Collapse of the Party Season
Life During Trumptime - 6/1/26 - 6/7/26
It’s America’s 250th anniversary and DC is set to celebrate with “The Great American State Fair” that’s scheduled to run from June 25 to July 10. Fair organizers claimed they’d booked great musicians to play the festival and published a list that included Martina McBride, Vanilla Ice, Young MC, the Commodores, Flo Rida, and Morris Day & The Time.
In the days after the announcement most of the artists dropped out and distanced themselves from the Great American State Fair. To hear them tell it, organizers had pitched the event as a non-partisan celebration of America. “The artists were never told about any political involvement with the event. And despite the claims by the organizers that the event is non-partisan, SPIN magazine describes it as ‘Trump-backed.’ I hope to perform in D.C. in the near future at an event that is not so politically charged,” Young MC said in a post on Facebook.
Despite holdouts like Vanilla Ice, the lineup had completely collapsed by the first week of June. Trump denounced the musicians on Truth Social. “On Wednesday, June 24th, at 7 P.M., in magnificent Washington, D.C., now totally beautified, and one of the Safest Cities anywhere in the World, and in celebration of our Country’s 250 Year History, we will be bringing you, LIVE, the Greatest Rally, EVER! It will be special at every level — A Rally to end all Rallies! We don’t want singers with no talent, but big fees to put you to sleep, we’ve told them all to stay home. All we want is you, me, a few speakers, and the Greatest Music ever played, the same Music you have listened to for years! We will have the fabulous Lee Greenwood introducing me with what has turned out to be one of the Greatest Hits of All Time, GOD BLESS THE U.S.A., and the amazing Christopher Macchio, who will sing Nessun Dorma, Hallelujah, Ave Maria, God Bless America, and others — Not since the legendary Luciano Pavarotti has there been such a voice!”
https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/116694027873070210
States are also fleeing the Great American State Fair. The event was supposed to host a pavilion with representatives from every state in the union, but at least six have said they aren’t coming. North Carolina, Connecticut, Illinois, Massachusetts, Washington, and Oregon all declined the invitation.
Ten days before the start of the fair is Trump’s birthday. The plan is to celebrate his 80th by watching a UFC cage match on the South Lawn of the White House. In an interview with The Daily Mail, UFC CEO Dana White explained what a pain it’s been to construct an outdoor ring in the summer in DC. It’s a swamp, you see, and there’s a lot of pests.
6/1/26
The week began with a heated phone call and Trump promising that everything would be fine.
Axios reported that Trump yelled at Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for escalating Israel’s attacks on Lebanon. “You’re fucking crazy. You’d be in prison if it weren’t for me. I’m saving your ass. Everybody hates you now. Everybody hates Israel because of this,” a US official said, summarizing Trump’s phone call.
Later in the day, CNBC’s Eamon Javers called Trump on the phone and asked how negotiations were going with Iran. Earlier in the day Tehran had signaled it was cutting off the peace talks.
“I don’t care if they’re over, honestly. I really don’t care. I couldn’t care less. If they’re over, they’re over. If they’re not, you know, I think they took too much time. Frankly, I thought they started to get very boring,” Trump told Javers. “They were giving us what we needed, but I think I think they handled the negotiations poorly. It took too long. I thought they were tapping us along, that’s all.”
On X, the White House’s official account posted pleas for supporters to chill. “TRUMP IN TRUMP,” said one post. “Just sit back and relax, it will all work out well in the end - It always does!”
In another post, an AI generated video of the White House loomed behind a flock of songbirds. To those negatively chirping: quiet. 🤫,” the post said. “It will all work out well in the end - it always does.”
The Department of War banned journalists from using its press office, declaring the area a classified space. “The Pentagon Press Office has been redesignated as a Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility due to speechwriters from the Office of the Secretary of War sharing the facility. These speechwriters routinely handle classified material and require SIPRNet access. As a result, journalists will no longer be permitted to enter the office space. Access to the office of the Assistant to the Secretary of War for Public Affairs and to the Press Secretary remains available by appointment only,” Joel Valdez, the Pentagon’s acting press secretary, told The Washington Post.
