{"id":285885,"date":"2025-01-27T12:00:21","date_gmt":"2025-01-27T12:00:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/?p=285885"},"modified":"2025-01-22T06:17:07","modified_gmt":"2025-01-22T06:17:07","slug":"january-20-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/2025\/01\/january-20-2025\/","title":{"rendered":"January 20, 2025"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>

Trump Plans to Designate Cryptocurrency as a National Priority. Bloomberg 16 Jan 2025<\/p><\/div>\n

21 Jan 2025 <\/em>– The tone for the inauguration of Donald J. Trump as the 47th president of the United States at noon today was set on Friday [17 Jan], when Trump, who once trashed cryptocurrency as \u201cbased on thin air,\u201d launched his own cryptocurrency. By Sunday morning it had made more than $50 billion on paper. Felix Salmon of Axios<\/em> reported that \u201ca financial asset that didn\u2019t exist on Friday afternoon\u2014now accounts for about 89% of Donald Trump\u2019s net worth.\u201d<\/p>\n

As Salmon noted, \u201cThe emoluments clause of the Constitution,\u201d which prohibits any person holding a government office from accepting any gift or title from a foreign leader or government, \u201cwritten in 1787, hardly envisaged a world where a president could conjure billions of dollars of wealth out of nowhere just by endorsing a meme.\u201d Salmon also pointed out that there is no way to track the purchases of this coin, meaning it will be a way for those who want something from Trump to transfer money directly to him.<\/p>\n

Former Trump official Anthony Scaramucci posted that \u201canyone in the world can essentially deposit money\u201d into the bank account of the president of the United States.<\/p>\n

On Sunday, Trump\u2019s wife Melania launched her own coin. It took the wind out of the sales of Trump\u2019s coin, although both coins have disclaimers saying that the coins are \u201can expression of support for and engagement with the values embodied by\u201d the Trumps, and are not intended to be \u201can investment opportunity, investment contract, or security of any type.\u201d Her cryptocurrency was worth more than $5 billion within two hours.<\/p>\n

CNN noted that the release of the meme coin had raised \u201cserious ethics concerns,\u201d but those who participate in the industry were less gentle. One wrote: \u201cTrump\u2019s sh*tcoin release has caused possibly the greatest overnight loss of credibility in presidential history. He made $60B. Great for Trump family, terrible for this country and hopes we had for the Trump presidency.\u201d<\/p>\n

Walter Schaub, former head of the Office of Government Ethics under Trump in his first administration, who left after criticizing Trump\u2019s unwillingness to divest himself of his businesses, wrote to CNN: \u201cAmerica voted for corruption, and that\u2019s what Trump is delivering\u2026. Trump\u2019s corruption and naked profiteering is so open, extreme and pervasive this time around that to comment on any one aspect of it would be to lose the forest for the trees. The very idea of government ethics is now a smoldering crater.\u201d<\/p>\n

At a rally Sunday night at the Capital One Arena in Washington, Trump highlighted the performance side of his public persona. He teased the next day\u2019s events and let his audience in on a secret that echoed the \u201cneokayfabe\u201d of professional wrestling by leaving people wondering if it was true or a lie. After praising Elon Musk, he told the crowd \u201cHe was very effective. He knows those computers better than anybody. Those vote counting computers. And we ended up winning Pennsylvania like in a landslide. So it was pretty good\u2026. Thank you to Elon.\u201d<\/p>\n

This morning, hours before he left office, President Joe Biden pardoned several of the targets of MAGA Republicans, including “General Mark A. Milley, Anthony S. Fauci, the Members of Congress and staff who served on the Select Committee, and the U.S. Capitol and D.C. Metropolitan police officers who testified before the Select Committee.\u201d Biden clarified that the pardons \u201cshould not be mistaken as an acknowledgment that any individual engaged in any wrongdoing, nor should acceptance be misconstrued as an admission of guilt for any offense.\u201d He noted, \u201cOur nation owes these public servants a debt of gratitude for their tireless commitment to our country.\u201d<\/p>\n

But, he said, “These are exceptional circumstances, and I cannot in good conscience do nothing. Even when individuals have done nothing wrong\u2014and in fact have done the right thing\u2014and will ultimately be exonerated, the mere fact of being investigated or prosecuted can irreparably damage reputations and finances.” He later pardoned his siblings and their spouses to protect them from persecution by the incoming president.<\/p>\n

