Trump Action Archive

Supporting reports

• Marc Benioff apologizes for supporting national guard deployment to San Francisco — Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff apologized Friday for stating he supported Trump deploying national guard troops to San Francisco, reversing his earlier New York Times interview where he said "if they can be cops, I'm all for it." After facing backlash from San Francisco officials and residents, Benioff issued a statement saying he does not believe the National Guard is needed and that his earlier comments "came from an abundance of caution" around his Dreamforce conference. The reversal follows Trump's broader threats to deploy federal troops to liberal cities.

Supporting reports

• Vermont state senator Samuel Douglass resigns over racist and antisemitic group chat messages — Vermont state senator Samuel Douglass, 26, resigned effective Monday following exposure of racist and antisemitic messages he posted in a Young Republicans Telegram group chat. The messages included derogatory remarks about Indian women, Jewish people, and LGBTQ+ individuals. Douglass had faced pressure from Vermont governor Phil Scott and state senate minority leader Scott Beck to step down after Politico published the leaked chat. Douglass stated in his resignation that he was "deeply sorry for the offense" caused by his comments.
• Kansas Young Republicans chapter shut down — The Kansas chapter of the Young Republicans was shut down following the leak of offensive group chat messages from members of the organization.
• New York Young Republicans chapter shut down — The New York chapter of the Young Republicans was shut down following the leak of offensive group chat messages from members of the organization.
• Young Republicans group chats leaked with racist and violent rhetoric — Private text messages from Young Republican group chats across multiple states were leaked to the public, revealing members referring to Black people using racial slurs, discussing putting political opponents in gas chambers, discussing rape and suicide, and praising slavery. The leaks prompted the New York and Kansas chapters of the Young Republicans to shut down, a Vermont state senator to step down, and several participants to lose their jobs. JD Vance made excuses for the participants despite their ages.
• Vermont state senator steps down — A Vermont state senator stepped down following the leak of offensive group chat messages in which he participated as a member of the Young Republicans.

Supporting reports

• Trump posted AI-generated video depicting him as "King Trump" dropping feces on protesters — On Truth Social, Trump posted an AI-generated video showing him flying a fighter jet labeled "King Trump" and dropping feces on protesters participating in the "No Kings" demonstrations. A senior Trump administration official later confirmed to Zeteo that the video depicted excrement, stating "It is shit. A lot of it…What else would that be?" The post was a direct mockery of the nearly 7 million people who had just participated in nationwide protests against his administration.
• President Trump posts AI-generated video depicting himself dropping feces on protesters — On the evening of October 19, 2025 (Saturday night), President Donald Trump posted an AI-generated video on Truth Social showing himself as "King Trump" flying a fighter jet marked with his name over Times Square, dropping a brown liquid resembling feces on "No Kings" protesters. The video featured Kenny Loggins's song "Danger Zone" in the background. Activist Harry Sisson, who appeared to be depicted in the video, publicly questioned why the president posted such content. CNN host Manu Raju noted the significance of the president posting the clip.
• Trump posted AI video of himself defecating on protesters — Trump posted on Truth Social an AI-generated video depicting himself as a fighter pilot wearing a crown, dumping feces from an aircraft onto the heads of No Kings Day protesters, including activist Harry Sisson. The video used Kenny Loggins' "Danger Zone" without permission. Speaker Johnson defended the post as "satire" when questioned by reporters.

Supporting reports

• Lawsuit filed challenging Trump DEI bans as violation of anti-trafficking law — A coalition of 50+ anti-trafficking organizations filed suit in federal district court in Chicago alleging that Trump's January 2025 anti-DEI executive orders violate the Trafficking Victims Protection Act and constitute unlawful censorship. The lawsuit claims the Department of Justice has barred the coalition from using dozens of terms including "gender," "race," "ethnicity," and "fairness" in federally funded work, undermining efforts to combat human trafficking and serve survivors disproportionately drawn from Black, immigrant, and LGBTQ+ populations.

Supporting reports

• White House press secretary characterized Democrats as supporting terrorists and criminals — White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told Fox News Channel that "[t]he Democrat Party's main constituency are [sic] made up of Hamas terrorists, illegal aliens, and violent criminals." This statement represents an official administration effort to delegitimize political opposition through inflammatory rhetoric and false characterization.
• Rep. Hakeem Jeffries criticized White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt — Rep. Hakeem Jeffries criticized White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, stating she is "sick, she's out of control" and questioning whether she is "demented, ignorant, a stone cold liar, or all of the above." Jeffries specifically objected to Leavitt's statement that the Democratic Party consists of "terrorists, violent criminals, and undocumented immigrants," calling it inappropriate for an official White House spokesperson to make during a government shutdown.

