1). “Trump Says He May Stop Federal Medicare, Medicaid & Daycare Funding”, Apr 2, 2026, Carissa Mosness, Woman's World, at < https://www.yahoo.com/news/
2). Video on X of Trump saying that the U.S. must end social spending and focus on war and the military, X, duration of video 0:39, at < https://x.com/factpostnews/
3). “Why the US Navy's 'Last Nimitz' Is Replacing Its Best Carrier”, Apr 2, 2026, Anon, Navy Decoded and Air Power Decoded, duration of video 17:55, at < https://www.youtube.com/watch?
4). “Will There be a Ground Invasion of Iran? (w/ Col. Larry Wilkerson) | The Chris Hedges Report”, Apr 3, 2026, Chris Hedges interviews Col. Larry Wilkerson, The Chris Hedges YouTube Channel, duration of video 48:09, at < https://www.youtube.com/watch?
5), “Trump Accelerated the Crisis: No Plan for Hormuz, No Off-Ramp -- a New Phase has Begun”, Apr 2, 2026, Prof. Robert Pape, Escalation Trap, at < https://escalationtrap.
6). “Chas Freeman: World Disorder - Nuclear Weapons & World War”, Apr 3, 2026, Glenn Diesen interviews Chas Freeman, Glenn Diesen, duration of video 57:49, at < https://www.youtube.com/watch?
7). “Jeffrey Sachs: Iran War Broke U.S. Empire & Alliance Systems”, Apr 4, 2026, Glenn Diesen interviews Jeffrey Sachs, Glenn Diesen, duration of video 41:03, at < https://www.youtube.com/watch?
~~recommeded by desmond~~
Introduction by desmond: To nobody's surprise (who is paying attention) the loathsome Trump was caught promising to end all government spending except that for the military and the police. He mentioned this while speaking to a bunch of creeps at the White House Easter Dinner; in a video the White House apparently released in error. This was reported in Item 1)., “Trump Says He May Stop Federal ….”; and in a short video posted on X here as Item 2)., “Video on X of Trump saying ….”. Trump who long feined a dedication to protecting social programs is quoted in Item 1). saying “It's not possible for us to take care of daycare, Medicaid, Medicare—all these individual things. They can do it on a state basis. You can't do it on a federal [level]. We have to take care of one thing: military protection. We have to guard the country.” (Emphasis added) The real role of working people living in 21st Century U.S. Capitalism is to be exploited, either for low wages, cannon fodder status, or sexual use.
In Item 3)., “Why the US Navy's 'Last Nimitz' ”, there is a discussion of the problems that caued the USS Gerald R. Ford to withdraw from the Red Sea where it was conducting operations against Iran. In Item 4)., “Will There be a Ground Invasion ….”, Colonel Larry Wilkerson makes critical observations of how military force is being almost exclusively being used against Iran, and by people who are poorly informed about the region or who are toadies for Israel and the American Zionists. In Item 5)., “Trump Accelerated the Crisis: ….”, University of Chicago Political Science Professor Robert Pape discusses his 3-Stage Escalation Theory. He sees U.S. (and other) interventions as proceeding through 3 stages. Stage 1) is high intensity bombing to destroy important military targets. When that does not succeed in forcing the target state to surrender Stage 2). bombing begins with the goal of Regime Change through Leadership Decapitation operations. The Israeli's are particularly good at this. However when that does not succeed the attack proceeds on to Stage 3) the Commitment of Ground Troops. Despite widespread resistance the military is being directed to some sort of ground campaign and thousands of U.S. troops are on the move. Pape discusses this in a couple of 25 minute podcasts (See, “Trump is 'trapped' on Iran. This is what will happen next | Robert Pape”, Mar 18, 2026, Fergus Macphee interviews Robert Pape, The Trump Report, duration of video 26:51, at < https://www.youtube.com/watch?
Item 6)., “Chas Freeman: World Disorder ….”; and Item 7)., “Jeffrey Sachs: Iran War ….”, both discuss the weakening of the Global Position of the U.S. and the fact that one of the goals of the Iranians is to push Americans out of West Asia (the Middle East). This is a fierce fight and despite serious losses the U.S. military is still very powerful and is capable of causing great harm to Iran. The Iranians have already caused serious damage to U.S. forces, most particularly of the highly advanced radar installations, at the naval base, and at the 13 U.S. bases are now uninhabitable, with their residents moving to hotels to work. Thousands of residents of the U.S. Navy base, where the U.S. Fifth Fleet is headquartered in Bahrain, have been sent back to Virginia with nothing but a small suitcase each.
Trump has always wanted to “end Welfare”, as he used to state constantly in years past. There is a tremendous struggle coming up, Trump and the far-right envision a U.S. with a docile defeated working class who obediently send their young people into the horrifying maw of violence, sexual perversion, and exploitation that are the reality of 21st Century Capitalism. Hopefully there will be fierce resistance to this evil Project 2025 America that strongly impedes the Capitalist Agenda.