Before he left office, Biden posted on social media: Scripture says: \u201cI have been young and now I\u2019m old yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken.\u201d After all these years serving you, the American people, I have not seen the righteous forsaken. I love you all. May you keep the faith. And may God bless you all.\u201d<\/p>\n

This morning, members of the far-right paramilitary organization the Proud Boys marched through the capital carrying a banner that read \u201cCongratulations President Trump\u201d and chanting: \u201cWhose streets? Our streets!\u201d<\/p>\n

Two days ago, Trump moved his inauguration into the Capitol Rotunda, where his supporters had rioted on January 6, 2021, because of cold temperatures expected in Washington, D.C. Even with his supporters excluded, the space was cramped, but prime spots went to billionaires: Meta chief executive officer Mark Zuckerberg, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, Apple chief executive officer Tim Cook, Google chief Sundar Pichai, TikTok chief executive officer Shou Zi Chew, and Tesla and SpaceX chief executive owner Elon Musk, who appeared to be stoned.<\/p>\n

Right-wing media mogul Rupert Murdoch, who launched the Fox News Channel in 1996, was there, as were popular podcaster Joe Rogan and founder of Turning Point USA Charlie Kirk.<\/p>\n

Although foreign leaders are not normally invited to presidential inaugurations, far-right foreign leaders President Javier Milei of Argentina and Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni were there, along with a close ally of Chinese president Xi Jinping.<\/p>\n

The streets were largely empty as Trump traveled to the U.S. Capitol. Supporters watched from Capital One Arena as Trump took the oath of office, apparently forgetting to put his hand on the Bibles his wife held. After Vice President\u2013elect J.D. Vance had taken the oath of office, sworn in by Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, and Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts had sworn in Trump, the new president delivered his inaugural address.<\/p>\n

While inaugural addresses are traditionally an attempt to put the harsh rhetoric of campaigns behind and to emphasize national unity, Trump\u2019s inaugural address rehashed the themes of his campaign rallies. Speaking in the low monotone he uses when he reads from a teleprompter, he delivered an address that repeated the lies on which he built his 2024 presidential campaign.<\/p>\n

He said that the Justice Department has been \u201cweaponized,\u201d that Biden\u2019s administration \u201ccannot manage even a simple crisis at home while at the same time stumbling into a continuing catalog of catastrophic events abroad,\u201d that the U.S. has provided \u201csanctuary and protection for dangerous criminals,\u201d that the government has \u201ctreated so badly\u201d the storm victims in North Carolina,\u201d and so on.<\/p>\n

Fact-checkers at The Guardian<\/em> noted the speech was full of \u201cfalse and misleading claims.\u201d<\/p>\n

Trump went on to promise a series of executive orders to address the crises he claimed during his campaign. He would \u201cdeclare a national emergency at our southern border,\u201d he said, and \u201cbegin the process of returning millions and millions of criminal aliens back to the places from which they came.\u201d (Border crossings are lower now than they were at the end of Trump\u2019s last term.) He promised to tell his cabinet members to bring down inflation (it peaked in 2022 and is now close to the Fed\u2019s target of 2%), bring back manufacturing (the Biden administration brought more than 700,000 new manufacturing jobs to the U.S.), end investments in green energy (which has attracted significant private investment, especially in Republican-dominated states), and make foreign countries fund the U.S. government through tariffs (which are, in fact, paid by American consumers).<\/p>\n

He also vowed to take the Panama Canal back from Panama, prompting Panama\u2019s president Jos\u00e9 Ra\u00fal Mulino to \u201cfully reject the statements made by\u201d Trump, and Panamanian protesters to burn the American flag.<\/p>\n

With a declaration about the Pennsylvania shooting that bloodied his ear, Trump declared that he believes he is on a divine mission. \u201cI felt then, and believe even more so now, that my life was saved for a reason. I was saved by God to make America great again.\u201d<\/p>\n

