The Dictatorship
Social Security is the latest front in Trump and Musk’s attack on trust in government
Standing next to President Donald Trump in the Oval OfficeElon Musk conjured an image of a Social Security system riddled with fraud that was as vivid as it was make-believe. For example, Musk said that large numbers of 150-year-olds are receiving Social Security benefits. But, as Wired notedwhen recipients’ birth dates are default or incomplete, the programming language that Social Security’s benefits system was written in defaults to 1875. What Musk came across was a programming quirk, not fraud.
But since Musk is now one of the key nodes of the right’s ever-mightier misinformation machine, his falsehood was quickly spread to untold millions as more (fake) evidence that the federal government is a mess. And it gets worse: The Social Security Administration’s top official, Michelle King, a civil servant with decades of experience, resigned in protest after a confrontation in which she refused to give the so-called Department of Government Efficiency access to the incredibly sensitive information about every American stored in Social Security’s databases.
Trump has always both exploited and encouraged distrust in government.
It’s not clear whether DOGE now has that access, or what they would do with it. And if that makes you deeply uneasy, know that that anxiety is perfectly fine with the Trump administration.
In the 1960s, as much as three-quarters of the public told pollsters they trusted the government to do what is right either most of the time or always; today that number sits in the low 20s. The reasons for the decline are complex, but Trump has always both exploited and encouraged distrust in government; the fact that it is so widespread is a key reason he is president right now.
Yet if electing Trump is a symptom of distrust toward the government, the early days of his administration indicate he will give Americans even more reason to believe that the government can’t solve problems, doesn’t keep its promises, and never deserves the benefit of the doubt.
Among the victims of this alternately haphazard and malevolent approach is a group that voted overwhelmingly for Trump. Farmers who signed contracts with the government to begin conservation and renewable energy projects on their land, that obligated the government to reimburse them for the cost of those projects, have seen the funds frozen. That leaves them holding the bag for loans they took out and money they invested on the assumption that the government would keep its end of the agreement. One farmer told The New York Times he would “never do anything with any government agency ever again.”
This story is playing out with various government programs across the country. Small nonprofits that receive federal funds to provide services like Head Start or rides for the elderly to dialysis treatment have had to lay off workers or shut down entirely because of the funding freeze. The Solar For All program had signed contracts worth $7 billion with states, localities and nonprofits to set up community solar projects; the Trump administration froze the funds and left many projects in limbo. Last week, the administration essentially shut down the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, leaving consumers more vulnerable to financial scams. And the White House plans to lay off thousands of IRS workers, which will likely reverse the progress the agency had recently made in improving customer service.
The next Democratic president and Congress will have an enormous challenge.
These are just a few of the actions the administration has taken, but the result will be the same: a government that gives people poorer service, can’t be trusted to keep its word, and isn’t there when we need it. In the future, how many people will want to enter into contracts with the government like the ones those farmers did? How many talented and idealistic young people will choose to go into public service after watching thousands of civil servants summarily fired?
This is a tragic irony of the destruction currently in progress: A genuine, good-faith effort to improve government efficiency could save money, help Americans by improving the delivery of services and boost people’s faith in government. It would be an extremely worthwhile undertaking; there is plenty of room for improvement in how the federal government operates. This administration, however, is not operating in good faith, and it seems determined to give people more reasons to believe that government can’t do anything right.
Many conservatives dislike government for ideological reasons; whether it does its job well or poorly, they’ll still say they don’t trust it. But there are millions of Americans who judge government based on what they’ve heard and what they’ve experienced. Long after Trump and Musk are done slashing and burning their way through Washington, their suspicions will remain.
That means the next Democratic president and Congress will have an enormous challenge when they try to make the case that government can be an ally rather than an impediment. Not only will they face the practical task of rebuilding what Trump and Musk have destroyed, they’ll have to rebuild trust as well — and that could be even harder.
The Dictatorship
Lawsuit seeks to stop the UFC fight on the White House South Lawn for Trump’s birthday
NEW YORK (AP) — A federal lawsuit seeks to halt the upcoming UFC fight card on the White House South Lawn in a mixed martial arts show timed for President Donald Trump’s 80th birthday and part of the celebration of the nation’s 250th anniversary.
