What did Donald Trump do today?

He pretended he hadn't tried very hard (and failed) to get Indiana Republicans to pass an unpopular redistricting plan.

Trump is fighting a losing and increasingly desperate battle to have Republicans keep control of the House of Representatives in the 2026 midterms. His main, or perhaps only strategy, has been to demand that Republican-controlled states redraw their Congressional maps in such a way as to make it mathematically difficult, if not impossible, for Democrats to win seats. 

But partisan gerrymanders are generally seen as unfair and undemocratic, and are extremely unpopular with voters—even Republican voters. As one Republican state legislator in Indiana put it, "My opposition to mid-cycle gerrymandering is not in contrast to my conservative principles, my opposition is driven by them. As long as I have breath, I will use my voice to resist a federal government that attempts to bully, direct, and control this state or any state. Giving the federal government more power is not conservative."

That is most likely why Trump's demand that Indiana redraw its lines to give Republicans a 9-0 majority in their Congressional delegation was roundly rejected by its legislature today. 40 out of the state's 50 Senate seats are held by Republicans, but only 19 voted for Trump's maps.

Asked about it today, Trump insisted that he "wasn't working on it very hard," before identifying a Republican state senator by name who opposed the new maps and essentially casting him out of the party.

In fact, Trump tried very hard to force the issue, even after Hoosier citizens from both parties began swamping legislators with demands to kill the redistricting plan. He sent J.D. Vance to the state twice to lobby for the gerrymander. He posted the names of specific Republicans who opposed the plan, resulting in death threats and swatting attacks against them. He promised to end the political careers of Republicans who voted against it. He even threatened to cut off federal funds for the state, punishing voters in a state he won in 2024 by almost twenty points, if it failed to obey his demands.
 

Why does this matter?

• Presidents who are not dragging their party down with their incredibly poor job approval don't have to try to rig the vote. 

• Trying to make elections meaningless before they even happen is what dictators do. 

What did Donald Trump do today?

He tried to brand the basic functions of government with his name and face.

The White House launched an official government website today accepting applications for what Trump is calling the Trump Gold Card. Supposedly, it will allow wealthy foreigners to skip the normal process for obtaining permanent residency and receive it "in record time," in exchange for fees starting at $1 million (plus a $15,000 nonrefundable "processing fee"). 

Additional fees may apply—Trump hasn't said for what—and there's even a more exclusive "platinum" tier costing $5 million but offering special tax breaks, over and above the existing favors that Trump's tax code does for wealthy individuals.

There's a reason that cutting the line like this isn't usually allowed in democracies, and it's not just that most Americans don't really share Trump's belief that wealth is what makes a person good. The official White House line is that people with money are inherently more "productive" and will "create jobs." But in reality, the expensive passes will come at the expense of people who would normally be awarded EB-1 and EB-2 visas, who would normally have to go through a rigorous application process and demonstrate truly exceptional or unique talents.

In other words, Trump is promising to replace the absolute top-tier of the very most talented skill-based visas with a system where any rich person can buy a visa regardless of their personal merit, potential contribution to the American economy, or need. 

In addition to being named after him, the "card" also features Trump's face. The site—again, an actual page operated by the United States Government—showed his face appearing from behind mountain peaks like the rising sun.

 

Bizarrely, it's not even the only government document Trump has unveiled recently with his own face on it. He also put it on the all-access National Parks pass, which federal law requires to be a specific award-winning nature photo. (The picture of Trump's glowering, heavily made-up face was not the winner of the relevant award.)

 

The Center for Biological Diversity, an environmental organization, sued the government today to enforce the law and change the pass, calling it Trump's most "crassest, most ego-driven action yet." Presumably, that means that they regarded it as even crasser than Trump's decision to make admission to parks free on his birthday while canceling it for the actual federal holidays Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Juneteenth.

Why does this matter?

• Money isn't what makes someone good, or a good American. 

• Even by the standards of Trump's usual need for attention, this is pathetic.

What did Donald Trump do today?

He demanded Americans ignore reality and applaud his "A+++++" economy.

