sidravitale

https://www.dailykos.com/story/2025/10/30/2351319/-In-Trump-s-world-only-the-whitest-of-the-white-qualify-as-refugees?pm_campaign=blog&pm_medium=rss&pm_source=

It isn’t really surprising that Trump has shuttered refugee admissions, as he is a bone-deep racist and seems to think that people who seek asylum are literally coming from asylums.

But there is one very special group that Trump does want to come to the United States, and that’s white people. Well, a very specific group of white people: white South African Afrikaners.

This isn’t subtle or just some sort of inference. It’s in the Federal Register that the administration announced it would cap refugee admissions at 7,500.

“The admissions numbers shall primarily be allocated among Afrikaners from South Africa,” it explicitly states.

You know who doesn’t qualify? People of color from South Africa. Got it. And white people who are not descendants of the Dutch colonizers who brutally repressed the Black majority and implemented decades of apartheid don’t count either. 

Trump has latched onto the entirely fake idea that there is a “white genocide” in South Africa. This racist lie has been pushed—surprise, surprise—by rich, white South Africans like Elon Musk and Peter Thiel. 

In reality, white farmers are not under siege. Indeed, of the 27,000 murders per year in the country, white people make up 1% of that. White people make up 7% of the population but own half of the country’s farmland.

Nonetheless, Trump cornered South African President Cyril Ramaphosa during an Oval Office visit, waving around a sheaf of papers he said were about violent attacks against white Afrikaner farmers. 

"I don't know, all of these are articles over the last few days, death of people, death, death, death, horrible death," he said.

Honestly, this is just embarrassing. Trump is a doddering racist who was lucky enough to seize the levers of power, but all he knows how to do is hate. 

Trump’s cap of 7,500 refugee admissions is the lowest since the program started. In contrast, former President Joe Biden set the goal at 125,000 for fiscal year 2024. That’s still too low, of course, but not criminally low—or transparently racist—like Trump’s number here. And, of course, under Biden, refugees came from everywhere—Africa, East Asia, Europe, Central Asia, Latin America, and South Asia. You get the picture. 

Related | Trump's racist ambush of South African president gets even more bonkers

Trump originally thought that 30,000 victims of the imaginary white genocide would race to our shores, but he’s got one big problem: Most Afrikaners don’t want to come here. Their dream is to build whites-only enclaves in South Africa.

So they basically want apartheid back in their own country rather than having to relocate to the United States. Because sometimes you just want your racism at home in familiar surroundings, you know?

Dropping the cap down to 7,500 helps obscure the fact that Afrikaners are not racing to the United States. It’s far less embarrassing to say you hit a low refugee cap than admit that nowhere near 30,000 Afrikaners are clamoring to come here. 

Instead, Afrikaners are coming to the United States in dribs and drabs, a few dozen at a time, to spread racist lies—just like Trump wants. 

Can’t wait for little pockets of apartheid everywhere.

https://www.dailykos.com/story/2025/10/30/2351319/-In-Trump-s-world-only-the-whitest-of-the-white-qualify-as-refugees?pm_campaign=blog&pm_medium=rss&pm_source=

https://www.dailykos.com/story/2025/10/30/2351286/-The-Recap-Trump-wants-to-test-nukes-and-will-trick-or-treaters-dodge-ICE-raids?pm_campaign=blog&pm_medium=rss&pm_source=

A daily roundup of the best stories and cartoons by Daily Kos staff and contributors to keep you in the know.

Trump plans to set off nukes

A very normal, presidential move.

'No legal mechanism' to stop kids from starving, says House speaker

“There’s nothing I can do,” says man who has tried absolutely nothing.

The surveillance state is here—and it’s bleak

You’re living in a dystopian society, and the Trump administration is watching.

Cartoon: A track record

If not Nazi, then why Nazi-like?

Trump's terrifying new plan to unleash the military on Americans

This “quick reaction force” is bad news.

Illinois governor begs ICE to ‘let children be children’ on Halloween

Chicago kids are facing real-life terror while they trick-or-treat.

A major roadblock to Trump's legal victories? Naked cruelty.

Kilmar Abrego Garcia is fighting to expose the administration’s vindictiveness.

Trump admits he maybe probably can’t be president forever

Reality bites.

Buttigieg says what we're all thinking about wannabe 'mob boss' Trump

Threatening to cancel projects and gut funding is a mafioso move.

Click here to see more cartoons.

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https://www.dailykos.com/story/2025/10/30/2351301/-Trump-s-shock-troops-to-occupy-DC-even-longer?pm_campaign=blog&pm_medium=rss&pm_source=

The National Guard presence in Washington, D.C., isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. 

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ordered troops to remain in the capital until at least February—and possibly longer—extending what was supposed to be a temporary mission.

Politico says the original orders were supposed to end in November, but Hegseth quietly signed off on keeping the troops in D.C. for much longer. An anonymous defense official told Politico the deployment will continue “until the mission is considered complete,” in the outlet’s words.

