Daily News — February 6, 2026

Lynching-era racism during Black History Month. More Epstein files coverup. Deporting a child after a judge called it cruelty.

While others stenograph, grift, or chase the next distraction
this is the news that matters and how it’s connected.

Late Thursday night, Donald Trump posted a video depicting Barack and Michelle Obama as primates.¹ Set to “The Lion Sleeps Tonight,” the clip ran at the end of a 62-second conspiracy theory about the 2020 election. It appeared during the first week of Black History Month, days after Trump’s proclamation celebrating “the contributions of Black Americans to our national greatness.”¹ That’s not hypocrisy. That’s the ideology: Black Americans are useful for photo-ops and proclamations, disposable when the cameras are off. Celebrating their contributions one day, depicting them as apes the next.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt dismissed the backlash: “Please stop the fake outrage and report on something today that actually matters to the American public.“¹ But this time, Republicans broke ranks. Sen. Tim Scott — the Senate’s only Black Republican and close Trump ally — called it “the most racist thing I’ve seen out of this White House.“¹ Sen. Roger Wicker said Trump “should take it down and apologize.”¹

Hours later, the video disappeared. The White House blamed a “junior staffer.”¹ Trump said nothing. No apology came.

This is normalized dehumanization. The depiction of Black people as apes isn’t just offensive — it’s the imagery slavers used to justify bondage and segregationists used to justify lynchings.² The White House, Labor Department, and Homeland Security now routinely promote posts echoing white supremacist messaging.¹ Last month, the administration doctored a photo of Black civil rights attorney Nekima Levy Armstrong. The spokesman’s response? “The memes will continue.“¹

Trump has weaponized this imagery for years. The birther lie. Calling majority-Black nations “shithole countries.” Telling immigrants they’re “poisoning the blood of our country” — language nearly identical to Hitler’s dehumanization of Jews.² Michelle Obama understood it in 2024: “His limited and narrow view of the world made him feel threatened by the existence of two hard-working, highly educated, successful people who happened to be Black.“¹

Quentin James, co-founder of Collective PAC, called it a “digital minstrel show.“ He said: “This is the through line from minstrelsy to Truth Social, and the intent is identical: to strip Black people of their humanity for political entertainment.“¹

Rep. Yvette Clarke, Congressional Black Caucus chair: “There is a toxic and racist climate within the White House. Trump is a racist, he’s a bigot, and he will continue to do things in his presidency to make that known.“²

Even Black Trump supporter Pastor Mark Burns told the president to fire the staffer and condemn it. Burns said Trump “knows this is wrong, offensive, and unacceptable.“² But Trump said nothing.

This is the pattern: dehumanize, defend as humor, retreat when allies object, blame a subordinate, never apologize, repeat. Presidential historian Douglas Brinkley: “Just hard-boiled racism using the oldest trope against Black people imaginable.“¹

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The People Releasing the Epstein Files Appear to Have Hidden Their Own Communications

On Friday, watchdog group Democracy Defenders Fund filed a complaint alleging the Department of Justice “impermissibly” narrowed the scope of the Epstein files release.³ Only a “handful” of communications from Attorney General Pam Bondi, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, and FBI Director Kash Patel appear in 3.5 million pages — despite their central role in releasing the files.

The complaint’s conclusion: these communications have been “withheld, destroyed, or redacted to the point that they are not traceable.“³

The DOJ called it a “tired narrative.“³ But the facts tell a different story.

The DOJ admits it’s “working around the clock” to fix redaction errors that exposed over 1,000 abuse victims.⁴ In some cases, victim names appeared in whole or in part across multiple documents, making identification easy.⁴ Annie Farmer, a victim, told NPR: “If you see some of these documents where there will be a list of 50 names and one is redacted, you know, there’s just no explanation for how it could have been done so poorly.“ She continued: “It feels like they want us to give up on transparency.“⁴

Selective transparency in action: The DOJ withheld approximately 200,000 pages based on “various privileges.”⁵ But the Epstein Files Transparency Act explicitly requires “Internal DOJ communications, including emails, memos, meeting notes, concerning decisions to charge, not charge, investigate, or decline to investigate Epstein or his associates.“⁵

