Trump News for Wednesday, May 20, 2026

US police officers sue Trump over $1.8bn ‘anti-weaponisation’ fund

Al Jazeera Staff, Al Jazeera English

Officers Harry Dunn and Daniel Hodges say the fund will likely be used to 'reward' rioters who attacked the US Capitol.

Border Patrol Chief Dips Out After Bragging About His Sex Tourism To His Underlings

Tim Cushing, Techdirt

I’m not here to kink shame or suggest sex work isn’t work. I’m not here to claim that every sex worker is a victim of sex trafficking. I’m not even here to suggest that government officials shouldn’t be allowed to exchange money for goods and sexual services.…

US condemns Israel’s Ben-Gvir while sanctioning Gaza flotilla organisers

Joseph Stepansky, Al Jazeera English

Mike Huckabee says Ben-Gvir 'betrayed dignity' in video taunting flotilla activists, day after US sanctioned organisers.

Screen time limits can protect children’s health, U.S. surgeon general advisory says

Claire Cameron, Scientific American

The Trump administration warned that too much screen time for children is linked to poor sleep, bad behavior and less physical and social activity

The Paradox of Trump’s Strength

David A. Graham, The Atlantic

His hold on the MAGA base remains powerful, but the primary wins that are reinforcing his grip also hurt his standing with the broader public.

Elon Musk's SpaceX files paperwork for what's likely to be the biggest IPO in history

Maria Aspan, NPR

The company is on track to pull off the largest IPO in history — making CEO Elon Musk even wealthier.

Judge orders Trump administration to comply with Presidential Records Act

Peter Charalambous, Alexander Mallin, Abcnews.com

A federal judge is ordering the White House to follow the Presidential Records Act, rejecting the DOJ's recent opinion that the Watergate-era law is unconstitutional.

Bolivian president to reshuffle cabinet amid anti-government protests

Al Jazeera, Al Jazeera English

Bolivian President Rodrigo Paz is under pressure from protests against his government and poor economic conditions.

Ballroom won’t be funded after Senate GOP drops $1 billion Trump security request

Yahoo Entertainment

Trump Sued Himself And Walked Away With A $100 Million Tax Debt Erased

Mike Masnick, Techdirt

There were two rumors last week regarding the supposed “settlement” of Donald Trump’s ridiculously problematic lawsuit against his own IRS, asking for $10 billion. The first was that he was going to get an agreement to drop all audits of his taxes (and the ta…

Intel's CEO reveals early hiring challenges as bankruptcy concerns deterred top talent

Dan Robinson, Theregister.com

Recovering chipmaker looks beyond 14A to 10A and 7A process nodes in foundry comeback bid

What’s the significance of the Russian president’s visit to China?

Al Jazeera English

Xi Jinping hosts Vladimir Putin a week after Donald Trump was in Beijing.

OpenAI’s IPO Filing Might Be Just Days Away: Report

Bruce Gil, Gizmodo.com

With its trial wrapped up, the company behind ChatGPT is ready to let things rip.

US indicts Cuba’s former leader Raul Castro: Why it matters

Caolán Magee, Al Jazeera English

The indictment against Raul Castro echoes earlier US criminal cases targeting Latin American leaders.

US threatens to revoke the Palestinian UN ambassador's visa

Daniel Estrin, NPR

Leaked State Dept memo shows US threatened to revoke Palestinian visas if they push for senior UN post

Sierra Leone receives first group of West African deportees from US

Al Jazeera Staff, Al Jazeera English

Sierra Leone receives nine West African migrants expelled by the United States under its strict immigration crackdown.

DOJ quietly slips Trump what looks a lot like permanent audit invisibility

Jason Weisberger, Boing Boing

"What could he possibly be hiding?" is, admittedly, not the reassuring question we're all thinking. While Todd Blanche was apparently busy testifying before the Senate about other matters, the Justice Department reportedly posted a one-page addendum that — if…

U.S. grand jury indicts Raul Castro, ex-Cuban president

Jaclyn Diaz, NPR

The 94-year-old former leader of Cuba faces several charges, including four counts of murder for an attack on a humanitarian group more than 30 years ago.