Supporting reports

• Republican leaders attack "No Kings" protest as un-American and falsely associate it with Hamas, antifa, and paid agitation — House Speaker Mike Johnson, Majority Leader Steve Scalise, Majority Whip Tom Emmer, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, and Senator Roger Marshall publicly attacked the planned "No Kings" protest scheduled for October 18, 2025, characterizing it as a "hate America rally" and falsely claiming attendees would be "pro-Hamas," "antifa people," "paid protesters" funded by George Soros, and prone to violence. The protest, organized by hundreds of groups including the ACLU and Human Rights Campaign, is a peaceful demonstration against Trump administration policies. No evidence supports the claims of paid participation or violent intent; the June 2025 No Kings protest drew 4–6 million largely peaceful participants.
• Administration loyalists characterized No Kings rally as hate rally — Administration loyalists spent the week claiming that the No Kings rally scheduled for Saturday, October 18, is a "hate America rally." The rally, sponsored by Indivisible and scheduled to take place across the country including on the west lawn of the U.S. Capitol, is an anti-authoritarian protest. Indivisible has an extensive track record emphasizing safety and nonviolence. The characterization represents an official effort to delegitimize peaceful protest and mass organizing.
• House GOP Conference Chair Lisa McClain echoed Speaker Johnson's "Hate America" characterization — House GOP Conference Chair Lisa McClain repeated Speaker Johnson's inflammatory framing, stating "We'll see mobs of radicals at the 'I Hate America' rally." This coordinated messaging from Republican leadership amplified the delegitimization of the planned peaceful protests.
• Rep. Dan Meuser characterized "No Kings" rally as "anti-America protest" — Rep. Dan Meuser (R-PA) dismissed the "No Kings" rally as an "anti-America protest," predicting it would draw hundreds of thousands while expressing skepticism about the organizers' claims. This continued the Republican messaging strategy of delegitimizing the planned demonstrations.
• Speaker Johnson labeled "No Kings" rallies "Hate America" rallies, escalating partisan rhetoric — Speaker Mike Johnson repeatedly characterized the nationwide "No Kings" rallies scheduled for October 18 as "Hate America" rallies, describing attendees as "Marxists, socialists, Antifa advocates, anarchists, and the pro-Hamas wing of the far left Democrat Party." Johnson claimed the rallies represent hatred of capitalism, principles, and the rule of law. The rallies, organized by the No Kings coalition, have grown to over 2,600 locations with doubled attendance since Johnson's initial October 10 characterization.

Supporting reports

• Federal grand jury indicted John Bolton for classified information disclosure — A federal grand jury in Maryland indicted former national security advisor John Bolton on eighteen counts: eight counts of communicating secret information to unauthorized recipients and ten counts of unauthorized possession of classified documents. The charges relate to Bolton sharing classified diary material with relatives that later informed his memoir "The Room Where It Happened." The indictment references Bolton's criticism of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's use of Signal messaging to plan military operations.
• Trump's former National Security Advisor John Bolton was indicted for retaining classified information — John Bolton, Trump's former National Security Advisor, was indicted for keeping more than 1,000 pages of diaries containing highly classified information and sharing them with two relatives. The indictment also notes that Bolton's email account was hacked by Iran, exposing some of the classified secrets.
• John Bolton indicted for mishandling classified information — John Bolton, Trump's former national security adviser and prominent critic of the president, was indicted for allegedly mishandling classified information. Bolton faces 18 criminal charges, including eight counts of transmitting national defense information and 10 counts of unlawfully retaining national defense information. In a statement, Bolton said he "look[s] forward to the fight to defend my lawful conduct and to expose [Trump's] abuse of power."
• John Bolton indicted on 18 counts of mishandling classified information — The Department of Justice filed an 18-count indictment against John Bolton, former Trump national security adviser, charging him under the Espionage Act with transmitting and retaining highly classified information. Bolton allegedly sent diary entries containing classified details to two unnamed individuals via personal email and messaging accounts. The grand jury indictment was handed down in federal district court in Maryland on October 17, 2025. Bolton's defense argues the diaries were personal records shared only with family and known to the FBI since 2021.
• John Bolton pleads not guilty to 18-count indictment for mishandling classified information — Former national security adviser John Bolton surrendered to authorities and pleaded not guilty in Maryland federal court to an 18-count indictment alleging he shared classified diary notes with relatives lacking security clearances, stored classified documents at his home, and sent top-secret information via personal email. Bolton's lawyer characterized the prosecution as political retaliation for his 2020 memoir critical of Trump. Career prosecutors in the Maryland US attorney's office filed the charges, which were initially dropped by the Biden DOJ in 2021 but reopened after the CIA director and FBI director reviewed Bolton's hacked emails.

