When MAGA Says: "Indefensible." "It's a bribe." "Such a stain" on the administration.

It's time to Break It Down!

 

President Donald Trump has announced what liberally might be called his plan to accept a jet from Qatar for use as Air Force One. As word spread about the pending largess from a foreign government, particularly one with dubious ties to some of our most notorious adversaries, Trump has gone on the defensive, arguing it would be stupid not to accept the gift of the Qatari plane.

 

Surprisingly, at least a few of MAGA’s most dedicated and celebrated supporters beg to differ.

 

In an unusual departure from their typically predictable sycophancy, some MAGA media outlets and the voices behind them are activating their platforms to urge Trump to change his mind about this extraordinary and extravagant gift. Still others are asking Trump voters to reflect upon how they would react if a Democratic president endeavored to enact this very same plan. 

Daily Wire co-founder Ben Shapiro said Monday on his podcast, “I think if we switched the names to Hunter Biden and Joe Biden, we’d all be freaking out on the right.” 

Shapiro also linked the potential Qatari deal with other reports of “influence peddling,” like Trump’s cryptocurrency sweepstakes.

Shapiro added, “The administration’s policy is too important for this sort of activity.” He emphasized that he wants Trump to succeed. “President Trump promised to drain the swamp. This is not, in fact, draining the swamp.”

Naturally, some Trump-aligned commentators and social media stars are echoing the president’s talking points about the luxury jet, including his insistence that only “stupid people” would turn down such a gift. Other MAGA media outlets are deflecting the criticism by sowing doubt about the media coverage of the controversy. After all, the non-MAGA media is considered the enemy of the people, by Trump and MAGA.

However, a surprising number of Trumpniks sound almost as outraged as the Democratic lawmakers who say accepting the plane would be profoundly unethical and possibly illegal.

Many of these right-wing critics, like Laura Loomer, predicated their objections on Qatar’s relationship with the militant group Hamas.

Key members of Hamas leadership have long been based in Doha, the capital of Qatar. Notably, Qatar reportedly agreed to expel Hamas officials last November.

Laura Loomer criticized Trump’s potential jet deal on Sunday and Monday by writing a series of anti-Qatar posts on X, including:

“This is really going to be such a stain on the admin if this is true.”

 

“And I say that as someone who would take a bullet for Trump. I’m so disappointed.”

Fox News host Mark Levin shared her post and wrote, “Ditto.”

For now, most of the conservative criticism has been leveled in social media spaces, not on the TV shows Trump is known to enjoy. The jet controversy has been only lightly covered on Fox News, the country’s dominant right-wing TV channel. The main story on Fox’s website about the matter on Monday was titled, “Trump rips ABC reporter for asking about accepting luxury jet from Qatar,” making it sound as though ABC was the problem.

In one outlier instance, “Fox & Friends” host Brian Kilmeade asked White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt about the matter on Monday morning.

In responding, Leavitt framed it as a government-to-government transaction that would be done “in full compliance with the law.” In doing so, she sidestepped reports that Trump’s presidential library will take possession of the plane shortly before he leaves office, which of course, would ensure he can still use it.

The “Fox & Friends” host followed up by asking Leavitt, “Do you worry that if they give us something like this, they want something in return?” The press secretary said no because Trump “only works with the interest of the American public in mind.”

Kilmeade then dropped the subject, moving on to Mother’s Day.

Some other conservative media figures seem less inclined to move on.

Batya Ungar-Sargon, who has championed the MAGA movement on CNN and other channels, told Newsmax on Monday afternoon, “This is not a gift” from Qatar, it’s “a bribe.”

National Review contributing editor Andrew McCarthy wrote Monday that accepting the plane is “indefensible. The president and his flacks again demonstrate that they don’t grasp the concepts of constitutional duty and conflicts of interest.” He cited the “Trump family crypto venture” as another example.

Talk radio host Erick Erickson, who, like the National Review, has often criticized Trump from a conservative perspective, didn’t mince his condemnation of the potential jet gift.

On his Monday show, Erickson argued that Qatar is not a US ally (though the US government disagrees) and pointed out that Attorney General Pam Bondi, who reportedly signed off on the legality of the gift, was previously a paid lobbyist for Qatar.