As of Wednesday morning, CNN reports that 2,387 National Guard troops are stationed across D.C., including service members from Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Ohio, South Carolina, West Virginia, and D.C. itself. The operation costs roughly $1 million a day, which is rough optics during the GOP’s government shutdown.

Trump first ordered the guard into Washington in August, claiming the city needed help fighting crime—even though crime rates had recently hit a 30-year low before his intervention. 

The troops operate under Title 32 orders, which allow them to perform law enforcement duties while remaining under state control. Politico notes that similar domestic deployments typically fall under Title 10 orders, which federalize troops and prohibit them from engaging in law enforcement activities.

In practice, the troops haven’t been patrolling for crime. Over the past two months, they’ve spent much of their time picking up trash, spreading mulch, and performing other “beautification” projects around the National Mall and other heavily trafficked areas. According to guard statistics, units assigned to “Task Force Beautification” have collected 1,099 bags of trash and spread more than 1,000 cubic yards of mulch.

Local officials have criticized the deployment as wasteful and unnecessary. D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb has sued the Trump administration, arguing the city never consented to the federal presence. A federal judge heard arguments in the case last week.

CNN, which first reported the extension, noted growing frustration among guard members over the open-ended mission. Many are leaving behind better-paying civilian jobs to serve.

The situation in D.C. is also part of a broader legal and political battle over Trump’s National Guard deployments. The administration has sent troops to cities including Los Angeles and Memphis—moves that drew strong pushback from Democratic governors like California’s Gavin Newsom. 

Court orders have stymied similar deployments in Portland and Chicago.

Despite repeated rulings that such actions exceed the president’s constitutional authority, the White House is reportedly preparing to deploy as many as 23,500 guard troops nationwide as part of a supposed public-safety campaign. 

Vice President JD Vance spelled out the administration’s position in August.

“If the president of the United States thinks that he has to extend this order to ensure that people have access to public safety, then that’s exactly what he’ll do,” he said.

What began as a temporary deployment has become a stark example of Trump’s expansion of federal authority in the nation’s capital. As early as July, he was openly floating the idea of taking over D.C. And by September, he was threatening to seize control of its police department after city officials refused to cooperate with federal immigration efforts.

Now, that vision is playing out on the ground: Thousands of armed troops stationed in the capital, an aimless mission, and taxpayers footing the bill for an expensive operation with no clear end in sight.

https://www.dailykos.com/story/2025/10/30/2351301/-Trump-s-shock-troops-to-occupy-DC-even-longer?pm_campaign=blog&pm_medium=rss&pm_source=

https://www.dailykos.com/story/2025/10/30/2351280/-Billie-Eilish-blasts-bad-guy-billionaires-to-their-faces?pm_campaign=blog&pm_medium=rss&pm_source=

Singer Billie Eilish used her spotlight at WSJ Magazine’s Innovator Awards Wednesday night to turn the heat on billionaires.

“We’re in a time right now where the world is really, really bad and really dark and people need empathy and help more than, kind of, ever, especially in our country,” the 23-year-old said while accepting the Music Innovator Award. “I’d say if you have money, it would be great to use it for good things, maybe give it to some people that need it.”

She then added, “Love you all, but there’s a few people in here that have a lot more money than me. If you’re a billionaire, why are you a billionaire? No hate, but yeah, give your money away, shorties.”

By a few people, she was likely referring to Mark Zuckerberg, who was sitting in the crowd with his wife, Priscilla Chan. Zuckerberg reportedly did not clap along with the crowd when she made that statement.

The Meta CEO is worth a whopping $228 billion, making him the second-richest person in the world as of publication.

While Eilish—a millionaire herself—gave $11.5 million of the profits from her recent tour to various organizations supporting food equity and climate justice, Zuckerberg and Chan seem to be keeping things close to his chest, at least for now.

The two have reportedly pledged 99% of their Meta shares to the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, a for-profit company working to cure, prevent, and manage all diseases by 2100.

But if CZI sounds familiar for reasons other than a vague mountainous goal, it might be because it made headlines in May for cutting part of its grant program that was helping to build affordable housing. And two months before that, it cut grants for racial equity and immigration reform. According to Chan, these cuts were made to focus on the scientific arm, where the resources were paying off the most.

But the changes came at a suspicious time, as Zuckerberg has been capitulating to President Donald Trump and his war on diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts.

Zuckerberg’s descent into conservatism became abundantly clear when he donated $1 million to Trump’s inauguration committee. He also updated Meta’s “hateful conduct” policy, which appeared to give people free reign to harass LGBTQ+ people.

He has even cooperated with the Department of Homeland Security in removing Facebook groups that helped to identify and warn people of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents’ presence. 

Zuckerberg might claim that he’s making strides for the greater good with the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, but his actions consistently prove otherwise.

And one thing is very clear: Even millionaires like Eilish understand that billionaires simply shouldn't exist.

https://www.dailykos.com/story/2025/10/30/2351280/-Billie-Eilish-blasts-bad-guy-billionaires-to-their-faces?pm_campaign=blog&pm_medium=rss&pm_source=