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    Trump is shamelessly covering America in his name | Mohamad Bazzi

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    Using the presidency as a branding opportunity, Trump is slapping his name on buildings, monuments and projects In 2011, Donald Trump published a book with the self-help guru Robert Kiyosaki titled Midas Touch. It’s a typical self-empowerment manual in which the pair expound on the secrets of entrepreneurial success while drawing on their personal experiences. At one point, they write: “Building a brand may be more important than building a business.”That was certainly Trump’s approach to business: he was the New York real estate tycoon who turned his fame into a brand that symbolized luxury and savvy strategy – even if his companies filed for bankruptcy six times. Trump spent decades trying to use his name to turn a profit: he owned an airline and a university, and slapped his moniker on vodka, steaks, neckties, board games and even bottled water. Leveraging the fame he gained from the Apprentice TV show, he expanded to licensing Trump-branded global real estate projects built by other developers. In many of these ventures, Trump collected licensing fees, rather than investing his own money, ensuring that he profited even if the businesses collapsed. Continue reading… More

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      Epstein texts and yelling at Trump: US House’s year of censures

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      Lawmakers spent much of 2025 seeking to reprimand each other – here’s a look back at what sparked such outrageIt’s been a year for the history books in the House of Representatives. Lawmakers broke the record for longest floor speech and longest vote, and presided over the lengthiest government shutdown.They also spent plenty of time seeking to reprimand each other by passing censures, as the House’s formal mechanism for discipline is known. A search on Congress.gov reveals at least 17 attempts since the start of the year to condemn another lawmaker, in the form of a censure or a less formal disapproval resolution. Continue reading… More

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      Dragged down by an unpopular president, Republicans are bracing for a midterm trouncing

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      As Americans tire of Donald Trump, a Democratic midterm ‘tsunami’ could sweep the GOP out of powerIt was a wake-up call for America. In January, Donald Trump took the oath of office, declared himself “saved by God to make America great again” and issued a barrage of executive orders. In the ensuing months the US president and his allies moved at breakneck speed and seemed indomitable.But as 2025 draws to a close with Trump struggling to stay awake at meetings, the prevailing image is of a driver asleep at the wheel. Opinion polls suggest that Americans are turning against him. Republicans are heading for the exit ahead of congressional contests next November that look bleak for the president’s party. Continue reading… More

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      Trump supporters hail US strikes in Nigeria as ‘amazing Christmas present’

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      Some even celebrated ‘mass killing’ and the president’s ‘resolve’ in attacking Islamic State targets The US’s Christmas Day strikes against Islamic State targets in Nigeria have been met with praise by Donald Trump supporters who for months had been agitating for the president to respond forcefully to the killings of Christians in the country.“I can’t think of a better way to celebrate Christmas than by avenging the death of Christians through the justified mass killing of Islamic terrorists,” the far-right political activist Laura Loomer posted on X. “You’ve got to love it! Death to all Islamic terrorists! Thank you.” Continue reading… More

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      ‘Loyalty over all’: Trump was once known for constantly switching out his staff. Not any more

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      The president’s professed satisfaction with his cabinet may reflect how hard it would be to get a replacement confirmedFor more than a decade he built his brand on two words: “You’re fired!” And in his first term in the White House, Donald Trump did not hesitate to show his staff the door, often via an abrasive tweet.But since resuming the US presidency in January, Trump, the former host of the reality TV show The Apprentice, appears to have become an uncharacteristically bashful boss, more disposed to hiring than firing. Continue reading… More

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      ‘Not an enabler’? A glimpse behind the curtain at Trump’s chief of staff, Susie Wiles

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      Are her recent candid remarks about Trump an attempt to distance herself from an increasingly unpopular president?She was now one of the family. When Donald Trump addressed supporters in Mount Pocono, Pennsylvania, in early December, he asked: “Susie Trump – do you know Susie Trump? Sometimes referred to as Susie Wiles.”The US president was referring to his chief of staff, who he said had persuaded him to return to the campaign trail ahead of the 2026 congressional midterm elections. But a week later, Wiles appeared at risk of becoming the family outcast. Continue reading… More

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      Jeffrey Epstein files latest: New files, including transcripts, released by Department of Justice on Saturday – as it happened

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      Agency hit with legal threats and scathing outrage after Friday release includes limited, heavily redacted trove. This blog is now closed.Analysis: Trickle release signals move to bury Trump tiesPhotos from the first batch of Epstein filesA book titled Massage for Dummies was seen among the partial files released yesterday by the Department of Justice. It is mentioned as one of the “gifts” Epstein gave to a “girl” whose name is redacted.Various reports say Epstein would often request massages from his victims – for both himself and others in his circle.Many of the documents in the data dump were heavily redacted, with text blacked out so it was impossible to read. Norm Eisen, executive chair of Democracy Defenders Fund, said: “What they have released is clearly incomplete and appears to be over-redacted to boot.”The documents extensively featured photos of former president Bill Clinton, a Democrat, and appeared to include few if any photos of Trump or documents mentioning him, despite Trump and Epstein’s well-publicised friendship in the 1990s and early 2000s. Continue reading… More

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      Bill Clinton spokesperson says White House is using him as scapegoat after Epstein files release

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      Angel Ureña said ex-president, pictured in some photos released by justice department, cut ties with Epstein in 2005A spokesperson for Bill Clinton accused the White House late on Friday of using him as a scapegoat after pictures of the former president with sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, as well as with a young woman in a pool, were included as part of congressionally ordered release of government files.“The White House hasn’t been hiding these files for months only to dump them late on a Friday to protect Bill Clinton,” the spokesperson said in a statement on X. Continue reading… More

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      Behold, it’s the Trump who stole Christmas | Robert Reich

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      The president continues to preach austerity and hate to people struggling to make ends meet. No wonder voters are turning on himTrump gave what was billed as a “Christmas speech” in rural Pennsylvania this past week that began with his “wishing each and everyone one of you a very merry Christmas, happy New Year, all of that stuff” and boasting that now, under his presidency: “Everybody’s saying ‘merry Christmas’ again.”He then claimed – contrary to the experience of nearly everyone in the crowd – that he had gotten them “lower prices” and “bigger paychecks”. He also asserted that anyone having difficulty making ends meet should just cut back on buying stuff. “You can give up certain products. You can give up pencils … Every child can get 37 pencils. They only need one or two,” he said, adding: “You don’t need 37 dolls for your daughter. Two or three is nice. You don’t need 37 dolls.”Robert Reich, a former US secretary of labor, is a professor of public policy emeritus at the University of California, Berkeley. He is a Guardian US columnist and his newsletter is at robertreich.substack.com. His new book, Coming Up Short: A Memoir of My America, is out now Continue reading… More