Every woman is some man's daughter.

Link.

Those who like to call out Trump for his narcissism got a big disappointment last night as the supposed birthday party was not a birthday party at all.

The event was called UFC Freedom 250, and, true to that name, it turned out to be about the UFC and the United States of America.

3 days before his birthday, Trump had said — quoted at USA Today — "You don't have to wish me happy birthday because I'm not happy about that birthday that I'm having. That's a number that I never thought really too much about. It's not a number I like, but I'm here, nevertheless."

And at that huge event on the White House lawn on the evening of his birthday, last night, I don't think there was even a passing mention of his birthday.

All I am seeing is a spontaneous welling-up of the song "Happy Birthday" in the crowd:

If that was planned, it was planned to seem unplanned. It's entirely unconnected to anything happening in the Octagon.

Trump walked out of the White House with some fanfare, but he was side-by-side with Dana White, and that thwarted the hater's interpretation that Trump expected it to be all about him.

He took his seat ringside and mostly just sat there smiling. At the end, he entered the Octagon, but not to be celebrated. He was congratulating the fighters and giving them a photo-op to celebrate themselves.

Deploying the TR precedent to promote fighting at the White House.

UFC just dropped a killer AI promo for tomorrow’s White House event featuring Theodore Roosevelt boxing 🥊🔥pic.twitter.com/W8wu2yFP6b

— TaraBull (@TaraBull) June 14, 2026

The video, from UFC, quotes from Theodore Roosevelt's idea of "the man in the arena." I've put up the full text of it in the past — here — but it's worth having at your fingertips today, as Trump celebrates his 80th birthday. Does this describe Trump?

"The marble front remained shrouded in white- and blue-striped tarps, with no clear answer on when they would be removed."

I'm reading "At the Kennedy Center, a Name Change Shrouded in Uncertainty/President Trump’s name was removed from the arts institution’s facade overnight on Saturday. Many questions remain, including whether or not it stays off" (NYT).

“I was hoping for a reveal, honestly,” said Katy Bigge, a student at Rutgers University who was visiting Washington with her parents. Her father, Philip Bigge, was squatting on the ground, peering through a crack between the tarp and the building’s front to try to make certain that Mr. Trump’s name was gone. He could not be sure, but he thought he had detected that the letters were missing.

It seems that Trump's name is gone, but now you can't see that it's gone. It's "shrouded." Maybe some day, long in the future, when Trump is worshipped for his grand triumphs, the shroud will be on display, like the Shroud of Turin.  

Dirtbagism.

I'm reading "Graham Platner and the Rise of the ‘Dirtbag’ Democrat/And what the Maine candidate reveals about politics today" in the NYT.

That's long, so let's jump to the place where the word "dirtbag" is thrown into the mix:

Michelle Cottle: And honestly, is it even fair to compare Platner to somebody like Paxton or Trump? 

Jamelle Bouie: You know, I don’t think it’s fair. And I say that because, so far, what we’ve learned about Platner is that, for lack of a better term, he’s kind of a dirtbag. Just a dirtbaggy kind of guy.... That’s versus Trump, who isn’t just a reprehensible person, but is actively engaged in harming other people in his private life, right? And I’d say the same for Paxton: not just a slimy guy, but a guy whose modus operandi, as a human being, is to try to dominate the people around him in really ugly ways. And so, I think Platner is more on the John Fetterman continuum than he is on the Trump continuum, which is just, eh, kind of dirtbaggy.

Cottle: OK, so I want to drill down just a little bit more....

The drilling down does not explore the concept of dirtbagism. Cottle was swooping in to take the conversation away from that, even though the headline writer saw the click-bait value of the word. In the conversation, "dirtbag" never reappears.

I asked Grok "how the word 'dirtbag' is being deployed what kind of people use that term and why" and got quickly tracked into the subject of the "dirtbag left." There's this New Yorker article from last October: "What Explains Graham Platner’s Popularity? The U.S. Senate candidate from Maine seems like the embodiment of the dirtbag left. But there’s another way to understand his appeal." Excerpt:

I just wanted to get a look at the refilling of the newly blue Reflecting Pool.

But I couldn't avoid seeing this video, shared by Trump:

🚨 LMAO!! President Trump just dropped this absolute GEM: He's filling the newly improved Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool with leftist tears

Straight from the source 🤣🤣

📽️ @TheRicanMemes pic.twitter.com/NJrOdFR750

— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) June 4, 2026

I guess that's an effort to visualize what has become the stock joke: The pool will be filled with "liberal tears."

ADDED: Actual footage, showing how the color will work out:

 

"President Donald Trump has spent much of his second term putting his personal stamp — and in many cases his image — on American institutions. Now his eponymous impulses ..."

