He can’t even win a war against algae, completely screwed up even that, then blames others for his own utter incompetence.
Reuters reported that no evidence has emerged to support Trump’s claim of a 350-foot gash in the pool, even though officials say arrests and citations have been made. The Interior Department has not released photos or detailed evidence supporting that specific claim
- Link to reuters report.
There have been some claims issued by the NPS, but official announcements coming from an agency now operating inside a highly politicised Trump administration is by default utterly unreliable and without any merit.
Also of note is that when there was a lawsuit filed to stop the Trump changes to the Reflecting Pool, the plaintiffs argued that it’s possible that the Trump team does long-term damage to the pool.
Looking back, it seems they were being very prophetic.
So nothing happens to the Trump donor who got $15 million in tax dollars to wreck the reflecting pond, but if a taxpayer touches a piece of the floating debris from the disaster scene they get 10 years in prison. This is now Trump’s dystopian America.
It’s was also his contention that people were being paid to protest algae! … the man is just nuts … (but of course Satire requires intelligence to appreciate it, so we all understand Trump’s confusion) …
Oh and also a quick reminder that he literally did this …
As always, it is the political cartoonists who best express what we all feel.
Matt Wuerker – Jeanine Pirro vows to track down the vandals who are wrecking the reflecting pool.
This really should be easy….
Ann Telnaes – Trump blames green Reflecting Pool on vandals
Dave Whamond – The New Swamp
Daniel Boris – The Reflecting Pool Vandal.
Clay Jones – At least it’s not a disco duck. #Trump #KashPatel #ReflectingPool #Antifa #MAGA
Nick Anderson – Crime and Punishment
Moving on, the other big news item is the ongoing US-Iran conflict.
WarGames
Things look like they are escalating once again this past week despite the “ceasefire”.
US Central Command says it launched additional strikes on 27 June after what it described as Iranian attacks on commercial shipping.
AP reports that Iran hit targets in Bahrain and Kuwait, while the US launched a second round of airstrikes at Trump’s direction.
Right now the Strait of Hormuz remains the core flashpoint.
What we don’t have is a ceasefire but instead a fragile pause repeatedly punctured by retaliatory strikes.
NEWS: Trump just posted about his latest strikes on Iran and threatened that “the Islamic Republic of Iran will no longer exist” if the U.S. is “forced to militarily complete the job.” A reminder: the MOU specifically bars these kinds of threats.
Peace in Our Times
But why does Iran keep doing stuff that then provokes a US response?
In case anyone is still unclear, the root cause is an Israel that does not want peace. www.democracynow.org/2026/6/22/he…
- Link to article here
- Quote: “A previous report by the commission in September found that Israel had committed genocide in Gaza and that Israeli officials, including the prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, incited these acts. Netanyahu is separately wanted by the international criminal court (ICC) for war crimes. …. A significant body of research by legal and rights experts has concluded that Israel is intent on destroying Palestinians, including analyses by UN investigators, rights bodies such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, and genocide scholars worldwide.“
- Quote: “The UN commission said in its report, released on Tuesday, that Palestinian children were deliberately targeted and killed during the war, including after a ceasefire came into effect in October 2025.“
Let’s turn an eye towards the looming midterms and his attempts to scupper them.
Election Win
There is some good news here.
As a quick summary, Trump tried to use executive power to make mail voting much harder and more centrally controlled. A federal judge has now said, in effect, “you do not have the constitutional authority to do that.”.
Let’s do that again, but with a bit more detail.
Trump’s March 31 executive order tried to federalise parts of mail voting by making the U.S. Postal Service and federal agencies gatekeepers for who could receive or send mail ballots. The core idea was to create state-by-state federal “citizenship” or eligibility lists, require states to share voter-roll data, and have USPS refuse or restrict ballot handling for voters or states that did not fit the new system. Critics argued this was unconstitutional because U.S. elections are mainly run by states, with Congress—not the president—able to alter federal election rules.
This past week, on June 25, 2026, U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani in Boston blocked key parts of the order. She ruled that Trump had exceeded presidential authority and that the Constitution does not give the president specific power over election administration. This ruling stops the administration, at least for now, from implementing the mail-ballot restrictions before the 2026 midterms.
You know what comes next – an appeal by the administration, but it is probably too late now for them to do this for the midterms, so the administration will probably shift focus and attempt to pressure Congress for the SAVE Act to be passed (A law to mandate Photo ID to vote).
Clay Jones – Isn’t it a crime to tamper with the mail? #Trump #USPostoffice #MailInVoting #VoteByMail #StopTheSteal
Corruption on a truly epic scale
Rep Chris Murphy did a reminder of just how utterly corrupt the Trump administration is.
