MATT BERG
& CROOKED MEDIA

WEDNESDAY
MAY 21, 2025

I’m sorry I don't have a plane to give you.”

 
— South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, [in a half-joking reference]([link removed]) to Donald Trump’s super luxury Qatari jet. 

OVAL OFFICE THUNDERDOME

Donald Trump is spewing false claims about white “genocide” in South Africa to justify his administration’s mind-boggling immigration policy.

- President Donald Trump’s bizarre, combative, free-wheeling Oval Office cage matches with foreign leaders have become a regular feature of his second term, as if his vision of global diplomacy means turning the white House into a Thunderdome. His latest victim: South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, who traveled all the way to Washingon D.C. only to be angrily berated by Trump over baseless claims of a supposed white “genocide” in his country.  

- Evidently, Trump is taking his virulent anti-DEI crusade worldwide. Despite Trump’s frantic, lawless efforts to expel migrants of color, his administration is accepting dozens of white refugees from South Africa — known as Afrikaners, descendants of European colonizers who ruled during apartheid. Lo and behold, his rantings about [saving them from “genocide” are nonsense]([link removed]). While South Africa does have a long-standing problem with violent crime, Black people are [murdered at higher rates than whites]([link removed]). 

- So why, then, does Trump care so much about this? One popular hypothesis: South African centibillionaire Elon Musk is [extremely critical]([link removed]) of the government, which recently approved [a law]([link removed]) that could theoretically allow the government to seize unused land without compensation in special circumstances, including when there’s no plan to develop it (a move that hasn’t actually happened yet). The idea angered some white Afrikaners, who make up less than 10 percent of South Africa’s population while owning 70 percent of the land, and argue this law targets them. (So-called “eminent domain” happens to be [how the U.S. built highways]([link removed]), and how Trump himself [tried to build the southern border wall during his first term]([link removed])). And, of course, the president hates any diversity, equity and inclusion efforts.

- So, Trump shockingly is regurgitating [far-right conspiracy theories]([link removed]) about violent land grabs, [which haven’t happened]([link removed]). “All I'm hearing is death, death, and the chopping heads off — and it's horrible over there,” he said, blaming the mainstream media for not covering the story.
 

- At one point, Trump showed videos of supposed gravesites of white farmers. “Have they told you where that is? Mr. President? I’d like to know, because this I’ve never seen,” Ramaphosa asked, puzzled. Trump took several seconds to respond: “It’s in South Africa.” But the mounds were fake gravesides, built as a[protest against violence]([link removed]) toward farmers, according to the Washington Post.

 
Trump’s acceptance of white refugees provides a chilling contrast to the White House broader deportation policy.

- While Afrikaners receive the red carpet treatment, advocates for other refugees — including Afghans who aided the American military’s war efforts — are being shut out, according to Shawn VanDiver, one of the most prominent advocates for that group.  

- “If you’re white, wealthy, and far-right aligned, the Trump administration will find a pathway for you. But if you risked your life alongside U.S. forces in Afghanistan, you’re a political inconvenience,” VanDiver, [who runs #AghanEvac]([link removed]), told What A Day. “Allowing white South Africans in while stripping protections from Afghan allies isn’t immigration policy — it’s racial and ideological sorting disguised as national security. It’s cowardice masquerading as strength.”

- Trump is so eager to deport some folks that he’s trampling the law, the courts and common decency to do it. Today, a federal district judge accused the Trump administration of [violating a court order]([link removed]) by sending eight immigrants from Cuba, Mexico, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam to South Sudan — which isn’t even on the same continent as their home countries. Only one of the immigrants was from South Sudan.

“It tells the world that loyalty to America matters less than fitting a narrative,” VanDiver added. “And that should enrage every veteran, diplomat, and citizen who still believes in moral obligations and keeping our word.”

MILE HIGH SCHLUB

So… now we have Qatar Force One, I guess? 
 
This afternoon, the U.S. [formally accepted]([link removed]) the Qatari plane that Donald Trump has angrily insisted is definitely not an improper bribe that he definitely won’t keep as his personal jet after his presidency, when it officially goes to his presidential library. 
 
“I’m sorry I don't have a plane to give you,” quipped Cyril Ramaphosa during his tense meeting with Trump, in a half-joking reference to the Qatari jet. Trump’s response: “I wish you did. I would take it.” 
 
That’s just one recent example of how Trump and his top aides aren’t even pretending to play by the rules anymore — even on issues that anger his MAGA base, like the jet did. 
 
Just look at the Department of Homeland Security, where Secretary Kristi Noem is [using lie detector tests]([link removed]) to find employees leaking to the media. Or at Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, who schemed to alter intelligence findings that contradicted Trump’s own statements, [according to the New York Times]([link removed]). 
 
Meanwhile, the White House keeps edging closer to outright confrontation with the courts. Vice President JD Vance said that Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts was “[profoundly wrong]([link removed])” for saying that the judiciary’s role is to check the power of the executive branch. In reality, Vance is just salty that federal judges keep blocking his administration’s radical and unconstitutional moves. 
 
We’re basically in the Wild West when it comes to executive overreach, but the courts are still holding strong… at least, for now.  
 
