Tag: u.s.
Former GOP Governor Warns Trump Bill Will Devastate Rural Health Care

Former GOP Governor Warns Trump Bill Will Devastate Rural Health Care

The Republican-controlled. Senate is expected to vote Monday night on President Donald Trump's signature domestic policy legislation, and one former high-ranking Republican is now urging his fellow conservatives to take a stand against it.

During a Monday segment on MSNBC's "The Weeknight," former Montana Governor Marc Racicot — a Republican who led the Big Sky State between 1993 and 2001 — slammed the bill as uniquely harmful for Americans in rural states like his. After hosts Michael Steele, Symone Sanders-Townsend and Alicia Melendez played a clip of Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX) defending the bill as good for the country, Racicot blasted his fellow Republicans as being in thrall of an "autocrat" and being more afraid of angering Trump than hurting their own constituents.

"That's patent nonsense. It's absolutely ludicrous," Racicot said. "In the state of Montana ... we have 56 counties. We're spread over 150,000 square miles, and 50 out of our 56 counties do not have the kind of facilities that allow for people to be treated without Medicare and without Medicaid."

"We don't have rural clinics or hospitals that can respond," he continued. "In addition to that, we have we have seven Indian reservations that, again, are placed in in harm's way ... the infrastructure that we put in place as a result of Medicaid serves those families as well. So it's just unbelievable to me that these Republicans would proceed thinking that they're people of conscience, and somehow they're doing something good for the country. I don't think they even know what's in the bill."

The Senate's version of the legislation already cuts Medicaid by roughly $1 trillion over 10 years, meaning many rural hospitals in predominantly red states like Montana are at risk of closing if the current version of the bill is signed into law. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va) has already acknowledged that her constituents could be deeply impacted by the legislation.

Racicot went on to opine that one main reason the bill could be passed is because Republicans in Congress are operating "upon the basis of bigotry and the whining and complaining and grievance and resentment" of their fellow Americans. He added that it was "incredibly unfortunate" that so many members of his party were working "to the great detriment of the people of this country."

"What I'm really fearful of is that when they find out what this does, when they learn what it is — and I wish we could avoid the catastrophe — but I'm fearful we can't avoid this calamity until it happens," Racicot said. "And then it's going to be an ultimate disaster."

Reprinted with permission from Alternet.

Happy Fourth! Pride In America Plunges Under Trump Presidency (Again)

Happy Fourth! Pride In America Plunges Under Trump Presidency (Again)

Americans’ pride in their country has tumbled to a new low, according to a poll released on Monday. Not only is pride at its lowest point since Gallup began asking the question in 2001, but the share has fallen nine points under President Donald Trump this year alone.

Fifty-eight percent of U.S. adults say they feel extremely or very proud to be an American. A year ago, when former President Joe Biden was in office, that number was 67 percent. The highest level of American pride Gallup has measured came in 2002 and 2004, when 91% of Americans were extremely or very proud following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.

While Republicans’ pride in being American has increased by seven points since last year, the decline was precipitous among Democrats (down 26 points) and independent voters (down seven points).

There was also a generational divide, with 41 percent of people in Generation Z (born between 1997 and 2012) expressing pride in being American, compared with 58 percent of millennials, 71 percent of Generation X, 75 percent of baby boomers, and 83 percent of people in the Silent and Greatest generations (people born before 1946).

The decline comes as Americans, including millions who backed Trump, are now dealing with the fallout from his second presidential term.

He has started an expensive trade war with much of the world, increasing the costs of doing business for American companies and farmers while also making many household staples more expensive. Trump has responded to these concerns with advice like telling little children to purchase fewer dolls.

Another pressing concern is Trump’s wholehearted embrace of authoritarianism. He has instructed Immigration and Customs Enforcement to attack American cities, abducting vulnerable people—including students—off the street in broad daylight.

Trump has even chosen to arrest and charge Democratic officeholders for attempting to provide oversight of his actions, or roughing them up for dissenting from his administration.

Trump is rolling back civil rights gains by LGBTQ+ Americans and using his administration to erase boundary-breaking achievements by Black people and women.

Everyday Americans brace to see what new way Trump and his team will use their positions of power to enrich themselves, abuse others, or make America look clownish on the international stage.

Reprinted with permission from Daily Kos.

