Dumb And Dumber Awards To Trump, Noem, McMahon And Miller
There are so many stupid people running the country and so little time to stop them.
Let’s start with the obvious, trump, and his latest, knee jerk, MAGA appealing, xenophobic ban on travel to the U.S. from 12 countries and partially restricting entry for travelers from an additional seven countries, all which the trump administration has labeled hotbeds and breeding grounds of terror.
The plan will fail like his first Muslim ban failed under his first administration. It was not and is not about security but just like his abominable attempts to deport people of color, the ban is another ham-handed attempt at cruel racism. And just like in 2017, the latest travel ban will probably be struck down by the court but not before it does irreparable harm to the reputation of the United States around the world.
Trump said the ban will stop travel to the U.S. from countries where terrorists are bred and where vetting by the countries has been deemed inadequate. The logic is difficult to understand because all but one of the incidents of terrorism in the U.S. this year have been by U.S. residents and none from the banned countries.
That is why trump’s statement is all the more nonsensical.
“The recent terror attack in Boulder, Colorado, has underscored the extreme dangers posed to our country by the entry of foreign nationals who are not properly vetted, as well as those who come here as temporary visitors and overstay their visas,” Trump said in a video. “We don’t want them.”
Trump went on to claim, contrary to the facts, that “In the 21st century, we’ve seen one terror attack after another carried out by foreign visa overstayers from dangerous places all over the world. Thanks to Biden’s open-door policies, today there are millions and millions of these illegals who should not be in our country.”
The ban is a political tool and is not based in facts. A Jan. 21, 2025, report from the Center for Strategic and International Studies found that despite the attack in January in New Orleans by an ISIS sympathizer, “longer-term trends suggest that jihadist terrorism in the United States is not resurgent.”
The report said that the number of jihadist plots and attacks in the United States has been low since the territorial defeat of ISIS and that international groups such as the Islamic State and al Qaeda “have filled more of an inspirational role rather than directly orchestrating attacks on the United States.” The fear is more about lone wolves and that is where the government should concentrate; not on cockamamie travel bans.
The report concluded that “overall, jihadist terrorism in the United States does not merit additional resources at this time; however, international terrorism organizations continue to merit counterterrorism efforts.”
Trump ordered the travel ban on June 1, just three days after Mohamed Sabry Solimon, an Egyptian living in Colorado, allegedly used a makeshift flamethrower and Molotov cocktails to attack a group participating in a solidarity walk for hostages taken from Israel during the October 7 attacks. Solimon injured 16 people in the attack.
It is difficult, to say the least, to understand the logic, if there is any, in what nations trump included on the list and what were not. The list is largely comprised of Africa nations that trump once labeled as “shit hole countries.”
The Center for Strategic and International Studies reported that U.S. citizens have perpetrated most of the jihadist violence in the United States. Since 9/11, the majority of U.S. jihadists (80 percent) have been citizens or residents of the United States, and more than 40 percent are natural-born U.S. citizens.
“Despite the lethality of the Bourbon Street attack, there is no evidence that it is part of a jihadist resurgence in the United States,” the center reported.
It noted that foreign born terrorists were responsible for 86 percent of the 3,518 murders by terrorists on U.S. soil from 1975 though 2017. The total includes the September 11 attacks by the al-Qaeda network, which killed 2,507 civilians,343 firefighters, 72 law enforcement officers, 55 military personnel and 19 perpetrators.
Of the 19 men involved in the September 11 attacks, 15 were citizens of Saudi Arabia, two were from the United Arab Emirates, one was from Egypt, and one from Lebanon. None of the countries are on trump’s list of banned countries.
The full travel ban includes Afghanistan, Burma, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen. Countries where travel has been partially restricted include Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela.
Solimon is the only foreigner involved in a terror attack in the U.S. in the past two years. All but one of the 2025 accused terrorists were U.S. citizens who came from Texas, Florida, Nevada, New York, Michigan, West Virginia, California, Washington, New Jersey, while two others were from Canada and England.
In 2025, there have been 37 significant incidents from around the world and five in the U.S., that were identified as terrorism. They were in Israeli-occupied West Bank, Palestine; Tubas Governorate, Palestine; Tel Aviv, Israel; Pardes Hanna-Karkur, Israel; India; Chad; Benin; Niger and Mali; Columbia; Iran; Nigeria; Democratic Republic of the Congo; Austria; Somalia; France; Pakistan; Kenya; The Netherlands; Burkina Faso; Iraq; Syria; and Russia.
