Trump Sec. Gets Humiliating Fact-Check About Closing Forest Service

Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins appeared clueless Monday about the closures of forest research facilities she directed. 

During a press conference at Michigan State University, a reporter asked Rollins whether the U.S. Forest Service offices would close in the state, as part of a so-called “commonsense” restructuring that would result in the mass closure of 57 regional offices across the country. 

“I don’t have those talking points in front of me, but let me tell you this: the misinformation in the media,” Rollins said. “There is no closing of the Forest Service. We are moving it out of Washington, D.C. We are re-headquartering it in Salt Lake City, where it can be closer to the forests that it actually serves, and the people that those forests serve, most importantly.”

Rollins claimed it made no sense to have “thousands upon thousands” of USDA employees based in Washington, but made no mention of the dozens of regional facilities she was planning to shutter.

Another reporter pressed Rollins about whether USDA employees in the Upper Peninsula would be potentially reassigned to the East Coast. The U.P. is home to two national forests, the Ottawa and Hiawatha National Forests, that account for nearly two million acres of land. 

“That’s incorrect. There is no one in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan that’s getting reassigned to the East Coast,” Rollins said. 

“There is an office that’s closing in Houghton, Michigan,” the reporter said.   

“So, any offices that are closing, I don’t have that one in front of me, but any offices that are closing, it’s usually because they are, the rent is way too high, and there is so much work that needs to be done,” Rollins said.

But in Houghton, rent has nothing to do with the closure.

“This particular facility is paid for,” MTU College of Forestry Professor Evan Kane told TV6 Upper Michigan Source. “We rent the land from Michigan Tech for a dollar a year. It doesn’t cost the forest service very much in comparison to some of the other units that did get shuttered.”

That’s not the only part of Rollins’s logic that doesn’t add up. If the Trump administration wants the Forest Service to go where there’s a forest, why wouldn’t Rollins relocate to Alaska, which has approximately 21.9 million acres of forest, the most of any state? Or how about California, which has the highest number of individual forests? Or why don’t they keep a number of research facilities in forests across the country instead of cutting short years of research to consolidate thousands of workers to a single site in Colorado?  

Steve Lenkart, executive director of the National Federation of Federal Employees, has alleged that the dramatic reshuffling was actually illegal because congressional funding for the fiscal year 2026 included a stipulation that funds could not be put toward relocating offices or employees, or reorganization.

Ramsey County, Minnesota, is investigating ICE agents over the alleged kidnapping of an American citizen in January. 

Federal agents broke down the door of ChongLy “Scott” Thao, a Hmong American, without a warrant and then arrested him in his underwear, forcing him to walk outside in the freezing St. Paul streets with just a blanket. The incident was captured on video, with neighbors shouting at several armed agents as protesters gathered at the scene with horns and whistles.

ICE released Thao after a couple of hours in custody, determining that he was an U.S. citizen with no criminal record. DHS later claimed they were looking for two convicted sex offenders, although Thao told the AP he had not seen the two men before and that they didn’t live with him.

In a news conference Monday, Ramsey County Attorney John Choi and Sheriff Bob Fletcher said that they are seeking evidence from the Department of Homeland Security over Thao’s arrest.

“There are many facts we don’t know yet, but there’s one that we do know. And that is that Mr. Thao is and has been an American citizen. There’s not a dispute over that,” Fletcher said. “There’s no dispute that he was taken out of his house, forcibly taken out of his home and driven around.”

The goal of the investigation, Choi said, is to find out if ICE agents committed crimes that they could be prosecuted under state or federal law, adding, “This is not about any type of predetermined agenda other than to seek the truth and to investigate the facts.”

Hennepin County, where Minneapolis is located, announced last month that they were looking into 17 instances of “potential unlawful behavior” conducted by former Border Patrol chief Greg Bovino and other federal agents during Operation Metro Surge, including the use of chemical agents and attacks on local residents. 

Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said in March that “I want to be clear with our community about the challenges these investigations entail, because the federal government has refused to provide us information about the actions of their officers in Minnesota.”  

The DHS has refused to provide information to Minnesota’s state and local officials regarding the most egregious offenses in the operation: the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti. In March, the state joined Hennepin County in a lawsuit against the Trump administration over their lack of cooperation. The Trump administration won’t take kindly to Ramsey County’s efforts, either. 

President Trump took time out of a busy day playing golf at Mar-a-Lago Sunday afternoon to ogle at a married woman.