“I think she’s opening Donald Trump up to legal trouble later,” Erickson said.

Later in the day, on X, Erickson observed that “even a lot of Trump supporters were not thrilled about the Qatar plane gift” when the initial reports surfaced on Sunday.

Erickson suggested bots are flooding X with pro-Trump propaganda, “a lot of small accounts I’ve never interacted with before are flooding my timeline insisting it is a great idea.”

“When MAGA Says: “Indefensible.” “It’s a bribe.” “Such a stain” on the administration!”

 

I’m done; holla back!

 

Read my blog anytime, by clicking the link: https://thesphinxofcharlotte.com. Find a new post each Wednesday.

 

https://www.cnn.com/2025/05/12/media/maga-media-shapiro-loomer-levin-trump-qatar-plane-gift

https://thesphinxofcharlotte.blogspot.com/2025/05/when-maga-says-indefensible-its-bribe.html

Never Say Never: Not Exactly Southern Hospitality

It's time to Break It Down!

 

In the annals of U.S.-Canadian relations, yesterday will go down as odd, but not at all surprising. At least not if you’ve been following the interactions between the two neighboring countries and their leaders. Historically, the two countries have been, not just geographically adjacent, but longtime allies, robust trading partners, and frequent cross-border visitors. Transnational tourism has been a flourishing industry.

 

All those traditional connections began to be challenged, strained, even frayed, as Donald Trump emerged as America’s 47th President. He derided then Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as Governor and referred to Canada as the 51^st state. At least on days when he placed them ahead of Greenland for extending/accepting that distinguished honor. He accused Canada of treating the United States poorly because of horrible (for the U.S.) trade deals, negotiated by incompetent Presidents.

 

Due to dynamic social and political changes in Canada, Trudeau stepped aside early. Meanwhile, in the United States, President Trump continued to spout disparaging rhetoric about subsuming Canda, Greenland, the Panama Canal, and denigrating a variety of political leaders at home and abroad, in places such as our neighbors to the north and the south, respectively, Canada, and Mexico, as well as one of our key allies, Ukraine. Over the course of time, an interesting development occurred. The Canadian Left, which had been flailing under Trudeau, experienced a total about-face, and sent Mark Carney, a member of the Liberal Party, to a landslide victory.

 

Over the past couple of months, Carney, speaking for most Canadians, apparently, has continued to insist, Canada is not for sale. While bringing an affable personality, and unlike Volodymyr Zelensky, wearing a tailored suit to the White House, he also brought the simple, but firm message, Canada, and its 5,525-mile border, longest in the world, is not for sale, or annexation…or open to American statehood. Full stop.

 

Trump made a Real Estate analogy and suggested the design of the two countries, when viewed together was how it was meant to be. Carney responded, “As you know from Real Estate, there are some places that are never for sale. We’re sitting in one now. You know, Buckingham Palace that you visited as well. Having met with the owners of Canada over the course of the campaign the last several months, it’s not for sale. It won’t be for sale ever.”

 

With that statement, Carney for all practical purposes, accomplished what he had come to Washington to do; stated in the clearest terms possible that his beloved O Canada is not amenable to becoming Canada, USA.

 

Trump being Trump, persisted, of course.

 

“Never say never,” Trump shrugged…as Carney mouthed the word “never” over and over, while sitting next to him, disregarding the impertinence of his neighbor from the south.

 

All things considered; it could have been worse. Trump didn’t call him Governor Carney, Vance didn’t accuse him of being disrespectful, and no one insulted his sartorial selection. “Never Say Never: Not Exactly Southern Hospitality!”

 

I’m done; holla back!

 

Read my blog anytime, by clicking the link: https://thesphinxofcharlotte.com. Find a new post each Wednesday.

 

https://www.cnn.com/2025/05/06/politics/trump-carney-canada-not-for-sale

https://thesphinxofcharlotte.blogspot.com/2025/05/never-say-never-not-exactly-southern.html

Trump's Second First One Hundred Days

It's time to Break It Down!

