TOP STORY

Hugely popular progressive influencer interrogated at border

In their latest attempt to silence outspoken critics, the Trump administration stopped, detained, and questioned the most popular progressive live streamer on the internet Sunday.

• Hasan Piker, who’s been hailed as the “Joe Rogan of the left”, was pulled aside and interrogated by border agents at Chicago’s O’Hare airport after returning from France.

It’s a chilling move towards autocracy for an administration that is “actively considering” suspending the right to a fair trial.

SOME BACKGROUND: Hasan is the nephew of The Young Turks founder Cenk Uygur, and streams daily to his 2.8 million followers on the live streaming platform Twitch. 

• The handsome 33 year old, born in New Jersey, was recently described in a profile for the New York Times as “a progressive mind in a body made for the MAGA manosphere.”

He’s an outspoken critic of Trump, Israel’s genocide, and capitalism.

THE DETAILS: Hasan shared details of the incident on X and during a livestream, saying Customs and Border Protection officers questioned him for over two hours.

• They asked if he had interviewed or supported Hamas, Hezbollah, or the Houthis, and grilled him on his opinions about Donald Trump and the Israeli government.

“They straight up tried to get something out of me that I think they could use to basically detain me permanently,” Hasan said.

• The Department of Homeland Security said it lawfully detained Hasan—to which he responded, “What part of a 'lawful routine inspection' requires DHS to question me about my political views, my opinions on Donald Trump, or my stance on Israel and Palestine?”

THE BIGGER PICTURE: Piker’s detention comes as more and more U.S. citizens are being stopped leaving and entering the country.

• Hasan was not charged with any crime, and his devices were not confiscated—but the intent is clear: intimidation.

Speak out against Trump, Israel, or capitalism—and you could be stopped—or worse.

WHY IT MATTERS: Detaining U.S. citizens over their beliefs or speech—especially those who publicly challenge power—is a hallmark of authoritarian regimes.

It’s not national security. It’s political repression.

• Piker didn’t mince words: “They know who the fuck I am and they wanted to put the fear of god into me... But that’s not going to work at all.”

Could you imagine the OUTRAGE had Border Agents done this to a popular conservative streamer? There would be wall-to-wall coverage on Fox and Congressional investigations.

PREPARE YOURSELF: If you’re traveling across the border soon, here’s what you need to know about reentering the U.S.

🗞️ Making News

Even MAGA thinks Trump accepting a $400 million plane is ridiculous

Despite Trump claiming Monday that only “stupid” people reject gifts, top MAGA scum are turning on him over this particular issue. Both Laura Loomer and Ben Shapiro have come out against the blatantly unconstitutional “gift,” with the former saying it would be a “stain” on the Trump presidency. Full story from Business Insider.

Trump might claim China tariff victory—but this is Capitulation Day

Overnight Monday the Trump administration walked the world back from a fiscal cliff in a detente with China over tariffs. The White House was quick to claim victory, but as one economist points out—this was a capitulation. Trump caved. Full story from The Guardian.

U.S. popularity collapses worldwide in wake of Trump’s return

A new poll shows that while the world may be bitterly divided on some issues, there’s one that everyone agrees on: our country—at least under Trump—is awful. In fact, China is now more popular worldwide than the U.S. The least popular country? Israel. Full story from Politico.

Gavin Newsom declares all-out war on the unhoused

Apparently hoping to court voters by moving to the right, California Governor Gavin Newsom is at it again: he’s declared all-out war on his state’s unhoused population. He’s pushing cities and towns to fully criminalize living on the street. Full story from the AP.

➡️ Question of the Day

Yesterday we asked, is a $400 million airplane to Trump a legit gift or clear bribe? The answer was overwhelming.

The outrage is real. EAM said, “Every day increases the Trump family wealth at our expense. Immoral thieves.”

LalaPlant knows what’s up: “He is for sale to anyone with deep pockets.”

And we couldn’t agree more with Cathy: “Nothing about Felon 47 says democracy. He is an authoritarian oligarch, who is emulating Putin. Felon 47 should be impeached and arrested.”

TODAY’S QUESTION: Given the blowback over the plane, do you think Trump will end up getting it? Or will somebody step in and stop him? Tell us what you think after you vote!

IN DEPTH

The truth about Republicans’ Medicaid cuts

Despite repeated promises from Donald Trump that he would never cut Medicaid, Republicans quietly revealed their plan late Sunday night to kick over 8 million working-class Americans off the program.

• The move comes as the party struggles to come up with cuts big enough to pay for the massive tax cut they want to give rich people.

And—some Republicans are angry because the cuts don’t go far enough.

SOME BACKGROUND: Trump has also promised repeatedly to cut taxes for his core constituency—the wealthiest 1% and huge corporations.

• So-called deficit hawks say that they’ll only support those tax cuts if more spending is cut from elsewhere in the budget.

The problem is that nearly 60 cents of every dollar paid in taxes goes to Medicaid, Medicare, Social Security, or the defense budget.

Any substantial reduction in income—like a big tax cut for the wealthy—has to impact one or all of those areas.

THE PROPOSAL: The latest idea from Republicans would mostly affect Medicaid—which insures one out of every 5 Americans (more than 71 million people).

• The bill would free up at least $715 billion for tax cuts for the wealthy—but leave at least 8.6 million people without healthcare.

The plan also has new work requirements—which when experimented with at the state level, have ended in disaster for working-class Americans.

THE BOTTOM LINE: Republicans aren’t cutting Medicaid because it’s wasteful. They’re cutting it because they want to hand the savings to billionaires.

• The people losing healthcare aren’t freeloaders—they’re average American workers, seniors in nursing homes, and children with disabilities.

This isn’t fiscal responsibility. It’s class war—waged from the top down.

RELATED: House Republicans are also proposing a $5 billion handout to private and religious schools.

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👀 Kept Out of Your Feed

Here are some stories the algorithms may be keeping out of your feed.

• Angry Trump kills “woke” program—and accidentally screws MAGA voters

• AOC says there will be hell to pay if Republicans do this

• There is one clear loser in the Trump-Elon breakup (and it’s not Donald Trump)

• A mom cooperated and took her sons to an ICE check-in. She never saw them again

• Inside Trump’s $400M gift from Qatar (it’s just as tacky as you expect)

• Attorney General Pam Bondi—who’s defending the bribe—made a ton of money as a lobbyist for Qatar

• And: how Trump’s free plane could cost U.S. taxpayers millions

• Jon Stewart reveals the big hole in Trump’s Qatar jet Excuses

• This tracks: RFK Jr. went swimming in Rock Creek — despite his own government’s warnings about dangerous fecal bacteria levels

• Hamas released a 21-year-old Israeli-American hostage in what’s seen as “a gesture of goodwill” toward the Trump administration

• One of the Senate’s most conservative voices just said Republicans have an “identity crisis” over Medicaid

• Pope Leo's brother has posted some truly vile content about Nancy Pelosi, Barack Obama, and trans kids