Of nations where terrorist attacks were reported, only the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Chad are listed on the full travel ban. Not listed are countries where terrorist incidents were reported, including Israel, India, Russia, France, Syria, Austria, The Netherlands, Burkina Faso, Benin, Niger and Mali, Columbia, Nigeria, Kenya and Pakistan.
Nations on the travel ban where there were no terrorist incidents included Afghanistan; Myanmar (wrongly listed by trump as Burma), Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Libya, Sudan and Yemen.
The ban will be excruciating for people living in the effected countries who will now not be allowed to escape the rampant violence and poverty even if they have relatives in the U.S. It is contrary to U.S. immigration laws which give special recognition to immigrants fleeing horrible conditions in their home countries. Most notably, that includes people who will be barred from leaving Haiti, where deadly, violent gangs rule.
US Attacks
In addition to Solimon, the other incidents in the U.S. included:
Shamsud-Din Jabbar, 42, was charged with the Jan. 1 terror attack when he rammed his vehicle into a crowd in New Orleans, killing 14 people and injuring 57 before he was killed by police. Jabbar was born and raised in Beaumont, Texas, and lived in a Houston neighborhood at the time of the attack.
On the same day, Matthew Alan Livelsberger, 37, of Colorado Springs, Colo., parked a rented Tesla Cybertruck loaded with fireworks outside the main entrance of the Trump International Hotel Las Vegas before shooting himself in the head and detonating the fireworks, killing himself and injuring seven others.
On April 13, Cody Balmer, 38, of Penbrook, Pa., allegedly used Molotov cocktails to set fire to the home of Gov. Josh Shapiro, while the governor and his family slept. Balmer was charged with terrorism, attempted murder, aggravated arson, and aggravated assault after he turned himself into the police.
On May 17, a car bomb detonated at the entrance of a fertility clinic in Palm Springs, Calif., killing one person and injuring four others. The suspect, Guy Edward Bartkus, 25, of Twentynine Palms, Calif., died in the blast.
Kristi Noem
Next on the list of dumber and dumbest officials is Kristi Noem, Secretary for Homeland Security. Her standing was reinforced in comments she made on May 20 before the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
The discussion turned toward the right of habeas corpus, which Noem incorrectly described as a presidential authority to deport individuals. She was so off base, particularly coming from a federal official in charge of fulfilling trump’s plan to deport millions of migrants.
In truth, habeas corpus is a constitutional legal principle that safeguards individuals from unlawful imprisonment by enabling them to petition the court to review the legality of their detention.
But not in Noem’s world.
“Habeas corpus is a constitutional right that the president has to be able to remove people from this country,” she told slack jawed lawmakers.
Noem was testifying on her department’s budget for the 2026 fiscal year.
Fortunately, Sen. Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., set the record state.
“Habeas corpus is the foundational right that separates free societies like America from police states like North Korea,” Hassan said.
Noem opened her mouth to change shoes, when she elaborated on her comments that “Yes, I support habeas corpus. I also recognize that the President of the United States has the authority under the Constitution to decide if it should be suspended or not.”
Wrong. The Constitution only allows suspension of habeas corpus by the Congress only “in Cases of Rebellion or Invasion (where) the public Safety may require it.”
Earlier this month, White House adviser and deportation architect, Stephen Miller, said the administration was “looking at” ways to end due process protections for undocumented migrants, possibly by invoking a 1798 law known as the Alien Enemies Act and declaring the nation under siege.
In 1861, President Abraham Lincoln ordered the suspension of the writ of habeas corpus, arguing that it was necessary to protect the Union from sabotage by Confederate sympathizers. The Supreme Court subsequently ruled that the president lacked the authority but in 1863 the Congress formalized Lincoln’s order by passing the Habeas Corpus Suspension Act.
President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s executive order to detain thousands of Americans of Japanese origin during World War II was at the time also challenged on grounds that it unlawfully denied habeas corpus to the detainees. The challenge was ultimately successful.
Linda McMahon
Not far behind Nome on the intelligence-challenged list is Education Secretary Linda McMahon, a major trump funder who along with her husband, founded Titan Sports, Inc., later renamed World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc.
As education chief, McMahon is charged with overseeing the nation’s education system so it was shocking when she said she was not familiar with the Tulsa race massacre, the worst racial assault in the nation’s history. From May 31 to June 1, 1921, whites stormed the “Black Wall Street” section of Tulsa, Okla., where they killed from 30 to 300 people and destroyed more than 1,000 homes and businesses.
Rep. Summer Lee, D-Pa., quizzed McMahon in the context of the department’s financial aid policies, which Lee said, “harken back to a time when higher education was reserved for affluent, well-connected and predominantly white students.”
“Do you know what the Tulsa Race Massacre is?” Lee asked.