- For link to The thread on Twitter to get all the details – go here
Give him a “contribution” for a pointless vanity project and you get a government contract or federal lawsuit against you dropped …
- Headkine correction: They didn’t “win” those contracts. They bought those contracts from the criminal in the White House.
Daniel Boris – Griftymon: Gotta Scam ‘Em All!
Multiple layers of Lunacy and utter incompetence
He really is very very stupid, and so MAGA get exactly what they voted for – complete and total incompetence …
Economic Reality
ICE
Another DOGE impact
Daniel Medina – Why is screwworm back in America? Simple: it spread from Central America and Trump/DOGE cut the program that monitored and contained this exact threat. They saved millions by cutting it; now we have to spend over $1 billion to fix it. #screwworm #doge #fuckelonmusk #fucktrump #leftisbest
MAGA Christian Cranks
The nuttier right-wing religious fanatics within the MAGA cult are as always doing their thing, and so here are this week’s samples.
The Reflecting Algae Pool has a Fan Club now – GOP Rep. Tim Moore claims the Reflecting Pool is full of algae because “politically motivated” vandals have been dumping “high levels of some type of fertilizer” into the water”: “I hate seeing that when political activism turns to destruction of a national monument.”
- As anybody with a functioning brain can tell you, the Reflecting Pool didn’t turn green because Antifa launched Operation Miracle-Gro. It turned green because a giant shallow outdoor pool in summer, freshly subjected to a rushed, gaudy, $14m “makeover,” developed algae and peeling paint almost immediately.
- Moore’s theory is basically: “Our vanity renovation couldn’t possibly have failed, therefore invisible fertilizer ninjas must be attacking democracy.“
- Every election cycle like clockwork, out comes the usual haunted-house tour of every right-wing panic.
- Meanwhile, God has personally spoken to me and told me that Jackson is lying and does not speak for him at all (The evidence for my claim is exactly the same as his)
Tony Perkins claims that a lack of “biblical literacy” is weakening the nation: “The Bible is not merely a religious text but one of the foundational documents of American civilization. To understand America, one must understand the Bible. And when that understanding is lost, we lose not only part of our history but part of our identity.”
- Perkins is trying to smuggle Christian nationalism into civics class by pretending “understanding America” means “agreeing with my theology.” Biblical literacy is useful for understanding American history, literature, and politics. But that is very different from promoting the lie that the Bible is one of America’s founding legal documents.
Evangelist Lance Wallnau claims that he was “almost put in jail … because somebody didn’t like what I said with my freedom of speech.“
- Fact Check: Freedom of Speech is not legally absolute. The first amendment may indeed protect vile, hateful, offensive, or stupid speech, but you can face jail for saying specific things such as serious threats of violence. Saying “we should overthrow the government someday” is usually protected. Telling an angry crowd “go burn that building now” may not be. Certain forms of obscenity, especially child sexual abuse material, is outside normal First Amendment protection. Also, Speech used as part of a crime is not magically protected because it consists of words. In law if you defame somebody and make false factual claims that seriously damage someone’s reputation then it can create a civil liability. Also, repeated targeted communications may be prosecutable.
- Beyond the legal consequences, saying shitty stuff, as Lance often does, can also have other consequences.
- For context, he is speaking at a heath wellbeing conference. If you promote medically fraudulent claims that can lead to people dying, as he has done, then yes, there can indeed be serious legal consequences. There is a line somewhere between expressing bad opinion, and fraudulent conduct. One side is legally protected, the other is not.
- However: Wallnau claims he was “almost put in jail” for something he said, but I can’t find evidence of an actual criminal case, arrest, charge, or court proceeding. The surrounding context appears to be about social-media censorship and loss of followers, not jail. Unless he can identify the specific charge or proceeding, this may actually all be yet another lie, his usual persecution rhetoric, rather than a factual account of being at risk of imprisonment.
Pastor Dale Partridge declares that he is sexist “and you should be, too.”
- Dale Partridge declaring “I’m sexist and you should be, too” is at least refreshingly honest in the way a sewage leak is “refreshingly wet.”
- All you actually have here is a grown man trying to launder his male insecurity through theology and then label it courage.