Thom Tillis

Tillis Warns Fellow Senators:  Medicaid Cuts Will End GOP Majorities

Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC), seeking reelection in the 2026 midterms, is facing two hurdles: an aggressive GOP primary challenge from MAGA businessman Andy Nilsson, and — if he defeats Nilsson and becomes the nominee — a Democratic opponent in the general election.

Now, according to Politico's Jordain Carney, Tillis is worried that President Donald Trump's "big, beautiful bill" could be a major liability for Republicans in the midterms.

Carney, in a Wednesday, June 25, post on X, formerly Twitter, reported, "News: Sen. Tillis told his colleagues in GOP lunch today that he won't vote to proceed without more clarity on Medicaid language, per source familiar. He also warned GOP current language means they won't have two senators from NC sitting in the lunch post-2026."

Tillis, who is conservative but not far-right or ultra-MAGA, comes from a competitive swing state that can go either GOP or Democratic in statewide races.

In 2024, now-President Donald Trump defeated Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris by roughly 3.5 percent in North Carolina. But Democrat Josh Stein was elected governor and followed two-term former Gov. Roy Cooper, another Democrat. And Democratic Justice Allison Riggs was narrowly reelected to her seat on the North Carolina Supreme Court last year.

The One Big, Beautiful Bill Act, after narrowly passing in the U.S. House of Representatives, 215-214, is now being considered in the U.S. Senate — where Republicans are hotly debating steep cuts to Medicaid. According to analysis from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), the Medicaid cuts being proposed in the bill could reduce Medicaid enrollment by 10.3 million people by 2034.

X user Ken Blair, in response to Carney's reporting, said of Tillis, "If he votes for it he shouldn't be re-elected."

Reprinted with permission from Alternet.

Dogfight Erupts In Right-Wing Media Over War With Iran

Dogfight Erupts In Right-Wing Media Over War With Iran

As Israel’s conflict with Iran escalates into open hostilities, MAGA media figures are divided over whether the U.S. should intervene in the conflict and have resorted to attacking each other. Opponents of U.S. military intervention in Iran — like right-wing podcast host Tucker Carlson — have gone after Fox News, calling its pundits “warmongers” and claiming that pro-war talking heads have “empty, tormented personal lives.” Some right-wing figures who support war with Iran have attacked Carlson, with Fox’s Mark Levin calling his former colleague “increasingly unhinged” and claiming that anti-interventionists “have never been MAGA.”

Right-wing media draw lines in the sand over U.S. intervention in Iran as Carlson and Trump spar

  • Following Israel’s attacks on Iran and Iran’s counterattack on Israel, many right-wing media personalities have chimed in to advocate for or against U.S. military intervention. Some in right-wing media have argued this is “not our war,” while others like Fox’s Sean Hannity have said, “America doesn't have any choice but to get involved in this.” [Media Matters, 6/18/25]
  • The Trumpist right, usually united against Democrats, have split into “rival factions” over the conflict and are fighting “over the true meaning of an ‘America First’ foreign policy.” The isolationists include online talk show host Tucker Carlson and War Room host Steve Bannon. On the other side, Fox News fixtures like Sean Hannity and Mark Levin are making the case for the U.S. to intervene directly in the conflict. [The Atlantic, 6/17/25]
  • After Carlson suggested Trump was “complicit in the act of war” against Iran and that the conflict “will define Donald Trump’s presidency,” Trump fired back, calling him “kooky Carlson” and emphasizing that “IRAN CAN NEVER HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON.” [The Hill, 6/16/25, 6/17/25]

Some in right-wing media are calling out Fox News for being “warmongers” and having “amnesia” about previous wars in the Middle East

