This Week in Democracy – Week 24: Trump Goes From Islamophobic Attacks on Mamdani to Antisemitic Tropes About Bankers
Zeteo's project to document the ongoing, week-by-week growth of authoritarianism in the Trump second term.
America is great again for the nation’s richest. But for the poorest Americans, the country just got uglier after Republicans passed Donald Trump’s so-called “Big, Beautiful Bill.”
Millions are poised to lose healthcare and food assistance benefits, Trump’s anti-immigrant agenda is set to ramp up with ICE ballooning in size and funding, and the national debt is expected to skyrocket by trillions of dollars over the next 10 years. Happy Fourth of July, America!
Meanwhile, the president of the United States has been busy this week threatening to deport the Muslim immigrant running for mayor of New York, Zohran Mamdani, while also engaging in antisemitic tropes against bankers (“shylocks”!). Here’s the full and shocking list of what Trump and his allies did this week that harm democracy, undermine the Constitution, and hurt people in free societies worldwide:
Saturday, June 28
On Truth Social, Trump endorsed a bill introduced by Republican Rep. Kevin Kiley in the wake of the Los Angeles protests. The bill, named the ‘No Tax Dollars for Riots Act,’ would target non-profit organizations involved in organizing “riots” by making them ineligible for federal funding and removing their tax-exempt status. Trump said he’s instructing his administration “not to pay any money to these radicalized groups, regardless of the legislation.”
Trump again spoke out against Benjamin Netanyahu’s corruption trial, calling the Israeli prime minister a “War Hero” and the trial a “POLITICAL WITCH HUNT.” Trump hinted that he may suspend military aid to Israel if the trial moves forward.
The New York Times reported on the cruel and inhumane conditions facing immigrants in ICE detention centers, with some having gone “a week or more without showers,” not being provided medications for chronic health issues like diabetes and high blood pressure, and many being held for days in “cramped rooms designed for brief processing, not prolonged confinement” unbeknownst to their lawyers and families.
Sunday, June 29
In an interview on Fox, Trump suggested his administration will force reporters who broke the story about the early intelligence assessment on Iran to identify the anonymous source who leaked the report, saying, “You go up and tell the reporter: National security. Who gave it? You have to do that, and I suspect we’ll be doing things like that.”
Also during the interview, Trump warned that Zohran Mamdani is “going to have to do the right thing” if he’s elected New York City mayor, or the city is “not getting any money.”
Canada announced it would resume trade negotiations with Trump after it said it would rescind the incoming Digital Services Tax that would affect US technology companies.
An Israeli court canceled scheduled hearings in Netanyahu’s corruption trial, following pressure from Trump to cancel it altogether. In its ruling, the Jerusalem district court said it accepted a request by Netanyahu based on classified diplomatic and security grounds.
Monday, June 30
During a press briefing, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt called Zohran Mamdani a “communist” and baselessly claimed he “pedals antisemitism, praises pro-Hamas groups, [and] wants Israel abolished…”
More than 600 Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) employees, scientists, and academics signed a declaration of dissent from the agency’s policies under the Trump administration, warning that they “undermine the EPA mission of protecting human health and the environment.”
The Supreme Court declined to hear a lawsuit by anti-vaccine organization Children’s Health Defense, which Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. previously chaired. The group claimed its anti-vaccine speech was censored on social media by Meta after colluding with the federal government to restrict access to its content.
Bloomberg reported that the US Citizenship and Immigration Services issued a proposed rule to restrict “duration of status” for student visa holders, which would require them to apply to renew the visa in fixed two or four-year periods. The rule, which was opposed by higher education groups that warned it would cause needless disruption to academic programs, was previously floated in Trump’s first term but never took effect.
US media reported that the Trump administration sent a letter to Harvard University informing the school that its investigation found it in “violent violation” of the Civil Rights Act for failing to take adequate action against antisemitism on campus. The letter warned that “failure to institute adequate changes immediately will result in the loss of all federal financial resources and continue to affect Harvard’s relationship with the federal government.” In response, the school said it is “far from indifferent on this issue and strongly disagrees with the government’s findings.”
ProPublica reported that Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem may have broken the law when she secretly accepted $80,000 that she had raised for a non-profit organization that promoted her political career while she was still governor of South Dakota, and failed to include it on her disclosure form.
The Trump administration sued the city of Los Angeles over a sanctuary city policy prohibiting city resources from being used for immigration enforcement, arguing it’s hindering efforts to crack down on a so-called “crisis of illegal immigration.”
