's Third Term Talk Ends Up an April Fool's Joke

Over the weekend, perhaps as a means to get people to stop talking about Signal Gate, President Trump floated the possibility of running for a third term as he has done in the past claiming "there are methods."

Republicans like Senate Majority leader John Thune insist that Trump is joking while Trump insists he is not. 

Somehow, I doubt Thune would be so generous of spirit had it been Barack Obama who floated the idea of a third term. I certainly wasn't when I wrote about that very possibility during my days with The American Spectator almost a decade ago.

As it stands now, the only way Trump could legally run for a third term is if Congress and three-fourths of the state legislatures were to repeal or amend the 22nd Amendment. Three days after Trump returned to the White House, Tennessee Republican Andy Ogles introduced an amendment to the 22nd Amendment which would allow Trump to run for a third term, but not Obama. In either case, both an amendment and a repeal of the 22nd Amendment.

My guess is that either Trump will try to find a way to get the Supreme Court give him their blessing as they did with presidential immunity or, a more likely scenario, he'll just do it in the same way that his administration is shuttering the federal government without any Congressional oversight while ignoring any judicial rulings which might stand in his way.

Unless Trump is prepared to anoint a successor, I think it is more likely than not that Trump will try to run for a third term. From Trump's standpoint, if he plans to break all the guardrails then he might as well as break them all. 

Today being April 1st, a part of me hopes that Senator Thune is right, and that Trump is merely joking. But if Trump isn't joking does anyone honestly think Thune or any other Republican is going to stop him from running for a third term? In which case, the joke on us and Trump has the last laugh - again.