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Bipartisan Scorn For Trump's 'Shameless' New Taxpayer-Funded Propaganda Ad

Bipartisan Scorn For Trump's 'Shameless' New Taxpayer-Funded Propaganda Ad

The Trump administration this weekend released a confounding new ad hyping up President Donald Trump, which was promptly torn to shreds online as "shameless," "maximally corrupt" and "incredibly illegal."

On Sunday, a new ad began airing, first on Fox on Saturday during a college football game featuring Illinois and Ohio State, and then again the following day during Fox News Sunday. The 30-second clip is composed of black-and-white footage of Trump walking down a hallway towards the camera, while excerpts from a speech play in which he says, "This is the final battle," promises to drive out "warmongers," "globalists" and "communists," and pledges to "liberate" the country from "villains."

At the end, a disclaimer further discloses that the ad was "paid for by the U.S. Government," prompting swift and vicious condemnation from numerous experts and pundits across social media, many of whom called out the use of tax dollars for political advertising as blatantly illegal. Others also questioned the effectiveness of touting Trump at a time when his toxic approval ratings are making the midterms a nightmare for Republicans.

"This ad is both incredibly illegal and politically asinine. Kudos to everyone involved," Dan Pfeiffer, a former senior White House adviser to Barack Obama and Pod Save America co-host, wrote in a post to X reacting to the clip.

"'Demolish the deep state' - Trump has overseen the most corrupt administration in modern history making billions of dollars for him and his friends while your costs go up," Sen. Andy Kim wrote, as part of an extensive breakdown of Trump's claims in the clip. "'Expel the warmongers from our government' - Trump started a war with Iran that has cost taxpayers billions and raised your gas prices to almost $5 a gallon. 'Rout the fake news media' - Trump's order banning news outlets from the White House was just struck down by a judge because it violated the First Amendment. And how much taxpayer money did the government spend on this ad?"

"A taxpayer-funded propaganda TV spot. This is the most shameless administration of our lifetime," former Republican congressman Justin Amash wrote in his own post.

"What’s crazy is it’s not that hard to for a White House to steer donors to an outside group who can run fluffer ads like this," conservative pollster and Bulwark publisher Sarah Longwell wrote. "But no, Trump and this administration wants to take the maximally corrupt route just to show you they can get away with it."

“'Cast out the communists' — …except when we’re rolling out the red carpet for them even as they provide surveillance info for the Iranians to target our servicemembers?" CNN host Jake Tapper wrote, in reference to the recent visit of Chinese Leader Xi Jinping.

"Our tax dollars are being spent to indulge the fantasies and to soothe the fragile ego of a narcissistic sociopath who is falling deeper and deeper into psychosis," conservative commentator George Conway wrote, echoing his recent assertions that Trump is suffering a severe break from reality.

"It’s important we now have documentation that the Republican Party has corrupted itself to this degree," MS NOW host Joe Scarborough wrote. "Republicans now support the Centralized State stealing taxpayers’ money to run ads for their political party."


Trump TV

Who's A 'Communist'? President Announces Trump TV State News Channel

Reactions lit up President Donald Trump on Monday to the White House's newly announced "Trump TV" initiative, as his ban on several news networks exploded into a major scandal, with one observer accusing the administration of "literally shredding the Constitution."

Trump last week announced on Truth Social that he was banning MS NOW, CNN and Politico from the White House, dubiously claiming that they were intentionally spreading lies about him and his presidency. In response, the entire White House pool launched a boycott of presidential coverage, while the targeted networks filed a lawsuit accusing the administration of blatant First Amendment violations.

Amid all of that chaos on Monday, the White House announced the launch of "Trump TV," described as a "24/7" livestreaming YouTube channel broadcasting "the Trump Administration's biggest moments all in one place." While not a traditional news outlet by any stretch, the timing of the announcement alongside Trump's assault on TV news outlets sparked numerous withering reactions across social media, accusing him of "communist" style state-run programming and "literally shredding the Constitution."

Aquilino Gonell, a former staff sergeant for the U.S. Capitol Police during the January 6 attacks, tore into Trump over the announcement, implying he was a hypocrite for doing so while also attacking Democrats as "communist."

"It will be official state-run media. But look over there…the communist," Gonell posted to X. "Literally shredding the Constitution.""So, state-run media," the official Lincoln Project account posted. "Donald Trump is the communist."

"Otherwise known as state-run media," Stephanie Grisham, a former White House press secretary during Trump's first term, posted. "You know who else does this? Russia, China, and Iran to name a few..."

Various reactions also took aim at the official White House app that launched at the same time, through which the Trump TV stream can be viewed, in addition to other offerings. Daniel Dale, a leading columnist and fact-checker for CNN, took particular aim at several of the "accomplishments" touted in the app.