A federal judge ordered that Kilmar Abrego Garcia remain in custody, following a request from his lawyers who were concerned that the Trump administration would seek to immediately deport Abrego Garcia upon his release. In a court filing last week, his lawyers wrote, “The irony of this request is not lost on anyone.”
Trump dropped his frivolous federal lawsuit against Iowa pollster Ann Selzer and the Des Moines Register and refiled it hours later in a state court. The lawsuit centers on a poll that found Democratic nominee Kamala Harris leading in Iowa shortly before the 2024 election.
Border czar Tom Homan encouraged the DOJ to investigate CNN over its reporting on the ICEBlock app, which notifies users when ICE agents are nearby.
Former Trump adviser and top donor Elon Musk threatened to finance primary challengers against Republican members of Congress who vote for Trump’s so-called “big, beautiful bill,” calling it “utterly insane.”
A new report from the medical journal The Lancet found that the Trump administration’s cuts to USAID could result in more than 14 million additional deaths globally by 2030, with approximately one-third of the premature deaths being children. Co-author Davide Rasella told the BBC that low- and middle-income countries were facing a shock “comparable in scale to a global pandemic or a major armed conflict” due to the cuts in humanitarian aid.
Reuters reported that hackers linked to Iran have threatened to release more emails stolen from Trump associates, including White House chief of staff Susie Wiles, Trump lawyer Lindsey Halligan, adviser Roger Stone, and Stormy Daniels. Attorney General Pam Bondi called the intrusion “an unconscionable cyber-attack,” and FBI Director Kash Patel said “anyone associated with any kind of breach of national security will be fully investigated and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
NPR reported that the Justice Department issued a memo last month directing its attorneys to prioritize denaturalization proceedings for naturalized citizens who commit certain crimes, which would effectively result in the termination of US citizenship. The memo also said naturalized citizens are not entitled to an attorney in civil proceedings. As of 2023, nearly 25 million immigrants are naturalized citizens in the US.
Trump announced his latest personal line of merchandise, Trump Fragrances, which includes perfume and cologne priced at $249. Critics say it is yet another attempt to profit illegally from his presidency.
A group of 16 Democratic attorneys general sued the Trump administration over the termination of more than $1 billion in federal funds for school-based mental health services created under a bipartisan law passed after the 2022 school shooting in Uvalde, Texas.
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) chairman Brendon Carr announced the agency would postpone rules passed unanimously in 2024 to reduce prison and jail phone rates for two years, a move FCC Commissioner Anna M. Gomez said was “shielding a broken system that inflates costs and rewards kickbacks to correctional facilities at the expense of incarcerated individuals and their loved ones.”
Tuesday, July 1
In a late-night rant on Truth Social, Trump attacked his former ally Elon Musk, saying that he “may get more subsidy than any human being in history, by far, and without subsidies, Elon would probably have to close up shop and head back home to South Africa.”
Asked by a reporter about whether he would deport Elon Musk, Trump said, “We’ll have to take a look,” adding that “We might have to put DOGE on Elon … the monster that might have to go back and eat Elon.”
The Republican-controlled Senate narrowly passed its version of Trump’s so-called “Big Beautiful Bill” with a tie-breaking vote from Vice President JD Vance, sending it back to the House for another vote. As Zeteo reported, the bill includes the biggest Medicaid and SNAP cuts in history, makes ICE the highest-funded federal law enforcement agency, and adds at least $3.3 trillion to the national debt over the next decade.
On Twitter, Elon Musk claimed that the “actual crux of this spending bill” is the removal of funding for the enforcement of federal contempt of court orders, a move he said is not just aimed at removing undocumented immigrants but to enable “many other abuses of power by the President.”
Speaking to reporters at the new immigration detention facility in the Everglades dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz,” Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said her department is working with the DOJ to potentially prosecute CNN for its coverage of the ICEBlock app, saying, “We’re gonna actually go after them.” Trump added that CNN may also be prosecuted “for false reports on the attack on Iran.”
Trump once again floated the idea of deporting some US citizens who commit crimes, saying, “Many of them were born in our country. I think we ought to get them the hell out of here, too.”
During an immigration roundtable in Florida, Trump admitted that he helped New York City Mayor Eric Adams with his since-dropped indictment on corruption charges, saying it was a “phony indictment.”