Trump stopped the golf cart he was driving with his grandson, Donald Trump III, to stop and greet golf content creator and MAGA supporter Nina Coates, who was jumping up and down out of excitement.

“She’s in great shape, great shape, look at her,” the president said. “You want a picture? Come on over here,” Trump said, adjusting his pants and pulling her in close. “Is she in good shape or what?”

“This is how people (Trump) treat you if you keep staying in shape,” the video is captioned.

A second clip of the interaction showed Trump still with Coates—holding her hand—while other golfers and club members surrounded them. “Is that your husband?” he asked her, pointing directly at the camera.

“Yes, sir,” the man behind the camera replied.

It’s hard to brush this off as just some wholesome interaction, especially knowing what we know about the president—from his harassment of beauty pageant contestants to his friendship with perhaps the most infamous sexual predator of the modern era, Jeffrey Epstein. And even worse, he’s driving around in sunny Mar-a-Lago golfing while people home and abroad suffer because of the decisions he made.

Even Donald Trump’s guest of honor at an impromptu White House photo op Monday wasn’t willing to praise the president’s performance during his second term.

After grabbing two bags of McDonalds from his DoorDash driver, the president repeatedly prompted the food courier to compliment his policies in front of the press—to no avail.

“Well, you’re really nice, would you like to do a little news conference with me? These are not the nicest people, they’re not nice like you,” Trump said.

“I’ll do whatever you ask me to do, sir,” said Sharon Simmons, wearing a red T-shirt emblazoned with the words “DoorDash Grandma.”

Simmons had traveled to the White House from Arkansas to speak with the president about his No Tax on Tips program, which she told Fox News had allowed her to afford cancer treatments for her husband.

However, Trump’s press conference featured very little talk of the relevant tax cut. Instead, Trump pressed Simmons on a range of other conservative talking points, including banning trans athletes (primarily trans girls) from competing in their gender-aligned sports.

“Do you think that men should play in women’s sports?” asked Trump.

“I really don’t have an opinion on that,” Simmons insisted.

“You don’t? I’ll bet you do,” Trump pushed.

“No, no, I’m here about no tax on tips,” she said.

Trump also queried the grandmother of 10 about her opinion on the war with Iran, the scheduled White House UFC tournament, and whether she voted for him.

“And I think you voted for me? Do you think?” asked Trump, touching her shoulder.

“Uh, maybe,” Simmons said with a laugh.

Simmons later told Fox News that she was a supporter of the president.

DoorDash celebrated the success of its White House event later that afternoon, noting in a statement that Simmons had conducted the “first ever White House delivery.”

Donald Trump bragged Monday about the number of ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz, shortly after imposing a military blockade of Iranian ports.

“34 Ships went through the Strait of Hormuz yesterday, which is by far the highest number since this foolish closure began,” Trump wrote in a brief post on Truth Social.

It seems the president is trying to suggest that his announcement of a military blockade was to thank for the sudden surge in trade through the Strait of Hormuz, but that “foolish closure” he referred to was spurred by his decision to join Israel’s reckless military campaign against Iran. As a result, Iran’s retaliatory attacks have brought trade through the Strait of Hormuz to a screeching halt, threatening global food and energy supplies.

Trump would like to pretend he’s the savior, when really, he’s the problem.

The reality of Trump’s blockade is a lot more tenuous. A sustained military blockade would be incredibly expensive and require a large number of warships, and U.S. allies have made it very clear they have no intention of helping out. While it may seem like a quick fix, taking Iranian oil off the market will only squeeze the market, causing energy prices to surge higher. Gas prices in the U.S. have surged beyond $4 a gallon, as crude oil has climbed to over $100 per barrel.

Plus, Trump’s numbers are a little off. In the last 24 hours, 31 vessels have passed through the Strait of Hormuz, carrying oil, natural gas, and other cargo, NBC News reported. As of early Monday morning, there were 11 vessels in the waterway, including three Iranian ships. That’s still well below the prewar daily average of 138 ships. Although it wasn’t immediately clear whether the U.S. Navy had begun its operation, CBS News reported, two ships immediately turned away from the waterway Monday.

Just minutes after Trump’s military blockade was scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. EST, the president claimed that Iran’s entire navy had been “completely obliterated”—except for a fleet of “fast attack ships,” which he claimed posed no threat. “Warning: If any of these ships come anywhere close to our BLOCKADE, they will be immediately ELIMINATED,” he wrote.

Of course, that would throw a pretty big wedge in the tentative ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran. Iran’s Revolutionary Guard has also warned that any warships approaching the strait will be considered a ceasefire violation.