Blood Red Lines

From Minnesota to the Middle East, the Trump regime’s rhetoric turns deadly while the dictator-in-chief throws himself a sad little parade.

Good morning! It began with the sound of gunfire in a quiet Minneapolis suburb. By dawn, two prominent Democratic lawmakers, former Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, were dead, assassinated in their home. A second lawmaker, State Senator John Hoffman, and his wife were shot hours earlier. Both survived, barely. The suspect, Vance Luther Boelter, fled on foot after opening fire on police. Authorities say he impersonated an officer, left behind a manifesto and a hit list of seventy names, Democrats, abortion providers, public figures like Ilhan Omar and Keith Ellison. The FBI has labeled it what it clearly is: political terrorism.

And yet, not a word of condemnation from Donald Trump. No denouncement of the ideology behind the violence. Just a limp, boilerplate prayer for the “great people of Minnesota,” as though this were a freak weather event and not the natural conclusion of his regime’s own rhetoric. As of this writing Boelter is still at large and liberal lives are in danger.

This is the same regime that has spent the last year labeling Democratic governors, mayors, and city councils as “illegitimate,” “anti-American,” or simply “socialist,” calling on supporters to “liberate” places like Minneapolis, Portland, and Los Angeles, a word Trump and his circle have repeatedly used as a dog whistle, a call to arms cloaked in patriotic rebellion. It was used when Trump threatened to override state control with military force. It was used again during his public rants about “taking back” cities from “radical leftists.” The implication has always been clear: these places are under occupation, not by foreign armies, but by their own duly elected leaders, and someone needs to do something.

Well, someone did. His name is Vance Boelter. And the thing he did was massacre Democratic public servants in their own home, armed with a manifesto, a hit list, and a list of names he believed should be “dealt with.” And still silence.

It would’ve been difficult to stage a more perfect split-screen: on one side, Americans in mourning, locked down under a shelter-in-place order as a right-wing assassin stalked Democratic officials. On the other, in Washington, D.C., Trump stood on a rain-slicked parade platform, sulking before a sea of empty bleachers while the U.S. Army sang “Happy Birthday” to him.

The “dictator parade”, a grotesque, gold-plated fantasy of military might and personal adoration, was billed as a patriotic celebration of the Army’s 250th anniversary. Instead, it was a vanity project flanked by corporate sponsors like Lockheed Martin, Palantir, and Coinbase, complete with tanks, missiles, and one very bored Marco Rubio. Promised attendance? 250,000. Reality? Closer to 10,000, with generous rounding.

Trump made it about himself, of course. The soldiers marched, while the air buzzed with pre-recorded martial bombast. The stands were barren, and the president’s mood? Sulky. Maybe it was the weather. Maybe it was the realization that, despite deploying the full might of government and war toys for his birthday party, the American people were elsewhere.

Across the country in red states, blue states, purple towns, millions joined No Kings protests. Boise outdrew D.C. So did San Diego. So did Pasadena, where one baby’s sign read: I love naps, but I stay woke. It was peaceful, enormous, estimates up to 11 million, and profoundly unreported by the same outlets that would’ve led with “BLM Violence” if a single window had shattered.

In the Middle East, all-out war has broken out between Israel and Iran. Israeli airstrikes have killed dozens of Iranian military leaders and civilians. Iranian ballistic missiles are now striking Tel Aviv. Trump, of course, took credit. First, his Secretary of State Marco Rubio claimed the U.S. had nothing to do with it. Then Israel contradicted that lie, stating plainly that U.S. weapons, logistics, and approval made the strike possible. Trump, smelling glory, posted that it was his warning, his weapons, his kill list. “They are all dead now,” he wrote, between birthday posts and an AI ad of himself in an orange jumpsuit asking followers to vote “Innocent? Yes or No.”

Meanwhile, Trump posted that Vladimir Putin had called him, not to discuss Ukraine, but to wish him a happy birthday and advise him on Iran. Naturally, Trump bragged about that too.