"... have expanded to the celebration of America’s 250th anniversary. Trump’s face will be stamped on a celebratory gold coin marking the semiquincentennial. His stern visage will peer from commemorative passports. Administration officials are pushing for a $250 bill featuring the president’s portrait. On Trump’s 80th birthday, June 14, the White House lawn will transform into a ring for a 'Freedom 250' UFC fight.... The pattern has culminated with many performers withdrawing from the Great American State Fair, one of the anniversary’s marquee events, after saying they did not realize how closely it was associated with Trump. The president responded by announcing he will headline the event himself, since he is [as he wrote] 'the Number One Attraction anywhere in the World, the man who gets much larger audiences than Elvis in his prime, and he does so without a guitar.' Historians, political leaders and others worry that America’s 250th birthday, which might have been an opportunity to pull a divided country together, is becoming so much about Trump that it will instead be just one more polarizing event on the national landscape...."

Writes Cleve R. Wootson Jr., in "America’s 250th birthday celebration increasingly centers on Trump/From a $250 bill to special passports to a presidential rally, many Independence Day commemorations will revolve around the president" (WaPo).

Pick the response that's closer to the way you feel about the upcoming celebration:

Yes, there's a woeful failure to stir deep patriotism and reverence for our history.

Sour-faced Trump haters just can't relax and enjoy Trump's tireless efforts to make the semiquincentennial magnificent.

 

pollcode.com free polls

"You gained 14 pounds in one year!"

That's PRESENCE 🤣🤣 pic.twitter.com/dxmRmKZchQ

— Baby News Network (@BabyNetworkNews) June 2, 2026

"Unless I am free to do what I do better than anyone else, bring this Institution back, physically, financially, and artistically, I have no interest in continuing what could only be a hopeless journey."

Said Donald Trump, quoted in "Trump’s Kennedy Center plans were blocked by a judge. What happens next?/The ruling has thrown the Washington institution’s immediate future into a state of uncertainty" (WaPo)(gift link).

IN THE COMMENTS: Fred Drinkwater said: "The name change was a deliberate 'last straw' intended to provoke this judicial response."

That really does make the most sense. It was insanely hamhanded. I'm going to assume he didn't want to fix this place, and the best — or most entertaining — way to avoid blame for letting it rot was to bait a judge into preventing him from saving it.

ADDED: There's a new piece up at WaPo now, "Trump’s name may come off the Kennedy Center. He could still destroy it. The Kennedy Center saga encapsulates all of the needless destruction of the Trump administration. The center’s troubles may not be over yet." That's by Philip Kennicott. Key insight: "The worst thing Trump could do right now is nothing, simply remain chair and let the center languish. He could decline to authorize budgets or renovations, leave the calendar empty or pocket plans for recovery. The center would be stuck in perpetual suspended animation.... His angry messages since the court ruling prove without a doubt what has been obvious all along: He never cared for the center, for the arts or culture...."

Not obese.

"The 6-foot-3 president weighs 238 pounds, having gained 14 pounds since his physical last year — meaning he is technically 'overweight' and is about 1.6 pounds shy of being classified as 'obese,' according to body mass index calculations. Trump was encouraged to increase his physical activity and pursue continued weight loss, according to the report."

From "Trump’s doctor says he is in ‘excellent health’ after latest checkup/While the president’s medical report says he remains fit to serve, independent physicians have raised questions about the recurrent bruises on his hands and swelling in his legs" (WaPo).

Trump's sunny summary: "Just finished my 6 month physical at Walter Reed Military Medical Center. Everything checked out PERFECTLY."

Why did The Washington Post put "overweight" in quotes and modify it with "technically"? He's simply and straightforwardly overweight. And that's not perfect. Can we get Bobby Kennedy over here for a second opinion?

See "RFK Jr dares governor of America's fattest state to do regular public weigh-ins/'You look like you ate Governor Morrisey,' RFK said on Friday" (Fox News, March 29, 2025).

"But blue is a color we associate with injury: Think of the mottled black and blue of a bruise. It is the color of authority and stereotypical masculinity..."

"... of depression, but also tranquility; of cleanliness; of cold; of winning first prize. And so we must ask: What is American Flag Blue?"

I'm reading "Did Trump pick the right blue for the Reflecting Pool? We asked a pool guy. Old Glory Blue? American Flag Blue? Let’s reflect on all the shades, while a federal judge mulls 'aesthetic injury' in the president’s latest decorating flourish" (WaPo).

It's a dark blue, we're told, not swimming-pool blue, which would be too light and bright, not the right somber blue. But it's Trump's blue, so somber — and flag-oriented — is also bad.

"Just because American Flag Blue looks good on a flag, it doesn’t mean it will necessarily look good slathered on a length of more than 2,000 feet, says Jill Morton, a professional color consultant. 'The context of a color is what matters,' says Morton. 'That dark blue, if it is that dark, oh man, that’s going to look very, very dismal.'"

