Donald Trump has bragged about building a political war chest exceeding $1.5 billion
— a staggering sum that he can wield at his whim to shape November’s midterms and the 2028 race to succeed him.

Trump’s stockpile
— which dwarfs any amounts raised by his predecessors in their second terms
— is not easy to precisely calculate given that much of it is being collected by groups that aren’t required to file regular financial disclosures.

Current and former staffers, as well as others in Trump’s orbit,
wouldn’t say exactly where his political bank account stands six months after the president announced on social media that he’d raised, just since Election Day 2024, “in various forms and political entities, in excess of 1.5 Billion Dollars.”

But what is not in question is that it represents a mountain of cash that could reshape Republican politics for years to come — if he chooses. He’s been reluctant to spend money on other people’s races in the past, and he’s even found ways to funnel some cash to his own businesses.
The $1.5 billion Trump claimed is roughly equal to what he and outside groups spent on his successful 2024 reelection bid, according to OpenSecrets, a nonpartisan group that tracks political spending.
By comparison, Democratic President Joe Biden’s various super PACs, political groups and nonprofits, as well as the Democratic National Committee, raised roughly $97 million during his first year in office, according to public disclosures. That’s only about 7% of Trump’s total, and Biden was gearing up for a reelection run Trump isn’t allowed to make.
“I think a lot of people are asking, ‘What is it all for?’” said Saurav Ghosh, federal campaign finance reform director at the Washington nonprofit Campaign Legal Center.
It’s enough to shape the midterms and beyond
People close to Trump say the main benefit of all that cash is unmatched influence heading into November. They insist Trump is eager to help Republicans so his political agenda isn’t stymied, like when Democratic victories derailed his first-term agenda after 2018’s midterms. His stockpile has helped the GOP build a sizable cash advantage over Democrats ahead of November, at least so far.
“One of the main reasons a lame-duck president might want to amass this much money is to maintain political relevance,” said Daniel Weiner, a former Federal Election Commission attorney and current director of the Brennan Center’s Elections and Government Program. “Certainly he’s been far more aggressive about this than any of his predecessors.”

courthousenews.com/trump-boast…

Meta’s Not So Smart Approach To Smart Glasses With Facial Recognition

If you’re a comedian, timing is everything. But not so much if you’re SOBs who don’t give a damn about anything other than feathering your own nest at the expense of everyone else’s safety and privacy. Or if you have employees who leak memos to the press.

The New York Times has a report on Meta’s second attempt at launching facial recognition, this time with smart glasses. The idea is sketchy enough, but according to a memo that the NYT obtained Meta thinks our political and social turmoil might just provide the right timing. Here’s the money quote:

We will launch during a dynamic political environment where many civil society groups that we would expect to attack us would have their resources focused on other concerns

I’m not so sure civil society groups will take their eye off of the ball now, no matter how much Meta helps the administration continue to stir things up.

There are already reports of people using smart glasses photography for what sounds very much like the reason Mark Zuckerberg created Facebook as Facemash in the first place as a “hot or not” game. It doesn’t take any leap of imagination to know what kind of mischief this will cause once facial recognition is added into the mix.

The Electronic Frontier Foundation says, There are Seven Billion Reasons For Facebook To Abandon Its Face Recognition.

But as we continue to see, but never learn, some prepubescent boys with toys will never grow up, always remaining prebubescent boys, even if they accumulate wealth enough to do better things.

There might be money in smart glasses, but if you ask me there might be more money in creating some sort of gadget that we can all carry or wear that blurs our faces and interferes with this kind of photography.

(Photo by Alireza heidarpour on Unsplash

You can also find more of my writings on a variety of topics on Medium at this link, including in the publications Ellemeno and Rome. I can also be found on social media under my name as above.

#ai #ArtificialIntelligence #FacialRecognition #Meta #smartGlasses #SocialMedia #Tech #technology

If you’re a comedian, timing is everything. But not if you have employees who leak your nefarious plans. Meta’s Not So Smart Approach To Smart Glasses With Facial Recognition#Meta #Tech warnercrocker.com/2026/02/13/met…

Life on the Wicked Stage: Act 3

2026-02-13 22:43:45

Meta’s Not So Smart Approach To Smart Glasses With Facial Recognition

If you’re a comedian, timing is everything. But not so much if you’re SOBs who don’t give a damn about anything other than feathering your own nest at the expense of everyone else’s safety and privacy. Or if you have employees who leak memos to the press.

The New York Times has a report on Meta’s second attempt at launching facial recognition, this time with smart glasses. The idea is sketchy enough, but according to a memo that the NYT obtained Meta thinks our political and social turmoil might just provide the right timing. Here’s the money quote:

We will launch during a dynamic political environment where many civil society groups that we would expect to attack us would have their resources focused on other concerns

I’m not so sure civil society groups will take their eye off of the ball now, no matter how much Meta helps the administration continue to stir things up.

There are already reports of people using smart glasses photography for what sounds very much like the reason Mark Zuckerberg created Facebook as Facemash in the first place as a “hot or not” game. It doesn’t take any leap of imagination to know what kind of mischief this will cause once facial recognition is added into the mix.

The Electronic Frontier Foundation says, There are Seven Billion Reasons For Facebook To Abandon Its Face Recognition.

But as we continue to see, but never learn, some prepubescent boys with toys will never grow up, always remaining prebubescent boys, even if they accumulate wealth enough to do better things.

There might be money in smart glasses, but if you ask me there might be more money in creating some sort of gadget that we can all carry or wear that blurs our faces and interferes with this kind of photography.

(Photo by Alireza heidarpour on Unsplash

You can also find more of my writings on a variety of topics on Medium at this link, including in the publications Ellemeno and Rome. I can also be found on social media under my name as above.

#ai #ArtificialIntelligence #FacialRecognition #Meta #smartGlasses #SocialMedia #Tech #technology

Photo by Alireza heidarpour on Unsplash

Tory Burch sunglasses – Download this photo by Alireza heidarpour on Unsplash

^unsplash.com