The Morning Sixpack - March 27, 2025
More Signalgate, Trump orders MORE Tariffs, and ICE has fully broken bad.
Trump Flip-Flops on Signal Leak Scandal, Points to Mike Waltz
In a sudden reversal, Donald Trump on Wednesday pinned the blame for the now-infamous Signal group chat leak on national security adviser Mike Waltz—despite days of defending him publicly and dodging questions about accountability.
“Mike Waltz, I guess he said, he claimed responsibility,” Trump told reporters. “I always thought it was Mike.”
Meanwhile, the former president continued to vigorously defend Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who remains under fire for allegedly sharing sensitive military operation details in the leaked messages.
The leak, which emerged after The Atlantic’s Jeffrey Goldberg revealed he was mistakenly added to a Signal group chat involving top administration officials, has sparked growing concern among military and national security circles.
The chat reportedly included launch times and other classified or near-classified operational information.
“Some current and former military and government officials have expressed concern about the contents of Hegseth’s messages saying he leaked sensitive attack details that were ‘reckless and dangerous.’”
Trump, however, dismissed any criticism of Hegseth, calling the backlash “a witch hunt.”
Adding to the confusion, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt acknowledged that Trump had reviewed the entire Signal chat but stopped short of calling the contents classified, referring to it only as “a sensitive policy discussion.”
Trump’s wavering public stance—first defending Waltz, now implicating him—underscores an administration once again tangled in its own messaging as the fallout continues. Bottom line: These are incompetent, evil weasels, intent only on destruction of our democracy and institutions, enriching themselves and their cronies, and getting as much power as they can.
Source: Politico
Prediction: Mike Waltz will resign or be fired first. Pete Hegseth will enter into rehab. Then the other dominoes may (or may not) begin to fall.
Trump’s Tariff Tantrum Tanks Global Auto Stocks
Wall Street slammed the brakes Thursday as Trump’s 25% auto tariff announcement sent global car stocks skidding into the ditch.
Detroit got dinged, Tokyo took a tumble, and Germany’s finest got smacked with a luxury tax of reality. General Motors dropped over 7%, Volkswagen sputtered 2%, and even Porsche’s sleek stock lost 4% of its shine. Meanwhile, Tesla cruised ahead—up 1%—as Elon Musk, now basically America’s co-president, conveniently makes all his cars on U.S. soil.
Trump swore Musk had no influence: “He had not influenced my decision,” the former president claimed, with the same straight face he uses when denying golf scores.
While Trump pledged the tariffs would be permanent—because of course he did—analysts from Bernstein threw shade on that fantasy, writing, “We think it is unlikely that the new tariff regime will last, given the widespread damage they will do across industries and the inflationary impact on the U.S. economy.”
BMW has already warned of a $1 billion hit, and let’s be real—if Porsche can’t sell its six-figure toys to American buyers, what’s even the point of capitalism?
Markets in major export economies weren’t spared. Germany’s DAX dipped, South Korea’s KOSPI stumbled, and Japan’s Nikkei bowed slightly.
Meanwhile, gold prices leapt over $3,000 per ounce. U.S. Treasury yields also ticked up as the looming inflation monster crept in.
The Trump team continues to pitch the “short-term pain for long-term gain” line, but to investors watching their portfolios bleed, it feels more like chainsaw economics.
As one analyst deadpanned, “It is hard to judge the duration of such chainsaw-like policies if these cause a market slump that does not appear to be transitory.”
Source: NYT
Blue Shock in Trump Country: Democrat Flips Deep-Red Pennsylvania Seat
In a political plot twist worthy of its own Netflix series, Democrat James Malone pulled off a surprise win Tuesday in Pennsylvania’s ruby-red 36th senatorial district—where Trump crushed Kamala Harris by 15 points just months ago.
Malone’s razor-thin 482-vote margin sent a jolt through the Republican ranks and gave Democrats a much-needed morale boost amid their ongoing internal drama and national identity crisis.
Heather Williams, president of the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee, didn’t mince words: “Democrats are on a roll in state legislative races in 2025… which should put Republicans on edge.”
Malone, beaming on WGAL-TV, framed the victory as a rejection of D.C. dysfunction: “Everyday voters are not liking what they’re seeing at the federal level. They don’t like the chaos.” His message of “kindness over criticism” played surprisingly well in a district better known for MAGA flags than Democratic ballots.
And it wasn’t just a fluke—Malone’s win was part of a double-header, as fellow Democrat Dan Goughnour secured a state House seat the same night, preserving the party’s fragile majority in Harrisburg.
All this comes as Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer finds himself under friendly fire for backing a GOP funding bill. Some House Democrats are calling for his resignation, while AOC blasted him for “acquiescing to Elon Musk,” a sentence that probably made Schumer question his life choices.
“I’m not stepping down,” he told Meet the Press.
Meanwhile, Malone’s unlikely win shows that while national Democrats are busy squabbling, local races might just be where the party finds its backbone—and its future.