"Trump administration officials have pressed the office responsible for printing the nation’s money to design a $250 bill featuring the president’s portrait..."

"... according to four current and former employees, in what would be the first appearance of a living person on U.S. currency in more than 150 years.... The employees spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of retribution."

The Washington Post reports. Gift link.

I find this hard to believe. It's such a bad idea. I prefer to think it's just not true.

No living person has appeared on U.S. currency since 1866, when it was outlawed after the image of a mid-level Treasury bureaucrat showed up on a 5-cent note. Legislation that would allow Trump to appear on a $250 bill was introduced in Congress last year to commemorate the nation’s 250th anniversary but has languished. In a statement, a Treasury Department spokesperson said the printing office “is conducting appropriate planning and due diligence” in response to the proposed legislation. “Should this legislative mandate be signed into law, the BEP is moving proactively to produce a $250 commemorative note which will appropriately recognize the 250th Anniversary of our great nation,” the statement said.

So it is, essentially, not true. They went through the exercise of creating the note that might be issued if Congress passes a law permitting it, which is not going to happen. So meanwhile, you can see the thing and celebrate or get steamed up or whatever this latest provocation moves you to do.

Is that his mugshot?!

Trump and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Week.

The top left corner of The NYT right now:

It's like a children's taunt: You act like you're so big but you're not.

Meade: "Super bloggable, no?" Me: "trying to find an inroad/the photo is overwhelming emotionally"

That's the text conversation here in Meadhouse after I send this to Meade:

 

The eagle — encrusted in gold and seemingly headless — launches into flight, away from us.

Let's see what the particular example of corruption this is — this, the worst example ever. There's never even ever been anything like this. Do you know what example this one is? There have been reactions of horror to so many things Trump has done, but "corruption" is a key hint, suggesting a money grab, and yes, you guessed right, didn't you?

It's not worth my time to keep track of the Trump/Mark Cuban love/hate relationship..."

... but here they are theatrically performing the love version of whatever it is they have going, which I'm just going to assume is about self-interest and getting something that looks good done:

"I want to thank the leaders of several major pharmacies and generic drug makers who are partnering with us on this effort, including the co-founder of Cost Plus Drugs, Mark Cuban. Mark, thank you very much. Mark, looking good, Mark. Come here, Mark. Nice to be with you.... We have the same thing, one thing in common. We want to make people better and keep them wealthy, right? Good. Good to be with you."

"Your kindness, encouragement, and light-heartedness have written a complex chapter in my heart that I will never stop reading."

Wrote Representative Chuck Edwards, quoted in "Scoop: Rep. Chuck Edwards singled out young female aides for special attention" (Axios).

I've got to give Edwards credit for writing. I like "a complex chapter in my heart that I will never stop reading." It was enough to make me look up where he went to college. Wikipedia says he "attended" Blue Ridge Community College. I think "attended" means he did not graduate. I asked A.I. if that sentence was likely to have been written by A.I., and the answer was no. I'm told that sentence is "poetic but not overly generic or perfectly balanced like much AI romantic prose."

I wondered which party has the burden of this problematic member of Congress and it took me so long to find the answer that I assumed he was a Democrat, but no, he's a Republican. You only get the info in the second-to-last sentence, which tells us that "Edwards... is a top Democratic target in November." I misread that at first.

Edwards succeeded Madison Cawthorn. He was a complex chapter. Remember?

ADDED: I'm not making a new tag for Chuck Edwards, but I already had a tag for Madison Cawthorn. The last time I used it was October 10, 2024, and in that post, as in this one, I asked if you remember him. That was right before the last election, when Elon Musk was proclaiming "I’m not just MAGA, I’m Dark MAGA!" At that time, Wikipedia said that Dark MAGA was "a belief promoted by former U.S. representative Madison Cawthorn that former president Trump would return to power 'with a vengeance.'" And: "Railing against 'the cowardly and weak members of our own party,' Cawthorn wrote [in May 2022]: 'It's time for the rise of the new right, it's time for Dark MAGA to truly take command.'"

Does anyone say "Dark MAGA" anymore? Maybe our eyes have gotten used to the dark. Trump did return to power with a vengeance. 

By the way, Cawthorn is currently running to get back into Congress, but this time it's a different district, Florida's 19th congressional district. His old district was North Carolina's 11th district, so Edwards's difficulties are no help to him.

"Mr. Trump first proposed a Garden of Heroes during his first term, at a time of widespread protesting over the murder of George Floyd in police custody."