In an interview with Politico released today, Trump gave himself a grade of "A plus plus plus plus plus" for his handling of the economy. Confronted with testimony from a supporter of his who complained that "Groceries, utility, insurance, and the basic cost of running small business keep rising faster than wages" and that Trump wasn't doing enough to solve this problem, he responded by once again insisting that "prices are all coming down" and that gasoline prices in particular had hit $1.99/gal in "three states."

In reality, of course, prices are up and rising uncomfortably fast for consumer goods, groceries, energy, and gasoline—which was well above $1.99 in every state at at about $3 nationwide.

The most recent figures on inflation are from September. More current figures are aren't available because Trump shut down the federal agency that tracks them in order to avoid having to sign a health care bill—which itself is causing massive spikes in premiums for Americans who get their insurance through the Affordable Care Act. 

But even without hard data, Americans are generally under no illusions about what they are spending on groceries, rent, heating bills, and other necessities. He has a 36% approval rating on the economy in the gold standard Gallup tracking poll. That may be why he has spent much of his time lately insisting that the very concept of "affordability" is a "con job," although what exactly this means isn't clear.

At a rally in Pennsylvania tonight, Trump also returned to another of his economic themes: that Americans can fight tariff-induced inflation by simply making do with less.

The one thing you need, you need steel. You know, you can give up certain products. Uh, you could give up pencils. Because under the China policy [sic], you know every child can get 37 pencils. They only need 1 or 2, you know. They don't need that many. But, uh, you always need, you always need steel. You don't need 37 dolls for your daughter. 2 or 3 is nice. You don't need 37 dolls. So, uh, we're doing things right. 

Pencils, which cost about fifteen cents each, are one of the few things that a typical American family could afford 37 of.

Of course, not every American family needs to hoard pencils to get by in Trump's economy. By a conservative estimate, Trump's net worth has increased by $3 billion since returning to office. That doesn't include the money that his adult children, who are able to more openly profit from his presidency, have made. Adding that in yields a net worth of more than $10 billion dollars, and even that doesn't include assets designed to be hidden from public scrutiny like cryptocurrencies. 

Why does this matter?

• In a democracy, the public tells politicians how good a job they are doing, not the other way around. 

• You cannot solve a problem you're too afraid to admit exists.

• The American public is not nearly as stupid as Donald Trump seems to think they are.

What did Donald Trump do today?

He threw a tantrum because a woman asked him about a promise he'd made five days ago and apparently forgotten.

On December 3, ABC News reporter Selina Wang asked Trump about his plans to release video of the second strike on the defenseless survivors of the Sept. 2 military attack on a boat in the Caribbean.

SELINA WANG, ABC NEWS: Mr. President, you released video of that first boat strike on September 2nd, but not the second video. Will you release video of that strike so that the American people can see for themselves what happened?

TRUMP: I don’t know what they have, but whatever they have we’d certainly release, no problem.

This is significant because the video of the second strike is very likely evidence of a war crime. So far it has only been by selected members of Congress, who have called it "deeply disturbing" among other things.

Today, Trump was asked by another ABC News reporter about his promise to "certainly release" the video to the American public. He became angry, lashed out at her, and tried to pass the buck to his subordinate, Pete Hegseth.

RACHEL SCOTT, ABC NEWS: Mr. President, you said you would have no problem with releasing the full video of that strike on September 2nd off the coast of Venezuela. Secretary Hegseth now says –

TRUMP: I didn’t say that. That’s – you said that, I didn’t say that. This is ABC fake news. 

SCOTT: You said that you would have 'no problem' releasing the full — okay, well, Secretary Hegseth 

TRUMP: Whatever Hegseth wants to do is okay with me.

SCOTT: He now says it's under review. Are you ordering the secretary to release that full video?

TRUMP: Whatever he decides is okay with me.

Trump then repeated his ludicrous claim that his extrajudicial attacks on these alleged drug-smuggling boats saves tens of thousands of American lives. In the space of two sentences, he claimed that number was 25,000 and 45,000. Afterwards, Scott followed up, prompting Trump to get visibly angry:

SCOTT: Are you committed to releasing the full video? 