The filing Saturday by the Public Integrity Project on behalf of two Virginia residents contends the Trump administration’s authorization of the June 14 event was unlawful. The lawsuit says such approval violated National Park Service regulations prohibiting sporting events on federal parklands, Congress did not consent to the towering arch overlooking the event space and no environmental review was conducted before the construction.
“This is fundamentally a private, commercial, corrupt use of our most sacred national monuments for private gain,” said Brendan Ballou, a lawyer for the plaintiffs. “And that is what is motivating this lawsuit.”
The White House said in a statement that the legal challenge was “an obstructionist, baseless, and dilatory” attempt to prevent Trump from hosting the fight and that the event was “no different than the various other White House-hosted events on the South Lawn and properly permitted events on the Ellipse and National Mall throughout the year.”
UFC did not immediately respond to a request for comment Sunday.
Crews are erecting an octagon-shaped cage on the South Lawn. Trump has said the finished UFC project will feature “a 5,000-seat arena right outside the front door of the White House.” Additional large screens broadcasting the fights will be set up in a park at the nearby Ellipse, and the UFC has said it plans to issue as many as 85,000 free tickets to accommodate spectators at both locations.
The octagon and surrounding structures are the latest project in the White House building boom Trump is leading.
In an explosive interview with NBC aired Sunday, President Donald Trump cut the grilling short and left the set after peppering “Meet the Press” moderator Kristen Welker with insults.
“You’re either crooked or you’re stupid,” Trump told Welker, who kept a cool demeanor despite the president’s barrage of disparaging slurs.
Moments before he attacked her, Trump — without providing any evidence — said he believes elections in the U.S. are rigged. Then he lambasted television news networks, singling out NBC, CBS and ABC.
“They’re crooked just like you’re crooked, your press is crooked. And ‘Meet the Press’ is crooked,” Trump said.
“To be fair, I’m not crooked,” Welker shot back. “But let’s continue.”
“Let’s call it quits because I’ve had enough,” the president told Welker, who is the second woman and first Black journalist to helm the network’s flagship program.
Trump added, “Thank you, darling. Have a good time.”
It was not the first time Trump has berated a female journalist on the job covering his presidency.
In November 2025, he told Bloomberg’s Catherine Lucey to stop talking, saying, “Quiet. Quiet, piggy.” One month later, he told ABC’s Rachel Scott she was “the most obnoxious reporter in the whole place.” Last month, he called MS NOW White House reporter Akayla Gardner “a dumb person” for pointing out that the cost of his White House ballroom project had doubled since it was first announced.
He has also repeatedly lashed out at CNN’s Kaitlan Collinscriticizing her for not smiling enough.
The wide-ranging interview, which was taped last week on a farm in Wisconsin, was interrupted by the loud sound of heavy rain on the metal roof of the barn where they met. Welker questioned Trump on his war with Iran, his “anti-weaponization” fund and the upcoming midterm elections.
On his nearly $1.8 billion fund aimed at compensating people who say they were wrongly prosecuted, including Jan. 6 Capitol rioters, Trump said “people were destroyed by dirty cops and by weaponization. Many of those people should be compensated.”
He described the people who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, as people who were “being ushered into the building” by law enforcement.
A federal judge temporarily blocked the fund last month and acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said last week the administration would not be moving forward with the fundwhich faced bipartisan backlash.
When asked if the administration would pursue other avenues to revive it, Trump said he does not know what will ultimately happen and called Welker and her network “the fake dirty press.”
Despite campaigning on a promise to end foreign wars, Trump denied that he made such statements. He characterized the Iran war, launched by the U.S. and Israel on Feb. 28, as necessary to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon.
When asked about the rising cost of living as a result of the war, specifically gas and fertilizer, Trump chastised Welker.
“Are you ready? Am I allowed to talk? You keep asking questions and you don’t listen to the answers,” he said.
“I love the farmers and the farmers love me,” Trump said, adding that prices will come down after the war.