"Just checked out this White House app," Dale wrote. "Under 'accomplishments,' it lists… 1) Gas prices from seven months ago, before the Iran war (they’re now more than $1.50 per gallon higher — $4.48, per AAA). 2) The inflation rate from seven months ago, before the Iran war (the most recent rate, for August, was a full percentage point higher, 3.4 percent). 3) GDP growth from three quarters ago (the most recent available quarter, Q2 2026, was nearly three points lower, 1.5 percent). In summary, it may possibly be helpful to consume news from news outlets."

Reprinted with permission from AlterNet

Trump and Bartiromo

Bartiromo Firing Provokes Furious MAGA  Revolt Against Fox News

President Donald Trump's MAGA die-hards are not taking the ouster of Fox News host Maria Bartiromo quietly, with a new report from The Daily Beast highlighting a brewing "revolt" against her replacement.

Bartiromo, best known as a longtime host for the Fox Business channel, was abruptly fired this week after roughly 12 years with the company, with the official statement only wishing her the best in her future endeavors. A report from Status later elaborated on the shocking departure, finding that she had allegedly been let go after disclosing the network's quiet instructions not to promote Trump's election conspiracy theories with the White House.

"Effective today, Maria Bartiromo is no longer with FOX News Media," the official statement read. "In making the announcement, FOX News Media said, 'We thank Maria for her work over the last 12 and a half years and wish her all the best in her next chapter."

Fox has since replaced Bartiromo on the program, Sunday Morning Futures, which she had hosted since 2014, with contributor and former Utah congressman Jason Chaffetz. As The Daily Beast reported on Sunday, however, the move has not gone down well at all,

“Wrong. That chair belongs to Maria Bartiromo,” MAGA influencer Gunther Eagleman, whose real name is David Freeman, posted to X, responding to a clip of Chaffetz introducing himself to viewers. “Fox can put whoever they want on the desk. America still knows who built that show and who owned Sunday mornings. Bring Maria back."

“Sunday mornings just aren’t the same without her. Maria belongs on Sunday Morning Futures...” another user posted.

Some users went further, claiming that they would be dumping the network completely in favor of its competitors.

“I used to watch every Sunday morning. Not today, I went to Newsmax. No more FOX for me," one user highlighted by The Daily Beast wrote.

Others expressed frustration at Chaffetz in particular, accusing him of being insufficiently Trump-aligned.

“And they selected that swamp rat. Probably Paul Ryan’s selection,” one X user wrote.

Amidst this situation, Bartiromo and her legal team have insisted that she was not actually let go and vowed to bring forward proof of their claims.

The irresponsible reports that have been published stating that Maria Bartiromo was fired or is no longer an employee of Fox are absolutely and unequivocally false,” attorney Bryan Freedman said in a statement. “Make no mistake, we have the receipts and witnesses, and they will come out whether through the courthouse or otherwise.”

Reprinted with permission from AlterNet


Collins Re-Election Bid Stumbles Over 'Oath Keeper' On Campaign Staff

Collins Re-Election Bid Stumbles Over 'Oath Keeper' On Campaign Staff

One of the most vulnerable Republicans in the current midterm cycle is seeing their reelection campaign crumble, as The Daily Beast reports that it has been beset by "one headache after another."

Sen. Susan Collins, a Maine Republican, is seeking reelection this year and is considered one of the GOP incumbents most susceptible to a Democratic flip. This comes after years of the lawmaker souring her reputation with voters by claiming frequently to be "concerned" about President Donald Trump's agenda, but still voting in support of it most of the time.

In a Wednesday report, The Daily Beast detailed the ways in which Collins' campaign "can’t catch a break." Even after heavy allegations forced her previous Democratic opponent to drop out of the race, a series of mounting political headaches has left her with anything but an easy path to victory.

"Instead, it’s been one headache after another," the report detailed. "Billionaire donors with ties to Jeffrey Epstein; a campaign begging supporters for gas money to fuel her re-election tour after she voted to uphold the conflict in Iran; and Donald Trump launching a trade war with neighboring Canada."

On the heels of all that "baggage," the report further detailed the latest scandal engulfing Collins: "a former Oath Keeper" found to be on her staff.

"In June, Collins, 73, announced county commissioner Wayne Erkkinen as her town chair in Greenville, which puts him in charge of grassroots campaigns and voter outreach as Collins fights to hold on to her Senate seat at November’s midterm elections," The Daily Beast explained. "The problem? Erkkinen, 81, was previously identified by the Anti-Defamation League as a member of the Oath Keepers, the far right extremist group that played a major role in the January 6 attack at the Capitol, with some later convicted of seditious conspiracy.

It continued: "The group’s leaked membership rolls included more than 38,000 names and Erkkinen was among them. He told [The Daily Beast] he joined the group in 2010 thinking it was for law enforcement and military veterans like him, who had sworn to defend the Constitution. He also said he quit the group 'years ago'—before the storming of the Capitol—because he didn’t want to be part of something violent."

“It wasn’t what I thought it would be,” Erkkinen said.

