The Promised Land

POTUS seems to be making good on whatever promises he made in exchange. He keeps sending US weapons and money to Israel. But his ‘base’ is becoming uncomfortable.

The Red River Gorge in Eastern Kentucky, Source: Getty Images

Tuesday, August 12^th, 2025

Bill Bonner, from Poitou, France

Last week it looked like the loose coalition known as MAGA might be becoming unstitched. Several “MAGA” influencers went off-script. Candace Owens, Tucker Carlson, Steve Bannon, Rand Paul and, notably, Mike Pence, chafed and moaned...

Conservatives — such as they are — are beginning to wonder...and push back...about Epstein, tariffs, ICE, deficits and AIPAC.

A new group, run by Mike Pence, comments on tariffs. The Hill:

“The truth is that Americans, not foreign countries, pay tariffs. American families know the truth: tariffs hurt hardworking American families while funding the very swamp that President Trump ran on draining. ‘Drain the Swamp’ means stopping the tariff funding for K Street, not growing it,” states the memo from Advancing American Freedom Foundation, which was obtained exclusively by The Hill.

The memo cites a 599 percent increase in tariff lobbyist revenue this year compared to 2024, with the total value of tariff lobbying contracts totaling roughly $8.8 million, according to House Clerk Lobbying Disclosure.

One of the consequences of the shift from a government of laws...to a government of (big) men...is that the men are more open to grift. And more subject to influence. So, the swamp grows deeper. And Raw Story reports on the break-up:

'Trump has betrayed us': Candace Owens attacks Trump as 'deep state' president

Another example: Donald Trump pledged to end the war in the Ukraine on ‘day one.’ He made the promise at least 53 times during the 2024 campaign.

But the ‘defense’ industry is in the deepest part of the Deep State. And it doesn’t want the war to end. So, day one went by...along with more than 200 more days...and still no peace.

Which divides MAGA-land into two groups. On the one side are those who will follow Mr. Trump no matter what. On the other are those who wonder where he is going.

Perhaps even more terrifying — to politicians — than the firepower industry is another huge puddle in the Deep State swamp — AIPAC.

The American Israel Public Affairs Committee and its backers are the biggest single source of campaign money in the country. Sheldon Adelson, for example, declared that his main interest was Israel’s future. Newsweek:

Sheldon Adelson Gave Trump and Republicans Over $424 Million Since 2016

Sheldon’s widow, Miriam, says she got ‘stuck’ in the US by her husband, but her ‘heart’ is still in Israel. The Times of Israel:

Miriam Adelson gives $100 million to Trump campaign...

POTUS seems to be making good on whatever promises he made in exchange. He keeps sending US weapons and money to Israel. But his ‘base’ is becoming uncomfortable.

There are few indisputable truths in public life. But Marjorie Taylor Greene must have come close to one of them.

"We're $37 trillion in debt and Americans on both sides of the aisle are frankly sick and tired of their hard-earned tax dollars going to murder people in foreign countries..."

Ms. Greene went on the attack. Just The News:

MTG says AIPAC should register as a foreign lobbyist after pushback for Gaza genocide comments

Greene said that AIPAC started sending out fundraising attack emails about her after she said that the genocide, starvation and humanitarian crisis in Gaza was horrific, like the Hamas attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.

And now along with Paul Singer and John Paulson, two of the world’s richest hedge fund managers, Miriam Adelson and AIPAC are preparing to ‘primary’ both our favorite congressman, Thomas Massie...and MTG too. The two have become stones in the Big Man’s shoe...and will be targeted for removal.

This will be an important test. Voters don’t like ‘outside interference.’ And conservative organizations have given Greene and Massie some of the best ratings in Congress; Greene got a 98% rating from CPAC while Massie was at 93%. So how much traction will the super-rich, big city sons of Abraham get? The hills and backwoods of Eastern Kentucky and Western Georgia aren’t exactly the Promised Land.

Regards,

Bill Bonner

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Research Note, by Dan Denning

What will a ‘data dependent’ Federal Reserve do when it meets on September 16th and 17th to set the price of credit? Today’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) was a mixed bag. The ‘headline’ rate of 2.7%% was lower than expected by analysts (2.8%).

Bullish news! Rate cuts incoming!

But wait. Less food and energy, the ‘core’ rate was above expectations. It’s growing at an annualized rate of 3.1% (in red on the table above, taken from today’s BLS release). That’s well ahead of the Fed’s 2% target. And…

And it suggests tariff inflationary may finally be passing through businesses to consumers. If that’s the case—and nobody really knows yet—then there will be more inflation ahead. Inflation turning higher and staying there for the foreseeable future is not a scenario where the Fed will want to be cutting rates. Stay tuned.