 

Yesterday marked the 100^th day of Donald Trump’s second term in office. It was a day, like any other day since the onset of the first term. One which was highlighted by the stark contrast in the two sides of the political divide. Trump surrogates and supporters were flung across the span of the airways heaping abundant praise on Donald Trump. Conversely, those who view Trump’s policy prescriptions as onerous were pointing out the pain, fear, and straight up chaos raining down upon the American landscape, as a result of his always brash, often profane assertions.

 

Three weeks ago, speaking before a National Republican Congressional Committee dinner, Trump insisted, “I know what the hell I’m doing,” and further boasted that, world leaders are “kissing my ass” as they try to negotiate trade deals. On Monday in an interview with The Atlantic, he professed, speaking of his second term, “I run the country and the world.”  

 

Trump-o-philes like that. For them, he is the man of the hour. GOP Sen. Mike Lee of Utah said, “President Trump understood the assignment from the first day in office. Many praised the pace at which he’s moving, and several included in their social media taglines, the phrase, “Promises made, promises kept.”

 

Indeed, he has done a lot. He’s signed 140 Executive Orders – the most by any President in his first 100 days. FDR, the previous record holder signed 99. He has, however fallen behind other presidents, in terms of passing legislation. He has only signed 5 bills into law. Even Sleepy Joe signed 11.

 

Despite his frenetic pace, a simple truism has been underscored; activity doesn’t always equal movement, especially positive movement. Polling, for whatever it’s worth, suggests there is a growing level of dissatisfaction with the Trump show. So, while his most enthusiastic supporters appear to like everything he does, no matter how gross, or how over dramatized, some of the support Trump attracted during the campaign is waning. 

 

In one Poll, 64% of Independents say Trump’s Tariff policies will hurt their finances. Meanwhile, his net favorable rating among nonwhite voters fell from -27 points to -39 points, as his net favorability among those under age 30 fell even more precipitously, from -12 points to -47 points. Also, back to Independents, his net favorability fell from -9 points to -30 points. In another poll, asking how have Trump’s policies affected U.S. Economic Conditions, 59% said they Worsened Conditions, 27% said they Improved Conditions, while 14% said they had No Effect. Another poll found Trump’s approval at 100 days was lower than any president in the last seven decades. One Poll from last week found 39% Approve of the President’s performance, while 59% Disapprove. Perhaps, the most interesting Poll was one from last week that found Trump’s Net Approval Rating on dealing with Ukraine was -13 points, and with Russia, -18 points. While the former Polls were conducted by an array of outlets Trump doesn’t like, the Ukraine, Russia polling was conducted by Fox News. 

 

Regardless of the source, Trump who crows about positive polls and fumes about the negative ones, characterized these polls with a predictable series of dismissiveness, using a bevy of terms, including, fake, corrupt, compromised, sad, negative, sick, investigations, criminals, and cheats. 

 

Trump detractors haven’t exactly been silent. They have noted, among other things, Trump:

 

Initiated a purge of diversity initiatives

 

Granted clemency to nearly 1,600 people who stormed the Capitol on January 6, 2021,

including those caught beating police officers on camera

 

Signed 140 executive orders (26 of them on his first day in office)

 

Fired independent regulators

 

Gutted entire agencies; laid off great swaths of the federal workforce; and invoked 18th-century wartime powers to use against a criminal gang from Venezuela

 

Declared, undeclared, revised, and redeclared tariffs like a DJ spinning knobs in the booth, upsetting the rhythms of global trade and inducing vertigo in the financial markets

 

Raged at the leader of Ukraine, a democratic ally repelling an imperialist invasion, for not being “thankful”

 

Praised the leader of the invading country, Russia, as “very smart,” reversing in an instant 80 years of U.S. foreign policy doctrine, and prompting the countries of NATO to prepare for their own defense, without the protective umbrella of American power, for the first time since 1945.

 

In reflecting upon the space we Americans collectively occupy, I am reminded of the immortal opening paragraph of Dickens’ A TaIe of Two Cities, in which he opined, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way.”

 

These three months and ten days have been a metaphorical roller coaster, to be sure. But as I caution anyone who will listen; you ain’t seen nothing yet. “Trump’s Second First One Hundred Days!”

 

I’m done; holla back!