Collins' campaign has countered the issue, arguing that it "can’t be expected to keep tabs on every grassroots volunteer on its books," while the report noted that it has given her opponents "fresh ammunition to argue that the Senator is supported by Donald Trump’s 'most extreme backers.'" It also raises further alarms about "the company [her campaign] keeps," after reports emerged that it had accepted contributions from wealthy donors connected to Epstein.

Reprinted with permission from AlterNet


Trump and Hegseth

'Did North Korea Write That?' Trump Blasted For Remarks Praising Communist Regime

President Donald Trump's latest betrayal of a close foreign ally has drawn withering criticism from all corners, with a new piece from MS NOW likening his statement to the words of the infamous dictator he claims to be close with.

Over the weekend, Trump directed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth via a Truth Social post to "substantially reduce" joint military exercises with South Korea, shortly before new ones were set to commence. He argued that participating in them would be seen as "totally inappropriate and hostile" to North Korea, the dictatorship that he claimed has been "unthreatening and respectful."

"Based on the fact that it is too late to cancel, I have instructed Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, to substantially reduce the Joint Military Exercises," the post read.Despite the U.S. lacking any formal relations with North Korea, Trump has long insisted on trying to maintain a close relationship with its leader, Kim Jong-un, one of the many global dictators he has expressed a fondness for. He also implied in his post that the decision was a direct response to South Korea declining to aid in his war with Iran.

Writing for MS NOW on Tuesday morning, national security analyst Kevin Baron chastised Trump's statement, arguing that his "description of North Korea sounds like Kim Jong Un wrote it," and questioning why he is choosing to "be blindly trusting that North Korea’s murderous, prison-state regime has turned a page toward global peace."

"Did North Korea write that message?" Baron asked. "With no intelligence, data or proof provided to back up his assertion, Trump appears to be blindly trusting that North Korea’s murderous, prison-state regime has turned a page toward global peace. With that choice, Trump is unilaterally rejecting American intelligence threat assessments, military preparedness and history. He’s also getting nothing in return for it. That’s his prerogative as commander in chief."

Baron further questioned the wording of Trump's justification for the move, saying that it sounded as if he had only just learned that joint exercises with South Korea were about to take place. He also warned that this abrupt decision will carry a "substantial cost," in "dollars, diplomacy, readiness and morale."

"At best, Trump is playing with fire. At worst, he is willfully endangering American lives, interests and influence for the chance at saving money, based on nothing but a gut feeling," Baron continued.He concluded later: "Trump is always hunting for a bargain, but U.S. security is nothing to bargain with.

"America’s forward-deployed military presence and preparedness with allies including South Korea and Japan are what allow people to live in peace and prosperity there, so that we can do so here. It’s not charity. It’s not a gift. It’s a security umbrella. It’s a multibillion-dollar investment and insurance policy on American prosperity. And it’s the best leverage the world has to deter North Korea from doing something catastrophic. On Sunday, Kim got another unearned gift courtesy of the U.S. president: A free pass to never change."

Reprinted with permission from AlterNet

Denied! Supreme Court Rejects Trump's Final Bid To Appeal $5M Carroll Award

Denied! Supreme Court Rejects Trump's Final Bid To Appeal $5M Carroll Award

President Donald Trump's desperate long-shot bid to the Supreme Court officially went down in flames Monday, per MS NOW, "cementing" his costly legal loss to E. Jean Carroll.

Trump had requested that the Supreme Court reconsider its previous decision not to hear his appeal of the civil case he lost to Carroll, when a jury found him liable for sexually abusing the writer during an encounter in 1996, and for later defaming her in 2022. As MS NOW's Jordan Rubin noted, this request was always likely to fail, as the court rarely grants such requests to reconsider cases that it previously passed on.

"The high court denial appeared on a routine order list, where the court announced the latest action on pending petitions, including many other denials," Rubin explained. "As is typical for such orders, there was no explanation for it."

With this loss, Trump now appears out of legal options in his fight to regain the $5 million award, plus interest, that Carroll was awarded by a judge. This denial is separate, however, from his other request to appeal the $83.3 million judgment against him in a different case involving Carroll, which Rubin noted involves more complex legal issues, including the presidential immunity that the court previously granted to him.

"Trump still has a separate petition pending before the Supreme Court in the other case Carroll won against him, in which a jury awarded her $83.3 million in defamation damages over statements he made in 2019, during his first term in office," Rubin detailed. "The justices likely will not announce whether they will review that one until the fall, at least. It raises different legal issues than the $5 million case, including presidential immunity."

Reprinted with permission from AlterNet

Justin Sun

Billionaire Says Trump 'Threatened' Him For Disclosing Fraud In World Liberty Crypto

An eccentric billionaire is accusing President Donald Trump of fraud relating to his family's biggest recent grift scheme, and in an interview with New York magazine, further accused the president of "threatening" him to keep quiet.

Intelligencer called Chinese billionaire Justin Sun "one of the richest people in the world, having made his fortune in the no-rules early phase of the crypto industry" in its Monday profile, further detailing how he invested $30 million in the Trump family's crypto firm World Liberty Financial and joined it as an advisor in late 2024. The firm has emerged as the epicenter of the Trump family's cryptocurrency dealings, and, in the wake of numerous shady deals, is now considered its biggest overall financial venture.

As he moved forward with World Liberty Financial, however, Sun came to see the investment as a "colossal mistake," as the firm's promised products never materialized and its various tokens crashed in value, costing investors massive sums of money. In April of this year, he sued the company, "alleging fraud and breach of contract.""Today, the thing I regret the most is not only that my money got stuck but that my name is on the project,” Sun told the outlet. “I believe many other people also got harmed... I never expected this to happen to me. This is the worst-case scenario."

He added further: “I thought surely these people would not do what they did with such a public profile attached. Looking back, I was wrong about that. Unfortunately, as alleged in the complaint, certain operators leveraged the Trump brand to profit through fraud.”

Sun's suit against World Liberty notably does not name either Trump or his sons, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, and he claims to remain an "ardent supporter" of the president. He insisted to one source who spoke with the Intelligencer that the suit is not a "political issue," and accused the company of acting "like young punk criminals" and giving the crypto a industry a bad name.

The company, meanwhile, did not sit back in response to Sun's suit.

"On May 4, a couple of weeks after Sun filed his suit, World Liberty sued him for defamation," the report detailed. "Represented by the law firm Clare Locke, which successfully sued Fox News over its 'big lie' coverage following the 2020 election, World Liberty tells a different version of events. Though sections of its accusations are redacted, World Liberty claims in the suit that it froze Sun’s coins to 'protect' itself and its investors from prohibited conduct by Sun. Just before the $WLFI tokens started trading, the company alleges, Sun placed a large bet against them, transferring $300 million 'to fund an aggressive short position.' It also claims Sun made 'straw purchases' on behalf of other investors. Notably, though, World Liberty did not sue Sun for breach of contract or fraud."

Sun dismissed this suit as an effort to silence him.

“I believe that World Liberty is trying to threaten me into silence, but that will not work,” he said. “I stand by the decision to speak out about conduct that I believe was improper and harmful to token holders... I believe the evidence will prove our allegations to be true.”

'Worst Presidential Relative Ever': The Sheer Moral Repugnance Of Don Jr's Endless Grift

'Worst Presidential Relative Ever': The Sheer Moral Repugnance Of Don Jr's Endless Grift

Calling him out for an unprecedented level of "shameless corruption and sheer moral repugnance" as he attempts to cash in on his father's office, a new breakdown from MS NOW argued that Donald Trump Jr. just might be the "worst presidential relative ever."

In a piece published Sunday morning, author and commentator Paul Waldman noted that "problematic presidential family members are an American tradition as old as the republic," noting examples like Theodore Roosevelt's hot-headed daughter, Alice, and Jimmy Carter's "colorful buffoon" brother, Billy. Under the second administration of President Donald Trump, however, he argued that his oldest son, Donald Trump Jr., has become the "new standard by which all future misbehavior among presidential offspring should be judged."

"When it comes to grasping for taxpayer money, shameless corruption and sheer moral repugnance, none who came before can hold a candle to Donald Trump Jr.," Waldman wrote. "He has cemented his position as perhaps the most distasteful and ethically compromised presidential relative in American history — and his father isn’t even halfway through his second term."

He continued later: "Don Jr. wasn’t just going to sit by and watch Dad have all the fun. So he has undertaken his own frenzy of dealmaking, all of it seemingly based on the fact that he’s the president’s son. Some of the enterprises are joint ventures with the whole family. There’s World Liberty Financial, a crypto company that has been the vehicle for some of the biggest players looking to give payoffs to the Trumps and get something in return.

As an investigative report revealed, the United Arab Emirates’ national security adviser secretly invested half a billion dollars in the company. Not long after, the Trump administration lifted export controls on computer chips the UAE desperately wants to create its own artificial intelligence infrastructure (Commerce Department staff objected to the change, but the White House cites the UAE’s position as a U.S. ally.)

"Donald Trump Jr., alongside his younger brother, Eric Trump, has also found ways to consistently cash in on the U.S. government's increased defense spending. As Waldman described the dynamic, the siblings have made investments in smaller defense companies, "then watch as huge government contracts magically materialize." Another company they are extensively invested in, Kaz Resources, received $1.6 billion in investments from the federal government, and saw the president himself intervene to make sure the company received special access to tungsten mines in Kazakhstan as part of a new deal with the country.

"Don Jr. has always had the air of a man desperate to please his indifferent father," Waldman concluded. "This spring, the president couldn’t even be bothered to attend his son’s wedding. But if he keeps this up, he’ll be able to say, 'See Dad, I’m just as greedy and corrupt as you!' It’s an achievement no presidential relative can match."