"Protesters had toppled statues of Confederate generals and leaders, and in some instances vandalized monuments to national icons like George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. Mr. Trump denounced those actions as attempts to 'erase our values' and he signed an executive order authorizing the monument garden. The election of Joseph R. Biden Jr. as president interrupted those plans, but since Mr. Trump took office for a second time, he has taken the project up again in earnest.... Should Mr. Trump leave office without finishing his signature projects, the next administration would be faced with choices about whether to finish them or abandon them.... 'I don’t think it’s like the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, where it was this great project of Gaudi and people said, "No, we must finish this,"' [said Ken Lum, a sculptor, professor and Chair of Fine Arts at the University of Pennsylvania School of Design]. 'I think there’s going to be a lot of debate in terms of, "We don’t need to finish this. Maybe we should even take it down."'"

From "Trump’s Vision for ‘Garden of Heroes’ Keeps Getting Bigger and Higher in Cost/Plans for the project include formal gardens, reflecting pools and plazas alongside the statues of 250 notable Americans, according to documents obtained by The New York Times" (NYT).

Makes me think of that high-speed train in California. We don’t need to finish this. Maybe we should even take it down.

Anyway, here's the list of the 250 heroes for Trump's "garden," complete with bios seemingly presenting the argument for why they rank as the top heroes.

President Trump would like you to appreciate his swirly hair.

He posts this at Truth Social:

He's saying, Look, her hair is swirling and mine is swirling too. Just a little. Not as much. But definitely swirling. Still masculine, but delightful. In that whirly swirly feminine way. The First Lady way.

"This was an event dedicated to freedom of speech that was supposed to bring together members of both parties with members of the press. And in a certain way it did..."

"I saw a room that was totally unified. It was in one way very beautiful — a very beautiful thing to see."

Said President Trump, in an impromptu press conference at the White House, 2 hours after the incident at the Correspondents' Dinner. 

I hope that shared experience brings people together. Perhaps there will be a reset and love will steer the stars: "In light of this evening's events, I ask that all Americans recommit with their hearts to resolving our differences peacefully. We have to resolve our differences. You had Republicans, Democrats, independents, conservatives, liberals, and progressives in that room — a big crowd, record-setting crowd. There was a tremendous amount of love and coming together." Come together, right now, over me.

Trump saw the opportunity to promote his ballroom: "We looked at all of the conditions that took place tonight. It's not a particularly secure building. I didn't want to say this, but this is why we have to have all of the attributes of what we're planning at the White House. It's actually a larger room and it's much more secure. It's got drone-proof and bulletproof glass. We need the ballroom."

Trump framed the incident as an assassination attempt: "This is not the first time in the past couple of years that our republic has been attacked by a would-be assassin. In Butler, Pennsylvania, less than two years ago — you all know that story. And in Palm Beach, Florida, a few months after that, we came close again. We had some great work done by law enforcement."

Trump expressed pride in himself as the target of multiple assassination attempts. Asked "Why do you think this keeps happening to you?," he said "I've studied assassinations. The most impactful people, the people that do the most, are the ones they go after. Abraham Lincoln, the big names. I hate to say I'm honored by that, but we've done a lot. We've changed this country. There are a lot of people that are not happy about that."

"We see them every day and we just say hi and they’re very nice. They’re peaceful people, they don’t make any noise and when they see you they say hi."

Said a neighbor of Cole Tomas Allen, quoted in "Who is Cole Tomas Allen? White House Correspondents’ Dinner shooting suspect in custody/The suspect in the White House Correspondents’ Dinner shooting was identified as California man Cole Tomas Allen" (Independent).

What's with the awkward "they" pronouns? "They’re peaceful people," etc. Maybe that's just the way they talk in California.

Allen has an elite degree — Caltech. "While a student at Caltech, Allen was a member of the school’s Christian fellowship and the Nerf club. He was featured in a 2017 photo that was posted by the school on Facebook following his graduation. In that photo, he’s holding a picture of himself as a child with a stuffed rabbit.... On his LinkedIn page, Allen described himself as a 'mechanical engineer and computer scientist by degree, ​independent game developer by experience, teacher by birth.' He lists his 'Causes' on that profile as 'Science and Technology.'"

Political affiliation? "Allen donated $25 to the political action committee ActBlue in October 2024, a month before Donald Trump’s defeat of Kamala Harris.... According to FEC filings, it was his only political donation in the past ten years."

Caltech NERF Club describes itself at Facebook: "a group of people who raid random buildings on campus and shoot NERF guns at each other. Various other activities include: the modification of blasters for cool effects, mechanical improvements, and cosmetic bad-assery; shoot the Albert Yang game; long-term NERF games such as Red Vs Blue and Humans vs. Zombies."

ADDED: "In a brief interview with The New York Post, neighbor Jeff Smith said that he felt as though Allen was 'on the spectrum.'"