A Daily Reid: 'Run the country like a business'

Maybe Trump 2.0 will cure Americans of this really bad idea, because the regime is running the country like a bungling, segregated Woolworths.

(Original Caption) 8/1/1980-New York, NY- Donald Trump, 33-year-old golden boy of New York real estate, holds a model of the Fifth Avenue tower that will have shops, offices and co-ops. One of the apartments will sell for $11 million and he claims four bidders -- none of them Americans -- are bidding for it.

Do you like your job? Hopefully you do! But would you want the whole country to be run the way your job is? Would you want whoever runs the company you work for to be in charge of the federal government? Because if you say they want the country to be “run like a business,” maybe you should think through what it would look and feel like if that business was the one that employs you. Or the one that runs your health insurance. Because generally? That’s gonna go in a bad direction.

And yet, “I want the country to be run like a business” is probably the most common excuse Americans make for voting for Republicans, and for literal bad businessmen like Donald Trump. Between that and voting for dimwit football coaches, I really don’t know what to do with y’all.

Here’s a throwback clip to the segment I did on that very subject for The Reidout, including my interview with the great Thom Hartman:

Well not only is Trump running the U.S. “like a business” … complete with massive layoffs and cost-cutting, and attempts to skip out on providing health insurance to those who need it most … he’s running it into the ground, just like he did his businesses.

Item: he hired a guy to run FEMA who apparently did not know there’s a thing called “hurricane season…”

FEMA employees were left bewildered during a Monday briefing after agency chief David Richardson remarked that he hadn't known the U.S. had a hurricane season, according to Reuters, citing four sources familiar with the call.

Richardson, who took over in May, remarked during an all-hands meeting and offered no clarification on whether it was meant as a joke or in earnest. The confusion added to ongoing frustrations inside FEMA, where recent leadership turnover, staffing cuts, and a delay in updated disaster plans have many worried the agency is unprepared for what's expected to be an unusually active hurricane season.

The comment has reignited concern within FEMA over Richardson's preparedness and understanding of the agency's core mission. With an above-normal hurricane season forecast by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), staff uncertainty and the recent loss of top officials have raised alarm about FEMA's ability to respond effectively to disasters.

Richardson's lack of prior disaster management experience and his decision to scrap a promised new disaster response plan have only deepened concerns about FEMA's readiness during what is expected to be a particularly active and destructive season. …

…Richardson, a former Marine artillery officer, has no background in disaster response. He previously served as DHS's assistant secretary for countering weapons of mass destruction, a position he reportedly still holds.

Only the best people… I wonder what his qualifications actually were???

I’m gonna noodle on it. I’m sure I’ll figure it out…

By the way, this is the guy who replaced the guy who resigned because he didn’t agree with Trump’s genius plan to eliminate FEMA altogether, because that makes sense in a country drilling and fracking its way toward deadlier and deadlier hurricanes, wildfires, floods and tornadoes…

Meanwhile, the Republicans who work for Trump on Capital Hill are one by one admitting they didn’t even read the Trump budget bill, which I promise you they actually named The One, Big, Beautiful Bill Act, just to kiss Donald’s arse…

House Republicans passed the Medicaid-gutting, billionaire tax-cutting hot mess by one vote, with all but two voting “aye” without even thinking it through, like the sorry bunch of lemmings they are. One provision in the bill, Section 70302, would essentially render Donald Trump untouchable by the courts. It reads:

No court of the United States may enforce a contempt citation for 
failure to comply with an injunction or temporary restraining order if 
no security was given when the injunction or order was issued pursuant 
to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 65(c), whether issued prior to, on, 
or subsequent to the date of enactment of this section.

One Republican, Nebraska Rep Mike Flood, told a town hall full of his constituents that he didn’t read the bill, so he missed that bit, but he assured them that he’s going to look right into it when he gets back to Washington. Great video of the exchange here.

Marge didn’t read the bill, either … and now she claims she regrets voting for it due to some nasty deregulation business about AI:

Greene revealed she was unaware of a provision in Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill act (OBBB) that would prevent states from regulating artificial intelligence systems for a decade. The Georgia representative said she would have voted against the entire bill if she had known about the AI language buried on pages 278-279.

“Full transparency, I did not know about this section on pages 278-279 of the OBBB that strips states of the right to make laws or regulate AI for 10 years,” Greene wrote on X. “I am adamantly OPPOSED to this and it is a violation of state rights and I would have voted NO if I had known this was in there.”

Democratic lawmakers, who all voted against the bill, responded with incredulity to Greene’s admission.