Reprinted with permission from AlterNet

Fox Host Ingraham Beseeches Trump To End War Before Midterm Ruin

Fox Host Ingraham Beseeches Trump To End War Before Midterm Ruin

President Donald Trump is once again stuck in a quagmire that is driving away voters in droves, prompting one Fox News host to plead with him to reverse course before he definitively tanks the midterms.

Despite hyping up the memorandum of understanding as a major step towards peace, Trump's war with Iran now appears to be back in full swing, with reports emerging about new U.S. casualties and gas prices beginning to climb once more due to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. The conflict, with its nebulous goals and disastrous impacts on the global economy, has always been unpopular with voters, and it continues to subsume Trump's presidency ahead of the all-important November midterms.

As highlighted inThe Daily Beast, Fox News host Laura Ingraham is now "warning her own network’s audience that the conflict is becoming a political liability for Republicans," and pleading with Trump to find a way out of the war before the general elections. In a broadcast from this week, she "didn’t mince words" about what the fallout of the Iran war would be for the GOP.

“With the midterm elections a little more than 100 days away, the clock is ticking for President Trump to get out of this war before voters head to the polls,” Ingraham said. “It’s making a lot of Republicans nervous. It’s already, as we know, unpopular. According to the new Washington Post/Ipsos poll, 69 percent of Americans disapprove of the handling of this conflict. Republicans cannot let this become an endless distraction, especially if they want to win in November.”

The Daily Beast further noted that Ingraham is far from alone amongst her conservative Fox colleagues when it comes to Iran, with network veteran Brit Hume repeatedly stressing how much of a "tough spot" the conflict has put Trump in.

“And he promised to keep us out of endless wars or unsatisfactory wars, and now he’s in one, and it’s not at all clear how it’s gonna end,” Hume said, only hours before Ingraham's segment. “So, he’s vulnerable on this point, and in political terms, he does need to get this over with. But what he may need his time, and he doesn’t have a lot of time.”

Late last month, Hume also said during an appearance that Trump appeared to be getting strung along by Iranian leaders, whom he said were "absolutely notorious for going back on deals, violating ceasefires, violating memoranda of understanding"

"And of course, there's the question of whether they have any control over the Revolutionary Guard Corps, which is independent to a great extent of the broader government," Hume said. "It’s hard to resist the conclusion that the President of the United States is being jerked around by an Iranian regime in much the same way that previous administrations have been jerked around."

Reprinted with permission from Alternet

Will Solid Red Iowa Oust Republicans Over Its Carcinogenic Water?

Will Solid Red Iowa Oust Republicans Over Its Carcinogenic Water?

Ahead of the pivotal 2026 midterm elections, Politico reports that a consistently red state is being pushed away from Republicans, all because of a longstanding environmental crisis resulting in cancer-causing water.

Once considered a swing state, in the last several election cycles, Iowa has emerged as a solid red state, breaking for President Donald Trump in all three of his races. Despite that trend, there remains a hope among Democrats, backed up by recent polling data, that they might be able to pull off wins in the state this November, given how toxic Trump and the Republican Party are becoming with voters. This is especially true in Iowa, where the president's economic agenda has caused major pains for the state's many farmers.

On top of all that, Politico on Sunday released a report revealing that a long-term ecological crisis is also triggering a "political reckoning" in the Hawkeye State, and it could end up being a disaster for Republicans.

Chris Jones, the Democratic nominee for Iowa's secretary of agriculture, told Politico that his "decade as a research engineer, monitoring the state’s rivers and streams," led him to pursue public office, to address the alarming things he discovered about the state's rivers and lakes. As the report explained, "Iowa’s lakes and ponds are often murky and fetid from algae blooms fed by fertilizer runoff, a byproduct of the state’s vast agricultural industry’s reliance on farming chemicals."

"Iowa has a long-simmering water problem that has finally begun to boil over — and it’s changing Iowa politics," Politico explained. "People are angry and worried about the quality of the state’s water, the health risks it poses and its increasingly undeniable tie to the state’s signature industry: agriculture."

It continued: "In recent years, Iowa’s cancer rate has climbed significantly above the U.S. average. It now stands as the nation’s second highest, and Iowa is one of only three states where the rate is rising. The situation has put a spotlight on nitrates, which are linked to a growing body of science to kidney, brain, and ovarian cancer. Nitrates are a key component in the deluge of chemical pesticides and fertilizers used by the state’s farmers, some of which washes off farm fields and into waterways. A second culprit is glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup, the world’s most common weedkiller, which the International Agency for Research on Cancer declared 'probably carcinogenic' in 2015, an assessment rejected by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency."

While candidates on both sides have long been wary of tackling issues stemming from Iowa's all-important farming industry, things are different this year. Voters are "steaming mad" about the impact these chemicals are having, and as a result, candidates from both parties have taken aim at the industry, and found success doing so. In a development that is "scrambling" the common understanding of Iowa's politics, "some of those winning candidates are Democrats."