Supporting reports

• Trump continued pushing false claims about 2020 Georgia election — Trump continued to push the "big lie" about the 2020 presidential election, saying he won Georgia despite losing the state by 11,779 votes and pressuring the Georgia secretary of state to overturn the election results. He added that he hopes investigators will "take a real look" at the votes from the election.

Supporting reports

• Young Republican leaders exchange racist messages and express admiration for Hitler — Politico reported on 2,900 pages of messages exchanged on the messaging app Telegram between leaders of hardline pro-Trump factions of Young Republican groups in New York, Kansas, Arizona, and Vermont. The messages contained racist themes and epithets, and the leaders cheered slavery, rape, gas chambers, and torturing opponents. They expressed admiration for Adolf Hitler. One leader wrote: "If we ever had a leak of this chat we would be cooked [for real for real]."
• Politico published leaked messages from Young Republican leaders with racist content — Politico published a bombshell article about leaked messages exposing racist chats involving the leaders of Young Republican organizations, which featured jokes about gas chambers, slavery, and rape, along with messages like "I love Hitler." In response, Vice President JD Vance dismissed concerns about the chats, claiming that "kids do stupid things, especially young boys," despite many of the members already working inside government or party politics, with one currently serving as a state senator.
• Vice President Vance dismissed racist Young Republican messages — Vice President JD Vance dismissed concerns about the racist chats from Young Republican leaders, claiming that "kids do stupid things, especially young boys," despite many of the members already working inside government or party politics, with one currently serving as a state senator. He added, "I really don't want us to grow up in a country where a kid is telling a stupid joke—telling a very offensive, stupid job—is cause to ruin their lives."

Supporting reports

• Defense Secretary Hegseth demands media sign press restrictions agreement — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth demanded that media outlets agree not to publish any material about the Defense Department—even if unclassified—unless explicitly authorized by department officials. He set a deadline of 5:00 p.m. on October 15 for outlets to sign the agreement or surrender their press badges. Every major press outlet, including Fox News Channel, refused, citing the First Amendment guarantee of press freedom.
• Pentagon imposes media credential restrictions on defense reporting — Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth demanded that media outlets report only information authorized by Department of Defense officials or lose their press credentials. All but one far-right opinion network refused to comply. The Pentagon Press Association declared October 15, 2025 "a dark day for press freedom" and expressed concern about weakening U.S. commitment to transparency and public accountability.
• Pentagon revokes press badges for journalists refusing new reporting restrictions — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth implemented new Pentagon media guidelines requiring journalists to sign restrictive policies governing information solicitation from defense employees. Reporters who declined to sign—including those from the Washington Post, CNN, the Atlantic, and the Guardian—were required to return their press badges by 5 p.m. Wednesday, ending decades of in-house Pentagon coverage. Major television networks issued a joint statement opposing the guidelines as incompatible with free press principles, but proceeded with badge surrender while pledging to continue coverage from outside the building.

Supporting reports

• Speaker Johnson announces effort to nominate Trump for Nobel Peace Prize — Speaker Mike Johnson announced that he and Israel's Knesset Speaker are spearheading an effort to nominate Donald Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize, claiming "no one has ever deserved it more," despite ongoing wars in Gaza and the Congo where Trump falsely claimed to have brokered peace.
• Speaker Johnson announces plan to nominate Trump for Nobel Peace Prize — Speaker Mike Johnson announced a joint project with Israeli Knesset Speaker Ohana to rally speakers and presidents of parliaments around the world to jointly nominate President Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize. Johnson stated "No one has ever deserved that prize more."

Supporting reports

• Fox News characterizes No Kings protests as pro-Antifa hate America rallies — Fox News surrogates broadcast propaganda characterizing the No Kings protests planned for October 18th as "pro-Antifa hate America rallies," misrepresenting peaceful demonstrations against tyranny and authoritarianism.

