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Does Donald Trump even know what a trade deficit is? He seems to think it’s a sign that America is being “ripped off” and says it’s why his tariffs are necessary and that it’s a sign. But it's not inherently a bad thing. Here’s what having a trade deficit actually means. #velshi

submitted 3 days ago • 12 comments

Trump’s attacks on the rule of law not only affect the legal profession, but all citizens. “I realized, it might have to be me,” says @cohen489.bsky.social, who resigned from their firm over the Trump deal, urging others to “pay attention” to the attacks on the justice system.

submitted 3 days ago • 7 comments

Trump’s off-again, on-again tariff strategy proves ‘Frat boys’ are running the economy, says @jeffsonnenfeld.bsky.social. If you really want to boost manufacturing, J. Nicole Bivens Collison says, you first start with investing in it, not the White House’s tariff-first strategy. #Velshi

submitted 3 days ago • 11 comments

Mahmoud Khalil and Kilmar Abrego Garcia have become symbols in a larger struggle for the soul of America. Their fight to remain in the country–and how our justice system chooses to respond–foreshadows the kind of nation we are becoming. #Velshi

submitted 4 days ago • 10 comments

Trump’s tariffs are not “the art of the deal” – no matter what the White House says. @jimacosta.bsky.social & @michaelrstrain.bsky.social discuss how voters are having “buyer’s remorse” & global investors are reacting to the “incompetence” of the Trump admin’s economic policy. #Velshi

submitted 4 days ago • 4 comments

Meet ‘Betty’: she’s having a hard time with Donald Trump’s tariffs. They threaten to raise prices on everything from cars to homes, and it’s becoming harder for her to support her 16-year-old son, Bobby. #Velshi

submitted 4 days ago • 5 comments

Why is reading important? Why is access to literature important? @jennyboylan.bsky.social, author of “Good Boy: My Life in Seven Dogs” has the answer: “An education is supposed to prepare you for the world.” #Velshi #VelshiBannedBookClub www.msnbc.com/ali-velshi/w...

submitted 4 days ago • 5 comments

Scapegoating immigrants in order to “cut Constitutional corners” endangers us all, warns NYU’s @rachelbarkow.bsky.social. #Velshi

submitted 10 days ago • 10 comments

Donald Trump got 234 judges confirmed during his first term -- and he's looking to re-shape the judiciary again. @leahlitman.bsky.social and @joshgerstein.bsky.social join @profmmurray.bsky.social to discuss Trump 2.0's search for judges who go "against the grain." #Velshi

submitted 10 days ago • 14 comments

Mahmoud Khalil’s lawyer Baher Azmy says his client is showing “remarkable courage” after he published an op-ed from an ICE detention facility encouraging students to continue their demonstrations. Azmy called the government’s attempt to deport Khalil a "form of oppression and retaliation." #Velshi

submitted 11 days ago • 3 comments

Trump continues to target the press with verbal & legal attacks… including a revived movement to go after libel protections. “Having a credible, independent, & vigorous news media… is a threat to people who are using lies & distortion to advance their agendas,” says @davidenrich.bsky.social. #Velshi

submitted 11 days ago • 1 comment

Judge rules Alabama can’t target groups aiding legal abortions. State’s abortion ban “deeply incongruent” with what Alabamians want, says Jenice Fountain of @yellowfund.bsky.social. “Abortion is a human right,” adds @robinmarty.com. #Velshi

submitted 11 days ago • 0 comments

The fight to save democracy has to come from the bottom up. Our history shows “peaceful resistance works,” says @bfwalter.bsky.social. “Don't voluntarily comply with orders that are illegal. Don't help Donald Trump implement his agenda– Don’t preemptively comply.” #Velshi

submitted 17 days ago • 11 comments

Trump’s recent E.O. aims to sanitize the Smithsonian of its so-called “divisive narrative”. But Americans “want to know history and not a fairy tale,” says Georgetown Prof. Chandra Manning. “Americans are more than capable of confronting hard histories,” says @marthasjones.bsky.social #Velshi

submitted 17 days ago • 9 comments

A theme in “You Must Take Part in Revolution” by @melissakchan.bsky.social & @badiucao.bsky.social is freedom. “There's a toll,” says Chan, “you should stand up to authoritarianism, but each person decides how they will do so, & there is a concurrent cost to that.” #Velshi #VelshiBannedBookClub

submitted 17 days ago • 1 comment

@pressley.house.gov says ICE’s detainment of Tufts PhD student Rumeysa Ozturk is a “5-alarm fire.” “They are disappearing people from society for a dissenting opinion from their own,” she said, “and that is what a dictator does.” #Velshi www.msnbc.com/ali-velshi/w...

submitted 18 days ago • 11 comments

The Dem. commissioners Trump fired from the FTC are suing to block their dismissals. One of the fired commissioners, Rebecca Kelly Slaughter, said the firings represent an “aggressive assault on the separation of powers, on Congress and on the people.” #Velshi www.msnbc.com/ali-velshi/w...