"In the Republican primary for governor, a businessman, farmer, and political operative named Zach Lahn shocked the political establishment by edging out Trump-endorsed Rep. Randy Feenstra for the nomination," Politico explained. "Lahn won, in part, by openly acknowledging the state’s water crisis and connecting the dots between agriculture and cancer. Lahn was also the first candidate for statewide office endorsed by MAHA Action, the main PAC supporting Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s Make America Healthy Again movement. MAHA voters supported Kennedy and President Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential elections, but have since rebelled against some of their moves, especially the Trump administration’s open support for glyphosate."

It continued: "As for the Democrats, they have their best shot in a decade or more of winning statewide offices in November’s election. Democrat Josh Turek is neck-and-neck in recent polling with Republican Ashley Hinson in the open race for U.S. Senate. And Lahn’s Democratic opponent, Rob Sand, bested him by one percentage point, within the margin of error, in recent polling in the governor’s race."

Reprinted with permission from Alternet

Speech Pathologist: Trump Displayed Signs Of Dementia On Usha Vance Web Series

Speech Pathologist: Trump Displayed Signs Of Dementia On Usha Vance Web Series

President Donald Trump made a "big mistake" during a recent media appearance, with a professional pathologist revealing the signs of dementia and decline that he accidentally exposed.

Trump recently made an appearance on Usha Vance's web series, "Storytime with the Second Lady," which was noted by many for his odd comments about John F. Kennedy being the most handsome past president. The president made that comment as he flipped through the children's picture book, Presidents Play, by Jonathon Pliska and John Hutton.

Beyond the strange comments, however, Trump may have made another "big mistake" during the appearance, according to speech-language pathologist Hilary Shae. Shae specializes in concussion recovery and creates political content in which she offers professional insights into signs of Trump's cognitive and physical decline.

"Donald Trump went on Usha Vance's show, and that turned out to be a big mistake for him," Shae said in one of her latest videos. " Because he demonstrated signs and symptoms of dementia in both the speech and language aspect, as well as the motor-functioning aspect."

On the physical side, Shae used slowed-down footage from the appearance to demonstrate Trump having a difficult time grabbing the book he paged through, as well as the awkward "external rotation" of his shoulder when he turned to grab it from a stack of other books. She noted how his strange method of grabbing the book, using all four fingers and leaving out his thumb, was "actually quite informative from a neurological perspective," as this sort of behavior in dementia patients signals "a problem with motor planning, hand shaping or sensory motor integration."

Shae explained that dementia patients can struggle with "pre-shaping," which refers to the brain's process of preparing movements before we make them, such as when you reach for something to grab it. These struggles might result in a patient defaulting to the simplest grip possible, as Trump appeared to do.

Shae also suggested that this was a similar dynamic to what can be seen in some of Trump's public addresses, in which he struggles with properly pronouncing multi-syllabic words. In these instances, he instead tends to verbalize a "much simpler approximation of those words," while also leaning on simpler words as much as he can.

"Donald Trump is showing significant observable signs and symptoms of dementia, and he's got to go," Shae concluded.

Reprinted with permission from Alternet

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Trump Biographer: Angry Presidential Grifter Believes He 'Deserves' Billions

Trump Biographer: Angry Presidential Grifter Believes He 'Deserves' Billions

President Donald Trump's second term has come to be defined by a seemingly endless series of self-serving grifts, and according to his one-time biographer, there is a particular "demented" fantasy he is using to justify this bottomless greed.

Michael Wolff is a longtime reporter and author, best known for a series of books chronicling the behind-the-scenes chaos of Trump's first term, based on insider White House sources. During the latest episode of his Daily Beast podcast, "Inside Trump's Head," he and co-host Joanna Coles touched on the Trump administration's recent deal to allow a company partially owned by the president's sons, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, to mine tungsten, a key mineral for military projects, in Kazakhstan, with the project receiving up to $1.6 billion in federal funding.

“It’s an extraordinary story,” Wolff said about the deal. “The grift is the grift and the grift is there, but this is... just completely out in the open.”

Speaking further on the matter, Wolff delved into Trump's motivations for self-serving deals and grifts like this, revealing a personal revenge motive that underpins all of it.

“The really interesting thing is what Donald Trump thinks about this,“ Wolff explained. ”We tend to... see him as he’s completely cynical: ‘Just give me the money.’ I don’t think that’s exactly the case. I think it is that he — profoundly in his mind, in his head — believes he deserves this."

He continued, giving voice to Trump's mindset: “‘It’s a fair exchange. I’m Donald Trump, I’m the president of the United States. I should get something out of this.'"

