@RachelC_Y @thorsheim just demanding that would likely be a triple felony in #Germany:

• #Blackmail
• #Extortion
• #Discrimination

I just hope @Bundesregierung , @AuswaertigesAmt and @antidiskriminierung remind the #US #Ambassador they are mere #Guests and that #Diplomats are expected to comply with local laws and customs or they get expelled!

"I’ve said before that Trump does not think of policy the way most of us do, operating instead like a low-level mob boss running a protection racket. Unfortunately, a bunch of rubes decided to give him another bite at the apple, and now the entire global economy has to pay up."

~ Marlon Weems

#Trump #tariffs #mob #MobBoss #sanctions #extortion #bullying #stupidity #incompetence
/6

https://thejourneyman.substack.com/p/here-comes-the-pain

"The only legible purpose of the tariffs is for Trump to arrogate more power to himself: so that nations and corporate leaders and labor unions come begging him for relief, and so that he can shake them down."

~ Brian Beutler

#Trump #tariffs #mob #MobBoss #sanctions #extortion #bullying #stupidity #incompetence #Putin #PutinsPoodle
/5

https://www.offmessage.net/p/fighting-means-fighting

“Vladimir Putin bet his life that American voters would be weak and decadent enough to return Donald Trump to the presidency. He was right. …

We have a deeply stupid government—from our economically illiterate president to our craven and foolish secretary of state," (continued in /4)

~ Jonathan V. Last

#Trump #tariffs #mob #MobBoss #sanctions #extortion #bullying #stupidity #incompetence #Putin #PutinsPoodle
/3

https://www.thebulwark.com/p/the-american-age-is-over

"Trump’s son Eric appeared to confirm that the tariffs are a shakedown when he posted: 'I wouldn’t want to be the last country that tries to negotiate a trade deal with [Trump]. The first to negotiate will win—the last will absolutely lose. I have seen this movie my entire life.…'”

~ Heather Cox Richardson

#Trump #tariffs #mob #MobBoss #sanctions #extortion #bullying
/2

https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/april-3-2025

They've already been extorted once, and now they being extorted again. I'm sure he'll stop then though, yep...../s

In a memo sent to top #PublicEducation ofcls across the country, the #Education Dept said that #funding for schools w/high percentages of #LowIncome #students, known as #TitleI funding, was at risk pending compliance w/the #Trump admin’s directive.

The memo included a *certification* letter that state & local #school ofcls must sign & return within 10 days, even as the admin has struggled to define which programs would violate its *interpretation* of #CivilRights laws.

@arstechnica Plain old-fashioned extortion.
#musk #twitter #extortion

The termination emails were riddled w/mistakes — w/employees’ names, the month of April & even the institute’s title misspelled in places — a telling sign of the rushed & haphazard nature of the operation….

By Saturday morning, the terminated #USIP headquarters staff were already discussing filing a class-action lawsuit & were debating whether to sign their termination documents.

In the latest action, employees were instructed to sign a 4-pg letter ordering them to return all #USIP property while agreeing to forgo all future claims against the institute. It ordered them not to disclose any terms of the agreement in exchange for 1 month of #HealthInsurance & a monthly stipend paid for an unspecified period. Those who refuse to sign, the letter said, will lose all #benefits as of Monday.

2 days before Columbia announced its decision, the #Trump admin said it would withhold about $175M in funding to the University of #Pennsylvania because the school allowed a #transgender woman to be a member of its women’s swim team in 2022.

#Columbia’s acquiescence drew significant condemnation on the campus & beyond. Other higher #education leaders watched nervously, fearing that the university’s decision, w/o mounting a court challenge that many felt stood a reasonable chance of success, would provoke the #Trump admin to target other #universities.

The #Trump admin’s move this month to cut off hundreds of millions of dollars in support to #Columbia — which draws roughly a fifth of its operating revenues from Washington — represented a dire #threat to the university. The govt told Columbia it would consider restarting those grants & contracts only if the university agreed to a list of demands.

Last week, it fell to Dr. Armstrong to announce that Columbia had done so.

#ColumbiaUniversity changed its president on Friday evening, one week after the university bowed to a series of demands from the #Trump admin, which had moved to withhold $400M in essential federal funding.

The abrupt exit of Columbia’s interim president, Katrina Armstrong, made way for the university’s 3rd leader since Aug: Claire Shipman, the co-chair of the university’s board of trustees.

Federal Judge Bates, George W. Bush appointee, has also issued a #TRO for #Trump's #ExecutiveOrder targeting major #LawFirm #JennerBlock, finding it likely violates the First, Fifth & Sixth Amendments.

Judge Bates calls Trump's #EO "disturbing" & "troubling," especially the attack on pro bono practice.

Judge Richard Leon, George W. Bush appointee, says he is “inclined to grant” a temporary restraining order #TRO against the #Trump admin, barring it from punishing the #LawFirm #WilmerHale. The judge did not rule from the bench during the hearing, but said he would issue a written decision in a matter of hours.