DOJ charges prosecutor with trying to steal report on Trump's classified docs case

Alexander Mallin, Katherine Faulders, Peter Charalambous, Abcnews.com

The DOJ has charged a federal prosecutor with trying to steal special counsel Jack Smith's sealed report on President Trump's alleged retention of classified documents.

Did Trump Accidentally Buy Stock in a Sushi Restaurant Instead of a Tech Company?

Matt Novak, Gizmodo.com

There's something fishy about the President's stock purchases.

Man Jailed 37 Days for Single Trump Meme Wins $835,000 Settlement

Jim Vorel, Jezebel

Since 2007, Jezebel has been the Internet's most treasured source for everything celebrities, sex, and politics...with teeth.

Trump administration indicts Cuba’s Raul Castro over 1996 plane shootdown

Elizabeth Melimopoulos, Al Jazeera English

The indictment marks one of the sharpest escalations in tensions between Washington and Havana.

Trump jokes about running for Israeli prime minister

Al Jazeera English

Donald Trump joked that he could run for Israeli prime minister after claiming he enjoys ‘99%’ support in Israel.

China secretly trained Russian troops, and some have since fought in Ukraine

Séamus Bellamy, Boing Boing

China has done a lot to appear impartial whenever Russia's invasion of Ukraine comes up. Maybe "impartial" is the wrong word: the People's Republic of China has even talked up the idea of finding a peaceful outcome to the war. But it looks like all that has b…

Federal Judge Lays Into DOJ For Lying And Cheating In Support Of Trump’s Anti-Trans Agenda

Tim Cushing, Techdirt

Puerile, vindictive, and hateful is no way to run a government. That’s how Trump is running his, however. And that means his DOJ cannot possibly hope to stay on the good side of judges, not when it’s actively engaged in appeasing an autocratic megalomaniac an…

Iran claims it coordinated passage of 26 vessels out of Hormuz in 24 hours

Al Jazeera Staff, Al Jazeera English

The IRGC claims to maintain control over the Strait of Hormuz despite the US blockade on Iran's ports.

Trump to speak with Taiwan's president in a new challenge for US-China relations

By Bo Erickson, Michael Martina and Trevor Hunnicutt, Yahoo Entertainment

By Bo Erickson, Michael Martina and Trevor Hunnicutt WASHINGTON, May 20 (Reuters) - U.S.

Top US commander in the Middle East says he needs more bunker busters because 'everybody is going underground'

Chris Panella, Business Insider

"Everybody is going underground," Adm. Cooper said, referring to buried facilities like Iran's nuclear sites that require special munitions to strike.

Trump’s Iran War: America Loss Is China’s Win

David Frum, The Atlantic

Phillips O’Brien on the global fallout of Putin’s war in Russia, Trump’s war in Iran, and MAGA’s indifference toward Taiwan. Plus: Trump’s new slush fund and What Science Says About Astrology.

Oscar-winning director calls Trump, Netanyahu and Putin ‘monsters’

Al Jazeera English

Oscar-winning Spanish director Pedro Almodovar called Donald Trump, Benjamin Netanyahu and Vladimir Putin ‘monsters’.

Our Mob Boss President

Jason Kottke, kottke.org

Jamelle Bouie writes that each US president molds the presidency in his own image and Trump has constructed a “government as protection racket and the president as mob boss”.1 So what manner of pre

Jeff Bezos backs Mamdani's tax on luxury second homes, but says Ken Griffin isn't the villain

Roya Shahidi, Business Insider

Mayor Zohran Mamdani's proposed tax on luxury second homes has an unlikely defender: Jeff Bezos.

A Shuttered MAGA Brewery Wants $50 Million from Its Haters in a Lawsuit over Hurt Feelings

Jim Vorel, Jezebel

Armed Forces Brewing Co. went out of business in 2025, but the brewery is now suing its local critics, claiming their activism was illegal.