A press release issued by the US Mission to the UN urged the body to remove Francesca Albanese from her position as the UN special rapporteur on Palestine. The release warned that the failure to remove Albanese would “require significant actions” in response to her alleged misconduct, which includes “unrelenting anti-Israel bias” and “false and offensive” allegations that Israel is committing genocide and engaging in apartheid.
Trump questioned the immigration status of Zohran Mamdani, claiming that a “lot of people are saying he’s here illegally,” despite Mamdani becoming a US citizen in 2018. He added that his administration is “going to look at everything,” and said that Mamdani would be arrested if he followed through on campaign promises to defy ICE officials. In a statement, Mamdani noted that Trump’s comments “don’t just represent an attack on our democracy but an attempt to send a message to every New Yorker who refuses to hide in the shadows: if you speak up, they will come for you.”
Meanwhile, Mamdani officially won the New York City Democratic mayoral primary after the ranked-choice voting tabulation was released. Mamdani beat out former Governor Andrew Cuomo by 12 percentage points and nearly 117,000 votes in the third and final round, a massive landslide compared to Eric Adams’ round eight win in 2021 by just 7,000 votes.
A federal judge temporarily blocked the Trump administration from carrying out mass firings at the Department of Health and Human Services, finding the action was “both arbitrary and capricious as well as contrary to law,” and adding that the executive branch “does not have the authority to order, organize, or implement wholesale changes to the structure and function of the agencies created by Congress.”
Twenty state attorneys general sued the Trump administration for sharing Medicaid data with DHS to assist with a crackdown on undocumented immigrants, arguing the move illegally exposed confidential health information.
The University of Pennsylvania announced new guidelines blocking trans athletes from participating in women’s sports as part of an agreement with the Trump administration, which found the school’s former policy violated Title IX. The university is also erasing all records and awards of trans swimmer Lia Thomas.
A federal judge temporarily blocked the Trump administration from terminating the temporary protected status of up to 500,000 Haitians living in the US.
The Trump administration paused some military aid to Ukraine due to concerns from the Pentagon that stockpiles in the US have declined too much.
ABC News reported that the Trump administration shut down the US Global Change Research Program’s website, a major federal website that features climate change reports and resources, including National Climate Assessments.
On Truth Social, Trump claimed that “various prison development firms” are in talks to reopen the infamous federal prison on Alcatraz Island, adding, “Still a little early, but lots of promise!”
Paramount announced it will settle Trump’s lawsuit related to the 2024 ‘60 Minutes’ interview with Kamala Harris for $16 million. A portion of the funds will pay for Trump’s fees and costs for the lawsuit, and the remainder will be donated to his future presidential library. The settlement did not include an apology from Paramount, but it did include a provision that will see the company release transcripts of ‘60 Minutes’ interviews with presidential candidates in the future, “subject to redactions as required for legal or national security concerns.”
The Trump administration withheld nearly $7 billion in scheduled federal funding for schools, telling state education agencies that the funds, which support after-school, English-language learning, adult education, and other programs, are unavailable and under review.
Trump’s Labor Department announced plans to deregulate more than 60 rules, which include minimum wage and overtime for home healthcare aides, union protections for foreign farmworkers, and anti-discrimination requirements for apprenticeships.
Spanish-language journalist Mario Guevara, who has lived in the US for over 20 years, was released from ICE custody after an immigration judge granted him bond while he faces deportation proceedings. Guevara was arrested last month while covering the “No Kings” protest.
The National Restaurant Association sent a letter to Trump asking for "targeted relief” from his administration’s crackdown on immigration.
A federal appeals court rejected an effort by the Trump administration to put Georgetown scholar Badar Khan Suri back in ICE custody while he fights his deportation.
Wednesday, July 2
Trump continued his attacks against Zohran Mamdani on Truth Social, saying he is “not going to let this Communist Lunatic destroy New York,” and added that, “I hold all the levers, and have all the cards.”
CNN reported that Trump’s pick to lead the Office of Special Counsel, Paul Ingrassia, spread conspiracy theories about 9/11 on social media, defended InfoWars’ Alex Jones after he was found liable for falsely claiming the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre was a hoax, shared comments from white nationalist and Holocaust denier Nick Fuentes, and co-hosted a podcast calling for martial law and secession after Trump lost the 2020 presidential election.
Trump’s top housing regulator called on Congress to investigate Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell over alleged “political bias” and accusations that he lied to Senators during a recent testimony, “which is enough to be removed ‘for cause.’”
