Trump is ‘re-envisioning America’ in a way that resembles North Korea: analysis
Many critics of President Donald Trump have been attacking his immigration policies — from mass deportations to foreign students being detained in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facilities because of their political statements — as a blatant assault on due process and the rule of law.
One of those critics is attorney Dean Obeidallah, host of "The Dean Obeidallah Show" on SiriusXM and an opinion columnist for MSNBC's website. During a Saturday, May 24 appearance on MSNBC, Obeidallah warned that Trump's draconian immigration policies are not only a threat to immigrants — they also have disturbing implications for lifelong U.S. citizens.
The New Jersey native told MSNBC's Ali Velshi, "This is not about immigration. Regardless of (what) you feel on that issue, Democrat or Republican, it's something bigger than that…. And that word is freedom…. Donald Trump is going after everything, freedom of speech, in ways we've never seen. I mean, a judge just ruled on Friday protecting the law firms, saying you're going after dissent, going after universities. I had professor Stephen Levinsky on my show, co-author of 'How Democracies Die,' saying: Every autocrat goes after universities because they are independent centers of dissent."
READ MORE: Nicolle Wallace reveals what may finally convince Trump to 'back away from the people'
Obeidallah continued, "He's going after media outlets. He's going after Democrats. They're arresting judges, the mayor of Newark —they dropped the charges, they had no case…. They opened up an investigation into Act Blue because it's a platform to help Democrats raise money. There's now an investigation of Media Matters."
The SiriusXM host described the Trump Administration's policies as a "re-envisioning of what America is about."
Obeidallah told Velshi, "This really is a push and pull between two competing visions of America. One: that we believe in is freedom, the United States of America, with due process — and their vision, which is an autocracy. And that really is what we're dealing with — or easier than that, a dictatorship. They want Trump as the dictator of the United States, and we all have to bow down to him."
Velshi noted that when "due process is taken away…. that's where your freedoms disappear" — to which Obeidallah responded, "Absolutely. It's the only thing that keeps us (from)…. being North Korea."
READ MORE: 'America First': Far-right MAGA Catholics declaring war against 'globalist' Pope Leo
GOP congressman pinpoints ‘staggering statistic’ that led him to tackle Medicaid
A Republican lawmaker on Saturday gave a "staggering statistic" about Medicaid from his home state.
Appearing on CNN over the weekend, Rep. Greg Murphy (R-NC) was asked about the Medicaid cuts in Donald Trump's big budget bill.
Specifically, the host asked if Murphy was worried those cuts would disproportionately hit his own constituents harder, since North Carolina has more than the average number of residents on Medicaid.
EXCLUSIVE: Trump accused of new grift that puts Qatari plane in shade
Murphy acknowledged that was the case, but seemed to imply that is more of a reason to slow the growth of the program.He noted that "52% of the births in the state of North Carolina are born to women on Medicaid."
"That's a staggering statistic," he added. "If you think and you follow that down the road, there has to be something done fundamentally to stop this from occurring and growing at such a rate."
Ex-Trump insider drops ‘behind the scenes’ news that’s ‘bigger than a lawsuit’
A former Donald Trump insider on Saturday flagged what he says is "bigger than a lawsuit" news about the president.
Author and former Trump associate Lev Parnas, who earlier in the day accused Trump of causing a "massacre" that took the lives of many people, published a post called, "Shhh… Behind Closed Doors, Trump Is Dismantling Free Speech."
"You’re not going to hear this on CNN. You’re not going to read this on the front page of The New York Times. And you definitely won’t find it on 60 Minutes. But let me break it down for you, because what’s happening right now is bigger than a lawsuit — this is an all-out war on the First Amendment," he wrote.
EXCLUSIVE: Trump accused of new grift that puts Qatari plane in shade
The ex-insider then flagged the news:
"Trump is suing Paramount for $20 billion, accusing 60 Minutes of deceptively editing an interview with Kamala Harris to damage his 2024 campaign. That’s right — the guy who bragged about grabbing women and incited an insurrection is now claiming he’s the victim of a 'hit piece.' And here’s where it gets even more dangerous: Paramount is reportedly considering settling," Parnas wrote. "But the Freedom of the Press Foundation just blew the lid off what could be a backdoor deal with massive consequences. They sent a scathing legal letter to Paramount chief Shari Redstone demanding document preservation and warning that any payout to Trump might constitute a 'bribe' — a quid pro quo to secure Trump’s blessing for a pending Hollywood merger."
He then added, "You read that right: A potential billion-dollar media merger could hinge on Trump’s personal approval."
Parnas also reports, "Behind the scenes, he is quietly but aggressively working to dismantle the free press. Any outlet, any journalist, any creator who speaks up or dares to challenge him becomes a target."