It's Officially Election Season In Trumpworld

Hugo Lowell, Wired

With Trump nemesis Thomas Massie vanquished, Republican strategists are now eyeing races in Texas, California, and Maine.

Watch David Byrne Burn Down the House With Stephen Colbert

Nina Corcoran, Pitchfork

Pouring one out for The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, which ends this Thursday

Victory: Tennessee man jailed 37 days for Trump meme wins $835,000 settlement

Fire.org

Larry Bushart filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against Perry County for violating his constitutional rights in retaliation for his protected speech.

The Lessons of Thomas Massie’s Defeat

Russell Berman, The Atlantic

The president is deeply unpopular, but still the Republican kingmaker.

Trump Mobile may be leaking customer addresses

Dominic Preston, The Verge

Just as the T1 Phone is seemingly on the verge of release, Trump Mobile has been accused of insecurely storing customer data, leaving addresses and phone numbers vulnerable. The alleged leak has also revealed how many T1 Phone orders were apparently placed, a…

Massie defeated: The Israel lobby’s pyrrhic victory in Kentucky

Said Arikat, Al Jazeera English

The campaign to unseat Thomas Massie exposed a growing Republican backlash against pro-Israel political influence.

The Blue Wave Misses Big on Georgia’s Supreme Court

Danielle Han, Jezebel

“As Trump-aligned extremists reshape the federal judiciary, state supreme courts are increasingly the last line of defense against the erosion of our rights,” Mini Timmaraju of Reproductive Freedom for All told Jezebel in a statement.

Trump is waging a silent war on legal immigration

Gaby Del Valle, The Verge

When the member states of the United Nations reviewed their Global Compact on Migration earlier this month, one country was conspicuously absent from the discussions: the United States. In a post on X explaining its reasoning, the State Department said it obj…

Spirit is gone. Can the other budget airlines survive?

Sean Cudahy, The Points Guy

Other budget-focused airlines are rushing to fill Spirit's void, but it's still unclear whether they’ll fare much better.

Tennessee man jailed over Charlie Kirk post wins $835,000 settlement

R.J. RICO, Yahoo Entertainment

Tennessee officials will pay $835,000 to settle a lawsuit filed by a man who was jailed for more than a month over a Facebook post he made about the...

Paramount Already ‘Informally’ Considering Scaling Back Bari Weiss’ Role At CBS

Karl Bode, Techdirt

When right wing billionaire Larry Ellison (and his nepobaby kid David) hired trolling blogger Bari Weiss to run CBS News, Weiss arrived with the promise of “balanced, fact-based news,” “independent, principled journalism,” and a unique “entrepreneurial drive …

Trump Mobile’s Gold T1 Smartphone Set to Begin Shipping After Months of Delays

Pesala Bandara, PetaPixel

Trump Mobile’s gold-colored T1 smartphones are set to begin shipping this week, nine months later than originally planned, with the devices reportedly preloaded with Truth Social. [Read More]

Poland welcomes U.S. statements that troop reduction there is temporary

CLAUDIA CIOBANU, Yahoo Entertainment

Polish officials on Wednesday welcomed U.S. statements clarifying that the decision not to deploy 4,000 U.S. troops to the central European country was a...

Massie knocks Trump ballroom after primary loss: ‘Looks like the Roman Empire’

Sarah Davis, The Hill

Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) did not withhold his anger toward President Trump after his primary loss late Tuesday. “I got to watch Fox [News] for the first...

Iran threatens war 'beyond the region' if US attacks

By Jana Choukeir and Humeyra Pamuk, Yahoo Entertainment

DUBAI/WASHINGTON, May 20 (Reuters) - Iran threatened on Wednesday to spread war beyond the Middle East if the United States attacks again, after President...

Trump-critic Thomas Massie loses Kentucky primary to AIPAC-backed Gallrein

Al Jazeera English

Trump-critic Thomas Massie loses Kentucky primary to AIPAC-backed Gallrein

Xi basks in spotlight as he hosts Putin days after Trump

BBC News

Two presidential visits days apart is how Xi Jinping wants the world to see him: talking to everyone, tied to no-one.

