Because this isn’t a normal presidency, Donald Trump has no problem using the full force of the state and law enforcement to go after those he considers to have wronged him. Here’s what you need to know
Donald Trump holds grudges.
And because this isn’t a normal presidency, he apparently has no problem using the full force of the state and law enforcement to go after those he considers to have wronged him.
Today’s FBI raid of John Bolton’s home is an unedifying, very public demonstration of the largely unchecked power Trump has been allowed to accumulate.
And what sparked this raid, six months into Trump’s second term?
Well, maybe it’s just take that long for someone to find a pretext for a dawn raid.
Or, and hear me out, maybe someone showed Trump a video of Bolton saying he looked “old” on CNN on Friday.
Could be anything.
Anyway, here’s that and a bunch of other distractions and insanity that has gone on in Trump World in the last 24 hours.
Everything is fine.
1. Ride Along 3: Gone in 55 minutes
Trump bravely went out to patrol the mean and dangerous streets of Washington DC with members of the national guard last night, as part of his crackdown on soaring crime in the capital.
[checks notes]
Oh, hang on, no.
It says here he was driven out to a park in a huge motorcade, flanked by dozens of armed guards and secret service, where he Trumpsplained grass and AI to some law enforcement officers, ate a slice of pizza and was back at the White House in around 55 minutes.
Oh and crime has been falling in Washington DC since long before he came along. But more of that later.
2. AI is going to be big, apparently
Here is the President of the United States talking to people about AI like he was a teenager explaining K-Pop fancams* to their grandma**: “A lot of people don’t know what it is. Just trust me. It’s very hot. It’s big.”
AI
Thanks Donald.
* Ask your kids.
** If K-Pop fancams were going to take grandma’s job in five years time.
3. The FBI raided the home of one of Trump’s greatest enemies
The FBI this morning searched the Maryland home of John Bolton – a fierce Trump critic who served as National Security Advisor in his first administration.
According to ABC News, the raid is part of an investigation into the handling of classified documents.
Bolton was not detained and has not been charged with any crimes.
FBI Director Kash Patel, who included Bolton in a list of “members of the Executive Branch Deep State” in a 2023 book, tweeted: “NO ONE is above the law… @FBI agents on mission.”
Attorney General Pam Bondi shared his post, adding: “America’s safety isn’t negotiable. Justice will be pursued. Always.”
Trump has been pursuing his perceived adversaries since the day he returned to office, both through a grand jury probe into the beginnings of the Trump/Russia investigation and by removing security clearances from his enemies – including Bolton.
Bolton angered Trump during his first administration over a book he wrote about his time in government, “The Room Where it Happened.”
Officials argued disclosed classified information, but the Justice Department in 2021 abandoned its lawsuit and dropped a separate grand jury investigation.
Bolton’s lawyers have said he moved forward with the book after a White House National Security Council official, with whom Bolton had worked for months, had said the manuscript no longer contained classified information.
Bolton had this to say about Trump, 79, following his summit with Putin on Friday…
4. Trump sent Bondi on telly to break their irony meter
Even as FBI agents root around John Bolton’s home, Trump is clearly still sore over agents turning over Mar A Lago back in 2022, during which classified documents were found.
The felony case against him ended up being dismissed due to complications around the appointment of the special counsel in the case.
To be clear, he was not cleared of anything.
Yet since he returned to office he’s wasted no time in painting this complicated legal issue as a win for him, and a vindication that he was allowed to keep classified documents after his term.
Anyway, here’s Bondi sending the irony meter out of control on (where else?) Fox News:
5. Hang on, is anything else going on today?
Why yes, as a matter of fact.
Hundreds of documents relating to the Justice Department’s investigation of Jeffrey Epstein are winging their way to the House Oversight committee today.
The first wave of files have been sent over under a court order issued earlier this month, according to NPR.
It’ll be some time before any of the documents see the light of day, but still it seems like a day where Trump might pull out the stops to make you look at a squirrel instead of the House Oversight Committee.
The kind of day he might call all the media to an Oval Office announcement for something that could have been an email.
Oh wait, hang on…
6. Trump lines up mystery announcement in Oval Office
Well there we go then. Trump called the media to an event in the Oval Office, where he will make an announcement of some kind.
We don’t know what it will be, but we imagine it won’t be anything to do with Jeffrey Epstein.
7. Trump threatens to completely take over Washington
Donald Trump has threatened the mayor of Washington DC with a full, police-state-style takeover of the city – if she doesn’t stop releasing “false and highly inaccurate crime figures.”
By which he means accurate crime figures, like they do regularly, but which make him look silly.
For example, Trump also said in the same Truth Social Post: “As bad as it sounds to say, there were no murders this week for the first time in memory.”
See, if anyone bothered to check, they’d find that’s hilariously untrue.
There have been 18 weeks this year where there were no homicides in Washington DC. The most recent was in May.
You can see the data here
But that doesn’t matter, because this isn’t about crime, it’s about intimidating people.
Trump posted: “Washington, D.C. is SAFE AGAIN! The crowds are coming back, the spirit is high, and our D.C. National Guard and Police are doing a fantastic job. They are out in force, and are NOT PLAYING GAMES!!! As bad as it sounds to say, there were no murders this week for the first time in memory. Mayor Muriel Bowser must immediately stop giving false and highly inaccurate crime figures, or bad things will happen, including a complete and total Federal takeover of the City! Washington D.C. will soon be great again!!!”