Trump gets ratioed
Plus: Dolly Parton says she doesn’t believe in idol worship
For the first time ever, President Donald Trump has been ratioed on his own social network, and it was for a post that literally started with the words “What’s going on with my ‘boys’ and, in some cases, ‘gals?’”
Welcome to this week’s issue of Whig. Read to see which band has a former member running for office in California. — Hunter Schwarz
Trump gets ratioed:
Trump lashed out a reporter last Tuesday who asked about Jeffrey Epstein after the FBI and Department of Justice said the late convicted sex offender didn’t have a client list. “Are people still talking about this guy, this creep? That is unbelievable,” Trump said.
The Trump administration is now facing what Politico calls “a fast-metastasizing MAGA rebellion” over its handling of the Epstein case. Trump’s post on his social network Truth Social Saturday defending Attorney General Pam Bondi and calling Epstein “a guy who never dies” was “ratioed,” meaning it received more negative comments than likes.
“One year ago our Country was DEAD, now it’s the ‘HOTTEST’ Country anywhere in the World. Let’s keep it that way, and not waste Time and Energy on Jeffrey Epstein, somebody that nobody cares about. Thank you for your attention to this matter!” Trump wrote. The post is the first time he’s been ratioed on his own site, according to Newsweek.
This bracelet FLOTUS wore was to honor the victims of the Texas floods:
First Lady Melania Trump toured flood damage in Kerrville, Texas, on Friday with her husband and wore a charm bracelet a family there gave her.
“We just met with the wonderful families. We prayed with them. We hugged. We held hands," Trump said. "They shared their stories, and I met beautiful young ladies who gave me this special bracelet from the camp in honor of all the little girls who lost their lives. We are here to honor them and also to give support and help.”
“I will be back I promised them,” FLOTUS added. “I pray for them and am giving them my strength and love.” The death count of the flooding has now reached more than 130 people.
Lawmakers are still learning about the bill they just passed:
If it wasn’t already clear lawmakers didn’t read all of Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill before they passed it, two Republican members of the Senate Finance Committee admitted they just now found out the bill has a clause to limit tax deductions for gambling losses.
“If you’re asking me how it got in there, no, I don’t know,” Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) told HuffPost. “I don’t know anything about it. I’m not sure what it does,” Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) said.
Trump says the federal government could just take over New York and D.C.:
So much for federalism and limited government. Trump suggested last week that the federal government could take over the nation’s capitols of government and finance/culture.
“If a communist gets elected to run New York, it can never be the same. But we have tremendous power at the White House to run places when we have to,” Trump said during a cabinet meeting last Tuesday referencing New York Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani, who won the Democratic nomination for mayor. “We could run D.C. We're looking at D.C. We don't want crime in D.C. We want the city to run well.”
Trump booed at FIFA:
Trump was booed by some attendees at the FIFA Club World Cup at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey on Sunday where he stood on stage when the trophy was presented to Chelsea, the winning team, for some reason.
Someone’s impersonating Marco Rubio using A.I.:
Sooo, this is freaky. Foreign ministers, a U.S. governor, and a member of Congress were contacted by someone pretending to be Secretary of State Marco Rubio using A.I.-generated voice and text messages, according a State Department cable obtained by The Washington Post. Officials don’t know who’s behind it.
Ivanka spotted at Sun Valley:
First daughter Ivanka Trump and husband Jared Kushner were at the invitation-only Allen & Company’s annual Sun Valley Conference nicknamed “summer camp for billionaires” last week in Sun Valley, Idaho.
Among the conference’s other attendees were Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos, Disney CEO Bob Iger, Warner Bros. Discovery’s David Zaslav, Comcast CEO Brian Roberts, Apple CEO Tim Cook, CBS News host Gayle King, Google CEO Sundar Pichai, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy, and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman.
More Americans think immigration is a good thing than ever before:
Trump’s deportations could be having an unintended political effect. A Gallup poll released Friday found 79% of Americans believe on the whole, immigration is a good thing for this country, a record since Gallup began polling on the question in 2001. That includes 91% of Democrats, 80% of independents, and 64% of Republicans. Just 17% believe immigration is a bad thing.
Jasmine Crockett is already eyeing retirement:
Two-term Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas) isn’t planning on staying in Congress forever. In an interview with Hasan Minhaj for his podcast, Crockett said, “All I can tell you is that I won’t be in politics 30 years from now.”