Source: The Guardian
Judge to Trump Admin: Explain Why a Tufts Student Was Hauled Off Like a Suspect on “Cops”
In a move straight out of a dystopian movie, a federal judge is demanding answers after U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in masks and hoodies detained Rumeysa Ozturk, a 30-year-old Turkish doctoral student at Tufts University, and whisked her off to Louisiana—blatantly ignoring a court order not to remove her from Massachusetts.
The arrest, captured on security footage and shared widely online, prompted gasps from bystanders, with one asking, “Is this a kidnapping?” A fair question, considering ICE agents didn’t exactly scream "law enforcement" while stuffing a hijab-wearing Fulbright scholar into an unmarked vehicle.
Judge Indira Talwani is not amused. She’s ordered DHS to explain themselves and barred them from moving Ozturk again without a 48-hour heads-up. ICE claims her student visa was revoked and that she supports Hamas—allegations made with zero public evidence. So what if she does? Are we the thought police now, too?
DHS doubled down with a statement saying, “Glorifying and supporting terrorists who kill Americans is grounds for visa issuance to be terminated. This is common sense security.”
But Ozturk hasn’t been charged with a crime, and Tufts insists it had no involvement in her arrest.
Even her longtime friends say the accusation is absurd.
“She does not carry a hateful bone in her body,” said Reyyan Bilge on X.
Critics say the whole episode reeks of political retaliation. Ozturk has been active in pro-Palestinian organizing at Tufts, including co-authoring a campus op-ed critical of Israel’s military actions. Again, doesn’t she have the right to express her opinions?
The Council on American-Islamic Relations called her arrest “a direct assault on free speech and academic freedom.”
Meanwhile, her lawyer and supporters are scrambling to challenge the arrest legally and rally public support. She was reportedly on her way to break her Ramadan fast with friends when agents grabbed her—because nothing says national security like ambushing a student on her way to dinner.
Source: The Guardian
Netanyahu’s Power Grab 2.0: Israeli Lawmakers Push Through Judicial Overhaul Amid War Distractions
In a move that critics are calling a democratic backslide with extra chutzpah, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition rammed through legislation Thursday giving politicians far more control over judicial appointments—including Supreme Court picks.
The bill, passed after a chaotic all-nighter in the Knesset and largely boycotted by the opposition, is being slammed as an attempt to rig the judiciary and consolidate power.
“This is a blatant move to politicize the bench,” warned critics, as the law reshapes the very committee that selects Israel’s judges.
This isn’t Netanyahu’s first rodeo. He pushed a similar overhaul before the October 2023 war with Hamas, triggering mass protests and near-paralysis of the country.
That plan was shelved in the name of wartime unity.
But unity is apparently out of style now. Alongside this judicial power play, Bibi is reportedly trying to oust both Israel’s attorney general and the domestic intelligence chief.
It’s the political equivalent of cleaning house—if your house were a democracy and you were replacing the locks while it was still on fire.
For Netanyahu’s critics, it’s yet another signal that his coalition isn’t just fighting a war—it’s waging one against Israel’s institutional checks and balances.
The new law is seen as part of a broader agenda to neuter state watchdogs and cement long-term control.
As Israel grapples with war, internal unrest, and global scrutiny, Netanyahu’s message seems clear: Never let a good crisis go to waste.
Source: MDGN
Sounds a lot like what’s going on right here is the United States, doesn’t it?
National Security, Meet National Embarrassment: Top U.S. Officials’ Private Data Found in Public Leaks
It keeps getting worse…
Turns out the masterminds behind America’s defense strategy can’t even master basic digital hygiene. DER SPIEGEL revealed that the personal data—yes, phone numbers, emails, and even passwords—of senior U.S. security officials including Mike Waltz, Pete Hegseth, and Tulsi Gabbard is floating around online like a phishing scammer’s dream.
Bonus twist? These are the same folks who used a Signal chat to casually discuss an imminent military strike—one that a journalist was accidentally looped into. Because nothing says “tight op-sec” like a national security group chat with the editor-in-chief of The Atlantic!
“Exposed data from top politicians can be used by hackers to launch convincing phishing attacks and gain access to devices and various services,” said Donald Ortmann, a cybersecurity expert who presumably screamed into a pillow after reading this report.
The leaks, a mix of old hacks and amateur oversharing, led reporters straight to active WhatsApp and Signal accounts for Waltz and Gabbard.
One especially classy WhatsApp profile featured a shirtless Hegseth in a baseball cap—truly the image of operational readiness. Oh, and most of the data came from services used by marketers and recruiters.
So basically, a $49 subscription to a people search engine can unlock the national security vault.
Gabbard’s team insists her leaked data is ancient history, but DER SPIEGEL found her Google account was still active as of two weeks ago, and messages sent to her Signal and WhatsApp accounts were delivered.
As for Waltz, his chat history conveniently vanished right after the reporters reached out.
One might assume the Defense Department would be doing damage control, but they’ve ghosted all requests for comment like an intern dodging blame.
If you're wondering how national secrets get compromised, it turns out sometimes all it takes is a LinkedIn profile, a bad password, and an ego too big for two-factor authentication.
Source: Der Spiegel