Trump Has Tantrum About Popularity of Judge Who Dared Defy Him

Donald Trump called Tuesday for a federal judge to be impeached, after the president was accused of defying a court order barring his massive deportations.

Trump attacked Judge James Boasberg, who issued a written order Sunday temporarily barring the White House from deporting noncitizens currently in custody. The president had invoked the Alien Enemies Act to deport hundreds of individuals the government claims are Venezuelan gang members without due process.

Boasberg had also verbally ordered that two planes already in the air turn around and come back to the States. The flights instead continued to their destination in El Salvador—potentially marking the first instance that Trump’s White House has openly defied a federal court order.

In an enraged rant on Truth Social, the president escalated his attacks on the federal judiciary by demanding that Boasberg be impeached, and in classic Trump fashion, he also managed to make it about President Barack Obama.

“This Radical Left Lunatic of a Judge, a troublemaker and agitator who was sadly appointed by Barack Hussein Obama, was not elected President—He didn’t WIN the popular VOTE (by a lot!), he didn’t WIN ALL SEVEN SWING STATES, he didn’t WIN 2,750 to 525 Counties, HE DIDN’T WIN ANYTHING!” Trump wrote.

“I WON FOR MANY REASONS, IN AN OVERWHELMING MANDATE, BUT FIGHTING ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION MAY HAVE BEEN THE NUMBER ONE REASON FOR THIS HISTORIC VICTORY. I’m just doing what the VOTERS wanted me to do,” Trump wrote. “This judge, like many of the Crooked Judges’ I am forced to appear before, should be IMPEACHED!!!”

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt claimed Monday that the administration had complied with the judge’s order and that there was a difference between a judge’s written and verbal order. She also claimed that she was “not aware” of the president using any language about impeaching judges.

The world’s richest man thinks it’s unfair that people aren’t as interested in his products due to his far-right political views.

Elon Musk took to the social media platform he owns Monday night to vent about his alleged mistreatment.

“My companies make great products that people love and I’ve never physically hurt anyone,” Musk posted. “So why the hate and violence against me?”

But Musk had his own answer in mind.

“Because I am a deadly threat to the woke mind parasite and the humans it controls,” the Sieg heil!–waving billionaire wrote.

Tesla shares continued to tumble on Monday as one of its Chinese competitors, BYD, unveiled a system that could charge electric vehicles for a range of 249 miles in just five minutes.

Tesla comprises the majority of Musk’s net worth—but the carmaker’s ongoing eight-week slump is largely due to a global brand boycott.

Company stock is down by 50 percent so far this year, and analysts have faulted Musk’s reputational shift for the automaker’s financial woes.

Tesla historically attracted a more liberal consumer base with its electric vehicles, but since Musk went “dark MAGA,” that same base has soured on the tech billionaire and his products. That’s proven especially true in some of Europe’s stronger economies, such as Germany, which has seen sales in the country fall by more than 70 percent over the last two months, reported Bloomberg. Sales in China—where Tesla has two major factories—have similarly plummeted, falling by 49 percent in February.

Last week, the automaker’s stock had its worst day since 2020, as its Musk-induced problems coincided with historic market volatility under Donald Trump’s new tariff plans.

Board members, executives, and major investors in Tesla are jumping ship. Four top officers at the company have unloaded more than $100 million in stock since last month, reported ABC News. They include James Murdoch, the estranged son of right-wing media magnate Rupert Murdoch, and Elon Musk’s brother Kimbal Musk, the latter of whom shed $27 million, according to an SEC filing.

Even Tesla bulls are slowing down on the electric car manufacturer. Mizuho Securities managing director and senior analyst Vijay Rakesh cut his firm’s price target for Tesla by $85 per share, according to Barron’s. In a statement, Rakesh pointed to Musk’s polarizing persona and his influence in “geopolitics” as two reasons for the downturn.

“We believe Tesla’s sales woes are the result of a deterioration in geopolitics, brand perception (US/EU), share loss due to stronger competition (China), and softer-than-expected demand for the Model Y refresh,” wrote the analyst.

But despite Musk’s insistence on playing the victim, the multibillionaire still has the president on his side: Defying federal regulations, Trump used the White House last week as a backdrop for what was practically a Tesla commercial.

Several Tesla vehicles were parked in the White House driveway as Trump, joined by Musk and his son, answered reporters’ questions about his sudden affinity for the electric vehicle.

Tech oligarch Elon Musk has extended his influence over the White House even further: His Starlink internet service has been made accessible across the White House campus.

Trump administration officials say Musk donated the service, and that it was vetted by the Office of the White House Counsel’s lawyer handling ethics issues. But according to former White House officials from the Biden administration, tech donations need to go through approval from the chief information officers at the White House and the General Services Administration.

