Trouble in Trumpland

Looks like the MAGA v Musk vibes are not all that's unraveling Trumpworld.

Donald Trump Jr. has trashed his father’s annual New Year’s Eve bash at Mar-a-Lago on his “Triggered with Don Jr.” podcast, calling it “amateur night” and saying guests have often treated him like a “freaking imbecile.”

  Daily Beast

If the shoe fits...

First buddy Elon Musk had his son, X, on his shoulders; Lara Trump, wife of Don Jr.’s brother Eric and former co-chair of the Republican National Committee, took to the mic with her rendition of Tom Petty’s classic "I Won’t Back Down."

Don Jr. could even be seen hamming it up with his new girlfriend, socialite model Bettina Anderson.

But the president-elect’s eldest son revealed before the big night that ringing in 2025 would be “a little rough.”

“I get to be around a thousand drunk people giving me their political opinions that I don’t necessarily want to hear,” he told his podcast guest Peter Schweizer. (Trump Jr. has reportedly been sober for over two decades.)

Sober, maybe, but drug-free? I don't think so.

“This’ll be like year, like nine of, ‘Hey, you know, have you ever thought to maybe have your dad not tweet that?’” he said. “I’m like, no, I’ve never thought that ‘cause I’m a freaking imbecile.”

[...]

“You wouldn’t know it but I’m basically a recluse… I’m okay with a mic when I have a big crowd, but I don’t like being around a lot of people if I can avoid it. I like fishing, hunting and, like, two people."

Hahahahahahahaha. Sure, Donny. Sure.

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

NOLA terror attack addendum

UPDATE 07:21 pm:  Curiouser and curiouser...

A Tesla Cybertruck burst into flames outside the front doors of the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas on the morning of Jan. 1, killing the car’s driver and injuring seven more.

Emergency personnel said that two people were hospitalized as a result of the apparent attack.

Authorities described the explosives in the vehicle as a combination of fireworks, camping fuel and gas tanks, according to CNN.

[...]

The electric vehicle was obtained via private rental app Turo, according to a law enforcement source who spoke with the Associated Press—the same app allegedly used by a man who plowed into a crowd of New Years’ revelers in a truck on New Orleans’ Bourbon Street early Wednesday morning, killing 15 people and injuring more than 30 others. Authorities are also investigating that mass killing as an act of terrorism, and whether the two acts were connected.

  Daily Beast

UPDATE 1/2/25:

While officials have not confirmed a link between the Las Vegas explosion and the New Orleans pickup truck attack, both suspects served in the Army.

President Biden said Wednesday that authorities are still working to determine if the two incidents were connected. Both suspects used vehicles from the peer-to-peer rental app Turo.

Matthew Alan Livelsberger was a member of the U.S. Army Special Operations Command (USASOC) and was "on approved leave at the time of his death," an Army spokesperson told Axios in a statement Thursday.

  Axios

The Trump team completely expected response:

Rep. Michael Waltz (R-FL), who President-elect Donald Trump has tapped as his national security adviser, said Thursday that the incoming administration should respond to the attack in New Orleans—which was carried out by a U.S. citizen from Texas—by closing the border.

“First and foremost, close our border,” Waltz, a former Green Beret, said on Fox & Friends when asked what should be done to protect the nation from further attacks.

  Daily Beast

Three guesses, first two don't count

Is it just me, or do there seem to be an inordinate number of Teslas catching fire?

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

UPDATE 03:44 pm:

Video of the explosion from a security camera:  

During a press conference, LVMPD Sheriff Kevin McMahill shared that the sole victim was inside the vehicle during the explosion.

[...]

Elon Musk has also added that the whole Tesla senior team is investigating the incident, adding, “We’ve never seen anything like this.”

  KOLOTV

UPDATE 07:24 pm:

The user who first posted a video of the explosion said that the car immediately burst into flames after parking at the hotel’s valet stand.

[...]

The electric vehicle was obtained via private rental app Turo, according to a law enforcement source who spoke with the Associated Press—the same app allegedly used by a man who plowed into a crowd of New Years’ revelers in a truck on New Orleans’ Bourbon Street early [this] morning, killing 15 people and injuring more than 30 others. Authorities are also investigating that mass killing as an act of terrorism, and whether the two acts were connected.

  Daily Beast

Disposing of the carcass

Where it will either gather dust or continue with whatever defendant is chosen as the scapegoat.

Another mass murder in America

I bet it was pretty terrorizing for the people there.  

Air quote terrorism.

“It was very intentional behavior. This man was trying to run over as many people as he possibly could,” the New Orleans police superintendent, Anne Kirkpatrick, said in a news conference Wednesday morning. “He was hellbent on creating the carnage and the damage that he did.”

According to Ms. Kirkpatrick, the man drove the truck at high speed into crowds at around 3:15 a.m. before crashing and opening fire, shooting two police officers. Investigators said they later found what appeared to be improvised explosive devices in the truck and were trying to determine whether the devices were viable.

[...]

Alethea Duncan, an assistant special agent in charge with the F.B.I. in New Orleans, said the attack was not being investigated as a terrorist attack.

[...]

The attack happened at the intersection of Canal and Bourbon Streets during New Year’s Eve celebrations, which bring large, raucous crowds to the city’s French Quarter. It also came just hours before college football’s Sugar Bowl, between Notre Dame and the University of Georgia, was scheduled to kick off at the city’s Superdome.

[...]

The status of the suspect was unclear.

  NYT

At that same NYT link, 7 minutes earlier, a different reporter filed this:

The driver of the pickup truck is dead after getting into a shootout with police after he ran over pedestrians and crashed, according to two law enforcement officials speaking on condition of anonymity because the investigation is ongoing. The incident is being investigated as a suspected act of terrorism, the officials said.

So, it is and it isn't being investigated as a terrorist attack, and the status of the suspect is unclear and he's dead. As always, early reports of events are not entirely reliable.

Here's what a local station has to say this morning:

Hours into the New Year, a man drove a white pickup truck through barricades on Bourbon Street in the city's French Quarter area during a time when police officials said they were "staffed 100 percent" for New Year's Eve and the Sugar Bowl.

At some point, police said the driver left the vehicle and began firing shots from an assault rifle into the crowd, injuring two police who exchanged fire. Police believe the suspect is dead, according to ABC News.

[...]

Local police have considered the incident an act of terrorism. Officials with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) said they are also investigating the incident but did not declare Wednesday's incident as an act of terrorism.

Officials said the suspected driver is not in custody and remains at large and have asked locals to steer clear of the area.

  WJLA

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

UPDATE 07:53 am:

And while we're on the subject...

UPDATE 09:57 am:  Official announcement

Mayorkas is secretary of Homeland Security.

The pickup had a Texas license plate affixed.  

UPDATE 12:35 pm:

The suspect accused of killing at least 10 people and injuring 30 Wednesday morning in New Orleans has been preliminary identified as Shamsud Din Jabbar.

  NBC

Of course, they could be investigating this as an act of terror simply because of the man's name.  According to NBC, Shamsud is a US citizen born in Texas, but he DID have an ISIS flag flying from the trailer hitch of his truck.  Haven't heard anything about ISIS in a while.  I wonder why he went to New Orleans to wreak havoc instead of somewhere in Texas.

UPDATE 03:37 pm:

JFC

UPDATE 07:40 pm: