Jill Colvin, Author at The Rapid City Post

President Donald Trump speaks to a gathering of top U.S. military commanders at Marine Corps Base Quantico, Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2025, in Quantico, Va. (Andrew Harnik/Pool via AP)

Trump no longer distancing himself from Project 2025 as he uses shutdown to further pursue its goals

October 2, 2025

President Donald Trump is now openly embracing the conservative blueprint he desperately tried to distance himself from during the 2024 campaign. In a post on his Truth Social site Thursday morning, Trump announced he would be meeting with his budget chief, “Russ Vought, he of PROJECT 2025 Fame,” to discuss which federal agencies should be cut and whether the cuts should be permanent. Trump’s comments represent a dramatic about-face after he and his campaign spent much of last year denouncing the massive proposed overhaul of the federal government that was drafted by many longtime allies and current and former administration officials.

President Donald Trump speaks after signing an executive order regarding TikTok in the Oval Office at the White House, Thursday, Sept. 25, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Trump escalates retribution campaign with charges against Comey and threats against liberal groups

September 25, 2025

President Donald Trump’s unprecedented retribution campaign against his perceived political enemies reached new heights Thursday as his Justice Department brought criminal charges against a longtime foe and he expanded his efforts to classify certain liberal groups as “domestic terrorist organizations.” Former FBI Director James Comey, a longtime Trump target, was indicted by a grand jury for lying to Congress in a hastily brought case days after Trump publicly demanded action. Hours earlier, he signed a memorandum directing his administration to target backers of what he dubbed “left-wing terrorism” as he alleged without evidence a vast conspiracy by nonprofit groups and activists to finance violent protests.

FILE - District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser listens as President Donald Trump speaks during an event to announce that the 2027 NFL Draft will be held on the National Mall, in the Oval Office of the White House, May 5, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)

DC Mayor Bowser walks delicate line with Trump, reflecting the city’s precarious position

August 13, 2025

As National Guard troops deploy across her city as part of President Donald Trump’s efforts to clamp down on crime, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser is responding with relative restraint. She’s called Trump’s takeover of the city’s police department and his decision to activate 800 members of the guard “unsettling and unprecedented” and gone as far as to cast his efforts as part of an “authoritarian push.” But Bowser has so far declined to respond with the kind of biting rhetoric and personal attacks typical of other high-profile Democratic leaders. The approach underscores the reality of Washington, D.C.’s precarious position under the thumb of the federal government and limited legal options.

FILE - Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump is helped off the stage at a campaign event in Butler, Pa., July 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)

A year after Trump’s near-assassination, friends and allies see some signs of a changed man

July 13, 2025

One year after Donald Trump’s near-assassination at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, friends and allies see some signs of a changed man. While largely the same brash Trump, they say he is more attentive and more grateful and speaks openly about how he believes he was saved by God to save the country and serve a second term. And while many who survive traumatic events try to block them from memory, Trump has instead surrounded himself with memorabilia commemorating the episode. He’s decorated the White House and his golf clubs with art pieces depicting the moment after the shooting when he thrust his fist in the air and chanted, “Fight, fight, fight!”

Supporters of Democratic mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani cheer while he speaks at his primary election party, Wednesday, June 25, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)

How Democrats in America’s most Jewish city embraced a critic of Israel for New York mayor

June 29, 2025

Zohran Mamdani, an outspoken critic of Israel, is the expected Democratic nominee for mayor in America’s most Jewish city and that’s raising alarms among some in the New York’s Jewish community. They’re worried about rising antisemitism and their waning influence. Mamdani’s performance in this past week’s Democratic primary also signals a sea change in the priorities of one of the party’s most loyal voting groups. An ideological realignment has been taking place among American Jews since the Hamas attack on Israel in 2023. And many Democratic voters, including Jews, have grown dismayed by Israel’s conduct in the war.

FILE -Former Assemblyman Jack Ciattarelli speaks after the first Republican debate Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2025, at Rider University in Lawrenceville, N.J. (AP Photo/Mike Catalini, File)

Takeaways from New Jersey election: Trump looms large and signs of Democratic enthusiasm

June 10, 2025

New Jersey primary voters chose their nominees — and President Donald Trump notched a win in his endorsement belt — in one of two high-stakes governor’s races being held this year. While officials from both parties say November’s general election will hinge on local, pocketbook issues, the outcome will be also closely watched as a harbinger of how both parties might fare in next year’s midterm elections, as a test of Democratic enthusiasm and how the GOP fares without Trump on the ballot. Trump-backed candidate Jack Ciattarelli and Democratic Rep. Mikie Sherrill will face off in November.

FILE - Leonard Leo speaks at the National Lawyers Convention in Washington, Nov. 16, 2017. (AP Photo/Sait Serkan Gurbuz, File)

Trump, frustrated with some judges, lashes out at former ally and conservative activist Leonard Leo

June 1, 2025

President Donald Trump has lashed out at Leonard Leo, the conservative legal activist who has worked to dramatically reshape the country’s courts. Trump is blaming Leo and the group he used to head for encouraging him to appoint judges who are now blocking his agenda. Leo is the former longtime leader of the conservative Federalist Society, who, during Trump’s first term, helped the president transform the federal judiciary and closely advised him on his Supreme Court picks. He is widely credited as an architect of the conservative majority responsible for overturning Roe v. Wade.

Jill Colvin.