Supporting reports

• Speaker Mike Johnson characterizes No Kings protest as hate rally — House Speaker Mike Johnson called the No Kings protest scheduled for October 18, 2025, a "hate-America rally" filled with "the Antifa crowd, the pro-Hamas crowd, and the Marxists." House Majority Whip Tom Emmer called millions of peaceful Americans planning to exercise their constitutional right to protest "terrorists."
• No Kings protests scheduled; Republicans attack demonstrations as "Antifa" and "paid" — Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy on Fox News characterized the upcoming No Kings protests (scheduled for October 18) as "Antifa" and "paid protesters," questioning their funding. Speaker Mike Johnson called them "marxist, hate America" rallies. Senator Bernie Sanders countered that the rallies represent millions opposing authoritarianism. The protests have grown in size across multiple events, and Republican messaging has shifted from ignoring them to attacking their legitimacy and funding sources.
• Speaker Johnson calls No Kings rallies "marxist, hate America" — Speaker Mike Johnson characterized the No Kings protests as "marxist, hate America" rallies on Sunday news programs. This framing was disputed by Senator Bernie Sanders and former Representative Tom Malinowski, who noted that the rallies represent constitutional defense and broad-based civic participation.

Supporting reports

• Treasury Secretary Bessent frames government shutdown as consequence of No Kings protests — Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated "No Kings means no paychecks. No paychecks and no government," linking the protest movement to the ongoing government shutdown and implying the protests are responsible for federal funding disruptions.

Supporting reports

• Speaker Johnson acknowledges inability to repeal Affordable Care Act — Speaker Mike Johnson stated during a shutdown press conference that many Republicans are now "skeptical" about the ability to completely repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, citing that "the roots are so deep" and describing the law's creation as "really sinister." Johnson indicated that Republicans lack a replacement plan despite decades of promises to repeal the ACA.

Supporting reports

• Pentagon issues restrictive press credential policy; major news outlets refuse to sign — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth issued a new Pentagon press policy requiring journalists to pledge they will not obtain unauthorized material and restricting access to certain areas without official accompaniment. The policy, presented in September and requiring signature by October 14 at 5pm or loss of credentials within 24 hours, was rejected by the Washington Post, New York Times, CNN, the Atlantic, the Guardian, Reuters, Associated Press, NPR, HuffPost, and Breaking Defense. Hegseth responded with dismissive social media posts; Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell claimed outlets mischaracterized the policy as merely requiring acknowledgment of understanding rather than agreement.
• Major news outlets refuse to comply with Pentagon screening mandate — The Washington Post, New York Times, The Atlantic, CNN, Guardian, Breaking Defense, and Newsmax issued statements refusing to comply with new rules mandated by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth requiring that reporting on the Pentagon and military issues be submitted for screening and approval by the Department of Defense. Only OAN has signed the mandate so far. Newsmax stated the requirements are "unnecessary and onerous."
• Major media outlets refused to sign Pentagon press policy — Major media outlets, including the New York Times, Washington Post, and Wall Street Journal, said they wouldn't sign on to a new Defense Department policy that the Pentagon Press Association warned "gags Pentagon employees and threatens retaliation against reporters who seek out information that has not been pre-approved for release." The move marks a mass exodus of Pentagon reporters, who lost their press badges when outlets refused to sign on to the policy.
• Trump endorsed Pentagon press restrictions — Trump endorsed the Pentagon's new press restrictions, saying that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth "finds the press to be very disruptive in terms of world peace," and adding, "The press is very dishonest." Hegseth, who called the restrictions "common sense stuff," accused reporters of trying to get Defense Department employees to "break the law" by leaking information.

Supporting reports

• Trump dismisses journalist and attacks news outlet — During an interview on Air Force One en route to Israel, Trump dismissed journalist Dasha Burns from Politico, stating "Politico has gone bad. They've been so wrong about everything. Let's get somebody else to ask some questions. Politico is fake news." Burns had previously spoken with Trump by phone four days earlier, but Trump claimed not to know who she was.

Supporting reports

• Trump makes false claims about Egyptian president's meeting with Clinton — CNN's Daniel Dale reported that Trump told a false story about his first meeting with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, claiming that Sisi was supposed to meet Hillary Clinton but "liked me so much he never even got to see Hillary" or saw her for "about two seconds." News reports and tweets from 2016 show that Sisi actually met with Clinton before meeting Trump that day and spoke with Clinton for more than 70 minutes.

Supporting reports

• Elimination of climate research programs and firing of scientists — The EPA eliminated climate research programs and fired scientists as part of its deregulatory agenda.

