WTF Weekly | America First Looks Like...
- Tyler
- Apr 25
- 10 min read
"When stupidity is considered patriotism, it is unsafe to be intelligent" - Isaac Asimov
Friday, April 25, 2025
America First. It's a slogan you hear often - but do what does it look like when played out? Trump's first 100 days in office is April 30, 2025, so this is an apt time to look at how the policy has played out in America and abroad - in pictures and video.
“We’re going to give them the best first day, the biggest first week and the most extraordinary first 100 days of any presidency in American history.” - Donald Trump
Ukraine
Probably the most defining moment of Trump's first 100 days was the meeting that cringe-worthy meeting that embarrassed the nation: when Trump, Vance, and Zelenskyy met in the oval office for a press conference. Everyone cringed when watching it, reports cringed when commenting on it, and I blushed whenever they replayed it.
True to form, Trump walked into the meeting with the confidence of a mafia boss and the intelligence of a sweet potatoe. In front of the Ukrainian leader, Trump mistakenly corrected him on the start of his country's own invasion as 2015 before being corrected by Vance and Zelenskyy that it was 2014. It became clear that the entire press conference was a trap when Vance begain speaking; Zelenskyy didn't know he was being baited into coming to Washington DC to be made fun of on public TV.
The press conference started with Marjorie Taylor Greene's husband made fun of the President of Ukraine for not wearing a suit during wartime.
Is this a good look? For all the bullying Trump does to journalists whose questions he doesn't like or who won't acknowledge the Gulf of Mexico as 'the Gulf of America', it seems strange he didn't say a peep when MTG's side dish poked fun at a world leader's clothes.
...and Zelenskyy's envoy left early for Ukraine without signing a minerals deal with the US. There has been no single instance during Trump's two terms in office that have been more demonstrative of him being a Russian asset.
The most embarassing moment in the White House - ever.
They chided Zelenskyy for not saying thank you. But is that true? In fact, Zelenksyy has said thank you directly to the American people dozens of times. Here's some proof:
Shortly after, Trump cut off aid to Ukraine as a result of the tantrum. So what has been the impact?
Death.
Ukraine has as many as ten Patriot missile defense batteries deployed around the country to protect cities like Kyiv that predate Trump assuming office. Trump's aid cuts mean those defenses go without munitions and spare parts, which has directly resulted in civilian deaths.
The lastest strike on Ukraine's capital of Kyiv saw more than 200 missiles and drones launched by Russia. The result? At least 12 dead and more than 90 injured, including 6 children. Rubble and bodies are still being found. Source: Yahoo News
So this is what 'America First' looks like when it comes to Ukraine:
As we've said many times, Trump misstated aid to Ukraine by more than 3X and also claimed it was majority cash when it was overwhelmingly just the valuation of old munitions the US sent to Ukraine - which came from old stockpiles that were being backfilled with American jobs and manufacturing facilities that were mostly located in southern states. We've also said Trump's beef with Ukraine was never about the money - it was about being a Russian asset and helping Putin.
And here's proof: When Ukraine requested BUYING Patriot batteries from Trump, he still refused:
We hear a lot of pro-choicers that voted for MAGA say every life is sacred. So we'd love to know what benefit YOU'RE getting out of the deaths of Ukrainian citizens as a result of not providing them with defense munitions? How is your life better as a result of children dying in Ukraine? Did your bath water get warmer when Vance made fun of Zelenskyy on national TV? Is that Jesus answering your prayers?
We're putting money into this?
So since we're cutting funds everywhere like HIV prevention and Ukraine aid, did anyone notice we're putting money into some things that seem like a complete waste of money? At the same time Trump is deporting legal residents, he's offering a $5 million dollar 'Gold Card' instead of a green card to enable the wealthy to buy their way into the US.
Should rich people get an easier path to citizenship? Why is Trump ok with those with $5 million plus entering the country, but not okay with everyday citizens?