submitted 18 days ago • 5 comments

Dobbs is just the first step in a “long-term end game” of granting legal rights to fetuses– with “very serious consequences” for pregnant women, says @dsc250.bsky.social #Velshi www.msnbc.com/ali-velshi/w...

submitted 18 days ago • 11 comments

Fmr FTC Chair @linamkhan.bsky.social calls Trump‘s firings “blatantly illegal” & a nod to billionaire donors. It’s why Americans are flooding town halls & taking to the streets, says Khan. “They’re angry at the concentration of power. [People] want a gov't that’s willing to fight for them.” #Velshi

submitted 24 days ago • 4 comments

As the U.S. holds separate talks with Ukrainian and Russian delegations about the future of Putin’s war, Russian opposition politician @vkaramurza.bsky.social says, “we cannot talk about peace for as long as Vladimir Putin remains in power…we know who this man is." #Velshi

submitted 24 days ago • 6 comments

Trump has been aggressively challenging the authority of the judiciary and concerns about a constitutional crisis have grown. And yet Trump continues to attack the courts. “It is hypocritical, it is lawless, and it is a provocation.” Harvard Law Prof. Emeritus @tribelaw.bsky.social says. #Velshi

submitted 25 days ago • 15 comments

Trump’s attacks on institutions that challenge his agenda require a unified response, says Jason Stanley. “Universities need to band together.” WaPo’s @karenattiah.bsky.social adds, “People’s lives are at stake…All of it can be gone in an instant.” #Velshi www.msnbc.com/ali-velshi/w...

submitted 25 days ago • 7 comments

“The 57 Bus” by @dashkaslater.bsky.social is a heart-wrenching look at a terrible moment that forever connected two young people and shocked a community. Slater carefully tells it in shades of gray, examining our society's darkest and most complex parts. #VelshiBannedBookClub #Velshi

submitted 25 days ago • 2 comments

Fmr @govjayinslee.bsky.social is asking the powerful to stand up to Trump’s attacks on democracy. “Inaction is just as deadly as action when it comes to an autocrat taking over a democracy,” he says . “You become a patriot by using your leadership position to speak up, speak out, be bold.” #Velshi

submitted 31 days ago • 6 comments

In the face of Trump’s crackdown on dissent, we must reconsider “institutional neutrality.” “Everyone in civil society needs to stand up,” says @johnjharwood.bsky.social. “No one should have to be fearless in order to speak up and speak the truth,” adds @maryannefranks.bsky.social. #Velshi

submitted 31 days ago • 6 comments

Trump’s attempt to assert control over Columbia University is a threat to free speech, says Wesleyan University President Michael Roth. He warns against “this effort to make everyone align with the government.” “People have a right to express their opinions,” says Roth. #Velshi

submitted 32 days ago • 6 comments

"We've been punched in the nose by our very best friend," says Tom Clark, Consul General of Canada in NY, about America's suddenly-hostile policies that's upending Canadian politics. "What's happening in Canada is that there is now just one issue – and that one issue is Donald Trump." #Velshi

submitted 32 days ago • 8 comments

Experts have warned that overturning Roe would lead to higher maternal mortality & criminal prosecution of patients & doctors. Since Dobbs, 100s of women have been criminally charged over pregnancies. “This is blood on the arrow that stabs at Democracy,” says @michelebgoodwin.bsky.social #Velshi

submitted 32 days ago • 2 comments

Kate Chopin's 'The Awakening' started its literary life misunderstood & censored. Topics that shocked readers in 1899 are still what makes it a classic today, say Columbia prof Rachel Adams & award-winning author @erinentrada.bsky.social "Even today, women can't win." #VelshiBannedBookClub #Velshi

submitted 32 days ago • 1 comment

"When change comes to this country, it's primarily people of color leading the charge." On the anniv. of Bloody Sunday, Rep. @benniethompson.bsky.social reflects on getting into some "good trouble." He adds that Rep. Al Green's act of defiance has “forced Democrats to look at themselves.” #Velshi

submitted 38 days ago • 12 comments

Courts are holding the line in democracy’s defense but NAACP Legal Defense Fund’s @janainelson.bsky.social reminds us, “It’s not only the power of the courts, it’s the power of the people.” That will be the force to counter fascism. www.msnbc.com/ali-velshi/w...

submitted 38 days ago • 3 comments

60yrs after the “Bloody Sunday” attack on peaceful protesters in Selma, “We're sitting here grappling with these same kinds of roll backs in justice,” says poet & Pettus descendant Caroline Williams. We must “complete the unfinished business of the freedom movement,” says @imaniperry.bsky.social.