The Starlink system is routed through a White House data center with existing fiber cables miles away from Washington, D.C., unlike normal Starlink setups, which involve rectangular terminals that receive internet signals from SpaceX satellites orbiting arth.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Starlink was set up “to improve Wi-Fi connectivity on the complex.” Other administration staff told The New York Times that some parts of the White House complex could not get cell service, with Wi-Fi networks handling too much traffic at times.

There are a few problems with having the world’s richest man donate internet service to the White House: namely, the numerous conflicts of interest and ethics issues. Musk already collects billions of dollars through his government contracts, and controls Starlink. If White House employees are using the internet service, he could have access to their data. There are also questions as to how secure Starlink’s network is.

Starlink has also been set up at the GSA, an agency used as a base for Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency. And it has contracts with many other government agencies, including the Federal Emergency Management Agency, usually to provide internet access in remote locations and in emergency situations. The fact that it’s now being used at one of the most important U.S. federal buildings raises questions about whether Musk has an ulterior motive—and what that may be.

Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency staffers used police and private security to forcefully take over the U.S. Institute of Peace on Monday.

The USIP, an independent nonprofit founded by Congress, had its president, Greg Moose, and its board fired last week by the Trump administration. The Associated Press reported that DOGE workers on Monday had law enforcement escort them into USIP, which is not located in a federal building, after previously being denied access.

“DOGE just came into the building—they’re inside the building—they’re bringing the F.B.I. and brought a bunch of D.C. police,” USIP lawyer Sophia Lin told The New York Times as she and other staff members were forced out of the building.

“What has happened here today is an illegal takeover by elements of the executive branch of a private nonprofit,” Moose told reporters. “It was very clear that there was a desire on the part of the administration to dismantle a lot of what we call foreign assistance, and we are part of that family.”

It’s business as usual from the White House’s perspective.

Due to USIP staff’s noncompliance with Trump’s order, “11 board members were lawfully removed, and remaining board members appointed Kenneth Jackson acting president,” White House spokesperson Anna Kelly said. “Rogue bureaucrats will not be allowed to hold agencies hostage. The Trump administration will enforce the president’s executive authority and ensure his agencies remain accountable to the American people.”

The privately operated USIP works to maintain U.S. diplomacy abroad, and its staff was doing all they could do to emphasize that before the DOGE break-in. “I can’t imagine how our work could align more perfectly with the goals that he has outlined: keeping us out of foreign wars, resolving conflicts before they drag us into those kinds of conflicts,” Moose noted. Musk seems to disagree. 

The White House co-signed on Israel’s surprise attack on Gaza late Monday. The wave of airstrikes killed more than 400 Palestinians and upended a Donald Trump–backed ceasefire agreement put in place to advance hostage negotiations.

“The Trump administration and the White House were consulted by the Israelis on their attacks in Gaza tonight,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told Fox News late Monday.

She then delivered a chilling warning for the countries and organizations that the Trump administration believes are in opposition to the United States.

“And as President Trump has made it clear, Hamas, the Houthis, Iran—all those who seek to terrorize not just Israel but also the United States of America—will see a price to pay; all hell will break loose,” Leavitt said, celebrating America’s own airstrike campaign in Yemen over the weekend.

Israeli officials had threatened an attack for weeks as it failed to move forward on a potential peace deal with Hamas. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu refused to enter phase two of the ceasefire agreement after phase one of the deal lapsed March 1. Phase two would have started agreements to end the war and withdraw the remaining Israeli troops from Gaza before Israeli hostages were handed over. Instead of following through on their own drafted ceasefire terms, Netanyahu proposed a new arrangement: Hand over half the hostages and then discuss the end of the war.

Hamas rejected these terms, and in turn, Israel restricted humanitarian aid and cut electricity into the region in a pressure campaign to get the militant group to bend.

Both Israel and Hamas disagreed over key aspects of an alternative proposal offered by U.S. officials, which would have extended phase one into April. On Saturday, the U.S. accused Hamas of making “entirely impractical” demands of Israel in the ongoing ceasefire discussions. By Sunday, Netanyahu announced that he would be firing his domestic security chief, who had led ceasefire negotiations for most of the war.

The airstrikes are the heaviest attack by Israel since the ceasefire took effect in January. They hit in conjunction with an evacuation order, issued by Israel, for parts of northern and central Gaza near the perimeter of the two countries. The Guardian reported that the order suggested that a ground invasion involving troops could be “imminent.”

Israeli officials have claimed that attacking Hamas leadership would advance the release of hostages, even as the hostages’ families disagree. But on a practical level, the attack follows a period of rest and restocking for Israel.

“Ammunition stocks have been replenished—partly due to U.S. deliveries—and new potential targets among Hamas’ leaders identified. Planes and other equipment have been repaired. Troops have been rested,” reported The Guardian.

And it’s not clear that handing over the hostages would end the violence against Gaza, either. Netanyahu’s far-right coalition has said it intends to continue the war as long as Hamas remains in the war-battered region, reported NPR.