Trump is also spending $17.3 billion in cryptocurrency the US has seized through criminal and civil asset forfeitures into a 'Crypto reserve fund'. Trump even named the 5 currencies that will go into the reserve. Unsurprisingly they rose in value afterwards and the family was previously invested. One hand washes the other...
What's it called when you manipulate the market you're invested in to enrich yourself? Martha Stewart went to prison for less.
How quickly Trump's mind changed from his first term, where trump is quoted as saying: "I am not a fan of Bitcoin and other Cryptocurrencies, which are not money, and whose value is highly volatile and based on thin air. Unregulated Crypto Assets can facilitate unlawful behavior, including drug trade and other illegal activity.” Source
To those of you who say we shouldn't be sending our money abroad, how has Trump invested in you in his first 100 days? Do you think forming a crypto reserve fund that Trump didn't believe in during his first term is more important that protecting Ukrainian children from Russian missiles? It's fine to want to be conservative with US funds and spending policy, but the cosequences of us stopping aid are very clear, and morality of the issue aside, what's less clear is how any of us have benefited as a result. And if you're conservative with US fiscal policy, you won't like this next part...
Elon
Elon took a center seat in the administration after bankrolling Trump's campaign with $290 million in support on the books and buying Pennsylvania voters with a daily $1 million giveaway. [Source] He was later selected to head up a new Trump project coined 'DOGE', Department of Government Efficiency. But as we've said here, Government spending has actually increased in the Trump administration in Q1 by $315 billion - not decreased. [Source] And for some reason, the 'agency' tasked with cutting costs wanted to secure personally identifiable information of social security beneficiaries. Do you want to share your grandma's personal information with the tweens working over at DOGE for Elon? A Judge has blocked them so far. Source: Marketwatch
And who could forget the Heil Hilter Elon threw - twice - to 20,000 seats at DC's Capital One arena following Trump's 2024 win...
Protests and vandelism occured at Tesla dealerships in the US and abroad in reaction to Elon's actions within the Trump administration. We can't be sure if it was the heil hitler, firing people by email based on an AI algorithm, or suggesting news organizations should be arrested, but folks sure seem to dislike Musky. The results have been a more than 70% drop in profitability year over year - go team! One of the most impactful cuts Elon participated in was the effective elimination of USAid. For most people, that's just a collection of words - so what do cost cuts to USAid look like?
One of the impacts is quite tangible; for example, during the harsh winter of Ukraine, funding paid for volunteer operations like 'Hope for Ukraine' to deliver fireward to Ukrainian villages on the frontlines of battle that have no power, gas, heat, nor plumbing. Source: Newsweek
Many of the nations Trump mentioned in his State of the Union speech, for which he also lied about the reason we're providing funds, were actually directed at HIV/AIDS prevention in Africa. On the heels on the COVID-19 Pandemic, most would acknowledge that infectious disease abroad affects Americans. But Trump's cuts include PEPFAR, a program created by George W. Bush in 2003 to combat HIV/AIDS globally. In South Africa alone, it has been modeled that 500,000 additional deaths could occur within the decade due to the interruption of HIV programs. Source: Guardian
So just anecdotally speaking, how is depriving front-line villages of fireword and not preventing the spread of HIV helping you? As an alternative to helping these needy folks, how is Trump investing in YOU?
Illegal Deportations
One of Trump's first moves has been to deport migrants - even with green cards and without criminal records. In some cases, they're even being deported to designated 'terrorist prisons' abroad. One of the first key people deported under Trump's second term was Mahmoud Khalil...
About Mahmoud Khalil / Source: Guardian
Mahmoud Khalil is a Palestinian activist and a graduate of Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs
Intern for UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA
Played a leading role in pro-Palestinian protests on campus in 2024
Wife is a US citizen and was pregnant with Mahmoud's child while he was in ICE detention
ICE refused his request to let him attend his child's birth
Detained by ICE and held in a Louisiana detention center
People have very strong points of view on this conflict. Regardless of your own personal view, the US constitution provides for your right to free speech - which includes non-violent protests. Places like Russia do not; you can get hauled away in a police van for even displaying a Ukrainian flag. But that right seems to be changing with Trump's second term.