 

Read my blog anytime, by clicking the link: https://thesphinxofcharlotte.com. Find a new post each Wednesday.

https://thesphinxofcharlotte.blogspot.com/2025/04/trumps-second-first-one-hundred-days.html

Pontiff Slips The Mortal Coil: A Timely Transition

It's time to Break It Down!

 

Jorge Mario Bergoglio died Monday. If that were the headline of almost any newspaper in the world, two dqys ago, very few people would have batted an eye. Instead, the headline worldwide was, Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio), born December 17,1936, died April 21, 2025. The Pope, as you know, is the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State, 

 

A papal conclave elected Bergoglio as the successor to Pope Benedict XVI, who resigned February 28, 2013. He became the 266^th Pope on March 13, 2013, and served for 12 years, until his death, Monday. From a long line of Popes, Pope Francis held several firsts. He was the first pope from the Society of Jesus (the Jesuit Order), the first Latin American, the first from the Americas, the first from the Southern Hemisphere, and the first born or raised outside of Europe since the 8^th century, when Pope Gregory III was from Syria. 

 

Bergoglio was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina. After recovering from a severe illness, while in his 20’s, he was inspired to join the Jesuits. He was ordained as a Catholic Priest in 1969. From 1973 to 1979, he was the Jesuit provincial superior in Argentina. He was elevated to archbishop of Buenos Aires in 1998 and became a cardinal in 2001.

 

Bergoglio chose Francis as his papal name, in honor of Saint Francis of Assisi. In the entirety of his public life Francis was noted for his humility, emphasis on God’s mercy, international visibility as pope, concern for the poor, and commitment to interreligious dialogue. 

 

He was known for having a less formal approach to the papacy than his predecessors. For example, he chose to reside in the Domus Sanctae Marthae (House of St. Martha) guest house, rather than in the papal apartments of the Apostolic Palace used by previous popes. Francis made women full members of dicasteries in the Roman Curia. He asserted that the Catholic Church should be more sympathetic toward LGBTQ people and stated that although blessings of same-sex unions are not permitted, the LGBTQ individuals can be blessed, if blessings are not given in a liturgical context. Francis was a critic of trickle-down economics, consumerism, and overdevelopment. He made climate change action a major focus of his papacy, he viewed the death penalty as inadmissible in all cases and committed the Catholic Church to its worldwide abolition.

 

Pope Francis criticized right-wing populism, supported decriminalization of homosexuality, condemned Israel’s military action in Gaza, opposed anti-immigration politics, including those of Donald Trump. After making his last public appearance on Easter Sunday, he died on Easter Monday, following a stroke, and irreversible cardiocirculatory collapse. “Pontiff Slips The Mortal Coil: A Timely Transition!”

 

I’m done; holla back!

 

Read my blog anytime, by clicking the link: https://thesphinxofcharlotte.com. Find a new post each Wednesday.

https://thesphinxofcharlotte.blogspot.com/2025/04/pontiff-slips-mortal-coil-timely.html

The Journey to American Dystopia

It's time to Break It Down!

 

There are numerous voices positing that America is set upon a course running full speed, and headlong into dystopia. A president who expressed aspirations of being a dictator, if only for a day, seems to have had a change of heart, as one day, became day one…and every day that followed.

 

The President, who alleged the previous administration used “law fare” to target him, has set out to take retribution on those who disagreed with him, which for all practical purposes aligns with his definition of targeting. He has interpreted the powers of the Executive Office to be absolute, and the members of his Party, with few exceptions have demonstrated almost Borg-like capitulation to that notion. Moreover, even the highest Court in the land has, best-case scenario, extended him a lengthy runway to execute that strategy, and worst-case scenario, shown that it has no appetite whatsoever, to reel him in.

 

As Trump winds his way through the first 100 days of his second term, he has been busy establishing himself as Culture Warrior-in-Chief. The irony here is, Republicans have long cast Democrats, liberals, and the left, writ large3 as the originators of culture war. That is projection at its finest, something the GOP has raised to an artform.

 

Trumpers have elevated two principal euphemisms in what they characterize as the War on Woke. They lead with DEI, which if you believe them, is the source of everything bad in America…except for those detestable immigrants, of course. But I’ll save discussion of that “evil” for another day. DEI is the scourge that they swear imperils Western Civilization.