While he played tough guy in public, Iran responded, and rockets fell. Israel requested bunker-busting bombs for underground strikes it can’t execute alone. And here we are: at war, with no address to the nation, no declaration, no strategy, no plan.

Back in Eastern Europe, Ukraine reminded the world what it means to fight on principle. The Kyiv Post reported that Russian casualties in Ukraine have now surpassed one million killed or wounded. The Ukrainian Armed Forces, still holding the line with NATO’s crumbs and Washington’s hesitation, declared, “A million occupiers, a million of our steps toward a just peace.”

And to prove the war isn’t confined to the front lines, Ukrainian intelligence operatives sabotaged a key Russian substation in Kaliningrad this week, causing $5 million in damage and knocking out power to nearby military facilities. “Russia has no rear,” the statement read. “Everything they use in this war will burn, sink, or be destroyed.”

Contrast that with the Secretary of State’s tone-deaf Russia Day message, in which Marco Rubio congratulated the Russian people “on behalf of the American people,” while Russia rained missiles on Ukrainian civilians. The same day, the Department of Defense accidentally posted the Russian flag in their “Happy Flag Day” banner. A Freudian slip, perhaps?

Back in trade-land, Trump announced his triumphant “deal” with China which, of course, isn’t a deal at all. As Reuters reported, the supposed trade truce leaves key rare earth exports for U.S. military use completely unresolved. China continues to block vital materials needed for missile guidance systems and jet propulsion while quietly linking their release to U.S. AI chip bans.

Trump claimed the agreement was “everything we need.” But what we actually got were non-binding six-month licenses for non-military use and a vague promise to fast-track some export approvals, all while tariffs remain at 55% and the national security risk grows. In short: China keeps the leverage, we keep pretending.

And then came Scott Bessent, Trump’s hedge fund Treasury Secretary, who appeared before Congress like a smirking avatar of everything wrong with American leadership. In testimony this week, Bessent defended slashing Medicaid for 16 million Americans, mocked IRS auditors as too stupid to challenge wealthy tax cheats, and admitted that the GOP’s latest tax cut bill would blow $2.4 trillion into the debt while he voted against protecting ACA coverage.

Pressed by Alabama Congresswoman Terry Sewell about when the U.S. might hit the debt ceiling again, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent smirked and condescended. Sewell, calmly relaying a series of questions submitted by her constituents asked for brief, clear answers. Instead, Bessent offered a syrupy backhanded “compliment,” marveling at how “sophisticated” her constituents must be to ask such intelligent questions about fiscal policy.

Without missing a beat, Sewell shot back: “Just because you’re poor doesn’t mean you’re ignorant.”

And there it was, the moment that laid bare the smirking elitism behind the Trump administration’s economic policy. Bessent, a hedge fund millionaire cosplaying as a public servant, wasn’t just dismissing a congresswoman. He was sneering at the very idea that working-class Americans might understand, or deserve to ask, how their government’s budget decisions will impact their lives. It was the Leona Helmsley school of governance, updated for the Trump era: fiscal policy is for us, not you. Now get back in line. As Max from UNFTR put it:

“He’s not the adult in the room. He’s a hedge fund jackal who took a pay cut to make sure you lose yours.”

And while all of this unfolded, assassination, war, economic sabotage, and political theater, yet another quietly catastrophic story slipped into view. The Trump administration fumbled NOAA’s contract renewal for the Saildrone hurricane forecasting fleet, eliminating a key tool used to predict storm intensity just as the U.S. heads into what could be a record hurricane season.

Because of bureaucratic delay and staff cuts, these drone boats, which had provided real-time, in-storm ocean-level data for four years, won’t be deployed. NOAA scientists are scrambling to replace them with airborne tools, but they admit: nothing else gives the same surface-level, loitering data that helps sharpen evacuation warnings and save lives. The kakistocracy fails again!

So, to recap: Americans are dying in their homes at the hands of radicalized partisans. The president is staging military parades while getting birthday wishes and war advice from Vladimir Putin. Russia is being congratulated, Ukraine is being drained, Iran is on fire, and the weather will soon be weaponized by inattention and incompetence.