9 deeply sinister things Donald Trump and Elon Musk did while you were sleeping

Donald Trump is seemingly truthful comfy letting Elon Musk tally the state that he's taken a 2nd occupation arsenic a theatre impresario.

And seizing idiosyncratic power of a taste instauration is 1 of the slightest dictator-esque things helium did overnight.

He besides gave a 'heretic' televangelist a West Wing office, efficaciously declared achromatic South Africans lone radical successful the world truthful oppressed they merit exile presumption and tried to occurrence America's predetermination watchdog.

Here's each the authoritarian-adjacent things Donald Trump did connected his 19th time successful bureau that you request to cognize about.

1. Seized power of a performing arts institution

Clearly disquieted helium didn't look to beryllium copying Kim Jong Il enough, past nighttime Donald Trump declared helium was to sack trustees of the John F Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and instal himself arsenic chairman.

In a station connected Truth Social, helium wrote: "I person decided to instantly terminate aggregate individuals from the Board of Trustees, including the Chairman, who bash not stock our Vision for a Golden Age successful Arts and Culture.

"We volition soon denote a caller board, with an astonishing Chairman, DONALD J. TRUMP!"

He went connected to kick astir the Kennedy Center featuring resistance shows "aimed specifically astatine our youth."

The centre past October hosted a Dancing Queens Drag Brunch astatine its Roof Terrace Restaurant. The lawsuit was £100 a ticket, and was not aimed astatine children.

To springiness a UK comparison, this is simply a spot similar Keir Starmer deciding helium was going to go main exec of the Barbican Centre.

In a statement, the Center said: "The Kennedy Center is alert of the station made precocious by POTUS connected societal media. We person received nary authoritative communications from the White House regarding changes to our committee of trustees. We are alert that immoderate members of our committee person received termination notices from the administration.

"Per the Center's governance established by Congress successful 1958, the seat of the committee of trustees is appointed by the Center's committee members. There is thing successful the Center's statute that would forestall a caller medication from replacing committee members; however, this would beryllium the archetypal clip specified enactment has been taken with the Kennedy Center's board."

We look guardant to the Center's 2025 line-up, which volition presumably beryllium conscionable Lee Greenwood and Journey performing each different night.

2. Gave a "heretic" televangelist who speaks successful tongues a White House office

Donald Trump launched a "faith office" successful the White House - led by a televangelist branded a heretic by mainstream Christians.

Paula White is linked to the "prosperity gospel" - a content that religion successful God makes you affluent and healthy.

She's possibly champion known for a bizarre sermon she delivered successful 2020 astatine a supplication work aimed astatine enlisting the almighty to present a 2nd word for Trump.

During the sermon, she said the words "we onslaught astatine the ground" implicit and implicit again, repeatedly claimed Angels were connected their way, immoderate of them from Africa - and spoke successful rhythmic gibberish for a fewer seconds.

She has besides suggested "Demonic confederacies" were attempting to bargain the 2020 election. As opposed to, say, voters.

The aforesaid twelvemonth she was criticised for a sermon successful which she prayed for expectant mothers to endure miscarriages successful what she claimed were "satanic pregnancies."

The Senate Finance Committee launched an probe into televangelists, including her ministry Without Walls International Church, betwixt 2007 and 2011.

The report, portion inconclusive successful its findings, reported the Church spent $900,000 of tax-exempt donations to wage the owe connected her mansion, and besides for her backstage jet.

She is joined to Jonathan Cain, the keyboardist from Journey who co-wrote Don't Stop Believin'.

3. Tried to occurrence America's predetermination watchdog. She refused.

Ellen Wintraub chairs the Federal Election Commission - which keeps tabs connected whether US elections are being held legally and properly.

She tweeted yesterday that she had been sent a letter, signed by Trump, which read: "You are hereby removed arsenic a Member of the Federal Election Commission, effectual immediately."

But she's staying put, saying Trump's bid to unseat her is not legal.

She wrote: "There's a ineligible mode to regenerate FEC commissioners-this isn't it. I've been fortunate to service the American radical & disturbance up immoderate bully occupation on the way. That's not changing anytime soon."

For idiosyncratic truthful determined to sow mistrust successful elections to effort to region the idiosyncratic successful complaint of their medication is chilling, to accidental the least.

To effort and bash it illegally takes it to different level of yikes.

4. Elon Musk did a Twitter canvass asking whether helium should un-fire his racist minion

Yesterday 1 of Elon Musk's younker goon squad was forced to resign aft a twitter relationship linked to him was recovered to person posted - precise precocious - racist comments.

Today, Musk did a canvass connected Twitter, which read: "Bring backmost @DOGE staffer who made inappropriate comments via a present deleted pseudonym?"

At the clip of writing, astir 400,000 radical had voted. 78% voted yes.

Later, Vice President JD Vance

5. Meanwhile his teenage minion was seemingly fired from an internship for leaking secrets

Edward Coristine, a teenage assemblage dropout who called himself "Big Balls" connected LinkedIn, and who has been terrorising nationalist servants connected Elon Musk's behalf for the past week oregon so, was reportedly fired from an internship astatine a cybersecurity steadfast for leaking institution secrets.

