jim hancock: Lessons from Banana Republican Donald Trump

Monday, September 22, 2025

Lessons from Banana Republican Donald Trump

Monday . September 22 2025

The Churn

Last Friday, Banana Republican Donald Trump told reporters in the Oval Office that covering the administration negatively is “really illegal.”

Also on Friday, the Bureau of Labor Statistics postponed the annual release of the report on consumer expenditures that was scheduled for tomorrow. The BLS website calls the annual report the only “ federal household survey to provide information on the complete range of consumers’ expenditures and incomes.” So … important. BLS officials said releasing the updated numbers will be rescheduled to “a later date.”

Also on Friday, the Pentagon said it will revoke press credentials of any journalist who reports unclassified information the Pentagon has not officially released.

On the weekend, the Wall Street Journal told us the U.S. Department of Agriculture is ending its annual report on household food security.

The One Big Beautiful Bill — passed in July, 2025 with only Republican votes — cuts funding to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) by about 20% through 2034. Explaining the end of the annual report on household food security, USDA news release said: “These redundant, costly, politicized and extraneous studies do nothing more than fear-monger.” House Republicans Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania and Thomas Massie of Kentucky, and Senate Republicans Susan Collins of Maine, Rand Paul of Kentucky, and Thom Tillis of North Carolina voted against the bill. Vice President JD Vance broke the tie in the Senate.

On Saturday, Donald Trump said he fired interim U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, Erik Siebert, who resigned on Friday after the president said he wanted him out for declining to prosecute New York Attorney General Letitia James — who successfully sued the Trump Organization for fraud — and former FBI director James Comey — who refused to kill the investigation into the relationship between members of the 2016 Trump campaign and Russian operatives.

Later on Saturday, Trump posted what seemed to be a message to Attorney General Pam Bondi: “Pam: I have reviewed over 30 statements and posts saying that, essentially ‘same old story as last time, all talk, no action. Nothing is being done. What about Comey, Adam ‘Shifty’ Schiff, Leticia??? They’re all guilty as hell, but nothing is going to be done.’… We can’t delay any longer, it’s killing our reputation and credibility. They impeached me twice, and indicted me (5 times!), OVER NOTHING. JUSTICE MUST BE SERVED, NOW!!! President DJT.”

Also on Saturday, Carol Leonnig and Ken Dilanian reported that FBI agents last September caught Tom Homan — who has served in both Trump administrations — on video accepting $50,000 in cash from agents posing as business executives whom he promised to help win government contracts if Trump won in November. After Trump took office this year, the investigation was officially closed without charges. We are left to assume that the $50,000 in U.S. Treasury funds Homan was recorded taking from FBI agents was written off.

So What?

All this is important because Banana Republican Donald Trump teaches us