After his inaugural address, former president Biden and former first lady Dr. Jill Biden left, and Trump delivered a much more animated speech to prominent supporters in which CNN\u2019s Daniel Dale said he returned to his \u201clie-a-minute style.\u201d He rehashed the events of January 6, 2021, and claimed that then\u2013House speaker Nancy Pelosi is \u201cguilty as hell\u2026that\u2019s a criminal offense.\u201d<\/p>\n

But the bigger story came in the afternoon, when Trump held a rally at the Capitol One Arena in place of the traditional presidential parade. Supporters there had watched the inauguration on a jumbotron screen, booing Biden and jumping to their feet to cheer at Trump\u2019s declaration that he had been saved by God. In the afternoon, Elon Musk spoke to the crowd, throwing two salutes that right-wing extremists, including neo-Nazis, interpreted as Nazi salutes.<\/p>\n

Trump and his family arrived after 5:00 for the inaugural parade. The new president spoke again in rally mode after six, and then staged a demonstration that he was changing the country by holding a public signing of executive orders. Those appeared to be designed, as he promised, to retaliate against those he feels have wronged him. Among other executive orders, he withdrew the United States from the Paris Climate Agreement, drawing approving roars from the crowd.<\/p>\n

As Jonathan Swan of the New York Times<\/em> noted, \u201cSigning executive orders and pardons are two of the parts of the job that Trump loves most. They are unilateral, instantaneous displays of power and authority.\u201d After signing a few executive orders for the crowd, Trump threw the signing sharpies into the crowd, and then he and his family left abruptly.<\/p>\n

Back at the White House, retaliation continued. Trump pardoned or commuted the sentences of all of the January 6 rioters who had been convicted of crimes related to the attempt to overthrow the results of the 2020 presidential election, including Enrico Tarrio, the former leader of the Proud Boys who was serving 22 years for seditious conspiracy to overthrow the government of the United States.<\/p>\n

His pardon also included Daniel Rodriguez, who was sentenced to 12 and a half years in prison after pleading guilty to tasing Metropolitan Police Officer Michael Fanone, who suffered cardiac arrest and a traumatic brain injury. \u201cOmg I did so much f—ing s— r[ight] n[ow] and got away,\u201d he texted to his gang. \u201cTazzed the f— out of the blue[.]\u201d<\/p>\n

Trump signed an executive order that withdraws the U.S. from the World Health Organization, another that tries to establish that there are only two sexes in the United States, and yet another that seeks to end the birthright citizenship established by the Fourteenth Amendment. He signed one intending to strip the security clearances from 51 people whom he accuses of election interference related to Hunter Biden\u2019s laptop, and has ordered that an undisclosed list of Trump appointees immediately be granted the highest levels of security clearance without undergoing background checks. He also signed one ordering officials \u201cto deliver emergency price relief.\u201d<\/p>\n

Behind the scenes today, officials in the Trump administration fired the acting head of the U.S. immigration court system as well as other leaders of that system, and cancelled the CBP One app, an online lottery system through which asylum seekers could schedule appointments with border agents, leaving asylum seekers who had scheduled appointments three weeks ago stranded. Trump officials have also taken down a government website that helped women find health care and understand their rights. They have also removed the official portrait of former chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley from the hallway with the portraits of all the former chairs\u2026now all minus one.<\/p>\n

But for all their claims to be hitting the ground running, lawyers noted that some of the executive orders were poorly crafted to accomplish what they claimed\u2014an observer called one \u201cbizarre legal fanfic not really intended for judicial interpretation\u201d\u2014and lawsuits challenging them are already being filed. Others are purely performative, like ordering officials to lower prices.<\/p>\n

Further, CNN national security correspondent Natasha Bertrand reported that almost an hour after Trump became president, \u201ccurrent and former Pentagon officials say they don\u2019t know who is currently in charge of the Defense Department,\u201d a key position to maintain U.S. security against adversaries who might take advantage of transition moments to push against American defenses.<\/p>\n

Bertrand reported that the Trump transition team had trouble finding someone to serve as acting secretary until the Senate confirms a replacement for Biden\u2019s Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin. Trump\u2019s nominee, former Fox News Channel weekend host Pete Hegseth has had trouble getting the votes he needs, although tonight the Senate Armed Services Committee approved him by a straight party line vote.<\/p>\n