Supporting reports

• Kristi Noem released a TSA video blaming Democrats for shutdown impacts. — Kristi Noem, as head of the Department of Homeland Security, released a video to be played in U.S. airports stating that TSA's top priority is ensuring pleasant and efficient airport experiences while keeping travelers safe. However, she blamed Democrats in Congress for refusing to fund the federal government, stating that because of this "most of our operations are impacted and most of our TSA employees are working without pay." The video uses federal resources and airport infrastructure to deliver a partisan political message blaming one party for the shutdown.
• Seattle and Portland airports refuse to air Kristi Noem video — Seattle-Tacoma International Airport and Portland International Airport announced they will not broadcast a video by Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem that criticizes Democrats and blames them for flight delays. The airports determined the video violates the Hatch Act by using federal resources for partisan political messaging.
• Multiple U.S. airports refused to show Homeland Security partisan video — Many U.S. airports refused to show a new video intended to play on screens near security lines that features Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem blaming Democratic lawmakers for the government shutdown. Some airports raised concerns that the video is a violation of the Hatch Act, which generally prohibits federal employees from engaging in partisan political activity.
• Multiple airports refuse to air Kristi Noem partisan political advertisement — Thirteen major U.S. airports have confirmed they will not play a partisan political PSA video by Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem that blames Democrats for airport delays. The airports refusing to air the video include Portland International, Seattle-Tacoma International, Niagara Falls International, Buffalo Niagara International, Westchester County, Phoenix International, Las Vegas International, Charlotte International, Cleveland International, LAX, JFK, LaGuardia, and Newark International.
• Airports refuse to air DHS shutdown video citing Hatch Act violation — Airports around the country refused to air a video recorded by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem for display at Transportation Security Administration checkpoints. The video blamed Democrats for the government shutdown. Some airports noted the video violates the Hatch Act, which prohibits the use of government assets for partisan purposes.
• Kristi Noem administration spending hundreds of millions on propaganda ads — Trump loyalist Kristi Noem's administration was spending hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars on propaganda advertisements glorifying Trump and demonizing migrants, diverting resources from family protection programs.

Supporting reports

• Vance baselessly claimed Illinois Governor violated oath of office — Vice President Vance was asked about Trump's calls for Illinois Governor JB Pritzker to be jailed, to which he baselessly claimed that Pritzker "has violated his fundamental oath of office," something that "seems pretty criminal to me."

Supporting reports

• Trump called for investigation of former FBI Director Chris Wray. — Trump posted on social media claiming that "THE BIDEN FBI PLACED 274 AGENTS INTO THE CROWD ON JANUARY 6" and called for action, stating "a lot of very good people will be owed big apologies" and "DO SOMETHING!!!" The post appeared to call for investigation or prosecution of former FBI Director Chris Wray. However, Trump's own FBI Director Kash Patel subsequently issued a statement that the story was false and that agents were sent to the Capitol after the violent insurrection was already well underway. Additionally, it was the Trump administration's FBI, not Biden's, since Biden was not yet president on January 6, 2021.

Supporting reports

• White House denounces Nobel Peace Prize committee decision to award prize to María Corina Machado instead of Trump — Following the Norwegian Nobel Committee's announcement that Venezuelan opposition politician María Corina Machado won the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize, White House officials including communications director Steven Cheung and Trump's special envoy Richard Grenell publicly attacked the committee as "politicised" and claimed it prioritized "politics over peace." Trump had openly campaigned for the prize and lobbied Norwegian officials ahead of the announcement, timing a Gaza ceasefire deal to precede the committee's decision. The committee's statement emphasized defending democracy against authoritarianism, which observers interpreted as a subtle critique of Trump's domestic military deployments and pressure on political opponents.

Supporting reports

• Trump Posts “Physician’s Report” Claiming Excellent Health — Trump shared a North Korea-style "physician's report" on social media, claiming he is in "excellent overall health," despite visible signs of health issues and a recent visit to Walter Reed Hospital for advanced imaging.

Supporting reports

• Trump Declares Columbus Day a Celebration of “Original American Hero” — President Trump declared Columbus Day a celebration of the "original American hero," a move seen as an attempt to inflame cultural divisions rather than address pressing governance issues.
• Trump installs Christopher Columbus statue on White House grounds — President Trump had a 13-foot, one-ton statue of Christopher Columbus installed outside the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on the White House grounds on October 13, 2025. The statue was reconstructed from pieces of an original monument torn down and dumped into Baltimore's inner harbor by protesters in 2020. Trump framed Columbus as "the original American hero" and pledged to ensure he was "honored as such for generations to come," positioning the installation as a counter to recent efforts by some jurisdictions to replace Columbus Day with Indigenous Peoples Day recognition.