A federal judge blocked Trump’s asylum ban at the US-Mexico border, ruling that Trump’s January proclamation blocking all immigrants “engaged in the invasion across the southern border” from claiming asylum or other humanitarian protections exceeded his authority as president.
Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren called for an investigation to determine whether anti-bribery laws were broken in Paramount’s settlement with Trump, saying the move “could be bribery in plain sight” and that “Paramount should be ashamed of putting its profits over independent journalism.”
In a court filing, Kilmar Abrego Garcia claimed he suffered “severe beatings,” sleep deprivation, malnutrition, and lost 31 pounds in two weeks during his time incarcerated in El Salvador’s notorious megaprison after being wrongly deported there by the Trump administration.
The ACLU of Southern California, along with immigration lawyers, sued the Trump administration, accusing it of “systematically” targeting brown-skinned people, while also violently and indiscriminately arresting people without cause as part of a crackdown on undocumented immigrants in the region.
The first group of immigrants in ICE custody was transferred to the new detention center in the Florida Everglades, dubbed Alligator Alcatraz by officials. On Twitter, state Attorney General James Uthmeier wrote, “Next stop: back to where they came from.” The hastily constructed facility reportedly flooded from a “garden-variety South Florida summer rainstorm” following a press conference Trump held there on Tuesday.
A federal judge ordered the restoration of hundreds of HHS websites that included topics like HIV testing and gender-based data that were taken down following a series of executive orders by Trump that targeted so-called “gender ideology.” Saying the removals were an example of government officials “acting first and thinking later,” the judge also found that the move was illegal, adding, “An executive order can do a lot, but it does not absolve agencies of their obligations to follow the law.”
A federal judge struck down Trump’s attempt to dismiss a federal lawsuit against Iowa pollster Ann Selzer and the Des Moines Register to refile it in a state court, saying the move was “procedurally improper” and declining to terminate the case.
Thursday, July 3
The Republican-controlled House passed the GOP tax and spending bill, sending it to Trump’s desk with hours to go before the president’s requested July 4 deadline.
The EPA put 139 employees on administrative leave after nearly 300 staff members had signed a letter on Monday dissenting from the agency’s policies under Trump. In a statement, the EPA signaled it would punish employees for “unlawfully undermining, sabotaging and undercutting” Trump’s agenda.
The Supreme Court ruled that the Trump administration can deport eight migrants who have been held in custody for over a month on a US military base in Djibouti to South Sudan, a move Justice Sonia Sotomayor said was decided “without regard for the likelihood that they will face torture or death.”
The Supreme Court also said it would hear arguments in cases involving two state bans prohibiting trans student athletes from competing in girls’ and women’s sports during the court’s next term.
The federal judge overseeing Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s criminal case ordered the Trump administration to stop making public statements about the case to prevent the prejudice of a jury.
On Twitter, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard attacked Washington Post national security reporter Ellen Nakashima, accusing her of “actively harassing ODNI staff.” In response, the Post’s executive editor said that Nakashima “has been one of the most careful, fair-minded, and highly regarded reporters covering national security,” and added that “[r]eaching out to potential sources rather than relying solely on official government press statements regarding matters of public interest is neither nefarious nor is it harassment. It is basic journalism.”
The Trump administration announced that it is sending 200 US Marines to Florida to assist ICE officers with immigration enforcement measures. The deployment of the Marines comes after 100 National Guard troops were assigned to “Alligator Alcatraz.”
Wired reported that Customs and Border Protection is asking tech companies to pitch digital tools designed to process and analyze text messages, pictures, videos, and contacts from seized devices at the US border.
At a rally in Des Moines, Iowa, Trump used the antisemitic slur “shylocks” to describe some bankers as he promoted his “Big, Beautiful Bill.” He later claimed he didn’t know “shylock” was antisemtic. His use of the term was decried by several Jewish organizations. While the Anti-Defamation League said the term invokes a “centuries-old antisemitic trope,” it simply called Trump’s use of it “irresponsible” and “troubling.”
Friday, July 4
Trump celebrated the Fourth of July by signing his massive domestic policy bill that will see millions lose their healthcare and food assistance benefits into law.
The New York Times faced backlash over a story described by critics as a “hit piece” on New York City Democratic mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani. The piece relies on information provided to the Times from an anonymous source who has been identified elsewhere as an academic who advocates for race science.
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Very useful, and dizzying. Yikes.
Well, glad to see all of the protest voters out en masse trying to stop this