Bloomberg reports Coristine was fired by Path Network successful 2022 for "leaking interior accusation to the competitors."

Now helium has entree to the astir delicate idiosyncratic accusation connected American citizens held by the national government. And helium has nary evident information clearance, different than being an acolyte of Musk.

All wholly fine.

6. Quietly backed disconnected immoderate China tariffs successful the mediate of the night

With Canada and Mexico's sanctions earlier successful the week, Trump astatine slightest got them to unreal to marque immoderate concessions truthful helium could prevention look erstwhile helium backed down.

But precocious past night, the Donald softly backed down connected portion of his tariff authorities with China, allowing packages worthy little than $800 to participate the US duty-free.

The tariffs had caused large headaches for radical ordering goods from Chinese online marketplaces similar AliExpress and Temu.

China, frankincense far, has offered nary concessions to the US.

7. Elon identified his adjacent people - his ain company's regulator

With a tweet, Elon Musk designated the adjacent people for his DOGE bully squad.

"CFPB RIP" helium tweeted, prompting a batch of feverish googling to spot what connected world helium was talking about.

Turns retired CFPB is the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which was created successful the aftermath of the 2008/9 fiscal situation to modulate non-bank fiscal companies, protecting consumers and the satellite against different akin crash.

In caller years it's been cardinal to scrutinising outgo apps, including those offered by Apple and Paypal.

As of past week, erstwhile they announced a concern with Visa to fto users marque one-off transactions, Elon Musk's X - formerly Twitter - joined the list.

By stalling the enactment of the body, Trump's Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has ensured X volition look small scrutiny.

8. Scrapped Joe Biden's information clearance

When Joe Biden took office, Trump was genu heavy successful investigations into precisely wherefore helium had boxes and boxes of documents, immoderate of them classified, stashed successful a toilet astatine Mar A Lago. As a precaution, successful lawsuit helium was, you know, a menace to the nation, Biden took distant Trump's information clearance and entree to classified briefings.

Trump past nighttime returned the favour, simply retired of revenge.

9. Reopened the US exile programme, but lone for 'persecuted' achromatic South Africans

Trump issued a connection slamming the authorities of South Africa for treating the achromatic Afrikaner colonisation terribly poorly.

And helium did a partial reverse ferret connected the implicit shutdown of the US exile programme, presumably due to the fact that helium thinks they're the astir persecuted radical connected the planet.

Why is helium doing this? Well, helium appears to person misread - oregon been, ahem, misinformed - astir a caller instrumentality that allows the South African authorities to instrumentality onshore from backstage parties if it's successful the nationalist involvement and nether definite conditions.

It's fundamentally compulsory purchase, which we've had successful the UK for centuries.

But Trump, from somewhere, has got the thought that the South African authorities is doing "terrible things" and confiscating onshore from "certain classes."

To beryllium clear, nary onshore has been confiscated.

But groups representing parts of the achromatic minority, who accidental it volition people them and their onshore adjacent though contention is not mentioned successful the law.

The instrumentality is tied to the bequest of the racist apartheid system, and colonialism earlier that, and is portion of South Africa's efforts implicit decades to effort and find a mode to close historical wrongs.

Under apartheid, Black radical had onshore taken distant from them and were forced to unrecorded successful designated areas for non-whites. Now, whites marque up astir 7% of South Africa's colonisation of 62 cardinal but ain astir 70% of the backstage farming land, and the authorities says that inequality needs to beryllium addressed.

Afrikaners are a radical of achromatic South Africans descended chiefly from Dutch settlers who arrived astir 370 years ago. They talk Afrikaans, 1 of South Africa’s 11 authoritative languages, and marque up galore of South Africa’s agrarian farming communities.

Afrikaners were astatine the bosom of the apartheid regime, and tensions betwixt immoderate Afrikaner groups and Black governmental parties person lingered aft apartheid, though South Africa has mostly been palmy successful reconciling its galore radical groups and astir Afrikaners see themselves portion of the caller South Africa.

So...why is helium doing this?

Well, Elon Musk was calved and raised successful South Africa but near aft precocious schoolhouse successful the precocious 1980s, erstwhile South Africa was inactive nether the apartheid regime.

We don't cognize for definite he's nobbling the President astir it.

But helium has for years criticised the existent enactment successful his homeland, accusing them of anti-white policies and ignoring oregon adjacent encouraging a “genocide” with regards to the killings of immoderate achromatic farmers. Those killings are astatine the halfway of claims by blimpish commentators — and present amplified by Trump and Musk — that South Africa is allowing attacks connected achromatic farmers arsenic a means to region them.

The South African authorities has condemned the killings and says they are portion of the country's desperately precocious convulsive transgression rates crossed the board. Experts accidental determination is nary grounds of genocide and the killings marque up a precise tiny percent of homicides. For example, a radical that records workplace attacks says 49 farmers oregon their families were killed successful 2023, portion determination were much than 27,000 homicides successful the state that year.

Musk besides accused South Africa this week of having “racist ownership laws,” an evident notation to his nonaccomplishment to get a licence successful the state for his Starlink outer net work due to the fact that it doesn't conscionable affirmative enactment criteria.