#dr-oz
2 entries with this tag
Trump Hijacked America's 250th Birthday to Enrich Allies, Sell Access, and Harvest Data — $103 Million in No-Bid Contracts Flowed to a Shadow Organization Run by His Campaign Manager, the January 6 Rally Production Company Got $38.6 Million, Donors Were Allegedly Defrauded, Artists Fled, the Stage Collapsed, the Fair Was Empty, and Newborns Got Branded Social Security Cards
A 55-page House Democrats report titled "From Vanity to Insanity" reveals how Trump hijacked America's 250th birthday celebration. Congress created a bipartisan commission called America250 in 2016 to plan the semiquincentennial. Trump tried to pack it with loyalists. When that failed, he created Freedom 250 by executive order — an LLC housed inside the National Park Foundation, whose board he stacked with his 2024 campaign co-manager Chris LaCivita and fundraising director Meredith O'Rourke. Congress appropriated $150 million for the celebration; America250 received only $25 million while Freedom 250 got at least $68 million in taxpayer funds. Public Citizen and the Revolving Door Project tracked $103 million in federal contracts flowing to "a network of politicized entities under the control of Trump administration officials and political allies." Event Strategies Inc. — the production company behind Trump's January 6, 2021, Ellipse rally — received $38.6 million in no-bid contracts, with a deal extending to 2030 with an option to 2045. Donors who intended to support the bipartisan America250 were allegedly given Freedom 250's banking information instead — conduct the report says could constitute wire fraud. Corporations with regulatory business before the government — ExxonMobil, Oracle, Lockheed Martin, Palantir, United Airlines — donated undisclosed sums. $1 million donors got a photo op with the president; $2.5 million donors got speaking roles. Keith Krach appeared to solicit foreign donations at Davos. The showcase event — the Great American State Fair on the National Mall — was a disaster: most booked artists (Martina McBride, The Commodores, Bret Michaels) pulled out when they learned it was Trump-affiliated; stage panels crashed onto dancers during rehearsal; crowds were sparse despite Trump claiming 45,000; a power outage melted food; extreme heat forced closures; a fifth of states refused to participate; and organizers misspelled their own name on a billboard. Trump staged his own birthday as a national event twice under the Freedom 250 banner. PragerU and Hillsdale College got $10 million for "Freedom Trucks" mobile museums. The Social Security Administration began issuing commemorative cards with the Freedom 250 logo to every baby born in the second half of 2026 — the first time in 90 years the card's design has been politicized. A UFC fight on the White House South Lawn cost $60 million. And Trump made himself chair of the whole operation.
Trump Claims He's Cutting Drug Prices by "1,000%" — Which Would Mean Pharmacies Pay You
Trump repeatedly claims his drug pricing policy will cut prices by "1,000%." A 100% cut would make drugs free. A 1,000% cut would mean pharmacies owe you money for taking the pills. When confronted, Trump said there are "two ways of calculating." RFK Jr. and Dr. Oz defended the math in Congress. PolitiFact: "That doesn't add up."