Saying she wasn’t going to comment on her colleagues’ age beyond saying “We’ve lost three members in the House this year. Three have died in Congress. So yes, I understand,” Crockett said she’s already making plans to retire. It’s a rare thing to hear from a lawmaker, to say the least.
“I actually have my expiration date in mind for the House,” she said. “I’ve already been eyeing people to replace me.”
Hot, woke Superman has the No. 1 movie in America:
Right-wing media spent the lead up to James Gunn’s “Superman” accusing the film of going woke, but the reboot of the Superman franchise starring David Cornswet did not go broke, bringing in $122 million at the domestic box office and $217 globally.
It’s all finally clocking to me now:
Justin Bieber on Friday surprise released Swag, his first new album in four years, and he had the biggest global streaming day of his career.
Bieber’s former manager Scooter Braun called the album “without a doubt, the most authentically Justin Bieber album to date.” “It’s beautiful, raw, and truly him. And that matters,” Braun wrote on Instagram Stories.
The Grandes did a song together:
“You know, I think sometimes people think rock bottom is a bad thing, and in my world, I see it as a blessing,” Joan Grande says in the outro of the “Hotel Rock Bottom” remix by her son Frankie Grande featuring daughter Ariana. As always, Ari’s voice is butter.
Whoever stole unreleased Beyoncé music will pay for their crimes:
Law enforcement say unreleased Beyoncé music, set lists, and footage plans were stolen last Tuesday from the singer’s choreographer's rental car in Atlanta while the Cowboy Carter Tour is in town. Officers have fingerprints, according to Fox 5 Atlanta.
Dolly Parton says she doesn’t believe in idol worship:
“I don’t believe in idol worship,” Dolly Parton told a literal Kardashian. During an appearance on Khloé Kardashian’s “Wonder Land” podcast, Parton said, “I stay very humble and ask God to keep me humble.” She said she hopes if people “see something good in me, let me find my way to give that back.”
“I’m still grounded even with these high heels, I’m still grounded in my faith and in my belief,” Parton said. “But yeah, you need to stand for something good if you’re lucky enough to get in a position where you touch people and you reach people.”
Olivia Rodrigo calls on fans to donate to UNICEF to support people in Palestine:
“There are no words to describe the heartbreak I feel witnessing the devastation that is being inflicted upon innocent people in Palestine,” Olivia Rodrigo wrote in an Instagram Story with a link to donate to UNICEF. “Mothers, fathers, and children in Gaza are starving, dehydrated, and being denied access to basic medical care and humanitarian aid. There is no child in Israel, Palestine, or anywhere in the world who deserves to suffer through what we’re seeing these children have to endure.”
The post comes after Rodrigo’s Guts Tour guitarist Daisy Spencer told “The Stage Left Podcast” on a recent episode that the singer and tour manager Marty Hom provided free therapy for everyone on the tour’s crew. “I have never had anything like that,” Spencer said, calling Rodrigo “the dreamiest boss of all time.”
Queer Eye is coming to an end:
Netflix announced the 10th season of Queer Eye will be its last. Production started last Wednesday in Washington, D.C., for the next season. The show is the streaming platform’s longest-running unscripted series. “As we begin our farewell season here in D.C I simply want to say thank you!” Tan France wrote on social media. Antoni wore flip flops and a tie during their shoot on the National Mall.
Scarlett Johansson is the highest-grossing box office star:
A list by The Numbers found Scarlett Johansson is the top-grossing star according to total global ticket sales. Of the top 20 actors, 14 have a recurring role in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, including Johansson, who plays Black Widow.
OneRepublic’s former bassist is running for lieutenant governor in California:
Tim Myers, who was the founding bassist of OneRepublic and a member of the band from 2002 to 2007, announced he’s running for California lieutenant governor as a Democrat. In his announcement video, Myers referenced Trump directly.
“You know what the real disgrace is? A president who insults 40 million Americans and is doing everything he can to harm a state with the fourth-largest economy in the world,” Myers says in the video. “Meanwhile, our own state leaders have done almost nothing to fight back.”
California is one of eight states that elects its governor and lieutenant governor separately instead of together as a ticket, according to Ballotpedia.
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