Trail Notes
Trump's narco pardon / Next up, Venezuela / Bigger ballroom pushback / Reps bail / Costco sues over tariffs / Trump phone out of order / Redacting Epstein 24/7
Trump’s narco pardon
For months now, Donald Trump has been raging about the horrific threat of “narcoterrorists” in the Caribbean, and how blowing up one boat of suspected cocaine smugglers could save 25,000 Americans from drug overdoses, although it’s still not clear from which part of the air he grabbed that number. That makes the president’s decision to pardon Juan Orlando Hernandez, the former Honduran president, all the more jarring.
Hernandez was convicted of drug trafficking and weapons conspiracy last year and sentenced to 45 years in prison. Prosecutors made the case that he had taken bribes from Mexican drug cartels and run his country like a narco state, ensuring that cocaine from Venezuela could flow through Honduras to the United States. During his trial, Hernandez was quoted as saying that he wanted to “stuff the drugs right up the noses of the gringos.” A Drug Enforcement Administration agent who worked on the case called the prospect of a pardon “lunacy,” but Trump said he issued the pardon because “many friends” had asked him to show mercy, adding, “They gave him 45 years because he was the president of a country. You could do this to any president of any country.”
Next up, Venezuela
All which raises more questions about the real intent of the massive U.S. military presence in the Caribbean. Just the other day Trump said his offensive against narcoterrorists may have to move into Venezuela itself. It’s known he wants to get rid of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. It’s also known that the president is particularly interested in Venezuela’s oil reserves. To show he means business, Trump went to where he usually goes in such situations. He did some digital saber-rattling on Truth Social, declaring the airspace over Venezuela is “CLOSED IN ITS ENTIRETY.” Of course, a U.S. president doesn’t have the authority to close another country’s airspace, but the show goes on.
Freeing a fraudster
Donald Trump is on a hot streak when it comes to freeing big-time offenders from prison. He just gave his presidential blessing to David Gentile, a private equity executive who was found guilty of defrauding more than 10,000 investors as part of a $1.6 billion scam. Gentile was sentenced to seven years in prison, but Trump set him free after he served only two weeks. Gentile now will no longer have to pay the $15.5 million in restitution the court had ordered.
Pushback on Trump’s bigger ballroom
It seems that even the architect of Donald Trump’s planned ballroom thought the president’s vision is over the top. James McCrery II, who the president handpicked to design his dream banquet hall, apparently believes that a 90,000 square foot building could overwhelm the White House, which is half as big. That, according to McCrery, would violate a basic rule of architecture: Don’t let an addition dwarf the main building.
Rules, however, don’t faze Trump. The Washington Post reported yesterday afternoon that McCrery stopped working on the $300 million ballroom project in late October. Trump replaced him with Shalom Baranes, an architect who has designed and refurbished buildings in the D.C. metro area for decades, including a renovation of the Pentagon after the 9/11 terrorist attack. For Baranes’ sake, he’d better believe bigger is better. If he pushes back, he may get pushed out.
House members bailing
Another Republican congressman has followed Marjorie Taylor Greene’s lead and announced he’s not going to run for reelection next year: Texas Rep. Troy Nehls. A big Donald Trump supporter, Nehls cosponsored legislation to put the president’s face on the $100 bill. He said he wants to “focus on his family,” but endorsed his twin brother Trevor to replace him.
Nehls is just one of 39 House members—23 Republicans and 16 Democrats—who thus far have opted to retire, some who have stepped down early. Why the rush to the exits?
An anonymous email a senior House Republican sent to Punchbowl News reporter Jake Sherman provides some context. “This entire White House team has treated ALL members like garbage. ALL,” the representative wrote. “And [Speaker] Mike Johnson has let it happen because he wanted it to happen. That is the sentiment of nearly all—appropriators, authorizers, hawks, doves, rank and file. The arrogance of this White House team is off-putting to members who are run roughshod and threatened.”
Costco sues over tariffs
Retail giant Costco has joined a lawsuit against the Trump administration to get a full refund for import duties if the Supreme Court decides that Trump does not have the authority to impose tariffs without congressional approval. Two lower courts have already ruled that the president overstepped his authority by using emergency powers to impose tariffs on imports from around the world. A Supreme Court ruling that upholds those decisions would be a huge blow to the administration’s economic policy. The high court could issue a decision before the end of the year.
Trump phone out of order
Back in June, Donald Trump’s two older sons, Don Jr. and Eric, staged a big event in Trump Tower to announce their latest Trump-branded venture. It was a gold Trump phone accented with an American flag, and the Trump boys promised that it would be 100 percent made in America. Industry experts were dubious, pointing out that some mobile phone parts just aren’t manufactured in the United States.
Regardless, nearly 600,000 people reportedly put down a $100 deposit to buy the $499 phone, which was supposed to be shipped in August. When the phone didn’t arrive, NBC, which ordered one, called the customer support line five times between September and November, and was told there were delays, at one point blaming them on the government shutdown. The latest promise is for delivery sometime in December.
One other change: The website promoting the phone has removed any mention of “Made in the USA.” Instead, it now says that the phone has an “American-proud design” and that it was “brought to life right here in the USA.” There’s no explanation for what that means.
A manufacturing tailspin
Remember when Donald Trump told us most assuredly that his tariffs would make America once again a manufacturing colossus, with new plants opening like so many Starbucks. Sadly, it seems the president misled us. Manufacturing activity declined for the ninth month in a row. And business execs blame the tariffs for raising suppliers’ costs and causing so much uncertainty about international trade.
Redacting Epstein 24/7
Newly released emails revealed that the FBI spent nearly $1 million in overtime pay last spring for agents analyzing the Jeffrey Epstein files as part of an effort called the “Special Redaction Project.” Nearly 1,000 agents were assigned to the project.
Park fees skyrocket for foreigners
In line with the administration’s America First priorities, the National Park Service is dramatically jacking up fees for foreign tourists next year. An annual pass to the country’s national parks will cost non-U.S. residents $250, more than three times what U.S. citizens pay. Foreign tourists who don’t buy a pass will be charged $100 per person in addition to the standard entry fee to get into the 11 most popular parks, including the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone and Yosemite.
White males rule
The Brookings Institution recently reported that Donald Trump has assembled the least diverse U.S. administration this century. So far, 90 percent of the appointees confirmed by the Senate are white. And only 16 percent are women, the lowest percentage of the past four administrations, including Trump’s first term.
Randy Rieland is a former columnist at Smithsonian magazine, website director at the Discovery Channel, and senior writer at Washingtonian magazine.
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