According to financial disclosure documents obtained by the New York Times on Tuesday, Trump took in a "stunning windfall" of around $2.2 billion in 2025, up from just $622 million in 2024, prior to his return to the White House. The report further revealed that the revenue came from a United Arab Emirates-affiliated wealth fund that acquired a major stake in "the Trump family’s main crypto company, World Liberty Financial, a transaction that blurred the line between foreign policy and private enterprise." The Trump organization has also been "licensing the Trump name to properties in countries that are crucial to U.S. foreign policy interests, including Saudi Arabia and Qatar."

“It’s not just grift for him. It’s truly revenge — a revenge that he deserves, that he is due," Wolff added. “This is an important thing and a step beyond... certainly any kind of grift that I’m familiar with, even historical grift. It’s a much more elaborate psychology here in which he deserves it... This is all Donald Trump always against the establishment and the system, and ‘They’ve done me wrong, so I should be paid.’”

Reprinted with permission from Alternet


Newsom Says Trump Justice Department Put Him (And Wife!) On'Hit List'

Newsom Says Trump Justice Department Put Him (And Wife!) On'Hit List'

On Monday, California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, took to social media to reveal that he and his wife, Jennifer Siebel Newsom, were being investigated by Trump's Justice Department. Newsom accused the department of trying to fabricate a case that was not there, and said that this was happening not because of his viral tweets mocking the president, but because he is "considering running for President" in 2028.

"Today, my wife [and] I joined Donald Trump’s hit list," the tweet read. "He has directed his Department of Justice to investigate us. They have not found a crime - they are simply trying to find one. He isn't coming after me because of mean tweets, but because I am considering running for President. He hates that I consistently call him out. He is simply the most corrupt President in American history. We have nothing to hide. Mr. President, come after me. I am not going anywhere. The country is watching."

In an appearance on MS NOW later in the day, Carol Leonnig, a senior investigative correspondent for the network, revealed what she fellow reporter, Erum Salam, had found out about the story from sources, backing up Newsom's claims about the DOJ "trying to find" a case against him."First off, I want to say that we have from sources two really important nuggets," Leonnig said. "One is that the central district of California, the U.S. district attorney's office in the central district, has been pressing the line prosecutors to come up with a case against Gavin Newsom."

Sharing a clip from that broadcast to X, Izzy Gardon, Newsom's director of communications, highlighted the "come up with" phrasing, backing up the governor's claim about the administration trying to fabricate a case against him.

"However, a source tells us that the prosecutors and investigators that have been contacting Newsom are actually based out of Sacramento, in what's called the eastern district of California," Leonnig added. "And there was an investigation of a staffer of Gavin Newsom's that was based out of that office, or if not led by that office. And now we are hearing again from one source with some reliable information, that this is the office that Newsom is referring to, although he may not know it, that the investigators who have been contacting family and friends are based out of."

Reprinted with permission from Alternet

Court Documents Reveal Massive Public Cost Of Trump's UFC Birthday Bash

Court Documents Reveal Massive Public Cost Of Trump's UFC Birthday Bash

President Donald Trump will hold an Ultimate Fighting Championship fight card on the White House grounds to ring in his birthday this weekend, and as The Hill reported this week, newly released court documents have exposed the eye-watering price tag that the event has cost, so far.

Thanks in large part to Trump's friendship with UFC CEO and longtime political supporter Dana White, the UFC Freedom 250 show is set to take place at the White House on Sunday, June 14. The event, which has become a lightning rod for criticism and controversy, has necessitated the construction of a 5,000-seat venue, complete with a massive ring and lighting structure, amping up critiques about Trump's desecration of the White House.

The project has also racked up a hefty price tag, The Hill reported this week, based on court documents from a lawsuit brought against the National Parks Service by Virginia residents, aiming to halt the event altogether.

"Federal agencies and the UFC are spending at least $60 million to pull off the White House cage fight set to take place Sunday, which is President Trump’s birthday," The Hill detailed. "The funds have gone toward building an octagon fighting arena on the White House South Lawn, purchasing and delivering food and paying up to 900 workers to remain on-site since May 20 for the event’s success, according to court filings."

The UFC event has also required extensive help from numerous federal agencies.

"The Executive Office of the President, U.S. Secret Service, U.S. Park Police, Interior Department, National Park Service, Department of Homeland Security and Federal Aviation Administration are each involved in coordinating the event — part of the administration’s celebration of the nation’s 250th birthday," the report added.

“In preparation, well over $60 million and tens of thousands of hours of labor have been expended," the government explained in a recent court filing. "More than 4,000 spectators are expected to attend on the South Lawn, including more than 1,000 members of our armed services, and more than 120,000 visitors are expected to watch from the nearby Ellipse after winning free tickets in a lottery... Many of the event’s attendees will visit from outside the capital region, and have already invested personal resources in lodging, air transportation, and other arrangements... Fourteen world-class athletes, who have been training for months, have traveled from all over the world to compete (including for two world championships).”

TKO, parent company of the UFC and WWE, has claimed that it will be funding the Freedom 250 event at a loss, calling it a "once-in-a-lifetime stage as a strategic investment to drive subscriber acquisition at Paramount+," the streaming service operated by Trump ally, David Ellison.