“You have one job. To. Read. The. Fucking. Bill,” Representative Eric Swalwell wrote in response.

Representative Ted Lieu said he had read the AI provision beforehand and “that’s one reason I voted no on the GOP’s big, ugly bill”, he posted on X. “PRO TIP: It’s helpful to read stuff before voting on it.”

Representative Mark Pocan was more forward: “Read the f**king bill instead of clapping for it like a performing monkey. You should have done your job while it was written. You didn’t. You own that vote.”

Live shot of every single House Trumpublican voting for a bill they didn’t read:

And as the Big, Hideous Bill heads to the Senate, it’s starting to poop rotten bananas.

The party’s other daddy, High Hateler himself, Elon Musk, has tweet-trashed it as a “disgusting abomination” — ostensibly because it would balloon the national debt. Well sorry, I don’t buy Elon’s complaints. I’m sure he would have been happier with just the slashing cuts to things old people and poor people need, so he can have his gargantuan tax cut extended into perpetuity. But last I checked, stripping the poor, the elderly and the aged til they’re literally naked and emaciated in these streets was supposed to be doge’s job. What happened to the $2 trillion savings??? Oh that’s right, they couldn’t touch Elon’s defense contracts, so they failed, miserably to actually save us money while making government run much worse. And my guess is, weird elmo’s b*tching is really about trying to distance himself from an unpopular president, so the cool people will buy Teslas again.

Yeah, good luck with that, buddy. Your car company is cooked. And we anti-fascists out here, who think apartheid South Africa was an abomination are glad about it. Maybe you can ask your fellow white South African, Peter Thiel for a loan if you get in truly dire straights, given that Trump is handing him the private data of nearly every American, and paying his company, Palantir, to maybe spy on us.

If only the Boers had had such nifty tech, they might not have had to give South Africa back to its rightful owners, eh boys? Amandla.

More on how the Republican Second Thought Theater is playing out in the Senate:

Gotta say I didn’t have Joni Ernst trolling her own constituents for possibly dying poor and sick for lack of Medicaid on my 2025 Nightmare Bingo card.

Who did their homework?

Historically, not reading the bills they sign is a bipartisan endeavor. Remember this classic from the Patriotic Act days?

Well this time, some Democrats did do their homework and read the budget bill. Here’s Liz Warren explaining some of the awful things in the bill. Maybe Georgia’s 14th congressional district should have Warren represent them, too?

Most importantly, the bill will absolutely gut Medicaid, and throw millions of Americans into an uncertain, really desperate, feudalist future, many without any healthcare at all. But Republicans don’t care.

Because they’re running America like a business.

Welcome to Soviet America

File this one under: you have to see it, to believe it. The Trump regime is now attempting to organize a nation of snitches, not unlike what existed in Maoist China or the old U.S.S.R. Check out this Orwellian notice posted on the grounds of Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield in Republic, Missouri; the site of the “second major battle during the Civil War,” and of “the death of Nathaniel Lyon, the first Union general killed in action,” according to the federal website associated with it:

Got it? If any visitor to this Civil War site feels that “negative information about either past or living Americans” is being imparted to them by park rangers — presumably about the treasonous slaveholders that the deceased Union general was fighting — or if they hear anything other than how beautiful, grand, and abundant the physical landscapes of that American graveyard are, they should scan that QR code and rat the truth-teller out.

Here’s hoping the “tips” that come through are colorful and salty as hell. But wait, there’s more! The regime has apparently had enough of these woke battleships:

From CBS:

Washington — The U.S. Navy plans to rename the USNS Harvey Milk, a fleet replenishment oiler named after the slain gay rights leader and Navy veteran, and is considering renaming multiple naval ships named after civil rights leaders and prominent American voices, CBS News has learned.

U.S. Navy documents obtained by CBS News and used to brief the secretary of the Navy and his chief of staff show proposed timelines for rolling out the name change of the USNS Harvey Milk to the public. While the documents do not say what the ship's new name would be, the proposal comes during Pride Month, the monthlong observance of the LGBTQ+ community that also coincides with the anniversary of the Stonewall uprising of 1969. WorldPride celebrations are being held in Washington, D.C., this year.

The documents obtained by CBS News also show other vessels named after prominent leaders are also on the Navy's renaming "recommended list."

Among them are the USNS Thurgood Marshall, USNS Ruth Bader Ginsburg, USNS Harriet Tubman, USNS Dolores Huerta, USNS Lucy Stone, USNS Cesar Chavez and USNS Medgar Evers.

