On our radar this week…

“The Party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command.”

George Orwell wrote those words 76 years ago in “1984” – seemingly the operating manual for Donald Trump’s administration. In fact, Trump used those exact words in a campaign speech and has lived by them ever since.

George Orwell also wrote: “Every record has been destroyed or falsified, every book rewritten, every picture has been repainted, every statue and street building has been renamed, every date has been altered. And the process is continuing day by day and minute by minute. History has stopped. Nothing exists except an endless present in which the Party is always right.”

Every day is an exercise in taking attention away from the growing coverup of the Epstein files and financial corruption, with Trump apparently terrified that his sordid decades-long history as a sexual predator will finally catch up with him. It’s a stark contrast with England, where the Andrew formerly known as “Prince” is celebrated his 66th birthday in police custody as England actually holds the powerful accountable for the Epstein-led sexual abuse of children, while in Epstein’s home country the White House continues to coverup the crimes of the rich and powerful … very possibly a group that includes Trump.

Case in point: the Department of Justice spoke four separate times to a woman who credibly accused Donald Trump of having sex with a 13-year-old he met through Jeffrey Epstein—but most accusations against the president appear to have been removed from the government’s documents on the alleged sex trafficker.

A part of Trump’s defense is also right out of “1984”: “Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past.”

That means silencing his critics including the late night comedians who, in the tradition of Will Rogers, lampoon him non-stop. But the tactic is backfiring: Kimmel’s banishment lasted a few days, and Stephen Colbert has become even more focused in the last weeks of his days on CBS. The made-for-YouTube video of Colbert with Texas Senate candidate James Talarico has racked up more than 7.5 million views which is triple the Colbert TV show ratings. And Talarico raised a staggering $2.5-million in the day following the incident.

Trump wants everything possible named after him. Now, he apparently wants to profit from those efforts: his company has filed papers to trademark use of his name at airports even as his Florida fans in the state’s legislature pass a bill to rename Palm Beach International Airport in his honor and he pressures Congress to rename Dulles Airport. If signed into law, the Palm Beach International change would cost the airport $5.5 million to remake signs, uniforms, promotional products, equipment, and more, according to Palm Beach County’s department of airports.

Also on our radar

The Supreme Court kicked off another Trump tantrum by axing his tariffs. The war between Dozing Donald and the court he thought he controlled is now started.
Trump got a little nap time during the initial meeting of his made-up Institute for Peace, nodding off repeatedly in front of the world leaders who had ponied up the $1-billion membership fee. Before nap time, Trump pledged a $10-billion U.S. contribution to what amounts to his personal slush fund – ignoring the constitutional requirement that spending needed to be authorized by Congress.
Governor Whitmer attended the Munich International Security Conference. At the conference, she joined AOC, and Trump’s NATO ambassador on a panel discussion where she was highly critical of Trump’s economic war with Canada has driven our neighbors to the north to get cozy with China.
Independent gubernatorial candidate Mike Duggan has a new problem. His campaign claimed union endorsements he hasn’t received. It’s a near certainty that the Service Employees International Union and the United Auto Workers will ultimately endorse Jocelyn Benson. Benson, meanwhile, picked up the endorsement of the Michigan Nurses Association.
Mark has a new neighbor. ICE has opened a regional headquarters next door to my office … and also is opening a detention center in Romulus. Nobody’s happy about this except Stephen Miller. Is this a staging area for masked ICE agents outside Democratic-leaning voting sites in southeast Michigan this November?
And we can’t unwatch the incredibly insane 90-second, taxpayer-funded video of RFK Jr. and Kid Rock flexing and sweating, apparently to promote physical fitness. RFK thankfully did not include snorting cocaine from toilet seats as part of his workout regimen.
On a far more serious note, we recognize the unique contributions of two men we lost this week: the internationally known Rev. Jesse Jackson, and one of the “good guys” who made Michigan State government work better over his decades of service, our friend Bill Gnodtke.

On Tuesday, west Michigan Congresswoman Hilary Scholten went inside an ICE concentration camp. Scholten, who was an immigration attorney before being elected to Congress, joins this week’s conversation. Congresswoman Scholten is a fourth-generation West Michigander. Prior to her election in 2022 she was an immigration attorney who served in the U.S. Department of Justice. Scholten began her own career as a social worker, working with people affected by issues of housing and homelessness. During this time, she worked with individuals in the LGBTQ community who were facing homelessness and housing insecurity—often because of their sexual orientation or gender identity.

Congresswoman Scholten obtained her law degree from the University of Maryland Thurgood Marshall School of Law, and then went on to clerk for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in their special unit focused on immigration issues. Following her clerkship, she joined the Justice Department through the Attorney General Honors Program, where she continued to work on matters of immigration and civil rights. In Congress she serves on the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure and the House Committee on Small Business.