Reprinted with permission from Alternet

'Washed-Up Has-Beens': Even MAGA Loyalists Are Torching Freedom 250 Show

'Washed-Up Has-Beens': Even MAGA Loyalists Are Torching Freedom 250 Show

The Trump-aligned Freedom 250 concert series has been a disaster weeks before it even started, and according to the hosts at The Bulwark, not even the president's staunchest MAGA allies were happy about the line-up of "washed up has-beens."

Last week, Freedom 250 announced a series of free concerts to take place in Washington D.C., around July 4th, as part of the festivities surrounding America's 250th anniversary. The initial line-up of nine acts was mocked and criticized as weak and lacking star power, while the artists themselves were attacked for agreeing to take part in an event directly tied to President Donald Trump. While America 250 is a non-partisan entity created by Congress to plan events for the anniversary, Freedom 250 is a competing entity launched by the Trump administration.

In the wake of this backlash, most of the nine acts have dropped out of the concert series, with many, like country star Martina McBride, claiming they were misled about the partisan affiliations of the event. As the event spirals, Trump has floated headlining the series himself, while other MAGA allies have taken to begging musicians to take part.

Not all of Trump's allies have been supportive of the Freedom 250 concerts, however. In a video shared Monday, Will Sommer of The Bulwark shared several reactions from notable MAGA media figureheads, ripping into the concert series and its implosion.

"What was interesting to me was that there was just a lot of talk about, like, 'man, we really cannot find anyone who wants to be associated artistically with the Trump administration," Sommer said.

He then highlighted an X post from far-right commentator Matt Walsh to illustrate his point.

"What a mess," Walsh wrote. "They invited a bunch of washed up has-beens, and now even the washed up has-beens are bailing on them. Yet another reason why the right wing 'get literally any famous person we can' approach is r——."

Sommer noted that Walsh later asserted that conservatives need to "retake the culture," even as his employer, The Daily Wire, is currently imploding after a costly attempt to become a mainstream film and television production house.

As of now, only rappers Vanilla Ice and Flo Rida, as well as individual members of Milli Vanilli and C+C Music Factory, are still committed to performing at the series. In the wake of these cancellations, Trump has also suggested that the concerts should be axed altogether.


James Talarico

Hispanic Voters Abandon MAGA, Threatening Trump And GOP In Midterm Elections

President Donald Trump might be celebrating for now, but according to a new report from The Hill, he could be cruising for his most embarrassing defeat of the 2026 midterms, all thanks to a key voting bloc that is ditching him en masse.

Earlier this week, Ken Paxton prevailed over incumbent John Cornyn in the GOP primary for his Texas Senate seat, marking another win for Trump's influence over the MAGA voting base, as it came shortly after he endorsed the state Attorney General in the race. This came after a string of similar incumbent losses where the president endorsed a primary challenger, but concerns are now mounting that Paxton's scandal-plagued background will sour voters in the general election and hand the seat to Democrats.

Given how deep-red Texas has been for decades, such a loss would surely mark one of the most embarrassing blunders for Trump and the GOP for the 2026 midterm cycle, and according to a Thursday report from The Hill, the race could be decided by one key group of voters. Unfortunately for the president, it is a group that has been ditching him consistently since they broke for him in an unprecedented way in 2024.

"[The] outcome of Paxton’s November matchup with Democratic Senate nominee James Talarico could hinge on Hispanic voters, who moved sharply toward Republicans during Trump’s 2024 campaign but have recently shown signs of drifting back toward Democrats in the polls," The Hill explained

It added later: "Recent national surveys have found Democrats regaining support among nonwhite and Hispanic voters, after Trump made significant gains with those voting blocs last cycle. A Pew Research Center survey released this month found Trump’s approval rating among Latinos who voted for him in 2024 down 27 points since the start of his second term — falling to 66 percent in April. The same survey found Trump’s overall approval among Latinos down 14 points — at 22 percent — fueling Democratic hopes they can regain ground with the critical voting bloc in the Lone Star State."

“The Latino vote is the biggest swing vote in Texas, so whoever wins them in big numbers is going to be victorious,” Brandon Rottinghaus, a University of Houston political science professor, told the outlet.

A Wednesday report from Axios also affirmed the continuing trend of "buyer's remorse" among Latinos who voted for Trump in the last presidential election. Citing the latest findings from the firm, UniDos, the outlet reported that 25 percent of Latino voters said that they would not vote for him again if they could. This, the outlet argued, shows that the demographic remains "highly movable," signaling major troubles for "Republicans in Latino-heavy battleground districts where both parties are watching for signs of a post-2024 snapback."

"The erosion of Latino support for President Trump, combined with dissatisfaction with the economy, signals danger for competitive GOP-held seats in the 2026 midterm elections," Axios explained.

Reprinted with permission from Alternet