 

So, there is really one, and only one thing you need to know about this irrefutable (according to them) truth. DEI, and Western Civilization are verbal evasions; place holders, if you will. In lowest common denominator terms, DEI equates to Black; Western Civilization translates to white. In essence, for them, it’s the classic struggle between good, the latter, and evil, the former. In other words, if we don’t shut down DEI, which they flatly argue is the infusion and elevation of all things (people really) Black, which they characterize as unworthy, unqualified, and unwanted, the entirety of Western Civilization, the white world broadly, but white America, especially, will succumb to the grossly incapable and unfit.

 

So, as the biggest bully, with the loudest megaphone, Trump, bolstered by his band of merry warriors is wreaking havoc on the financial markets, destroying social contracts, attacking the judicial system, disemboweling the federal government, blackmailing law firms, defunding educational and research institutions, and, installing his personal lackeys and sycophants, ostensibly, to usher in the New Trump Order. “The Journey to American Dystopia!”

 

I’m done; holla back!

 

Read my blog anytime, by clicking the link: https://thesphinxofcharlotte.com. Find a new post each Wednesday.

https://thesphinxofcharlotte.blogspot.com/2025/04/the-journey-to-american-dystopia.html

Here's My Number; Use It...Or Else

It's time to Break It Down!

I decided to make this a succinct post about current events. Here it is.

Yesterday evening, Trump told a group of Republicans, hours before the tariffs were set to take effect, “These countries are calling us up. Kissing my ass. They are dying to make a deal.”

This not so humble brag epitomizes the brinksmanship the President of the United States is foisting upon the American public, our allies and trading partners, our competitors, and all other nations who would do business with the United States. Moreover, he framed it as if that were an offer no one could refuse. Basically, “Here’s My Number; Use It...Or Else!”

I’m done; holla back!

 

Read my blog anytime by clicking the link: http://thesphinxofcharlotte.com. Find a new post each Wednesday.

 

https://www.cnn.com/2025/04/08/politics/trump-tariff-negotiations-foreign-leaders/index.html

https://thesphinxofcharlotte.blogspot.com/2025/04/heres-my-number-use-itor-else.html

Twenty-five Hours and Four Minutes

It's time to Break It Down!

On Thursday, August 29, 1957, at 9:12 p.m., SC Senator Strom Thurmond concluded a filibuster that he had begun at 8: 54 p.m., the previous day. Thurmond set a then record, in an effort to waylay the Civil Rights Act of 1957. He held the floor for twenty-four hours and eighteen minutes. Since that point, he has held the record for the longest single-person filibuster in United States Senate history. In fact, it was the longest single-person Senate speech…until yesterday.

On Monday evening, NJ Senator Cory Booker began speaking at 7:00 p.m. He did not relinquish the floor until 8:04 p.m. last night, setting a new record, twenty-five hours and four minutes. Technically, Booker’s oration was not a filibuster, since it was not designed to impede any specific piece of legislation, or nomination, but rather to issue a call to arms advising that the country is in crisis. He spoke out against an array of issues, including castigating Elon Musk’s efforts to overhaul the federal government, and Trump’s warning of potential cuts to key healthcare programs for millions of Americans.

Senator Booker said, “I rise with the intention of disrupting the normal business of the United States Senate for as long as I am physically able. I rise tonight because I believe sincerely that our country is in crisis.”

He added, “In just 71 days, the president of the United States has inflicted so much harm on Americans’ safety; financial stability; the core foundations of our democracy. These are not normal times in America. And they should not be treated as such in the United States Senate.”

Booker, a member of the Senate Democratic leadership team executed his speech at a time when voters have increasingly called for stouter opposition to Trump and his policies. All this while Trump and the GOP control the Executive Branch, the House, the Senate, and the Supreme Court is comprised of a two-thirds conservative majority.

Fundamentally excluded from the levers of power, and viewing the circumstances of their limited options, Senator’ Booker’s speech resonated as one of the most high-profile forms of protest by a Democratic Solon during Trump’s second term.