Bertrand notes that two senior department officials declined to take on the position. The Trump administration swore in Robert Salesses, deputy director of the branch of the Pentagon that focuses on human resources, facilities, and resource management\u2014who has already been confirmed by the Senate in that position\u2014as acting Defense Secretary.<\/p>\n

Beginning tomorrow, the Republicans will have to deal with the fact that the Treasury will hit the debt ceiling and will have to use extraordinary measures to pay the obligations of the United States government.<\/p>\n

Notes:<\/strong><\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/us\/robert-salesses-serve-acting-us-defense-secretary-nbc-news-reports-2025-01-20\/<\/a><\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.axios.com\/2025\/01\/18\/trump-meme-coin-25-billion<\/a><\/p>\n

https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/trump-pentagon-defense-secretary-hegseth-7bf18dfaaa53e3e75a76e3fd768a7fdd<\/a><\/p>\n

https:\/\/time.com\/7208371\/trump-inauguration-2025-photos\/<\/a><\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/live\/2025\/01\/20\/us\/trump-executive-orders<\/a><\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.cnbc.com\/2025\/01\/20\/melania-trump-launches-cryptocurrency-ahead-of-donald-trumps-inauguration.html<\/a><\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2017\/07\/06\/news\/walter-shaub-office-of-government-ethics-resignation\/index.html<\/a><\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2025\/01\/20\/tech\/meme-coins-donald-melania-trump-intl-hnk\/index.html<\/a><\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2025\/01\/19\/politics\/key-lines-trump-rally-dc-inauguration-eve\/index.html<\/a><\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.wusa9.com\/article\/news\/national\/capitol-riots\/for-the-first-time-since-january-6-2021-proud-boys-march-in-dc-donald-trump-capitol-riot\/65-edd2f779-154e-4f5e-8dd6-0dabd2707c5d<\/a><\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/politics\/interactive\/2025\/trump-inauguration-attendees\/<\/a><\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/articles\/cvgpqeq82rvo<\/a><\/p>\n

https:\/\/news.sky.com\/story\/tech-billionaires-and-world-leaders-turn-out-for-trump-inauguration-13293076<\/a><\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2025\/jan\/20\/trump-inaugural-address-factcheck<\/a><\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/immigration\/2025\/01\/19\/trump-immigration-agenda-second-term\/<\/a><\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/01\/10\/us\/politics\/border-immigration-drop-biden.html<\/a><\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/news\/transcript-trump-inauguration-speech-2025\/<\/a><\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.whitehouse.gov\/presidential-actions\/2025\/01\/holding-former-government-officials-accountablefor-election-interference-and-improper-disclosure-of-sensitive-governmental-information\/<\/a><\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.whitehouse.gov\/presidential-actions\/2025\/01\/defending-women-from-gender-ideology-extremism-and-restoring-biological-truth-to-the-federal-government\/<\/a><\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.whitehouse.gov\/presidential-actions\/2025\/01\/protecting-the-meaning-and-value-of-american-citizenship\/<\/a><\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.commerce.gov\/news\/blog\/2024\/10\/manufacturing-booms-thanks-biden-harris-administration-investments<\/a><\/p>\n

https:\/\/giia.net\/insights\/two-years-inflation-reduction-act-transforming-us-clean-energy<\/a><\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/news\/transcript-trump-inauguration-speech-2025\/<\/a><\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.whitehouse.gov\/presidential-actions\/2025\/01\/granting-pardons-and-commutation-of-sentences-for-certain-offenses-relating-to-the-events-at-or-near-the-united-states-capitol-on-january-6-2021\/<\/a><\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2025\/jan\/20\/president-trump-speech-inauguration<\/a><\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2025\/jan\/20\/trump-inaugural-address-factcheck<\/a><\/p>\n