Congress gets access Monday — but only the 3 million public pages, not the full 6+ million the DOJ possesses.⁵ Members can review in person, take notes, but can’t bring electronic devices.⁵ Members only, no staff. 24 hours’ notice required.⁵

Trump’s name appears hundreds of times in the files. His response? “Time for the country to get on to something else, really. Now that nothing came out about me.“⁴

The files show high-profile individuals maintained contact with Epstein years after his 2008 conviction and registration as a sex offender.⁴ Deepak Chopra kept email correspondence until months before Epstein’s 2019 arrest. In a 2017 exchange, Epstein asked Chopra to “find me a cute Israeli blonde.“ Chopra: “I can/Warning: They are militant aggressive and [very] sexy.“⁴ Elon Musk exchanged emails about visiting Epstein’s private island.⁴ Brad Karp, chairman of law firm Paul Weiss, resigned after emails became public.⁴

Victims exposed. The powerful protected. Internal DOJ communications — from the very people releasing the files — suspiciously absent.

When the people in charge of releasing the files appear to have omitted their own role, that’s not transparency. That’s a coverup.

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They Traumatized a 5-Year-Old. A Judge Called It Cruelty. Now They’re Doing It Again.

Days after a federal judge ordered 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos and his father released from detention — calling it “the imposition of cruelty” — the Trump administration filed to expedite their deportation.⁶

Liam wakes up crying every night now. “He hasn’t been the same since this all happened,” his father told Telemundo. “He calls me when he wakes up and says, ‘Daddy, Daddy,’ so I have to go to him.“⁷

This is retaliation. The administration is using a process called “pretermit” — dismissing asylum claims without full hearings by asserting applicants can seek asylum in Honduras or Uganda instead.⁶ The family’s asylum hearing, originally scheduled for later this month, was moved up to Friday.⁸ An immigration judge granted a continuance, but the lawyer warned: “Their deportation could happen in a matter of weeks.“⁶

The family is in hiding in Minneapolis. Liam has a fever and cough. His pregnant mother experienced abnormal bleeding. His older brother hasn’t gone to school this week.⁷ They were held at Dilley, where two measles infections have since been confirmed.⁷

The family’s lawyer called the expedited process “extraordinary” and “possibly retaliatory.“⁶ DHS: “This is standard procedure, and there is nothing retaliatory about enforcing the nation’s immigration laws.“⁶

But this isn’t standard. A federal judge just rebuked you for detaining this child. Days later, you’re rushing to deport him. That’s retaliation disguised as procedure.

During detention, Liam’s father tried to keep him calm by telling stories from the cartoon Bluey and recounting park memories.⁷ Liam was scared. He frequently asked what they had done wrong, where they were, what happened to his little blue knit hat. ⁷ The father bit back tears to avoid upsetting his son more. All he could do was “hug him and tell him everything would be OK.“⁷

When released, Liam was reunited with his hat. He continues to wear it even inside the house.⁷

They claim to protect families. They claim to defend children. But when a judge called their treatment of a 5-year-old “cruelty,” they didn’t apologize—they filed to deport him faster. That’s not family values. That’s using children as weapons.

Rep. Joaquin Castro, who picked up the family from Dilley: “He was traumatized in Dilley, but now the Trump administration is trying to take him away again.“⁸

The judge called it cruelty. The administration calls it standard procedure. The difference between those two descriptions is the difference between accountability and fascism.

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The Call

Every story in today’s news serves the same project. We track them using the fascism syndrome—ten indicators that a democracy is sliding into fascism—so you don’t lose the thread in the daily chaos:

• Identity-based scapegoating: Depicting Black Americans as apes during Black History Month. Using a 5-year-old asylum seeker as “bait,” then rushing to deport him after a judge calls it cruelty. Specific groups targeted based on who they are — ethnicity, nationality — not what they’ve done.

• War on reality: Calling lynching-era racism “fake outrage” and “an internet meme.” Trump says “nothing came out about me” when his name appears hundreds of times in the Epstein files. DHS calls expedited deportation of a traumatized child “standard procedure.”

