Frogs danced. Unicorns pranced. Seven million Americans spoke their minds.

The 2700 or so No Kings protests on October 18 drew an estimated 7 million people, including many, many dressed as frogs. We kept it lighthearted, dancing and frolicking, and in the absence of violence the President had no excuse to invoke the Insurrection Act.

Get in line, Kenny.

The President’s response to millions of No Kings protesters?  An AI video of himself in the cockpit of a fighter jet dumping liquid feces all over marchers on Truth Social. While wearing a crown. (NYT) To the tune of “Danger Zone,” without permission, which singer-songwriter Kenny Loggins immediately objected to. Loggins joins Celine Dion, Isaac Hayes, Beyonce, Jack White, Sinead O’Connor, Foo Fighters, Johnny Marr, ABBA, Village People, Neil Young, the Rolling Stones, John Fogerty, Tom Petty, Phil Collins, Steven Tyler, Rihanna, and R.E.M. Good luck getting satisfaction, Kenny. (Yes, that’s a direct reference to a Rolling Stones song. Given the context, we don’t think they’d mind.) (AP News, Rolling Stone)

Let them eat cake…with gold frosting and a sprinkling of asbestos

The President promised his ballroom wouldn’t interfere with the White House itself. This week — maybe because No Kings got under his skin? — he demolished the East Wing (could there be a more perfect metaphor?) to make room for the $300M gilded structure that will likely be named for him—just as millions learn that their ACA premiums will spike, and SNAP benefits will end on November 1. Oh, and don’t forget the federal workers furloughed during the government shutdown. (The Daily Beast)

The unpermitted wrecking ball (the literal one, not the metaphorical one) is very likely releasing asbestos and endangering construction workers. Sarah Boardman, an interior designer and general contractor for 30 years, researched permits for the White House and the construction company and found none for this project. An East Wing expansion begun in 1942, when asbestos was commonly used in insulation, makes it extremely probably the deadly substance is present. Current videos show construction workers not wearing protective suits.

The Trump administration should have known about the problem, as the West Wing underwent a massive asbestos remediation project in 2019. Top advisors had to relocate to another floor during the process. (Raw Story)

“We’re going to kill them. They’re going to be, like, dead.”

As of Friday, the Department of War had killed 43 in strikes on speedboats in Caribbean and Pacific waters off the coast of Venezuela. The US has sent an aircraft carrier strike group to the area, dramatically increasing the number of ships and personnel. The administration has provided no evidence that the boats were carrying drugs or that the individuals on them were cartel members, and lawmakers are raising concerns. (CBS News)

Speaking with British journalist Piers Morgan, Republican Senator Rand Paul said, “There is no fentanyl made in Venezuela. Not just a little bit, there’s none being made. These are outboard boats that, in order for them to get to Miami, would have to stop and refuel 20 times.” (Latin Times)

Trump has indicated he intends to go after the alleged Venezuelan drug smugglers on land soon — and doesn’t intend to ask Congress for permission, although that’s how the Constitution says a war is supposed to be declared. (National Constitution Center) “I don’t think we’re necessarily going to ask for a declaration or war. I think we’re just gonna kill people that are bringing drugs into our country. We’re going to kill them. They’re going to be, like, dead,” he said. (NBC News)

“It’s awfully strange to make a decision where I’m paying myself.”

The President has made administrative claims asking that the DOJ pay him $230 million in compensation for investigating him during his first term and afterward. Today’s DOJ is full of Trump loyalists, including one who defended him in court in one of the criminal cases resulting from those investigations. This has no parallel in American history.

An administrative claim is not a lawsuit, but an attempt to reach a settlement with the DOJ without going to federal court. It seems unlikely that the claims will be rejected — as the overwhelming majority of them are — since the President is, when it comes right down to it, negotiating with people who report to him. He will also have to approve whatever settlement is reached.

“I’m the one that makes the decision, and that decision would have to go across my desk, and it’s awfully strange to make a decision where I’m paying myself,” Trump told reporters. (NYT)

Awfully strange. We could go into all the ways the Trump family has found to monetize the presidency but that’s another subject.