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Trump Says He May Stop Federal Medicare, Medicaid & Daycare Funding
Throughout President Donald Trump's second term, he has made it very clear that he plans to protect Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security, but some of his actions have contradicted that promise. This includes the Medicaid cuts outlined in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act and his tariffs, which have made it difficult for seniors to feel financially stable. Now, President Trump says he’s considering cutting national funding for Medicare and Medicaid to help fund the war with Iran. We share exactly what he said, and if he’s allowed to make the cuts.
What to know about President Trump’s proposed Medicare plan
At the beginning of March, the United States military and Israel attacked Iran. The two countries stated that doing so would address concerns about Iran’s nuclear program and broader security threats. They also said it would help Iran undergo a regime change, which in turn would keep America and the rest of the world safe.
“This is a true investment in your children and your grandchildren’s future. The whole world is watching,” President Trump said on Wednesday, April 1, during his primetime address. “We’re going to hit them extremely hard over the next two to three weeks…We’re going to bring them back to the Stone Ages, where they belong.”
The war has been met with considerable pushback, especially since it’s raised the price of gas in the U.S. by almost 36 percent. Along with the increased gas prices, the war has also cost America a lot of money, a factor President Trump has acknowledged. He also outlined how the country could, and potentially will, continue to cover the cost of the conflict.
In a recent speech made before his primetime address, President Trump floated the idea of ending national funding for Medicare, Medicaid and daycare centers and instead leaving it up to the states.
"We can balance the budget. We can have a surplus if you can stop that. And that does not include Medicare, Medicaid—that's even bigger,” the president told an audience at a White House Easter lunch. "We can't take care of daycare. You got to let a state take care of daycare. And they should pay for it, too. They should pay. They'll have to raise their taxes, but they should pay for it. And we could lower our taxes a little bit to them to make up for it. It's not possible for us to take care of daycare, Medicaid, Medicare—all these individual things. They can do it on a state basis. You can't do it on a federal [level]. We have to take care of one thing: military protection. We have to guard the country.”
President Trump on April 1. 2026
Getty
It’s important to note that these remarks were made in a private meeting held by the President and were only made public after the White House accidentally uploaded the speech to YouTube.
Some members of the press had already downloaded the speech prior to its deletion and uploaded it to their own social media accounts for the world to see.
Bryan Metzger, a senior politics reporter at Business Insider was one of those people.
“It seems the White House may have uploaded that video unintentionally. It's now been made private,” Metzger wrote on X. But I downloaded it, so here's the full WH feed of the Easter lunch earlier today. Trump does sound a bit more candid here than he does in front of reporters.”
Can President Trump actually stop funding Medicare?
Since Medicare is a mandatory entitlement program established by federal law, President Trump can’t decide to stop funding Medicare and Medicaid. He can, however, make significant reductions through legislative action and budget proposals, which is how he could justify cutting the national funding for the programs and instead leaving it up to the states.
If he does decide to do that, the move will most likely be met with considerable pushback from Congress and the American people.
As of publication, President Trump has not commented on the speech. Woman’s World has reached out to the White House for comment on the remarks but hasn’t heard back.
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2). Video on X of Trump saying that the U.S. must end social spending and focus on war and the military, X, duration of video 0:39, at < https://x.com/factpostnews/
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3). “Why the US Navy's 'Last Nimitz' Is Replacing Its Best Carrier”, Apr 2, 2026, Anon, Navy Decoded and Air Power Decoded, duration of video 17:55, at < https://www.youtube.com/watch?
4). “Will There be a Ground Invasion of Iran? (w/ Col. Larry Wilkerson) | The Chris Hedges Report”, Apr 3, 2026, Chris Hedges interviews Col. Larry Wilkerson, The Chris Hedges YouTube Channel, duration of video 48:09, at < https://www.youtube.com/watch?
Trump Accelerated the Crisis
Last night, Trump did not stabilize the crisis—he accelerated it.
He offered no plan to restore reliable energy flows through the Strait of Hormuz, and made clear that escalation remains his primary tool.
The result is not resolution.
It is deepening instability.
The immediate consequence is not abstract. Roughly one-fifth of globally traded oil—nearly 20 million barrels per day—normally transits Hormuz. That system depends not just on physical passage, but on continuous insurance coverage, predictable routing, and tightly sequenced refinery deliveries across Asia and Europe. Those conditions are now breaking down. Tankers are delaying entry into the Gulf, war-risk insurance premiums have surged several-fold in days, and shipping schedules are slipping in ways that force buyers into volatile spot markets.
This is not a closure.
It is a loss of reliability.
This is the top-line structural shift. The full implications—and how to track them in real time—will be the focus of my live briefing on Saturday, April 4 at 4pm CT, 5pm ET.
What actually happened in Trump’s speech
1. The world now sees there is no plan to fix the problem
Not because of rhetoric—but behavior.
In practical terms, this means that the actors who actually move the global economy—energy traders, insurers, shipping firms, and central banks—are repricing risk in real time and adjusting behavior accordingly. Gulf exporters are redirecting flows and storage strategies where possible. Asian importers are accelerating contingency purchases. European governments are coordinating in parallel rather than waiting for U.S. sequencing.