Trump critic Massie defeated: Takeaways from US primary election results

Elizabeth Melimopoulos, Al Jazeera English

Here are the key takeaways from Tuesday’s US primaries in Alabama, Georgia, Idaho, Kentucky, Oregon and Pennsylvania.

Social Media Platforms Must Now Remove Sexual Deepfakes Within 48 Hours

Pesala Bandara, PetaPixel

A federal law requiring online platforms to remove sexual deepfakes and other nonconsensual intimate images within 48 hours has officially come into effect. [Read More]

My Son’s Hockey Team Breeds Emptiness and Resentment

Chris Murphy, The Atlantic

For-profit companies are buying up the rituals of American childhood and selling them back to parents.

The GOP's YOLO caucus is small but growing. That may spell trouble for Trump's congressional agenda

STEVEN SLOAN and JOEY CAPPELLETTI, Yahoo Entertainment

In a Republican-led Congress defined by deference to President Donald Trump, there's a small but steadily growing cohort who have found themselves more...

Virginia Is Taking Action to Keep ICE Agents Away from Polling Places Before the Midterms

Jim Vorel, Jezebel

Gov. Abigail Spanberger is expected to sign an executive order to help election workers deal with ICE at polling places, if they show up.

10 Wednesday AM Reads

Barry Ritholtz, Ritholtz.com

My mid-week morning train WFH reads: • Stock Gains Without All the Taxes? How the Hottest Trade on Wall Street Works: The stock-market surge has propelled the use of a new kind of tax-loss harvesting. We break it down. The WSJ on the surge of direct-indexing …

US and Israel planned to install Ahmadinejad as Iranian leader, NYT says

Al Jazeera Staff, Al Jazeera English

The 'audacious plan' quickly unravelled and Ahmadinejad's whereabouts are unknown, US officials told the newspaper

China’s Xi gives Putin a red-carpet welcome – and makes a veiled jab at the US

Simone McCarthy, CNN, CNN

Chinese leader Xi Jinping hailed ties with Russia as a force of “calm amid chaos” during a meeting with Vladimir Putin in Beijing on Wednesday, which comes...

The most important election is the one most Americans skip

Caitlin Dewey, Vox

Iran gridlock and middling China trips aside, President Donald Trump is having a pretty good month. Three May elections tested his grip on the Republican Party — and his candidates cleaned up. In Indiana, five Trump-backed challengers defeated Republican stat…

Senate GOP expresses frustration, anger, sadness as Trump snubs Cornyn in Texas

Alexander Bolton, The Hill

President Trump’s decision Tuesday to snub Sen. John Cornyn and endorse state Attorney General Ken Paxton in the Texas Senate Republican primary was met with...

Trump’s AI Executive Order Will Reportedly Make Sharing Models with the Government Voluntary

Mike Pearl, Gizmodo.com

Executive... pretty please?

Enjoy Your Toxic Water!

Mabel Kabani, Jezebel

The EPA’s new plan would repeal federal drinking water limits for four PFAS compounds and delay “compliance deadlines” for two of the most studied and dangerous ones, PFOA and PFOS, until 2031.

Gun rights groups see 'golden age' under Trump administration

Jaclyn Diaz, NPR

New gun rules and lawsuits against states signal how this Trump administration is using its powers to align itself with the wishes of the gun rights movement.

4 takeaways from Tuesday's primary night in half a dozen states

Domenico Montanaro, NPR

While Trump continues to rack up victories on his vengeance tour, general-election opponents are waiting in swing districts and swing states. Can frontline GOP candidates navigate these choppy waters?

Morning news brief

Leila Fadel, NPR

A look at primary results from around the country, Trump and Vance share conflicting messages on state of Iran war, shooting at San Diego mosque being investigated as possible "hate crime."

