It’s hard to remember now, but once upon a time, there were people in the world who didn’t equate Donald Trump with one of the lowest life forms on God’s green earth. Oh, sure, he’s been a bad guy for many, many years, but that wasn’t as widely known back then; also, his badness didn’t affect nearly as many individuals as it did when he was leader of the free world. Mostly, people saw him as a benign carnival barker, though some actually went as far as…liking him!
Because of this, and because he was rich and famous, he came into contact with many a celebrity, some of whom sent him letters in which they wrote positive things about him—letters that have now been compiled into a book he’s selling for the low, low price of $99 a pop, or $399 for a signed copy.
Per Axios:
Former President Trump, in a new book, plans to reveal 150 private letters sent to him—including one from Oprah Winfrey in 2000 in which she says: “Too bad we’re not running for office. What a team!”
The book, called “Letters to Trump,” is a flashback to the days when famous people frequently wrote chatty letters to each other—and when Trump was the toast of many bold-face names. The exchange with Winfrey is part of a book coming April 25 from Winning Team Publishing, which last year published Trump’s coffee-table photo book, “Our Journey Together.” That book grossed $20 million in sales in the first two months.
According to Axios, Letters to Trump includes missives from, among others, Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton, Princess Diana, Kim Jong Un, Jay Leno, and Liza Minnelli; alongside each one, Trump will add “a photo and his own commentary about the author.” For example, when it comes to Oprah, the former guy says he still considers her “amazing,” but notes, “Sadly, once I announced for President, she never spoke to me again.” In what we assume was an unintentional nod to Trump’s reputation for being barely literate, the book cover appears to show him not reading the letters within, but writing on them with his favorite black Sharpie.
Some big questions that have yet to be answered are (1) how the people included, some of whom presumably now hate Trump’s guts, feel about being featured, and (2) if anyone has taken legal action against him in an attempt to stop their letter from being published. Perhaps we’ll find out soon!
Sarah Huckabee Sanders thinks child labor laws have been working a little too well
The Republican Party is currently obsessed with the idea that it needs to protect children from things like being read to in libraries, men wearing dresses within 1,000 feet of them, historically accurate versions of US history, and the knowledge that gay people exist. Arkansas governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders is one of these Republicans, and on Wednesday, she signed a sweeping education bill that, among other things, bans talk of “gender identity, sexual orientation, and sexual reproduction” prior to fifth grade and curriculums that include critical race theory. How else is Sanders going to bat for kids? By loosening child labor laws, of course.
On Wednesday, the former White House press secretary signed the Youth Hiring Act of 2023, which says that children under 16 do not need to get permission from the Division of Labor to work or obtain an employment certificate verifying their age, work schedule, and written consent from a parent or guardian. In explaining Sanders’s thinking, her communications director claimed that previous permit requirements put an “arbitrary burden on parents.“ (It’s not actually clear how any of this was “arbitrary.”) Speaking to NBC News, Andrew Collins, an Arkansas state House Democrat, said by removing the parental-consent condition, the bill will “increases the risk that there will be abuses and violations of other child labor laws.” Reid Maki, director of child labor advocacy at the National Consumers League, told the outlet that the new law “increases the likelihood that kids will end up in dangerous jobs,” adding that a current increase in reported instances of child labor law infractions makes it a “very odd time” for Arkansas to erode protections.
In February, the Department of Labor said it had uncovered more than 3,800 instances in the last fiscal year of children working in US companies in violation of the law, with more than 100 kids, as young as 13, employed in hazardous jobs cleaning slaughterhouses overnight for Packers Sanitation Services Inc. (Ten of them were in Arkansas.)
Also this week, Republicans in the Ohio Senate passed a bill weakening child labor protections, which is expected to make it out of the House and be signed by Republican governor Mike DeWine. Similar measures are working their way through Minnesota and Iowa.
Last month a New York Times investigation explored the “brutal jobs” US companies are employing unaccompanied migrant children in in violation of labor laws. The Biden administration has since announced it will introduce an array of new initiatives to investigate child labor violations and crackdown on companies that both illegally employ kids and use child labor in their supply chains.
The GOP’s latest “weaponization” subcommittee hearing is going great