TRUMP: Didn't I just tell you that?

SCOTT: You said it was up to Secretary Hegseth—

TRUMP: You are the most obnoxious reporter in the whole place. Let me just tell you — you are an obnoxious — a terrible — actually a terrible reporter. And it's always the same thing with you. I told you. Whatever Pete Hegseth wants to do is OK with me.

Trump's temper has always been an issue, but it is growing harder and harder for him to control during his second term, particularly around female reporters.

Why does this matter?

• Presidents who can't handle "obnoxious" reporters really can't handle the questions they're asking. 

• The rights of the American people to know what their military is being ordered to do are more important than Donald Trump's feelings. 

• Donald Trump, not Pete Hegseth, is President of the United States.

What did Donald Trump do today?

He got mad that a pardon recipient didn't hold up their end of the corrupt bargain he thought he'd made.

Rep. Henry Cuellar is a Democratic member of Congress representing a swing district near San Antonio. He was investigated by the FBI under President Biden for an influence-peddling scheme involving the central Asian nation of Azerbaijan. In 2024, he was indicted on money laundering, conspiracy, and bribery charges. As the Biden-era DOJ put it after the indictment was unsealed:

According to court documents, beginning in at least December 2014 and continuing through at least November 2021, Congressman Cuellar and Imelda Cuellar allegedly accepted approximately $600,000 in bribes from two foreign entities: an oil and gas company wholly owned and controlled by the Government of Azerbaijan, and a bank headquartered in Mexico City. The bribe payments were allegedly laundered, pursuant to sham consulting contracts, through a series of front companies and middlemen into shell companies owned by Imelda Cuellar, who performed little to no legitimate work under the contracts. In exchange for the bribes paid by the Azerbaijani oil and gas company, Congressman Cuellar allegedly agreed to use his office to influence U.S. foreign policy in favor of Azerbaijan. In exchange for the bribes paid by the Mexican bank, Congressman Cuellar allegedly agreed to influence legislative activity and to advise and pressure high-ranking U.S. Executive Branch officials regarding measures beneficial to the bank. 

Congressman Cuellar and Imelda Cuellar are each charged with the following offenses, and if convicted, face maximum penalties as indicated: two counts of conspiracy to commit bribery of a federal official and to have a public official act as an agent of a foreign principal required to register under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), five years imprisonment on each count; two counts of bribery of a federal official, 15 years imprisonment on each count; two counts of conspiracy to commit honest services wire fraud, 20 years imprisonment on each count; two counts of violating the ban on public officials acting as agents of a foreign principal required to register under FARA, two years imprisonment on each count; one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, 20 years imprisonment; and five counts of money laundering, 20 years imprisonment on each count.

Trump pardoned Cuellar and his wife last week, meaning he will never go to trial for the conduct that got him indicted. Even though Cuellar is a Democrat, it's not surprising that Trump pardoned him, because it fits with his pattern of giving pardons to people accused of the same crimes he himself is known to have committed. Trump also pardoned the disgraced Democratic governor of Illinois, Rod Blagojevich, who also tried to sell the power of his office.

But today, Trump seems to be regretting the pardon. Not because he now believes Cuellar should be punished for taking hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes to help Azerbaijani oil companies, but because he thinks Cuellar should have repaid him by switching his party affiliation to Republican. He posted this rant to his private microblogging service this morning:

Can you imagine??? The Democrats, under the Crooked Joe Biden Administration, who always use extreme force and jail-time to destroy their political opponent, wanted to put Congressman Henry Cuellar, and his wife, Imelda, in PRISON, for 15 years, which I predicted these Radical Left Lunatics would do - And they never stopped wanting to fulfill this evil quest! The Dems mercilessly went after Henry with everything they had! They were looking to destroy him, his lovely wife, his two young daughters, and anyone close to them. When the Democrats overwhelmingly lost the 2024 Presidential Election, and power with it, they, regardless, did everything they could to keep going after the Cuellar family. The Dems were vicious, and all because Henry strongly wanted, correctly, BORDER SECURITY! He was against illegals pouring into our Country, totally unchecked and unvetted. The Congressman didn’t want gang members, drug dealers, violent prisoners, people from mental institutions and yes, even murderers, in the good ol’ USA. It was all very unfair what they were doing to him and his family, so much so that his daughters wrote me a beautiful letter about their parents (Just posted on TRUTH!). After reading it I decided, in the interest of justice, and based on the daughter’s loving request, that I would give Henry and Imelda a Full and Complete Pardon. I never spoke to the Congressman, his wife, or his daughters, but felt very good about fighting for a family that was tormented by very sick and deranged people - They were treated sooo BADLY! I signed the papers, and said to people in the Oval Office that I just did a very good, perhaps life saving, thing. God was very happy with me that day! THEN IT HAPPENED!!! Only a short time after signing the Pardon, Congressman Henry Cuellar announced that he will be “running” for Congress again, in the Great State of Texas (a State where I received the highest number of votes ever recorded!), as a Democrat, continuing to work with the same Radical Left Scum that just weeks before wanted him and his wife to spend the rest of their lives in Prison - And probably still do! Such a lack of LOYALTY, something that Texas Voters, and Henry’s daughters, will not like. Oh’ well, next time, no more Mr. Nice guy! PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP 

In other words, Trump is furious because he thought he was corruptly buying a corrupt politician's "loyalty" for himself—and is saying so in writing.

It's a federal crime for an officeholder to use the powers of their office—including the pardon—for corrupt private gain. That's exactly what Cuellar did to get himself indicted in the first place. 

Why does this matter?

• People who are caught abusing their office, then given due process before being indicted by a grand jury based on evidence, are not being "treated sooo BADLY." 

• Someone who really understood the "Art of the Deal" probably wouldn't give away everything up front like that.  

• It's a problem if a corrupt president refuses to acknowledge the existence of political corruption. 

• Admitting openly to a crime is something you do only if you're sure no one will ever hold you responsible.

What did Donald Trump do today?

He lashed out with name-calling at yet another female reporter asking about his ballroom.

Recently, a reporter asked a question about his pet ballroom project. We know this not because of any story that arose from his answer, but because this morning Trump posted a furious, insult-laden tirade about it to his private microblogging service:

Caitlin Collin’s of Fake News CNN, always Stupid and Nasty, asked me why the new Ballroom was costing more money than originally thought one year ago. I said because it is going to be double the size, and the quality of finishes and interiors has been brought to the highest level. Also, the column SPAN has been substantially increased for purposes of viewing. It is actually under budget and ahead of schedule, as my jobs always are. It’s just much bigger and more beautiful than originally planned. Interestingly, and seldom reported, there are no taxpayer dollars involved. It is being fully paid for by private donations. FAKE NEWS CNN, and the guy who runs the whole corrupt operation that owns it, is one of the worst in the business. Their ratings are so low that they’re not even counted or relevant anymore. MAGA!!! 

None of this is true, even the spelling of Kaitlan Collins' name, but a few things jump out. Trump's career as a builder is legendary for all the wrong reasons; even illegally hiring undocumented immigrants as laborers and refusing to pay his contractors hasn't kept his projects from busting their budgets—when they opened at all.

More importantly, the budget for Trump's pet ballroom hasn't gone up from "one year ago" because it was only announced in July of this year. Its budget has gone up from a supposed $200 million to a new moving target of $300 million since then. In part that's because Trump fired the first architect he hired for not being willing to inflate the building to an even more preposterous size than the initial plans called for.

Trump is also wrong about his claim that the private donations paying for the construction are underreported. In fact, precisely because companies and individuals looking to curry favor with Trump are using their donations to buy influence with him, it's been a major story.  

 

The ballroom project, which resulted in the total destruction of the East Wing of the People's House just days after Trump promised it would only be minimally impacted, is hideously unpopular with Americans. 

Why does this matter?

• It's not exactly news at this point that Trump can't stand even the mildest challenge from a woman, but it's still bad. 

• Bribery isn't a good alternative to public funding. 

