Trump tries—and fails—to steal the spotlight from the Super Bowl
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As millions of people had their eyes glued to Sunday’s Super Bowl, President Donald Trump apparently needed to find a way to bring the attention back to him. Not only did he declare Feb. 9 as “Gulf of America Day,” but he called for abolishing the penny on his flight back from New Orleans. In a post to Truth Social, Trump announced he had instructed Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to stop minting America’s one-cent coins. He wrote, “For far too long, the United States has minted pennies which literally cost us more than 2 cents. This is so wasteful. Let’s rip the waste out of our great nations budget, even if it’s a penny at a time.” Like so many things Trump has tried to do or say since retaking the White House just last month, it’s not clear if he can unilaterally discontinue the penny. As The New York Times reported, congressional intervention would likely be required since the body dictates America’s currency specifications. He is right about one thing, though: pennies cost more than they’re worth. A 2024 report from the U.S. Mint stated that the unit cost for pennies (3.69 cents)—and nickels, for what it’s worth—has exceeded their face value for the 19th consecutive fiscal year. A conservative estimate from a 2024 New York Times Magazine story said that roughly 240 billion pennies are lying around the nation—which amounts to about $7.24 for every man, woman, and child residing here. Should America move forward with Trump’s somewhat controversial plan, it wouldn’t be the first country to get rid of pennies. Canada sunsetted its one-cent coin more than a decade ago. Since then, cash transactions are now rounded to the nearest nickel. Australia, meanwhile, got rid of its one- and two-cent coins back in 1992. Philadelphia Eagles players celebrate with the Vince Lombardi Trophy after the Eagles won the NFL Super Bowl 59 football game on Feb. 9, 2025, in New Orleans. While Trump’s latest proposal might actually be a decent idea, it’s unclear if he was just trying to make news. After all, he made his announcement shortly after leaving the Super Bowl at halftime, when it became clear that his beloved Kansas City Chiefs were in for a beatdown. He didn’t even bother to watch Kendrick Lamar’s halftime performance (which MAGA seemed to hate) or congratulate the Philadelphia Eagles on their historic win, as he did for the Chiefs when they won the AFC Championship earlier this year. It makes sense that Trump would hold a grudge against Philadelphia, though: The city overwhelmingly supported former Vice President Kamala Harris over him in this past year’s election.Trump also canceled a planned visit to the White House by the Eagles in 2018 citing a disagreement on standing during the national anthem. In truth, fewer than 10 Eagles players had committed to attending the White House event. In fact, one of Trump’s only posts about the Super Bowl singled out … Taylor Swift. Swift endorsed Harris in the 2024 presidential election, and Trump hasn’t forgotten. In a late-night post to Truth Social, he argued that the pop star had a “tougher night” than the Chiefs after the team her boyfriend plays for lost by 18 points. Taylor Swift embraces Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce after the NFL Super Bowl 58 football game against the San Francisco 49ers, on Feb. 11, 2024, in Las Vegas. “She got BOOED out of the Stadium,” Trump said, an apparent reference to Eagles’ fans booing Swift when she appeared on the jumbotron. “MAGA is very unforgiving!” (This, of course, isn’t true. Swift didn’t appear to care and instead laughed off Philadelphia fans.) Maybe Trump had a feeling that the Chiefs were in for a tough night. Or perhaps he just craves the spotlight (probably the latter). Before the Super Bowl, he announced aboard Air Force One that he had signed an executive order renaming the “Gulf of Mexico” to the “Gulf of America.” In other Trump news, he sat down for an exclusive pre-Super Bowl interview with Fox News chief political anchor Bret Baier and detailed his plans to instruct DOGE chair Elon Musk to probe the Education and Defense Departments for so-called wasteful spending. He also suggested that he fully trusts his billionaire buddy to fulfill his promise to cut red tape. And he doubled-down on his desire for Canada to join the U.S., though the country has said there’s zero desire to do this. Why is it that Trump loves the spotlight and needs to make everything about him? If you ask his cronies in the White House, they’ll say his ubiquity is part of his attempt to solidify his base of support while striking a contrast with former President Joe Biden. But surely, Trump also wants to satiate his own ego. “As Politico summed it up best, ‘Trump is everywhere again,’” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said during her first briefing in January. “And that’s because President Trump has a great story to tell.” Campaign Action
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2025/2/10/2302766/-Trump-tries-and-fails-to-steal-the-spotlight-from-the-Super-Bowl?pm_campaign=blog&pm_medium=rss&pm_source=main