Elijah Schaffer proclaims that “we need to increase the anti-Indian sentiment”: “The anti-immigrant sentiment is crucial to making people who shouldn’t be here feel unwelcome. It’s the nicest way to deal w/ them [right now]. They are guests & they’ve overstayed their welcome. It’s time for the Anglo Saxon to hate again.“
- This is perhaps part of a well-established US tradition for extremists to identify one specific group of immigrants and then target them for harassment. Past examples include: Chinese immigrants in the late 19th century; South Asian/Sikh immigrants in Bellingham, Washington, 1907; Japanese immigrants and Japanese Americans in CA with laws targeting them in 1913 and 1920; Southern and Eastern European immigrants, especially Italians, Jews, Slavs, and others in the early 20th century; Italian immigrants and radicals during the Red Scare; Mexican immigrants in the 1930s and 1950s; Arab, Muslim, Sikh, and South Asian Americans after 9/11; etc…
- Vile bile like this coming from the folks who claim to hold the high moral ground because of their religious beliefs reveals the actual truth – fundamental moral bankruptcy, and also so deeply ignorant that they are oblivious to how vile they really are.
- Given the claim that “he’s being led by the presence of the Lord”, and looking at his actual handling of the Iran war, it is only natural to conclude that this Lord is either Sauron from the Lord of the Rings, Lord Voldemort, or Lord Farquaad.
- As for his “Golden Age“, that would be the age in which he gets to steal all the gold.
- I guess I missed this part of the Sermon on the Mount.
- Nothing screams “Christian Nationalist Values” louder than a vocal call to lie, cheat, steal, and persecute.
- What is deeply weird is that these people never stop screaming that Christians are being persecuted, then immediately start workshopping how to use the government to bankrupt churches and jail clergy who disagree with them.
Chad Connelly says that Christians must be politically engaged because America is “on the precipice” of being taken over by “godless socialism and communism.”
- Truly excellent news if true, because not having a theocracy and seeing the 1% pay their fair share would be excellent news.
- Unfortunately the reality is that all we really have is the same old fake smoke alarm that blares “godless socialism and communism” every time pluralist democracy fails to hand the church lobby a master key to the government. Make no mistake, it is a call for a religious dictatorship.
- Socialism: If “Socialism” is something you oppose, then let’s be clear about what you are actually terrified of. Here is a list of “socialism” in action – Public Schools; Public Libraries; Police and Fire departments; Social Security; Medicare and Medicaid; The VA healthcare system; Municipal water and sewer systems; Public power utilities; Public roads and highways; US Postal Service; National Parks; Farm subsidies / corporate bailouts … etc etc…
Joshua Haymes declares that “the culture war we are fighting is existential”: “If the libs gain total power like they want, me and my entire family are off to the gulags. And I am so serious about that.”
- This from the guy who wants you to vote for the people who gave us ICE that has murdered innocent US citizens in the street without consequence, is really not an opinion that can be taken seriously.
- He is with the people demanding book bans, state-backed religion, forced conformity, and government punishment of their enemies, and yet somehow he has the gall to warn about “gulags.”
- The real existential threat here is not liberals building gulags in the suburbs (which we don’t do because we would rather build book clubs, museums, and libraries). It’s authoritarian pastors training their followers to believe democracy is tyranny whenever they don’t get to rule everyone else in Jesus’ name.
Religious-right activist Ralph Reed crows that Mike Johnson “came out of our movement” and rose to become Speaker of the House by “divine appointment”: “God has given him favor with his colleagues, favor with the president, and favor with the American people.”
- Gods don’t get to either vote or pick the speaker of the house.
- It truly is a weird way of thinking about the world – when one of their team wins, it is apparently divine appointment, and when they don’t, it is demons.
And speaking of weird …
Weirdest of the Weird: Two winners this Week
Winner 1: Tulsi Gabbard
- Link
- Quote: “Reporter Jon Swaine tells us that in a bizarre career that has swerved from social conservatism in Hawaii to progressivism in Congress, from presidential outsider to alleged “Russian asset” to MAGA turncoat and failed director of national intelligence, Gabbard took extensive direction and instruction from a Hindu cult leader. Read that again: the official who, until last week, oversaw all U.S. intelligence work, who inserted herself in efforts to boost fake allegations of election fraud and perhaps rig the midterms, took instruction and direction from a Hindu cult leader.“
Winner 2: Psychiatrist Carole Lieberman
- This is not psychiatry; it’s MAGA fan fiction.
- “Trump Derangement Syndrome” is generally deployed against those that refuse to lick the arse of the sexual predator and convicted felon. A far more accurate usage of the term is to deploy it to describe those such as her who are in the cult, not those that refuse to join.
Corrupt SCOTUS does more Racism
There is more coming. Next week has the potential to be big. There is the Birthright Citizenship case, Trump’s power to fire officials case, the Mail-in ballot deadlines case, and various Campaign finance / election-law rulings.