Welker suggested to her viewers Sunday that she and the president had a cordial conversation Saturday, saying they both “acknowledged the complications” posed by the rain. “He agreed to sit down with me for another ‘Meet the Press’ interview,” she said.
Erum Salam is a breaking news reporter for MS NOW, with a focus on how global events and foreign policy shape U.S. politics. She previously was a breaking news reporter for The Guardian.
Iran said visas were denied to key members of its national soccer team ahead of the World Cupwhich a U.S. official insisted was necessary so that Iran does not try to “sneak terrorists into the United States.”
In a post on Xthe Iranian embassy in Turkey said “visas were denied to a large portion of the managerial and executive staff, technical advisers, and others” on its team.
“You have now escalated the deliberate and discriminatory treatment against Iran’s national football team to its highest level,” the embassy said, accusing the U.S. of the “worst possible form of politically biased interference in sport” and “depriving Iran’s national team of its right to play in the World Cup under normal conditions.”
Iranian officials are accusing the U.S. government of violating FIFA regulations and breaching its obligations as one of the host countries of what is widely regarded to be the biggest sporting event in the world. The diplomatic standoff between the two countries comes just days before the World Cup is set to kick off and more than three months after the U.S. and Israel waged war against Iran.
A Trump administration official who was granted anonymity to speak candidly about the subject told MS NOW in a statement that the visas “necessary for Iran to compete in the World Cup, including for athletes and necessary support staff, have been issued.”
The official added, however, “We will not allow the Iranian team to abuse this system to sneak terrorists into the United States under false pretenses.”
The statement from the Iranian Embassy in Turkey came in response to a post on X by U.S. Ambassador to Turkey Tom Barrack praising embassy staff for processing visas for the Iranian national team.
According to The Associated Presssome of the team’s officials have not received visas to enter the U.S., which is co-hosting the World Cup with Mexico and Canada. Games are set to begin Thursday.
Problems with getting U.S. visas had already led Iran to move its World Cup training base from the U.S. to Mexico. But Iran is still listed on the official World Cup schedule to play its first two games in Los Angeles on June 15 against New Zealand, and against Belgium six days later before heading to Seattle to face Egypt.
The Iran Football Federation’s secretary-general and its vice president were among 14 staff and officials without U.S. visas, AP said, citing Iranian state television. The federation reportedly accused the U.S. of “vindictive behavior.”
Emily Hung contributed to this report.
Clarissa-Jan Lim is a breaking news reporter for MS NOW. She was previously a senior reporter and editor at BuzzFeed News.
- Lawsuit seeks to stop the UFC fight on the White House South Lawn for Trump’s birthday
- Republican leading AI effort has ambitious timeline for getting his bill through the House
- US to reach $41T debt ceiling as soon as late winter, forecasters predict
- Senate funding action stalled amid partisan stalemate on totals
- Republicans hope Trump retreats on Pulte to save spy law
- US to reach $41T debt ceiling as soon as late winter, forecasters predict
- US to reach $41T debt ceiling as soon as late winter, forecasters predict
- US to reach $41T debt ceiling as soon as late winter, forecasters predict
- House Republicans gather congressional scorekeepers to discuss Reconciliation 3.0
- White House sends Blanche’s attorney general nomination to Congress
-
Politics1 year agoFormer ‘Squad’ members launching ‘Bowman and Bush’ YouTube show
-
The Dictatorship1 year agoLuigi Mangione acknowledges public support in first official statement since arrest
-
Politics1 year agoFormer Kentucky AG Daniel Cameron launches Senate bid
-
Uncategorized2 years ago
Bob Good to step down as Freedom Caucus chair this week
-
The Dictatorship1 year agoPete Hegseth’s tenure at the Pentagon goes from bad to worse
-
The Josh Fourrier Show2 years agoDOOMSDAY: Trump won, now what?
-
Politics1 year agoBlue Light News’s Editorial Director Ryan Hutchins speaks at Blue Light News’s 2025 Governors Summit
-
The Dictatorship9 months agoMike Johnson sums up the GOP’s arrogant position on military occupation with two words