Chinese supertankers exit Hormuz as Trump, Vance talk up Iran deal

Al Jazeera Staff, Al Jazeera English

Oil prices ease amid the latest comments from the White House, but experts warn they will stay high even after any deal.

Iran war day 82: Tehran warns of ‘new fronts’ as Trump sets deadline

Elizabeth Melimopoulos, Al Jazeera English

Iran says it learned from past clashes as Trump gives Tehran 'two to three days' to reach a deal.

Taiwan’s president says future will not be decided by ‘external forces’

Erin Hale, Al Jazeera English

President Lai says Taiwan's future is up to its people as the island faces Chinese and US headwinds.

WHO chief concerned over 'scale and speed' of Ebola outbreak

The Associated Press, NPR

The World Health Organization top official has expressed concern over the rapid spread of a rare type of Ebola in Congo. Authorities have reported at least 134 suspected deaths and over 500 cases.

Jones, Jackson move to Republican primary run-off in Georgia governor race

Al Jazeera, Al Jazeera English

Burt Jones and Rick Jackson will face each other again in the June 16 run-off.

Takeaways from Tuesday's primaries

Hannah Demissie, Oren Oppenheim, Abcnews.com

Here are key takeaways from Tuesday's primaries and what they might mean for 2028.

China’s Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin meet in Beijing

Al Jazeera, Al Jazeera English

Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin hold talks just days after US President Donald Trump made an official visit to China.

Republican Thomas Massie who stood up to Trump defeated in Kentucky primary

Elizabeth Melimopoulos, Al Jazeera English

With an estimated 72 percent of the vote counted, Ed Gallrein led with 54.4 percent to Massie’s 45.6 percent.

Bill Cassidy Loses Primary; RFK Jr. Will Be His Legacy

Timothy Geigner, Techdirt

Senator Bill Cassidy just lost his campaign for reelection to his Senate seat in Louisiana. With that, his career in federal government is likely over. It’s no secret as to why this happened. In early 2021, Cassidy suffered from a spasm of patriotism and vote…

Nigeria says joint US strikes kill 175 ISIL fighters in country’s northeast

Al Jazeera Staff, Al Jazeera English

Nigerian Army lauds joint US operation as part of ongoing military campaign to 'hunt down and kill terrorists anywhere'.

House Democrats condemn Texas candidate for antisemitism and accuse a PAC of boosting her

Arit John, CNN, CNN

House Democratic leaders condemned efforts Tuesday by a newly registered political action committee to boost a Democratic congressional candidate who made...

US President Trump and family given immunity from pending tax audits

John Power, Al Jazeera English

Democrats blast the tax announcement, which follows establishment of a controversial 'Anti-Weaponization Fund'.

Idaho 2026 live primary election results

Juhi Doshi, Abcnews.com

Three of Idaho's four congressional seats are on the ballot — one U.S. Senate seat and both U.S. House seats — and all incumbents are running.

US Senate advances resolution to curb Trump’s power to wage war on Iran

Al Jazeera Staff, Al Jazeera English

Vote to advance War Powers Resolution seen as rare rebuke of the president as pressure grows to end US attack on Iran.

Trump-Linked Crypto Company Notes ‘Substantial Doubt’ It Can Survive Another 12 Months

Kyle Torpey, Gizmodo.com

AI Financial is a publicly traded company heavily invested in Trump-related crypto.

U.S. government to drop tax claims against Trump in broadening of IRS settlement

The Associated Press, NPR

As part of the settlement agreement, the U.S. is "forever barred and precluded" from examining or prosecuting President Trump, his sons and the Trump organization's current tax issues, according to a document posted to the DOJ website.

Trump-backed Gallrein ousts Massie in Kentucky GOP primary, ABC News projects

Emily Chang, Abcnews.com

Republican Rep. Thomas Massie will lose his reelection bid to Ed Gallrein, who was backed by President Donald Trump, ABC News projects.

Thomas Massie loses to Trump-backed challenger in Republican primary

BBC News

The Kentucky race has been viewed as a key test of President Trump's grip on the Republican Party.