Saturday Morning Covfefe: 5 Things with Olivia

Truth with a shot of espresso.

Welcome to Saturday Covfefe. Today’s pour-over comes with a shot of retaliation. The FBI raided John Bolton’s home on Friday, tied on paper to his memoir, but in reality to Trump’s promise of payback. Bolton’s just today’s house blend, extra bitter.

When they come for one, they come for all of us. I worked with Bolton in the Trump White House. He may be called a “war hawk,” but he knows the cost of disclosing classified material, something most in Trump’s circle don’t. (See Pete Hegseth’s Signal-gate, or the classified docs I once found in the White House ladies’ room.) That’s a world away from boxes in a Mar-a-Lago bathroom.

In the past 24 hours, I’ve received death threats and seen the right-wing propaganda machine attack me for defending Bolton. Their fury only proves my point: when you call out Trump’s revenge politics, you become the next target. Bolton’s book was vetted through pre-publication review. What Trump’s made clear: no critic is safe. More raids will come–journalists, politicians, former Trump officials, and even private citizens will likely be targeted.

1. From Primetime to Prosecutor

Newly unsealed filings in Smartmatic’s $2.7B defamation suit reveal Jeanine Pirro’s backstage GOP hustle while on Fox. She bragged to RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel that she was “working so hard” for Trump, even as Fox banned partisan involvement. The filings show she pushed for a pardon for her ex-husband, mocked Hannity as an “egomaniac,” and funneled Sidney Powell’s conspiracy theories. Her own producer warned her to stop. She wasn’t alone: Maria Bartiromo begged Powell to “please, please overturn this” while insisting, “I am news.” Together, they blurred the line between anchor and advocate.

Pirro went from peddling lies for ratings to now serving as U.S. Attorney for D.C. That’s the revolving door between propaganda, power, and prosecution.

🦊⚖️ Jeanine’s Justice (for Trump): WaPo

2. Charlie Kirk: Immigrants aren’t “real Americans”

On a recent livestream of his show on Rumble, Charlie Kirk declared that immigrants aren’t “real Americans,” mocked Somali-American lawmakers, and called for abolishing dual citizenship. He told his audience: “If America is just a passport, then America is dead… If you’re not an American, that’s fine. Go back.” He also demanded English be the official language and claimed migrants “loot” the country.

This isn’t fringe talk; it’s the GOP base being primed to redefine “American” by blood and purity tests. Kirk is saying the quiet part out loud: if you weren’t born here, loyalty will always be questioned. From Fox hosts bending facts to party leaders erasing immigrants, the machinery of nativism is out in the open.

🛂 Citizenship According to Charlie: Media Matters

3. DIA chief fired for telling the truth on Iran

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ousted Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Kruse, head of the DIA, after analysts assessed Trump’s Iran strikes set the nuclear program back only “a few months,” contradicting his claim it was “completely obliterated.” Kruse’s firing caps months of military purges: top NSA, NATO, Joint Chiefs, and service branch lawyers all out.

Authoritarians don’t want intelligence; they want affirmation. When facts about nukes get you fired, spin replaces strategy, and the world is more dangerous for it. I wrote more on this perilous purge of national security voices earlier this week: 37 Clearances Revoked. Zero Justification.

☢️ Kruse vs. Trump’s Nukes Narrative: The Guardian

4. Cracker Barrel’s “woke logo” meltdown

Can I add some 00 fried apples to the 01 hashbrown casserole and make it an Old Timer’s Breakfast, confirmed, please? That was one of my first jobs, when Cracker Barrel opened in El Paso the summer I came home from college. I worked there with my best friends, greeted daily by the kindest, gayest man at the hostess stand. I even recall being asked if I’d consider staying with the company, attending law school, and building a career as a lobbyist. Funny twist: maybe today I would’ve fit in just fine, given how the brand has supposedly evolved.

Fast forward: this week, Cracker Barrel ditched the old man, the barrel, and the “Old Country Store” tag, and its stock fell 7%. Cue the outrage machine: Don Jr. cried “tradition erased,” Conservative activists like Chris Rufo called for boycotts, and even Democrats piled on. Reality check: The rebrand isn’t “woke,” it’s a matter of survival. The chain is struggling, nostalgia is fading, and the refresh is about survival. But culture warriors need their next Bud Light, so they’re turning a logo tweak into a civilizational battle.

🥞 From Biscuits to Boycotts: Cracker Barrel’s Culture War: CBS News

5. Intel Inside…Your Wallet

The Trump administration has just acquired a 10% stake in Intel, purchasing nearly $9 billion in stock at a discount, making you, the taxpayer, a shareholder in a company that has been struggling for years. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick bragged, “We should get an equity stake for our money.” Trump crowed on Truth Social: “This is a great Deal for America and, also, a great Deal for INTEL.”

Intel is the only U.S. firm making cutting-edge chips at home. However, it’s lagging behind TSMC, delaying its “Silicon Heartland” plant in Ohio, and losing market share. The Washington Post’s editorial board warns that this isn’t a strategy, but rather corporate welfare in disguise. Buying stock doesn’t compensate for decades of missed opportunities.

This is what a state-controlled private sector looks like: politicians playing kingmaker, propping up zombie firms, distorting markets for headlines. It breaks with America’s free-market tradition, the one that actually made us competitive in the first place. We don’t beat China by becoming China. If America wants secure supply chains, the answer is innovation and alliances, not Trump’s investment club.

💸 The Art of the (Bad) Deal: WaPo Editorial Board | Intel’s $9B Happy Meal Deal: CNBC

✨One Thing for Your Soul 

Jack’s Zoomies Will Cure Your Gloomies

Meet Jack, a baby mini horse whose pasture laps went viral this week. Meet Jack, a baby mini horse whose pasture laps went viral this week. Jack sprints like a toddler with new sneakers, hops like a bunny, and even convinces his mom, Janice, to join in. It’s pure joy in motion, proof that sometimes the cure for doomscrolling is just watching a foal run circles in the grass.

🐴 Zoomies > Gloomies: Yahoo News

Bonus Soul Note 🎶

This week I got to see James Taylor live with my mom at Wolf Trap, a beautiful national park here in Virginia, and I’m so grateful for the memory we shared. There’s something about hearing “You’ve Got a Friend” sung across generations, especially now, that reminds me in tough times, we really do have each other’s backs. (That’s his son Henry Taylor in the blue shirt behind him, singing backup.)