6/2/26
Trump nominated Bill Pulte to replace Tulsi Gabbard as the Director of National Intelligence (DNI). Pulte is the current head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency and Chairman of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Trump said Pulte would keep those jobs while he worked as DNI. Pulte is a real estate scion with no previous intelligence experience.
This is the same Pulte who, two years ago, received a trophy from Bed Bath and Beyond conspiracy theorists. (It’s a long story.) “Fucks only the young,” read the inscription on the novelty trophy.
“That looks pretty bad ass,” Pulte said as he received his award.
In other ODNI news, Reuters reported that the CIA has stopped contributing to some intelligence assessment as the result of a years long feud between agencies. “The CIA, led by Director John Ratcliffe, contends that Gabbard’s Director’s Initiatives Group has acted recklessly by circumventing traditional intelligence-sharing and declassification protocols, said two of the people. ODNI officials say the CIA has consistently blocked the group’s access to intelligence,” Erin Banco of Reuters said in a thread on X.com.
“The war is over now,” Marco Rubio said of the Iran War during testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Later that day, Iran struck targets in Bahrain, Kuwait, and Iraq.
In a bizarre crossover, Gwyneth Paltrow interviewed Anduril co-founder Trae Stephens on her Goop podcast.
6/3/26
Dozens of people are sick in Idaho after consuming raw milk. The consumption of raw milk was a big talking point for Health and Human Services secretary RFK Jr. A year ago, he took a shot of the white stuff on camera. He’s since backed off the issue and won’t return the calls of raw milk insiders and businesses.
Meanwhile in Idaho, unpasteurized milk has sickened at least 60 people. “At least 45 of those people tested positive for campylobacteriosis, a bacterial infection, although not everyone who is sick was tested. Investigation and interviews of people reported as ill are ongoing and additional illness may be identified,” said a statement from the Idaho Department of Health & Welfare.
Kim Jong Un toured a newly revealed uranium enrichment facility in North Korea. According to nuclear experts, the new machines will allow North Korea to double its production of highly enriched uranium.
6/4/26
In a statement to Iran’s state-run news agency, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said that any lasting peace deal to end the war with the United States must include Israel’s withdrawal from Lebanon. “Our initial condition for accepting a ceasefire in the regional war has been a ceasefire on all fronts, including Lebanon,” the IRGC said. “The enemy must urgently stop its attacks on the Lebanese people, and immediately withdraw behind international borders by evacuating the occupied territories of Lebanon, and recognise the territorial integrity of Lebanon.”
6/5//26
Albanians are in the streets protesting real estate developments connected to Jared Kushner. Anti-Kushner sentiment has been building in the country for months and people began to take to the streets in June to demand, among other things, the resignation of the Albanian prime minister. Kushner’s plan was to build a resort on the Narta Lagoon, an environmentally protected coast line home to many unique species including flamingos.
Albanians are calling the protests the Flamingo Revolution.
6/6/26
A photo of a bird’s nest woven from fiber optic cable gathered from the battlefields of Ukraine went viral across several websites and social platforms.
Shared by some as a sign of a dystopic present, I found the nest quite beautiful. It reminded me that life persists, even on the battlefield. This reminder was somewhat undercut by the fact that a similar image had gone viral almost a year ago to the day. The War in Ukraine has officially gone on longer than World War I.
6/7/26
At the end of the week, things were not working out as Trump had promised. Iran launched ballistic missile strikes against Israel, the first since the April 2026 ceasefire. Tehran said the strikes were in retaliation for Israel’s continued war in Lebanon.
“What I would suggest to Iran: You’ve shot your missiles, that’s enough. Get back to the table and make a deal,” Trump told Fox News.
Trump later told the Financial Times that he’d told Netanyahu not to retaliate and that the Israeli PM had no choice but to accept a deal with Iran. “He doesn’t call the shots. I call the shots,” Trump told FT.
A few hours later, Israel launched strikes against Iran and Lebanon.