• Capture of the state and elimination of accountability: The people releasing the Epstein files appear to have omitted their own communications. Victims’ names exposed. Powerful people protected. 200,000 pages withheld despite a law requiring internal DOJ communications.

• Normalization of political violence: Multiple federal agencies promoting white supremacist messaging. “The memes will continue.” Using children as bait. Expediting deportations in retaliation for judicial rebukes.

• Erosion of due process: “Pretermit” asylum dismissals without full hearings. Moving hearing dates up to rush deportations. Congress can review only 3 million of 6+ million documents, no electronic devices, members only, 24 hours’ notice required.

Post racist dehumanization. Defend it. Delete it. Blame a staffer. Never apologize. Expose victims. Protect the powerful. Hide your own communications. Traumatize a child. Get rebuked by a judge. Try to deport him faster. That’s not dysfunction. That’s the playbook. That’s fascism.

But we’re not here just to tell you the house is on fire.

We built this publication to equip you with the tools to fight back—the frameworks, the messaging, the strategies that actually work. See the links below. But we can only keep doing this with your help. If this matters to you, please consider becoming a paid subscriber. You keep the fight alive.

• Fighting Fascism: How We Push Back and Win — The strategic playbook for reclaiming power

• The Trump Regime Messaging Guide — How to talk to people who’ve been captured by the machine

• The Freedom Illusion — How we got here, and the counter-ideology that gets us out

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Article Sources:

1. Erica L. Green, Isabella Kwai, and Zolan Kanno-Youngs, “Trump Deletes Racist Video of Obamas After Outcry“, New York Times, February 6, 2026.

Documents Trump’s Thursday night post depicting the Obamas as apes during Black History Month, Karoline Leavitt’s defense dismissing it as “fake outrage,” and the unusually strong Republican backlash including Sen. Tim Scott calling it “the most racist thing I’ve seen out of this White House.” Reports the video’s deletion with blame placed on a “junior staffer” and Trump’s refusal to apologize. Establishes the administration’s pattern of promoting racist imagery across federal agencies, including the doctored photo of Nekima Levy Armstrong and the promise that “the memes will continue,” supporting the article’s argument that this is normalized dehumanization, not isolated incident.

2. Bill Barrow and Josh Boak, “Trump’s racist post about Obamas is deleted after backlash despite White House efforts“, Associated Press, February 6, 2026.

Provides historical context on ape imagery as a dehumanizing trope used to justify enslavement and lynchings, connecting it to Trump’s broader pattern of racist language including calling immigrants “poisoning the blood of our country” — language nearly identical to Hitler’s dehumanization of Jews. Documents Congressional Black Caucus Chair Yvette Clarke’s statement that “there is a toxic and racist climate within the White House” and Trump “is a racist, he’s a bigot, and he will continue to do things in his presidency to make that known,” and Pastor Mark Burns telling Trump he “knows this is wrong, offensive, and unacceptable.”

3. Josephine Walker, “DOJ omitted communication from Bondi, Patel in Epstein files, watchdog says“, Axios, February 6, 2026.

Reports on Democracy Defenders Fund’s Friday complaint alleging the DOJ “impermissibly” narrowed the scope of disclosed documents required under the Epstein Files Transparency Act. Documents the complaint’s finding that only a “handful” of communications from Attorney General Pam Bondi, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, and FBI Director Kash Patel appear in the 3.5 million pages released, despite their involvement being “at the very center of DOJ’s response (or lack thereof) to congressional and public calls for production of the Epstein files.” Includes the complaint’s conclusion that “the obvious conclusion is that these communications have been withheld, destroyed, or redacted to the point that they are not traceable in the Epstein Library.” Notes the DOJ spokesperson dismissed this as a “tired narrative” and stated “just because you wish something to be true, doesn’t mean it is.” Confirms Blanche assured reporters the DOJ “complied with the act” and “did not protect Trump. We didn’t protect or not protect anybody,” while also stating there is “a hunger or thirst for information that I do not think will be satisfied by the review of these documents.”