So actors are not waiting.
They are adjusting.
2. Escalation is now clearly the US default tool
The signal from the speech is simple:
When pressure rises → increase threats and expand targets.
That tells:
Historically, this pattern is not incidental—it is inherent to coercive campaigns. Limited strikes designed to compel adversaries expand when initial effects fall short of political expectations. The target set widens—from military assets to economic infrastructure—while timelines extend without formal acknowledgment. This is how short wars become coercive campaigns.
3. The war now has no defined endpoint
Not rhetorically—structurally.
You cannot end this war if the system it disrupted remains unstable.
Right now, there is:
That gap means the war is not actually contained.
It also means something more dangerous:
The United States and its allies are falling deeper into an escalation trap—where each attempt to impose control through force increases the instability it is trying to resolve.
An escalation trap is a structural condition in which each effort to impose control through force increases the instability that makes control necessary. That is now the trajectory at Hormuz.
Securing Hormuz against asymmetric threats—mines, drones, missile strikes, and harassment of commercial shipping—is not a discrete task. It requires continuous presence and near-perfect performance. Iran, by contrast, does not need to stop the flow of oil. It only needs to demonstrate that the flow cannot be guaranteed.
There is no path back to stable energy flows under the current strategy. Only different levels of instability.
There are no clear military off-ramps from this position.
Only a pathway toward prolonged conflict and expanding economic damage.
4. What Matters for US military action
Three elements in the speech matter.
First, the timeline.
The war is now expected to continue for “two to three weeks”—but with no defined endpoint.
Second, the target set.
Trump signaled that attacks could expand to Iran’s broader infrastructure, including electric power.
Third, the justification.
He framed continued operations as necessary to “honor the dead by completing the mission.”
Each of these moves is individually defensible.
Together, they create a different kind of war.
Not a limited strike.
A coercive campaign.
For the US, the war is not de-escalating.
It is shifting to an effort at “controlled” escalation—and control is already slipping.
Consequences
1. Allies begin operating without U.S. direction
This shift is not tentative—it is structurally driven.
As U.S. strategy fails to stabilize the system, allies will increasingly act independently to protect their own economic and security interests.
This is already visible:
This mirrors the early phase of the Ukraine war, when European states began building parallel diplomatic and economic tracks alongside U.S. policy. The result was not immediate divergence, but gradual drift—measured in months, not days.
2. Markets are back in a precarious state
Not full panic—but an unstable equilibrium.
That is more dangerous.
It means:
In tightly coupled energy markets, small disruptions necessarily cascade into larger systemic shocks. A marginal delay in shipping or spike in insurance costs propagates through pricing, supply chains, and financial systems.
Energy markets are structurally sensitive to these disruptions. In 1973, a supply reduction of roughly 5–7 percent produced a fourfold increase in oil prices and triggered years of inflation and economic stagnation. Today’s system is more financially integrated, meaning shocks transmit faster and more broadly.
This is how shocks compound.
And in this environment, they do not dissipate—they accumulate.
3. Iran’s power is increasing—and it doesn’t require physical control
This is the key shift.
Iran does not need to militarily seize global oil flows.
It only needs to make them vulnerable and unreliable.
That alone gives it power over:
Every delayed tanker, every spike in insurance premiums, every rerouted shipment reinforces that power. It is exercised not continuously, but intermittently—just enough to ensure that markets must price risk into every transaction.
And as long as reliability is in question, that power persists.
4. The net effect: accumulating economic strain + U.S. power erosion
This is not a short disruption anymore.
As these current conditions persist:
Power is relative.
And under these conditions, it is shifting toward Iran, because Iran can shape whether the system functions.
This is the trajectory of the escalation trap: not a sudden collapse, but a steady movement toward a prolonged phase of global economic disruption with no clear point of reversal. It is a trap because the near-term incentives for doubling down intensify as the costs of failure mount.
Bottom line
Trump did not calm the system last night.
He made clear there is no plan to restore stability in the Strait of Hormuz and that escalation remains the primary lever.
That means the war is not approaching resolution.
It is moving deeper into an escalation trap—with no military off-ramps and a prolonged phase of global economic disruption.
And in this phase, the key variable is no longer who can strike.
It is whether the global energy system can function.
Right now, it cannot do so reliably.
And as long as that condition persists, power will continue to shift.
In the next 72 hours, these dynamics will become visible in real time. I will walk through exactly what to watch—and what it means—at Saturday’s live briefing.
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6). “Chas Freeman: World Disorder - Nuclear Weapons & World War”, Apr 3, 2026, Glenn Diesen interviews Chas Freeman, Glenn Diesen, duration of video 57:49, at < https://www.youtube.com/watch?
7). “Jeffrey Sachs: Iran War Broke U.S. Empire & Alliance Systems”, Apr 4, 2026, Glenn Diesen interviews Jeffrey Sachs, Glenn Diesen, duration of video 41:03, at < https://www.youtube.com/watch?
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