While no specific piece of legislation was defeated, the speech delayed most of Tuesday’s Senate business. In that regard, it principally amounted to a symbolic gesture. As he held the floor, Booker cited the spirit of the late Congressman John Lewis as his motivation. Lewis was a pivotal civil rights advocate. Thurmond, whose record Booker broke, set the record, attempting to defeat a civil rights bill, as he spoke against the 1957 Civil Rights Act. Senator Booker referenced a promise he had given Representative Lewis, vowing to make him proud. At 7:19 p.m., Senator Chuck Schumer interrupted Booker to advise him that he had broken the record.

Booker said, of Lewis, “He wouldn’t treat this moral moment like it was normal.” He then asked, “Where does the Constitution live? On paper or in our hearts?” 

TX Senator Ted Cruz, who held the floor for his own marathon speech in a 2013 filibuster against the Affordable Care Act, offered Booker this advice: “Wear comfortable shoes and don’t drink water.”

Though not a filibuster, the speech did keep the Senate floor open – and floor staff and US Capitol Police detailed to the chamber working – for as long as he continued speaking. Lawmakers had concluded voting on Monday before Booker began speaking. Democrats in the upper chamber widely praised Booker’s effort. CT Senator Chris Murphy appeared to smooth out the process by discussing the effort with Senators as they arrived on the floor and arranging speakers to ask Booker questions. Murphy spent the entire night in the Chamber. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer praised Booker for his strength and conviction.

At the conclusion of Booker's time at the podium, House Democrats, standing in the back of the chamber, and Senate Democrats rose in a standing ovation. “Twenty-five Hours and Four Minutes!”

I’m done; holla back!

 

Read my blog anytime by clicking the link: http://thesphinxofcharlotte.com. Find a new post each Wednesday.

 

https://www.cnn.com/2025/03/31/politics/booker-senate-floor-speech-trump-protest/index.html

https://thesphinxofcharlotte.blogspot.com/2025/04/twenty-five-hours-and-four-minutes.html

A "Signal" No One Saw Coming

It's time to Break It Down!

Nothing to see here. There was no classified information. Not that I recall. It’s Pete’s fault. That last one wasn’t a quote, but it might as well have been. I’ll explain later.

Yesterday, a group of Trump’s finest faced members of the Senate Intelligence Committee for question about a group chat on the Application “Signal.” The app is encrypted but not secure in the sense that government communications that include classified information are required or at least expected to be.

That brings us to a key point. CIA Director John Ratcliffe and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard repeatedly denied that the chat contained classified information.

“There were no classified or intelligence equities that were included in that chat group at any time,” Gabbard testified under oath. Ratcliffe was similarly adamant in his denials at various points during Tuesday’s hearing.

That’s how they started. But…later, when pressed on whether the sensitive operational details for the forthcoming strikes against Iran-backed militants that Hegseth reportedly sent to the thread were classified, both top intelligence officials deferred to the defense secretary.

“With respect to the assertions and the allegations that there was strike packages or targeting information or things that relate to DOD, as I pointed out, the Secretary of Defense is the original classification authority for determining whether something is classified or not, and as I’ve understood from media reports, the Secretary of Defense has said the information was not classified,” Ratcliffe told lawmakers. Translation, “It’s Pete’s fault.

When asked whether such information should be classified, Gabbard told the committee, “I defer to the Secretary of Defense and the National Security Council on that question.” Interesting parsing.

Not surprisingly, Hegseth’s texts, which reportedly included “operational details of forthcoming strikes on Yemen, including information about targets, weapons the U.S. would be deploying, and attack sequencing,” have drawn the most attention.

Multiple current and former defense officials have said that any discussion of the timing, targets or weapons systems to be used in an attack is always classified — because of the potential risk to US service members lives if those plans are revealed prematurely. I’m sensing a clear element in disconnect in the various perspectives on this story.

Ratcliffe and Gabbard both said. “I can again confirm that with respect to the communications that were related as to me, there was no classified information,” Ratcliffe added. In other words, to quote Shaggy, “It wasn’t me!” “A “Signal” No One Saw Coming!”

I’m done; holla back!

 

Read my blog anytime by clicking the link: http://thesphinxofcharlotte.com. Find a new post each Wednesday.