If you’re an official or federal worker who’s uncomfortable with what’s going on, feel free to reach out on Signal at mattberg.33.

WHAT A SPONSOR

 
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WHAT ELSE?

[Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-VA) died following a battle]([link removed]) with esophageal cancer, becoming the third Democratic lawmaker to pass away in this year. The news comes only months after Connolly beat out Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) for the top spot on the House Oversight Committee. Democratic leaders backed his ascension because of his seniority. 
 
[Donald Trump Jr. heard your prayers… and he’s listening! That’s right: He said that he’s open to running for president]([link removed]). “You know, that calling is there,” he told the Qatar Economic Forum today. Joking aside, no one is calling you to do that! Those are voices inside your head, Don! They’re not real!
 
[Target’s sales fell more than expected]([link removed]) during the first quarter of the year — and they’ll likely be down for the entire year, the retailer announced today. That’s largely because consumer spending has dropped due to Donald Trump’s tariffs and economic uncertainty, combined with boycotts over Target scaling back some of its diversity, equity and inclusion standards. Can someone tell Trump that just because it’s called “Target,” he’s not supposed to blow it up? 
 
[Trump’s approval ratings continue to drop,]([link removed]) reaching 44 percent approval in a new Reuters/Ipsos poll. That’s low by historical standards, but it’s still higher than his ratings during much of his first term — and higher than the end of former President Joe Biden’s term. 
 
[Trump’s Justice Department opened an investigation]([link removed]) into former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, after GOP lawmakers accused him of lying to Congress about his state’s Covid-19 response. That’s awkward, because Cuomo is running for NYC mayor against Eric Adams… the current mayor whose criminal corruption charges were dismissed by Trump’s team. 
 
[Israeli forces have encircled two of the last]([link removed]) functioning hospitals in the Gaza Strip, preventing anyone from leaving or entering, according to hospital staff and aid groups. There’s an exceptional interview today with Feroze Sidhwa, a trauma surgeon who worked in Gaza during the war, on [Pod Save The World]([link removed]). Give it a listen.
 
[Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) shared a “naked silhouette”]([link removed]) screenshot of herself, which she says was recorded without her consent, at a hearing yesterday. It’s the latest example of the conservative using her office to boost rape accusations against her ex-fiance and his business associates. (Her ex-fiance has denied all accusations of wrongdoing.)
 
[OpenAI acquired a secretive AI device startup]([link removed]) — founded by Apple legend Jony Ive, the guy who led the design of the iPhone, iPod, iPad, and Apple Watch — for $6.5 billion. So… I expect we’ll all be hopelessly addicted to some sleek, futuristic artificial intelligence-driven device in no time. Here comes… the aiPhone? 

[Do you love the hit TV show “The Americans”?]([link removed]) Are you a Russian spy? Do you have a spouse? If you answered yes to any of these questions, you’ll wanna read this story, in which the New York Times obtained texts between a Russian husband-wife spy couple who have been having relationship issues because of their long distance placements.

LET'S MEET IRL
 
Mark your calendars because on June 6, Tim Miller and Sarah Longwell from the xxxxxx will join Lovett at the Lincoln Theater in Washington DC for Free Andry — A Crooked and The xxxxxx World Pride Fundraiser. They'll be celebrating Pride by venting, pre-gaming, commiserating, laughing, venting some more, and most importantly, raising money for the Immigrant Defenders Law Center. They’re representing makeup artist and actor Andry Hernandez Romero and others who were disappeared to El Salvador without so much as a hearing.
 
Pride is about fighting for each other, and the power we have collectively when we aren’t afraid to tell the truth. And if I can share a stage with Tim – with a lesbian no less! – we can all come together this Pride to tell these evil creeps to fuck all the way off. We’re donating ticket proceeds to Immigrant Defenders Law Center, so it’ll be a big gay live show for a great cause. 
 
Get your tickets now at [crooked.com/events]([link removed])!

 
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[In a relentless news cycle of depressing headlines,]([link removed]) this one made me smile: “At the gym, the future Pope Leo XIV kept a high heart rate and a low profile.” We may never know how much the pope benches, because he focused on his cardio — particularly the exercise bike. I’d pay so much money for this guy to host a Peloton class. Talk about a holy roller. 

[Rock star Bruce Springsteen released four live songs]([link removed]) recorded last week in Manchester, England — with one including an address in which he criticizes Donald Trump as running a “corrupt, incompetent and treasonous administration.” This comes after Trump called The Boss a “dried-out prune of a rocker.” Mr. Orange Man is definitely projecting here.

[About 1 percent of Americans use astrology]([link removed]), tarot cards or fortune telling to make major life decisions, according to a new Pew Research Center poll. That percentage is much higher among young women and the LGBTQ community. I, for one, feel more comfortable relying on the stars and moon instead of the U.S. government these days! 

[What’s the key to living a longer, healthier life?]([link removed]) Cardiologist Eric Topol has spent years studying “Super Agers,” people in their 80s who don’t have chronic disease, and has some tips: Exercise more, eat fewer processed foods, get at least seven hours of sleep, and be social! He has a new book coming out about this that I’m super excited to read.
 
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