4. Scott Neuman, “DOJ admits redaction errors in Epstein docs while names in files face scrutiny“, NPR, February 6, 2026.

Documents the DOJ admitting personnel are “working around the clock” to fix redaction errors that exposed over 1,000 abuse victims, with names appearing across multiple documents making identification easy. Includes victim Annie Farmer’s assessment that “it feels like they want us to give up on transparency” given how poorly redactions were done. Reports Trump claiming “nothing came out about me” despite his name appearing hundreds of times, and details high-profile individuals who maintained Epstein contact after his conviction, including Deepak Chopra’s 2017 exchange where Epstein asked him to “find me a cute Israeli blonde,” Elon Musk’s emails about visiting the private island, and Brad Karp’s resignation after emails became public.

5. Ryan Nobles and Dareh Gregorian, “Members of Congress will be able to view unredacted Epstein files next week“, NBC News, February 6, 2026.

Reports Congress gets access Monday to only the 3 million public pages, not the full 6+ million the DOJ possesses, with heavy restrictions: in-person review only, no electronic devices, members only (no staff), 24 hours’ notice required. Documents that approximately 200,000 pages were withheld based on “various privileges” despite the Epstein Files Transparency Act explicitly requiring “Internal DOJ communications, including emails, memos, meeting notes, concerning decisions to charge, not charge, investigate, or decline to investigate Epstein or his associates” — supporting the article’s argument that the people releasing the files appear to have hidden their own role.

6. Jazmine Ulloa, “U.S. Seeks to Expedite Deportation of 5-Year-Old Liam Conejo Ramos“, New York Times, February 6, 2026.

Reports the federal government is seeking to dismiss Liam and his father’s asylum claims without a full hearing using the “pretermit” process, which has become common since October, with federal lawyers increasingly asking judges to dismiss asylum cases by asserting applicants can seek asylum in other countries under new agreements with Honduras and Uganda. Documents lawyer Danielle Molliver’s assessment that the expedited process is “extraordinary” and possibly “retaliatory,” and her warning that “their deportation could happen in a matter of weeks.” Notes that Friday’s virtual hearing (closed to public) did not resolve the asylum claim and the judge gave Molliver more time to argue. Includes DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin’s statement that “these are regular removal proceedings. This is standard procedure, and there is nothing retaliatory about enforcing the nation’s immigration laws.” Confirms that a federal judge ordered their release last week with a “blistering opinion” denouncing detention as “the imposition of cruelty,” and that Rep. Joaquin Castro picked up the family from Dilley and escorted them to Minnesota.

7. Alicia Victoria Lozano, “Father says 5-year-old son has nightmares and wakes up crying since immigration detention“, NBC News, February 6, 2026.

Documents Liam’s ongoing trauma, waking up crying every night with his father saying “he hasn’t been the same since this all happened.” Details how during detention the father kept Liam calm by telling stories from “Bluey” and recounting park memories while Liam repeatedly asked what they had done wrong and where his little blue knit hat was, with the father biting back tears to avoid upsetting his son more. Reports the family is now in hiding in Minneapolis with Liam sick (fever and cough), his pregnant mother experiencing abnormal bleeding, and his older brother missing school — all while facing expedited deportation after being held at Dilley where two measles infections have since been confirmed.

8. Laura Romero, “Administration seeking expedited removal of 5-year-old and family, Rep. Castro says“, ABC News, February 6, 2026.

Confirms that Castro said Friday the Trump administration filed for expedited deportation, and that the asylum hearing originally scheduled for later this month was moved up to Friday. Documents that a school official confirmed the immigration judge granted Liam and family a continuance — a formal postponement to a later date. Includes Columbia Heights Public Schools Superintendent Zena Stenvik’s statement that “our concern remains centered on Liam and all children who deserve stability, safety and the opportunity to be in school without fear. We will continue to advocate for outcomes that prioritize children.” Quotes Castro: “He was traumatized in Dilley, but now the Trump administration is trying to take him away again. The Department of Justice has filed for expedited deportation, which would take him away again.”