Rational for ICE Arrest by Trump Administration:
National Security Concerns - Sec. of State Marco Rubio has said Mahmoud's presence in the US pose "adverse foreign policy consequences" for the US.
Real Reason:
They didn't like what he was protesting about
Why it matters:
Whether you agree with Mahmoud or don't - and there are plenty on both sides - selectively deporting legal residents because you don't like what they're protesting about under the auspices of national security is fascist to its core.
Are you okay with a country that deports citizens that have greencards without them having commited a crime? Are you okay with the government deporting people if it doesn't agree with the reasons they're protesting?
CECOT
For illegal and sometimes accidental (Kilmar Abrego Garcia) deportations, we learned about a maximimum security all-male prison in El Salvador whose intent was to hold MS-13 gang members aprehended within the country. CECOT's name literally means ' Terrorism Confinement Center', but Trump is using it to deport persons without criminal records. Trump has deported 238 persons, mostly Venezuelan migrants, to CECOT as of the date of this WTF Weekly, 75% of which had no criminal records. Source: CBS News
The Trump administration is holding these individuals in what amounts to a torture prison, per our last WTF Weekly, despite their lack of criminal record, where they're held in prison next to violent MS-13 gang members. According to CBS, among them are a makeup artist, a soccer player, and a food delivery driver. Andry Hernandez Romero is a 31-year old gay makeup artist who was part of a theatre troupe in his hometown. He has no criminal record, and was actively seeking asylum within the United States. But he never showed up to his asylum hearing because he was abducted my ICE and deported to CECOT. Source: Guardian
Can you be a terrorist without a criminal record? How are these deportations of these men, who were employed and here legally after gaining approval from a US court to stay, make YOUR life better? How is deporting a makup artist seeking asylum to an El Salvador terrorist prison 'America First'?
Rational for ICE Arrest by Trump Administration:
In the cases of Andry and Kilmar and nearly 200 other deportees without criminal records, the Trump administration says these persons are 'human traffickers, gang members, foreign terrorists'. However, that's simply a lie as those are criminal allegations and these persons have no criminal record. By the way, 'being a gang member' - if even true - is not a crime. Criminal acts are. And those are found in a court of law, not in the White House press room:
Real Reason:
The Trump administration has attempted to up-end a consitutional right to become an American citizen if you're born in the United States and also has saught to stop any sort of asylum claims. In tandem, they appear to be deporting anyone they want based on false allegations. I think is probably to scare others from even coming here, legality be damned.
Why it matters:
These persons are being deported despite courts granting them a stay, simply because the administration wants to punish the way they came over before courts granted them a stay. The government cannot simply point at people, accuse them of being in a gang or a terrorist without any criminal or court backing, and deport them to terrorist camps. But they are, and they're doing it despite the Supreme Court telling them they couldn't. This feels like a dry run to see what the administration can get away with.
The Market
Perhaps the most popular topic nationally in Trump's first 100 days has been the market and the impact of Trump's global tariff war. Trump's tariff have collapsed our alliances with our neighbors and European partners and resulted in some of the biggest market swings in market history, including drops deeper than the onset of COVID-19. While most Americans have watched their 401K's drop, businesses close, and companies stop hiring, Trump and his friends are getting rich off of market manipulation.
Closing
If the next 1,366 days are anything like the last ~100, we're in for a wild ride that will go off the tracks and into the eye of a hurricane hovering over a radioactive waste pond filled with burning dumpsters. Trump has done little to nothing for the American people and crippled our alliances, trade relationships, and our moral standing in the world.
Trump seems about as informed as his voters were last November. But now we all have to live through it. And we're probably kidding ourselves to say MAGA has only 1,366 days - they're also in charge of election cybersecurity now.
Something Positive
It's getting a little warmer and flowers are coming out. See?
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