By The Numbers: Name That President

It's time to Break It Down!

"May you live in interesting times," is an English expression, often mistakenly attributed to the Chinese. The use of the expression is meant to be Ironic, suggesting that "interesting" times are often times of trouble. I think it's fair to say, we are there.

Today's post is intended to depict a few of the ways our times are "interesting," by reviewing several metrics associated with a certain leader of the free world. Let's get right into it. 

64 Times Mentioned in Epstein Report.

 

97 Times Pleaded the Fifth.

 

34 Felony Convictions.

 

91 Criminal Charges.

 

26 Sexual Assault Allegations.

 

6 Bankruptcies.

 

5 Draft Deferments.

 

4 Indictments.

 

2 Impeachments.

 

2 Convicted Companies.

 

1 Fake University Shut Down.

 

1 Fake Charity Shut Down.

 

$25 Million Fraud Settlement.

 

$5 Million Sexual Abuse Verdict.

 

$2 Million Fake Charity Abuse Judgment.

 

$93 Million Sexual Abuse Judgements.

 

$400+ Million Fraud Judgment.

 

First President in history to serve a full term increase the deficit every year he was in office.

 

First President in history to maintain a debt to GDP ratio over 100% for his entire term.

 

Highest annual budget deficit.

 

Most added to the national debt in a single term.

 

Most new unemployment claims.

 

Largest single day point drop in the history of the Dow.

 

First major party candidate in half a century to lose the popular vote twice.

 

Longest government shutdown in history (and he did that while his own party controlled both chambers of Congress).

 

First President in the history of approval ratings to maintain a net negative approval rating for his entire term.

 

First President to be impeached twice.

 

First President to have bipartisan support for his conviction after impeachment (which happened both times).

 

Most indictments, guilty pleas, and criminal convictions of members of an administration.

 

First president to have a mug shot.

 

 

Please go ahead and lookup every claim here…that is, if you can identify the subject. “By The Numbers: Name That President!”

 

I’m done; holla back!

 

Read my blog anytime by clicking the link: http://thesphinxofcharlotte.com. Find a new post each Wednesday.

Five Years Later: COVID-19

It's time to Break It Down!

Yesterday was March 11, 2025. Five years ago, on March 11, 2020, after more than 118,000 cases in 114 countries and 4,291 deaths, the WHO declared COVID-19 a pandemic.

The U.S. on Wednesday, May 4, 2022, surpassed 1 million Covid-19 deaths, according to data compiled by NBC News — a once unthinkable scale of loss even for the country with the world's highest recorded toll from the virus.

The number — equivalent to the population of San Jose, California, the 10th largest city in the U.S. — was reached at stunning speed: 27 months after the country confirmed its first case of the virus.

As the epicenter of the pandemic, 1,826 days later, COVID-19 remains a source of disparate opinion, and rancorous division. Established as a pandemic in the final year of the first Trump administration, the Coronavirus became a bright yellow line that divided Americans between pro and anti-Trump factions. Donald Trump at one point called the virus a Democratic hoax, subsequently was hospitalized due to contracting it, later proposed several not scientifically supported remedies, and hosted at least one function deemed to be a superspreader event. 

Trump supporters frequently dismissed the severity of the virus and disparaged almost all proposed strategies for keeping people safe, whether wearing masks, social distancing, handwashing, and especially closing businesses and institutions. Doctors, scientists, and people supporting such safety measures were frequently at odds with Trump and his devotees.

Five years later, COVID-19 is still with us. We learned early on that like the flu, it will probably always be around. 

The COVID-19 Vaccine became widely available in 2021. It was a two-shot regimen, with two primary deliverers, Moderna, and Pfizer. In an interview with former Fox News host Bill O’Reilly, Trump admitted he had gotten a Covid vaccination.

Over 81% of the population has had at least one covid vaccination, 70% of the population is considered fully vaccinated, 97% of the population over age 16 has at least one shot, and 82% over 16 years of age are fully covered. As a result of the high number of vaccinated Americans, the frequency of the disease has been greatly diminished. Test Positivity for the week ending March 1^st, was 3.9%. “Five Years Later: Covid 19!”

 

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