To which McMahon responded, “I’d like to look into it more and get back to you on it.”
Lee also wanted McMahon to clarify what African-American studies courses would be considered a violation of trump’s executive order that bans discussion of subjects considered contrary to trump’s ban on diversity, equity and inclusion or DEI. Trump has threatened to withhold federal funding from states and universities that do not comply.
“Would you say that it would be an illegal DEI for a lesson plan on the Tulsa Race Massacre?” asked Lee.
McMahon also said she would get back to the congresswoman regarding a question on whether Ruby Bridges’ acclaimed book, “Through My Eyes,” would be banned for violating DEI rules. Bridges was the first African American to desegregate a public school in New Orleans, La., and was the subject of Norman Rockwell’s 1964 painting, “The Problem We All Live With.”
Mary Miller
Completing the trifecta of thickheadedness is the notorious bigot, Rep. Mary Miller, R-Ill., 65, who posted that she was really angry because she said a Muslim was allowed to lead the morning prayer for lawmakers in Congress. Miller, who was elected in 2021, quickly deleted her post after learning the prayer was led not by a Muslim but by a Sikh.
Clergy from various religions are often called on to lead the morning House prayers. Rep. Jeff Van Drew, R-N.J., had invited Giani Singh, a Sikh granthi from Southern New Jersey, to deliver the House of Representatives’ daily prayer.
“As a Catholic, I take my faith seriously and I also believe part of being American is respecting other people’s faiths too,” Van Drew said.
Regardless, Miller posted on X that it was “deeply troubling that a Muslim was allowed to lead prayer in the House of Representatives this morning. This should have never been allowed to happen. America was founded as a Christian nation, and I believe our government should reflect that truth, not drift further from it.”
Miller is a member of the Freedom Caucus and has been described as being on the “far right” of the Republican Party.
Some lawmakers were utterly disgusted by Miller’s comments.
“While yes, we are a nation rooted in Judeo-Christian values and our laws reflect that, we are also a nation that recognizes we are all God’s children and whatever our differences, we can and should respect differences of faith,” said Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y.
Rep. Nick LaLota, R-N.Y., posted on X that “a Sikh prayer on the House floor … doesn’t violate the Constitution, offend my Catholic faith, or throttle my support for Israel. Live and let live.”
“I’m deeply disappointed by Rep. Mary Miller’s comments,” said Rep. Donald Norcross, D-N.J., who has previously sponsored Singh as a guest chaplain.
The Congressional Asian Pacific Islander Caucus condemned Miller’s “anti-Sikh and anti-Muslim bigotry,” calling her post “disgraceful.”
Rep. Jared Huffman, D-Calif., said that he has served in Congress “with some of the greatest minds of the 18th century. With Rep. Miller I may need to take it back a few more centuries.”
Rep. Grace Meng, D-N.Y., posted, “What’s deeply disturbing is the blatant ignorance and anti-Sikh, anti-Muslim xenophobia coming from my colleague across the aisle. There is no place in our country, and especially the Halls of Congress, for this hate and intolerance.”
Westerners often believe that people of the Sikh faith are Muslims, based on skin color and the peaked head turban, called a dastar, that is worn by Sikh men. It can look like the kind of turbans wore by some Muslim elders or Afghani Muslims.
Sikhs have been the victims of hate crimes and domestic terrorism targeting Muslims in a backlash following September 11, 2001, the Gulf War, and the emergence of global terrorist groups.
Sikhism is a religion that is very distinct from Islam, with a unique scripture, guidelines, principles, initiation ceremony, and appearance. It is a religion developed by over three centuries. Sikhism is the fifth largest religion in the world with around 30 million followers. Islam is the second largest religion in the world with around 2 billion followers worldwide.
Miller has never backed away from her bigoted positions. After Roe v. Wade was overturned in 2022, Miller called the decision a “historic victory for white life.” In 2021, the newly-sworn in lawmaker spoke at a meeting of the conservative group, “Moms for America,” and said that “(Adolf) Hitler was right on one thing.”
“Each generation has the responsibility to teach and train the next generation. You know, if we win a few elections, we’re still going to be losing unless we win the hearts and minds of our children. This is the battle. Hitler was right on one thing: he said, ‘Whoever has the youth has the future,’” Miller said.
Miller was backed by trump and was a steadfast proponent of the lie that trump was robbed of the 2020 election by rampant voter fraud.
In May 2022, the Washington Examiner criticized Miller for employing Bradley Graven, “a man convicted of soliciting sex with a minor, to assist with her re-election campaign.” Graven was seen driving Miller around, raised money for her campaign, and was reportedly responsible for collecting over half the signatures needed to qualify her for the ballot.