Alicia Menendez — whose father, former Democrat Senator Bob Menendez, was convicted on 16 federal counts including bribery, extortion, obstruction of justice, and acting as a foreign agent, and sentenced in January 2025 to 11 years in prison — accused Donald Trump of weaponizing a little-known federal housing agency against his enemies. She pointed to New York Attorney General Letitia James, who brought a civil fraud case against him; Senator Adam Schiff, who led impeachment efforts and served on the January 6th Committee; and Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook, who she claimed is Trump’s latest target.
Menendez painted these figures as defenders of democracy standing up to Trump’s abuses. Yet James is a partisan Democrat who campaigned on taking down Trump; Schiff didn’t just lead impeachment — he spent years on cable news spinning the Russia narrative and leaking half-truths from closed hearings; and when it comes to Cook, Menendez declared, “She’s not going to be bullied into stepping down,” framing her as a symbol of resistance while the media obsesses over her being “the first Black woman on the Fed board.”
She continued:
“So as you watch what is happening today in Texas, as you watch the attack on mail-in voting, as you watch the DOJ go after Trump’s perceived enemies, as you watch the militarization of one of our nation’s greatest cities, be sure not to miss what is happening in your peripheral vision.”
She then pointed to “Texas Senate Democrats filibustering in the name of democracy, state AGs defending fair and free elections, Lisa Cook saying she’s not gonna be bullied into stepping down, and Washingtonians stepping up to defend their own city.” Wrapping up, Menendez warned:
“Because they are answering the fundamental question of this moment as Trump and his allies, as they prepare to rig our democracy itself, how should Americans respond?”
Then, right before the commercial break, Menendez teed up her next guests: former senior FBI official Andrew Weissmann and Democrat Congressman Dan Goldman — pure anti-Trump Democrat propaganda.