https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/biden-pardons-family-trump-white-hous-caee326c4723a4ba6d972f7daf750a0b<\/a><\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.thedailybeast.com\/trump-self-soothes-in-better-speech-right-after-first-one\/<\/a><\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2025\/01\/20\/nx-s1-5169190\/biden-voter-registration-executive-order<\/a><\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.mediaite.com\/news\/cnns-daniel-dale-rips-through-trumps-lie-a-minute-post-inauguration-speech-to-prominent-fans\/<\/a><\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.politico.com\/live-updates\/2025\/01\/20\/donald-trump-inauguration-day-news-updates-analysis\/donald-trump-inauguration-guests-00199506<\/a><\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/news\/politics\/elections\/2025\/01\/20\/trump-supporters-capital-one-arena-parade\/77694243007\/<\/a><\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.newsweek.com\/inauguration-day-2025-donald-trump-schedule-live-updates-2017568<\/a><\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/us\/tears-shock-trump-dashes-dreams-migrants-mexico-scheduled-enter-us-2025-01-20\/<\/a><\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/politics\/2025\/01\/20\/trump-inauguration-live-updates\/#link-ZPNGFTR2BVDPHITJHPD6WUTBLM<\/a><\/p>\n

https:\/\/storage.courtlistener.com\/recap\/gov.uscourts.dcd.229256\/gov.uscourts.dcd.229256.160.0_1.pdf<\/a><\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/politics\/politics-news\/elon-musk-salute-reaction-right-wing-extremists-1235241866\/<\/a><\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.politico.com\/live-updates\/2025\/01\/20\/donald-trump-inauguration-day-news-updates-analysis\/challenging-trump-on-citizenship-00199593<\/a><\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.thedailybeast.com\/trump-makes-odd-remark-about-elon-musks-familiarity-with-pennsylvania-voting-machines\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Bluesky:<\/strong><\/p>\n

natashabertrand.bsky.social\/post\/3lg6wdrn5m22x<\/a><\/p>\n

briantylercohen.bsky.social\/post\/3lg7kt5eu4225<\/a><\/p>\n

kyledcheney.bsky.social\/post\/3lg7jflebcf2a<\/a><\/p>\n

wutangforchildren.bsky.social\/post\/3lg7lsh5vcc2z<\/a><\/p>\n

reichlinmelnick.bsky.social\/post\/3lg7iyffbns2q<\/a><\/p>\n

ronfilipkowski.bsky.social\/post\/3lg6wkafyuc27<\/a><\/p>\n

hugolowell.bsky.social\/post\/3lg7oysh5rs2j<\/a><\/p>\n

nycsouthpaw.bsky.social\/post\/3lg7ri27rpk2s<\/a><\/p>\n

nycsouthpaw.bsky.social\/post\/3lg7sdvj6bs2s<\/a><\/p>\n

atrupar.com\/post\/3lg6ymec23k2t<\/a><\/p>\n

normative.bsky.social\/post\/3lg7y76xeg22e<\/a><\/p>\n

onestpress.bsky.social\/post\/3lg7eozlg222s<\/a><\/p>\n

youranoncentral.bsky.social\/post\/3lg7sb5ci4c2d<\/a><\/p>\n

melodyschreiber.com\/post\/3lg7pkves3s2h<\/a><\/p>\n

dburbach.bsky.social\/post\/3lga4ac3whc2r<\/a><\/p>\n

adelpreore.bsky.social\/post\/3lg7w3365us2h<\/a><\/p>\n

profile\/crampell.bsky.social\/post\/3lg7oxapcdc24<\/a><\/p>\n

X:<\/strong><\/p>\n

mehdirhasan\/status\/1881073883643523321<\/a><\/p>\n

briantylercohen\/status\/1881255868261597421<\/a><\/p>\n

MacFarlaneNews\/status\/1881316270022271369<\/a><\/p>\n

POTUS46Archive\/status\/1881103089647640813<\/a><\/p>\n

kylegriffin1\/status\/1881315743708622948<\/a><\/p>\n

________________________________________________________<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Heather Cox Richardson – A newsletter about the history behind current politics.<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Go to Original – heathercoxrichardson.substack.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The tone for Trump\u2019s inauguration was set on Fri 17 Jan, when he launched his own cryptocurrency. By Sun morning, it had made more than $50 billion. A financial asset that didn\u2019t exist on Fri today accounts for 89% of Trump\u2019s net worth.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":285888,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[55],"tags":[867,3225,550,1246,555,1213,249,70],"class_list":["post-285885","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-capitalism","tag-anglo-america","tag-billionaires","tag-corruption","tag-cryptocurrency","tag-elites","tag-super-rich","tag-trump","tag-usa"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/285885","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=285885"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/285885\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":285893,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/285885\/revisions\/285893"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/285888"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=285885"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=285885"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=285885"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}