submitted 38 days ago • 4 comments

"We have to move forward with righteous incivility," @algreen.house.gov says of moving on from the consequences of his protest this week. "I don't have to agree with it, but I can accept it, because that's what peaceful protest demands. First, it demands that you get in the way." #Velshi

submitted 39 days ago • 11 comments

Trump’s gutting of the civil service and elevating of top campaign donors threatens to bring back the spoils system, says historian @jbf1755.bsky.social “What we're seeing now is blatant cronyism.” #Velshi

submitted 39 days ago • 6 comments

Trump’s DOJ is weighing in on abortion litigation, moving to drop a Biden-era case against Idaho’s strict ban. If Trump's admin “pumps the brakes” on these suits, it moves us closer to #Project2025’s proposed national abortion ban. “That really is the goal,” warns @michelebgoodwin.bsky.social

submitted 39 days ago • 4 comments

Donald Trump consistently shows disdain for journalists, often calling the media “the enemy of the people” - but fmr. WH chief correspondent @jimacosta.bsky.social emphasizes the importance of free press. “We won't succumb to the warped imagination of the wannabe autocrat in the Oval Office.”#Velshi

submitted 45 days ago • 20 comments

How much is your attention worth? “The Sirens’ Call,” @chrislhayes.bsky.social argues that attention is the most valuable resource in the world, and “the very thing that makes us human,” but increasingly, Hayes says “We don’t feel we have control” over what we spend our time on. #Velshi

submitted 45 days ago • 6 comments

Trump treats tariffs as a “cure-all” for every problem. but their reach is limited, warns @edwardfishman.bsky.social. “Tariffs are actually a weak tool if you're using them as a national security weapon.” www.msnbc.com/ali-velshi/w...

submitted 45 days ago • 5 comments

Following the disastrous Oval Office meeting between Trump and Zelenskyy, some in Europe are thinking of creating a NATO alternative. “We don’t have much of an option,” says fmr. President of Estonia @ilvestoomas.bsky.social. “The question is not whether we can but how quickly.” #Velshi

submitted 45 days ago • 9 comments

In his new book, “The Folly of Realism,” Lt. Col. @avindman.bsky.social argues we’ve been “short sighted” about Russia since the fall of the USSR. Russia has put “bright, shiny objects in front of us,” only for Russia to break its agreements every time. #Velshi

submitted 46 days ago • 1 comment

Elon Musk compared DOGE’s government cuts to the Clinton Administration’s “Reinventing Government” initiative, which cut 400,000 jobs over 5 years. Dr. Elaine Kamarck, who ran that commission, disagrees. “They are paying no attention to consequences…We did it exactly the opposite way.” #Velshi

submitted 46 days ago • 17 comments

Dystopian YA novels are as beloved as they are often under attack. Why? “Young people have always, always, spoken out against injustice,” says ‘Internment’ author @samiraahmed.bsky.social, just like the 17-year-old protagonist in her book. #VelshiBannedBookClub #Velshi

submitted 46 days ago • 1 comment

3 years ago, Ali met Ukrainian teen Nastya Shpot as she and her family fled the emerging war. Now 18, she still hopes for peace in her country. “The situation is getting more horrible,” she says, but “I’m still hoping for a peaceful sky.” #Velshi

submitted 52 days ago • 18 comments

Ukrainians strive to secure their future & preserve their history. “The weight of history is really the motivating force for Ukrainians resisting today,” says author & journalist @yarotrof.bsky.social. “Ukrainians know they don’t have the luxury to cry right now. They need to keep resisting.”#Velshi

submitted 53 days ago • 15 comments

Funding for Ukraine is “not a charity, it’s a responsibility“ says Ukrainian MP Oleksiy Goncharenko. The U.S. has provided security guarantees for Ukraine since 1994. Now, three years after Russia began its invasion, America’s financial support for the country hangs in the balance. #Velshi

submitted 53 days ago • 8 comments

Trump’s fight w/ NY marks escalation in his assault on checks & balances– powers that prevent “monarchical tyranny.” “If the fed. gov’t can reach in and overturn the will of the state, there’s no protection left against the will of the ‘King.’” - Kermit Roosevelt @kroosevelt93.bsky.social #Velshi

submitted 53 days ago • 4 comments

Canada PM Candidate @chrystia-freeland.bsky.social has a warning: “Dear United States, you’re about to hurt yourself.” Freeland says Trump’s vow to install tariffs is “self-defeating and self-mutilating.” #Velshi

submitted 59 days ago • 28 comments

Anti-abortion states are stepping up efforts to criminalize abortion -- and it could affect people's access to quality healthcare. @michelebgoodwin.bsky.social says those states' "hostile, toxic environment" is a "threat" to health and doctors' ability to provide care. #Velshi

submitted 59 days ago • 9 comments

Trump has fired at least 19 inspectors general without cause and now 8 of them are filing a lawsuit against the White House. When asked why they weren’t consulted before being ousted, Fmr. Veteran Affairs IG Michael Missal says, “maybe they want lap dogs instead of watch dogs.” #Velshi

submitted 60 days ago • 9 comments

Much of Gone Girl is an exploration of appearance vs. reality. “I love the idea of who's in charge of a narrative, and I think that that is what we deal with every day of our lives,” says author @gillianflynn.bsky.social #VelshiBannedBookClub #Velshi

submitted 60 days ago • 5 comments