Almost every single week, it feels hard to keep up. So, I have written a short recap of major events that have happened with some extra details. Let me know if you find it useful.
Trump Administration refuses to let Harvard have international students.
Harvard will no longer be allowed to have any international students enrolled, and any students who are there currently will have to transfer to another university or they will have their visa revoked. This fight started when Harvard refused to give in to President Trump’s many demands regarding diversity and anti-Semitism on campus.
After cutting significant grant funding to Harvard, then cutting even more grants to Harvard, this is yet another attempt by the Trump administration to force Harvard to give in to its demands. It should be noted that what the Executive branch is considering anti-Semitism certainly sounds more like freedom of speech to me.
Big Beautiful Bill Passes the House
I would like to give a quick reminder that the reason these cuts were going to expire was the method of passing them in the first place would have increased the budget deficit more than allowed under the method used to approve them.
This bill will increase the budget deficit by $3.8 trillion, push an estimated 8 million people off Medicaid, and cuts food assistance by about $300 billion, shifting some of those costs to the states.
A new book just came out detailing the cover-up of President Biden’s mental fitness while in office. It is disturbing that officials would hide the extent of the President’s deterioration while he served in the nation’s highest office. That said, many incidents of him freezing in public were widely known and there was no question his acuity was in jeopardy after his dreadful debate performance.
I would like to better understand how extensive the cover-up was and who was most responsible for it, but I also think this story has shielded many more important topics of the day.
I will add that there are no indications that his cancer diagnosis has anything to do with his acuity, and I wish the former President the best as he battles the disease.
Trump Administration defies court order and sends people to South Sudan
A court ordered the U.S. government to retain custody of migrants it was sending to South Sudan, as the deportation cases had not finished its course through the judicial system. The administration sent migrants to South Sudan despite that order. The judge in the case said he will consider charges for contempt of court, but the new budget bill that passed the house also contains a provision that would make it nearly impossible for the judiciary to enforce contempt charges.
Trump Attacks South African President in Oval Office
To give a little context to this story, the Trump administration recently began accepting white refugees from South Africa on the underlying claim that the government is committing genocide against white people in the country.
With President Ramaphosa in the oval office, the President showed images and videos purportedly showing signs of the genocide in his country. However, at least some of the pictures were not even from the correct country. It is also widely disputed that any genocide is currently underway.
This is the second time a foreign president was effectively ambushed in the oval office, as President Trump and Vice President Vance went after Ukrainian President Zelenskyy several months ago as well. If I were a foreign leader, I think I would hesitate to accept oval office meetings with this administration.
Netanyahu says Israel will take full control of Gaza
Trump hasn’t addressed this plan, but on the campaign trail he did say he Israel should “finish the problem”, and has backed a plan to move all Palestinians to Libya. He was quite clear that a lot of people are starving in Gaza and he wanted to reduce suffering, but it is unclear what actions he may be willing to take to make that happen.
Trump admits President Putin does not plan to stop the war in Ukraine
On the campaign trail, President Trump touted his ability to make a deal and repeatedly said he would end the Russia-Ukraine war in 24 hours. However, his attempts to broker any kind of peace have fallen apart, and now he simply admits that Russia is not willing to stop fighting. Rather than pushing harder for President Putin to stop this war, President Trump is instead looking to just walk away from the negotiating table.
Sources:
https://apnews.com/article/harvard-antisemitism-demands-columbia-84d6265d2fbfcd5534006edff638160e
https://www.cnn.com/2025/05/13/us/harvard-funding-cuts-government-trump
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/mike-johnson-donald-trump-get-big-beautiful-win-budget-passes-house
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tax_Cuts_and_Jobs_Act
https://www.npr.org/2025/05/19/nx-s1-5309451/biden-health-decline-original-sin
https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/2024-us-debate-analysis-1.7249398
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/02/28/trump-vance-zelenskyy-oval-office-exchange-00206727
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/trump-israel-gaza-finish-problem-rcna141905
https://www.wsj.com/world/europe/trump-putin-call-russia-ukraine-83a6ef59
https://www.cnn.com/2025/04/25/politics/fact-check-trump-ukraine-war/index.html
https://www.cnn.com/2025/05/20/politics/trump-putin-russia-ukraine-ceasefire-talks
Leave a Reply