  • Tucker Carlson called Sean Hannity, Mark Levin, and Fox Corp.’s chairman emeritus Rupert Murdoch “warmongers.” Carlson posted: “The real divide isn’t between people who support Israel and people who support Iran or the Palestinians. The real divide is between those who casually encourage violence, and those who seek to prevent it — between warmongers and peacemakers. Who are the warmongers? They would include anyone who’s calling Donald Trump today to demand air strikes and other direct US military involvement in a war with Iran. On that list: Sean Hannity, Mark Levin, Rupert Murdoch, Ike Perlmutter and Miriam Adelson. At some point they will all have to answer for this, but you should know their names now.” [Twitter/X, 6/13/25]
  • On WarRoom, Carlson also said, “My temptation in a moment like this is to go low and to note that a lot of the people pushing for this stuff have really empty, tormented personal lives.” Carlson added, “This is a way to kind of feel powerful. I mean, nothing makes you feel more powerful than killing other people.” [Real America's Voice, War Room, 6/16/25]
  • On Jones’ show, far-right media personality Nick Fuentes questioned if Fox host Greg Gutfeld has “amnesia” for arguing “we need to forget” the legacy of Middle East wars and “trust Trump.” Jones then attacked Levin for his “sophomoric” comments calling Jones and Carlson a “lovely couple." [Infowars, The Alex Jones Show, 6/17/25]
  • Bannon attacked “the same crowd at Fox News” for “sounding the war tocsins” and arguing that “we have to go on offense.” Bannon: “When you start making decisions that are predicated upon the assumption that America is going to come in not just for defense but for offensive because the same crowd at Fox all weekend has been sounding the war toxins, ‘America's got to go on offense, we have to go on offense, we have to support — we've got the equipment, we've got the pilots, we have the refueling, … we have to be there.’ No. We have to make decisions that put America first.” [Real America’s Voice, War Room, 6/16/25]

Other personalities have attacked Carlson for being “increasingly unhinged” and shamed “isolationists” for trying to “co-opt” MAGA politics

  • Mark Levin reacted to Carlson’s disapproval for war with Iran, calling him “increasingly unhinged” and “a special pleader for all kinds of evil, genocidal, maniacs.” Levin said, “He’s defending a country that has killed American soldiers. Israel’s taken them on. Israel took on Hezbollah that killed American soldiers. A whole barracks of marines. And I could go on and on and on. So Tucker Carlson is an apologist. He’s an appeaser. He’s actually worse. He's a special pleader for all kinds of evil, genocidal, maniacs. And he’s not alone.” [Westwood One, The Mark Levin Show, 6/13/25]
  • Levin later wrote an op-ed in the New York Post attacking “isolationists” on the right, writing, “These reprobates have never been MAGA.” The op-ed is titled, “Isolationism is the same as appeasement – and it’s keeping Trump, Netanyahu from transforming the Middle East.” Levin also claimed, “The isolationists, such as ‘Chatsworth Qatarlson’ (Tucker Carlson), are turning on our president, as they’ve spent months demeaning Netanyahu. They prefer the likes of Russian President Vladimir Putin, who apparently is more MAGA than Trump. They wind up turning themselves into pretzels, actually characterizing the Iranian regime as oppressed and victimized.” [The New York Post, 6/16/25]
  • Fox contributor Ari Fleischer called Carlson “a carnival barker and a clown” whose “entire career was marked by lurching from one cause to the other with no ideological consistency.” [Twitter/X, 6/16/25]
  • Sean Hannity accused isolationists on the right of trying to “co-opt” the MAGA movement. Hannity claimed, “Donald Trump has never been an isolationist,” adding later, “People that can't seem to understand that kind of puzzle me. But it's not up for them to decide what Donald Trump's foreign policy or how to define the MAGA movement but it looks like they are trying to co-opt it.” [Fox News, Hannity, 6/17/25]
  • Daily Wire co-founder Ben Shapiro said that Carlson’s arguments on Iran are not “rooted in reality, rooted in rationality at this point.” He also said, “President Trump calls Tucker Carlson kooky Tucker, which again, I think is a very, very good descriptor of Tucker Carlson at this point. Let’s just say that he has pushed a bunch of theories that are specious in the extreme, unbased in evidence or reason.” [The Daily Wire, The Ben Shapiro Show, 6/17/25]
  • Fox News host Kayleigh McEnany compared Bannon and his allies who are advocating for “just sitting back and taking it easy” to “Biden’s foreign policy.” She added later, “America first is not sitting in a beach chair and using words. It’s taking decisive action when we can take out Fordo with one swoop of an airplane.” Fordo is a fuel enrichment plant in Iran. [Fox News, The Five, 6/17/25; CNN, 6/18/25]
  • Newsmax host Rob Schmitt told viewers not to “fall for Tucker and Bannon, as much as you probably love them.” Citing a statement from National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard in which she said “too many people in the media don’t care to actually read what I said” about Iran, Schmitt argued she was “probably talking about Tucker and Bannon.” [Newsmax, Rob Schmitt Tonight, 6/17/25]

Reprinted with permission from Media Matters.

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