As millions of people had their eyes glued to Sunday’s Super Bowl, President Donald Trump apparently needed to find a way to bring the attention back to him. Not only did he declare Feb. 9 as “Gulf of America Day,” but he called for abolishing the penny on his flight back from New Orleans. In a post to Truth Social, Trump announced he had instructed Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to stop minting America’s one-cent coins. He wrote, “For far too long, the United States has minted pennies which literally cost us more than 2 cents. This is so wasteful. Let’s rip the waste out of our great nations budget, even if it’s a penny at a time.” Like so many things Trump has tried to do or say since retaking the White House just last month, it’s not clear if he can unilaterally discontinue the penny. As The New York Times reported, congressional intervention would likely be required since the body dictates America’s currency specifications. He is right about one thing, though: pennies cost more than they’re worth. A 2024 report from the U.S. Mint stated that the unit cost for pennies (3.69 cents)—and nickels, for what it’s worth—has exceeded their face value for the 19th consecutive fiscal year. A conservative estimate from a 2024 New York Times Magazine story said that roughly 240 billion pennies are lying around the nation—which amounts to about $7.24 for every man, woman, and child residing here. Should America move forward with Trump’s somewhat controversial plan, it wouldn’t be the first country to get rid of pennies. Canada sunsetted its one-cent coin more than a decade ago. Since then, cash transactions are now rounded to the nearest nickel. Australia, meanwhile, got rid of its one- and two-cent coins back in 1992. Philadelphia Eagles players celebrate with the Vince Lombardi Trophy after the Eagles won the NFL Super Bowl 59 football game on Feb. 9, 2025, in New Orleans. While Trump’s latest proposal might actually be a decent idea, it’s unclear if he was just trying to make news. After all, he made his announcement shortly after leaving the Super Bowl at halftime, when it became clear that his beloved Kansas City Chiefs were in for a beatdown. He didn’t even bother to watch Kendrick Lamar’s halftime performance (which MAGA seemed to hate) or congratulate the Philadelphia Eagles on their historic win, as he did for the Chiefs when they won the AFC Championship earlier this year. It makes sense that Trump would hold a grudge against Philadelphia, though: The city overwhelmingly supported former Vice President Kamala Harris over him in this past year’s election.Trump also canceled a planned visit to the White House by the Eagles in 2018 citing a disagreement on standing during the national anthem. In truth, fewer than 10 Eagles players had committed to attending the White House event. In fact, one of Trump’s only posts about the Super Bowl singled out … Taylor Swift. Swift endorsed Harris in the 2024 presidential election, and Trump hasn’t forgotten. In a late-night post to Truth Social, he argued that the pop star had a “tougher night” than the Chiefs after the team her boyfriend plays for lost by 18 points. Taylor Swift embraces Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce after the NFL Super Bowl 58 football game against the San Francisco 49ers, on Feb. 11, 2024, in Las Vegas. “She got BOOED out of the Stadium,” Trump said, an apparent reference to Eagles’ fans booing Swift when she appeared on the jumbotron. “MAGA is very unforgiving!” (This, of course, isn’t true. Swift didn’t appear to care and instead laughed off Philadelphia fans.) Maybe Trump had a feeling that the Chiefs were in for a tough night. Or perhaps he just craves the spotlight (probably the latter). Before the Super Bowl, he announced aboard Air Force One that he had signed an executive order renaming the “Gulf of Mexico” to the “Gulf of America.” In other Trump news, he sat down for an exclusive pre-Super Bowl interview with Fox News chief political anchor Bret Baier and detailed his plans to instruct DOGE chair Elon Musk to probe the Education and Defense Departments for so-called wasteful spending. He also suggested that he fully trusts his billionaire buddy to fulfill his promise to cut red tape. And he doubled-down on his desire for Canada to join the U.S., though the country has said there’s zero desire to do this. Why is it that Trump loves the spotlight and needs to make everything about him? If you ask his cronies in the White House, they’ll say his ubiquity is part of his attempt to solidify his base of support while striking a contrast with former President Joe Biden. But surely, Trump also wants to satiate his own ego. “As Politico summed it up best, ‘Trump is everywhere again,’” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said during her first briefing in January. “And that’s because President Trump has a great story to tell.” Campaign Action
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2025/2/10/2302766/-Trump-tries-and-fails-to-steal-the-spotlight-from-the-Super-Bowl?pm_campaign=blog&pm_medium=rss&pm_source=main