CBS News found that a December 2024 web article from Naval Sea Systems Command about the laying of the keel for the future USNS Thurgood Marshall has been deleted. [Emphases added]

Ah, ok so they’re running the U.S. like a segregated business… Just like Trump and his daddy used to do. Got it! More from the article:

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries told CBS News the move was "an utter abomination in terms of the extreme MAGA Republican effort to continue to erase American history, and we're not going to allow it to happen." And Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said on X that Hegseth "should be ashamed of himself and reverse this immediately."

Following his confirmation in January, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth issued a directive instructing the Pentagon and U.S. military services to cease hosting events tied to heritage or awareness months, citing concerns that such programs could undermine unity within the ranks. The "Identity Months Dead at DoD" guidance banned official manpower and resources from being used on such events — among them, Pride Month, Black History Month and Women's History Month.

The documents obtained by CBS News were not marked with the traditional classification markers typically seen on Defense Department memos. The documents were not marked as "For Official Use Only" or "Controlled Unclassified Information," they were also not marked to indicate they were drafts. There was a "CAUTION" note, however, referring to the information as publicly sensitive.

The memo said the renaming of naval ships was to realign the U.S. military with Trump administration priorities of "reestablishing the warrior culture."

Chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said in a statement that Hegseth "is committed to ensuring that the names attached to all DOD installations and assets are reflective of the Commander-in-Chief's priorities, our nation's history, and the warrior ethos." Parnell added that any potential renaming decisions would be announced once the internal reviews are complete. Military.com first reported the name change for the USNS Harvey Milk on Tuesday, but the news of other naval vessels being considered for a name change has not yet been reported.

The USNS Harvey Milk is a John Lewis-class replenishment oiler, designed to support carrier strike groups at sea. The class of ships is named after civil rights icon and Congressman John Lewis, who died in 2020.

Harvey Milk, the political trailblazer, emerged in the 1970s as one of the first openly gay elected officials in the United States. After years of activism, he was elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 1977, where he quickly became a national symbol of LGBTQ+ political empowerment. His life was cut short in 1978 when he was assassinated in City Hall, alongside Mayor George Moscone.

The USNS Harvey Milk was christened in 2021 and represented a significant step toward inclusivity within the armed forces.

Before he emerged as one of the most visible advocates for gay rights in American history, Milk served in the U.S. Navy. From 1952 to 1954, he held posts as an operations and dive officer aboard two submarine rescue ships — the USS Chanticleer and the USS Kittiwake — both active during the Korean War, according to the U.S. National Archives.

Honestly, what could be more “warrior culture” than an enslaved woman in her 40s, traveling back and forth into enemy confederate territory as a Union spy? Oh that’s right, Harriet Tubman was Black, so it doesn’t count. And Harvey Milk was a Navy veteran who served honorably during the Korean war. But he was gay, and it’s Pride month, which means it’s time for maga trolling … and so he doesn’t get to be an American hero, either. Now I can’t even begin to explain why they would delete Medgar Evers’ ship name … except that it’s literally because he was Black, or Trump is mad at his ghost for getting a Medal of Freedom from President Biden. Whose name will they put on the ship instead? Byron de la Beckwith, who was also was a World War II veteran? ... Meanwhile, Evers’ 100th birthday would be this July, two days before Independence Day. May he haunt their houses and their dreams. Ditto all of the great men and women whose ship names are in jeopardy. Here’s a thought: maybe complain about this one. Loudly.

Also, cannot wait for the goose-stepping Trump Army parade down the likely tank-ruined streets of Washington D.C. next weekend. Perhaps we’ll see if the Elon “salute” becomes the new national gesture, unless Trump doesn’t like him anymore, like he is pretending not to like Leonard Leo and the Heritage Foundation.

In the meantime, I’ll just be over here celebrating with the survivors of the Tulsa massacre, who at long last, thanks to a new and far better mayor, are one step closer to reparations. Eat that, Hegseth.

Lastly, an update! Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, who was arrested in May, for alleged trespassing at the private prison in his city where he had gone to see about the unknown inmates and he says, unlawful operation, is now suing Trump U.S. Attorney Alina Habba and the local homeland security chief who handcuffed him. Here’s the announcement:

Will keep you updated on this story as it develops.

And if you missed it, you can catch my interview with Mayor Baraka on The Joy Reid Show here.

Want more? Subscribe to The Joy Reid Show YouTube channel where I’ll be doing more of this kind of real talk, Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays! Subscribe here for FREE, and never miss a show, starting June 9! And stay tuned for special exclusive content right here at Joy’s House to go with the show.