In plain English: next week is probably the final burst of huge rulings before the summer recess, with birthright citizenship and election rules the most politically explosive ones.
In normal times you would perhaps expect SCOTUS to do what is legally right, but these are to normal times.
Clay Jones – Racist SCOTUS strikes again #SCOTUS #TPS #TRUMP #HAITIANS #TemporaryProtectiveStatus
Even More Political Cartoons from the past week
As always, there are many excellent cartoons.
Clay Jones – To those who believe the Obama Presidential Library is ugly, I have to ask, have you seen the Oval Office lately? #ObamaLibrary #Obama #Trump #MAGA
Adam Zyglis – Peeling paint…
Clay Jones – Democratic Socialists are happy and joyful, while MAGAts are angry and butthurt. #DemocraticSocialists #MAGA #NYC #zohranMamdani
Clay Jones – JD Vance blames Watergate on the deep state. Wait…. did he say deep state? #Watergate #JDVance #Deepthroat #Trump
Persecution of Political Cartoonists
The most extreme example was the jailing of a cartoonist in Texas for 30 years this past week. We will come to that below, but first a bit of wider context.
The BBC reports that a political cartoonist was murdered …
- The above BBC article dated June 16 can be found here.
- Quote: “The 44-year-old was shot five times in the head, chest and back in a car park in the town, located about 600m (2,000ft) from the Belarusian consulate. Semyon Skrepetsky was the pseudonym used by Robert Kuzovkov. He was known for his caricatures of politicians, including Putin, Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko and Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov.“
We are not there yet, but Political Cartoonists have actually been fired or pushed out because they upset the Trump administration.
Rob Rogers Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Fired in June 2018 after 25 years
This is the clearest U.S. case. Rogers said his anti-Trump cartoons were being spiked and that he was fired for criticizing Trump. Multiple reports describe him as fired after cartoons critical of Trump.
Ann Telnaes Washington Post Resigned in January 2025
Not fired, but she quit after the Post rejected a cartoon showing Jeff Bezos and other tech/media billionaires bowing to President-elect Trump. Telnaes said it was the first time a cartoon had been killed because of “who or what” she aimed at.
Michael de Adder Brunswick News, Canada Lost a freelance contract in 2019
Not U.S.-employed, but often cited in the same discussion. His Trump golf-over-dead-migrants cartoon went viral; soon after, Brunswick News ended his contract.
Nick Anderson Houston Chronicle Staff position eliminated in 2017
He was a Pulitzer-winning, left-leaning cartoonist and Trump critic. The Association of American Editorial Cartoonists criticised it as damaging to the profession.
Jack Ohman, Kevin Siers, Joel Pett McClatchy papers Laid off in 2023
These were major cartoonist job losses in the U.S., and all three had drawn anti-Trump / anti-right-wing cartoons.
Now we come to the 30 year jail sentence handed down this past week– mockery of justice
An example from the past week was a cartoonist being charged as a terrorist for the crime of having anti-trump cartoons. He has been sentenced to 30 years in Jail in Texas … let that sink in … 30 years, this is a gross abuse of basic human rights and not justice at all.
- For the above you can find all the details via The Intercept article here on June 23 (you can read for free but they will want an email)
- He was not part of any protest, all he did was having his own comics. – 30 years
I’m Not Sure Trump truly understand the messages he sends
There was this …
… and also this.
He is literally so stupid that he does not understand that passports are for American citizens, when they LEAVE the country to visit somewhere else …
What is truly telling is that he now has nobody within his circle willing to explain it to him.
Finally
Trump Sends Vance to Concede to Iran & Reflecting Pool Is Filled with Corruption | The Daily Show
4,684,627 views 23 Jun 2026 #JDVance#DailyShow#Iran
Jon Stewart dives into Trump’s talent for breaking what ain’t broke, from throwing one of his cronies $1.7 million in taxpayer money to clean the D.C reflecting pool (which quickly went from “American Flag Blue” to Mountain Dew green) to launching an aggressive war on Iran with the goal of re-obliterating their nuclear program but instead settling on a gentle parenting-style deal that lets Iran keep their nukes, along with a few hundred billion dollars. #DailyShow#Trump#Iran#JDVance
- 0:00 – Jon Stewart’s TDS Welcome
- 1:00 – Reflecting Pool Peeling After Trump Renovation
- 5:38 – JD Vance Handling Iran Peace Negotiations
- 8:06 – Vance Snubbed by Leaders
- 10:16 – Trump Lays Out What He Wants From Iran
- 15:06 – Jon Stewart Compares Trump’s Iran Deal to Obama’s