• The destruction of the East Wing wasn't worth letting Donald Trump try to pretend to be a success in the building trades for once.

What did Donald Trump do today?

He accepted yet another "peace" prize.

FIFA is the world's governing body for soccer. It's almost as notable for its decades of open, rampant corruption and cozy relationships with authoritarian governments as for the popularity of the sport's major championship, the World Cup. That event will be held in cities across North America next year. Its president, Gianni Infantino, arguably has more influence than some world leaders. And like many world leaders, Infantino has launched an openly manipulative charm offensive with Trump as the target.

In the wake of Trump's failed campaign to win the Nobel Peace Prize he feels he deserves, FIFA abruptly announced in November that it would be launching its own "peace prize." The winner was announced today, and to nobody's surprise, it was Trump, who made a special trip just to receive it. The award came with a trophy, a medal (which Trump plucked out of the box and put on himself), and a ten-minute video that repeated many of the same false claims that Trump has made about his "peacemaking."

 

What FIFA hopes to get from its flattery of Trump isn't entirely clear, although in the short term they may settle for having some ability to restrain him from destroying the 2026 event altogether. Trump has already blocked teams from entering the United States for practice and threatened to move matches out of cities governed by his political enemies. Worse for FIFA, his erratic and at times openly authoritarian immigration policies are killing international tourism to the United States, which promises to hurt revenue for the World Cup.

But to judge from the fact that Trump today proposed renaming (American) football to let the sport Americans generally know as soccer have the word, the tactic is working.

Why does this matter?

• Even by Trump's standards, this is embarrassing.

What did Donald Trump do today?

He awarded himself a peace prize while taking credit for ending a war that's still going on.

Trump hosted leaders of the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda today, to celebrate a "peace accord" signed at the White House. Trump claims this as one of an ever-changing number of "wars" he's "ended." For the most part, when he's been able to articulate which wars he's referring to, they have been long-running brushfire conflicts that, almost without exception, continue to burn in spite of Rose Garden ceremonies in which Trump declares himself a peacemaker.

That was the case for today's "peace" announcement, with the same sporadic fighting continuing even as the countries' leaders signed a document for the cameras.

It wasn't the only "peace" news related to Trump today, as news broke that he's literally, physically slapped his name on the building that houses the U.S. Institute of Peace. The USIP is an independent agency that Trump appointed a white supremacist to lead while illegally seizing the building earlier this year. 

Trump, who has effectively switched the United States' side in the Russia-Ukraine war and is threatening to start a war in Venezuela, has spent a great deal of time and energy this year in a failed attempt to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. 

Why does this matter?

• Giving yourself prizes for pretend accomplishments is pathetic in anyone and especially in the President of the United States.

What did Donald Trump do today?

He believed he'd once again solved the mystery of the "tariff shelf" for the first time.

On August 14, Trump told this story at an Oval Office press availability.

Last week they found $29 billion and they couldn't figure out where it came from. I said, check the tar—the tariff shelf. And they said, "How did you know that's where it came from?" Taking in billions and even trillions of dollars in tariffs.

On September 26, Trump told this story at an Oval Office joint press conference:

We're finding, the other day, they found $31 billion, they said, "Sir, we found thirty-one—" I said, "you mean positively, right?" They said, "Yeah, we found $31 million [sic], more than we knew," and they said, "We don't know where it came from?" I said, "Check the tariff shelf." They came back the following morning, they said, "You're right, sir, it came from the tariffs."

Today, Trump told this story at an Oval Office press availability:

They're finding money in our country now that they never knew existed. The other day — $30 billion. Where did it come from? I said, "Why don't you check the tariffs shelf?" They said, "Sir, that tariff hasn't started yet, it doesn't start until January." I said, "No, it started 2 months ago." They call back — "Sir, you're right, it's from tariffs."

In other words, Trump believes he is constantly existing in a world in which he has just now solved a mystery that had stumped his economic advisors: the source of a certain number of billions of "extra" dollars in revenue. (Where a "shelf" comes into it is still unclear.)

People suffering from cognitive or memory issues often repeat the same stories, or fall into semi-scripted "patter," in order to distract from their confusion. Familiar surroundings—like, for example, a particular room that they visit at certain times of the day—can often trigger the same train of thought over and over again. Patients exhibiting this symptom rarely understand that they are repeating themselves.

Of course, there is a grain of truth to Trump's fantasy: on a quarterly basis, the United States is currently raising something like $30 billion per quarter in "extra" revenue, paid by American consumers in the form of higher sales prices. One way of looking at that is that it is costing the average household $1,100 per year. Another is that it's about a 2% increase in revenues, which is not nearly enough to offset the tax breaks for the ultra-wealthy Trump put into the 2025 budget bill.

Trump has not told any stories where "they" called him "sir" and asked where the missing billions from those tax cuts went. 

Why does this matter?

• This is not someone who is cognitively fit for the presidency or any other job. 

What did Donald Trump do today?

He stayed up late on a posting binge and then slept through the work day.

Last night, and into early this morning, Trump went on a posting binge to his private microblogging service that might charitably be described as "manic" and more accurately as a "meltdown." To take one example as representative, the 79-year-old current president of the United States retweeted a conspiracy theory that former First Lady Michelle Obama was the secret power behind the throne of the Biden administration.

All told, Trump made about 150 posts of that nature between 7 p.m. and midnight.

Today, the only event on his schedule was a Cabinet meeting, followed by a brief announcement. He slept through much of it, even when the speaker was sitting right next to him and directly addressing him by name, closing his eyes slowly and nodding before occasionally startling awake, over and over and over again. 

Trump's inability to make it through meetings without nodding off, along with his general physical and mental decline, has been more and more directly addressed in the media lately. He's reacted badly to that coverage, but it hasn't stopped it from continuing to happen.

The only point Trump appeared less dozy was during his own remarks, which were incoherent and unfiltered even by his standards. Among other things, he went on a racist rant about "garbage" Americans who came to the United States as refugees from Somalia, said that "affordability" for everyday items was a "con job," lied for the umpteenth time about gas prices, and tried to explain away his pardon of a former president of Honduras who helped the Sinaloa cartel traffick more than 400 tons of cocaine into the United States.

Why does this matter?

• This is not someone who is mentally, emotionally, or physically able to carry out the duties of the presidency.   

• Anybody in any other job would be fired for this.

What did Donald Trump do today?

He moved onto yet another explanation for why the illegal Venezuelan boat attack he ordered wasn't his fault.

To the apparent surprise of the White House, the controversy is continuing to mount over unlawful attacks on survivors of an initial missile strike on suspected Venezuelan drug traffickers. News broke last week that Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth had verbally ordered two survivors of the Sept. 2nd strike to be killed while they clung to wreckage, which is presumptively murder under United States law and a war crime under international law—and according to the Defense Department itself.

Trump was completely absent from the public eye today, even as questions continued to mount about his health, but his spokesperson Karoline Leavitt issued the third official White House stance in as many days on the attack. Backtracking again from Trump's claim yesterday that neither he nor Hegseth had ordered the killing of survivors, Leavitt admitted the existence of a second strike for the first time. But she insisted that the decision was made by the ranking military officer, Adm. Frank Bradley, and that it was legal for him to have done so.

Pressed on that point, given how clear U.S. law and official Department of Defense doctrine is about killing defenseless people whether or not they are enemy combatants, Leavitt said with a straight face that the second missile strike was done in "self-defense."

In other words, with Congressional investigations already getting underway, Trump is now admitting some of the basic facts of the story that his administration had furiously denied, but setting up the military officer who carried out his orders as the one to bear responsibility.

Trump recently called for sedition trials when Democratic members of Congress pointed out that servicemembers have a duty to disobey illegal orders, and has ordered the FBI to "investigate" them.
 

Why does this matter?

• "We will blame you if it helps us politically" is not a great message for a president to send to American military forces.

• Presidents don't need to be military veterans to be effective commanders-in-chief, but they do have to be capable of understanding why honor and integrity is so important to the United States military. 

• One way to avoid this kind of issue is not to give illegal orders to kill defenseless people in the first place.