17 stories credited to Newsbusters
Latest story Apr 22, 2026 · on ChamberLight since Apr 2026
A story can appear as several articles (copies of the same piece), so counts of stories and of articles differ.
Scores for Newsbusters
Political lean
17 stories · 95% range 86–92 · updated Sep 25, 2026
Originality
17 stories · updated Sep 24, 2026
Writing quality 61 of 100: the average rating of 11 stories, each rated on its own (separate from credibility). How it is measured
Scores last checked Sep 25, 2026.
Stories ChamberLight collected, by month
Stories credited to Newsbusters, by publication date. ChamberLight collects articles that mention the officials it tracks, so this shows its own coverage of this source, not how much the source publishes.
- Stories from Newsbusters
- Shaded: ChamberLight collected no stories, or almost none, from any outlet (a gap in its collection, not in the outlet’s publishing)
Show as a table
| Month | Stories | All outlets |
|---|---|---|
| February 2026 | 1 | 88 (collection gap) |
| March 2026 | 7 | 1,094 |
| April 2026 | 9 | 4,538 |
| May 2026 | 0 | none collected |
| June 2026 | 0 | none collected |
| July 2026 | 0 | none collected |
| August 2026 | 0 | 1 (collection gap) |
| September 2026 | 0 | 1,320 |
Top topics
Share of this source’s stories tagged with each topic. A story can carry several topics, so the shares do not add up to 100%.
- Ethics/Corruption16
94% of 17 stories · 58% across all outlets
- Foreign Policy11
65% of 17 stories · 29% across all outlets
- Defense/Military8
47% of 17 stories · 25% across all outlets
- Criminal Justice5
29% of 17 stories · 19% across all outlets
- Voting Rights3
18% of 17 stories · 19% across all outlets
- Budget/Spending2
12% of 17 stories · 31% across all outlets
- Economy1
6% of 17 stories · 26% across all outlets
- Healthcare1
6% of 17 stories · 8% across all outlets
The thin mark on each bar is the topic’s share across all outlets.
Who they cover
Party of the officials these stories are mainly about, across all 19 officials named. A story counts once for each official it is mainly about, so the split is over 33 story–official pairs, from 17 stories.
- Republican70% · 23 pairs
- Democrat27% · 9 pairs
- Party not recorded3% · 1 pair
Most covered
Stories mainly about each official, and their share of the source’s 17 stories.
- 1Donald TrumpR8 stories · 47%
- 2Andrew OglesR2 stories · 12%
- 3Charles SchumerD2 stories · 12%
- 4Christopher MurphyD2 stories · 12%
- 5J. VanceR2 stories · 12%
- 6Markwayne MullinR2 stories · 12%
- 7Mike JohnsonR2 stories · 12%
- 8Tommy TubervilleR2 stories · 12%
- 9Becca BalintD1 story · 6%
- 10Bryan SteilR1 story · 6%
+ 9 other officials (9 story–official pairs)
Article tone
ChamberLight’s article analysis assigns each story a tone toward the official it covers. It describes the coverage of that official, not Newsbusters’s stance, and reader votes do not change it. 17 stories.
- Good Look
- 2 (12%)
- Mixed
- 12 (71%)
- Informational
- 0 (0%)
- Bad Look
- 3 (18%)
Related sources
Lean 95% range 84–95 · updated Sep 25, 2026
Similar lean · 3 shared topics
Lean 95% range 86–90 · updated Sep 25, 2026
Similar lean · 3 shared topics
Lean 95% range 84–90 · updated Sep 25, 2026
Similar lean · 3 shared topics
Lean 95% range 92–93 · updated Sep 25, 2026
Similar lean · 3 shared topics
Lean 95% range 82–89 · updated Sep 25, 2026
Similar lean · 3 shared topics
Lean 95% range 80–88 · updated Sep 25, 2026
Similar lean · 3 shared topics
Challenges to these scores
No one has challenged a score on this page yet. Anyone can; editors publish every outcome here.
Articles served from newsbusters.org
33
Sen. Lee Mocks Sen. Schumer’s Defense of SPLC, Attack on DOJ Following Indictment
Sen. Lee Mocks Sen. Schumer’s Defense of SPLC, Attack on DOJ Following Indictment Republican Utah Senator Mike Lee shot back at Senator Chuck Schumer Wednesday after the New York Democrat defended the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) after the supposed anti-hate group was indicted regarding its funding of radical, supremacist groups like the Ku Klux Klan. Instead of condemning the use of money donated to stop hate to, instead, actually fund groups that foment hate, Schumer used a post on X.com to vilify the U.S. Justice Department (DOJ) and claim that SPLC is a victim: “The Trump administration is waging a vindictive campaign against the organizations that safeguard our democracy. Weaponizing the DOJ to indict long-standing watchdogs is a message: if you defend voting rights, fight white supremacy, or protect civil rights, you’re next…” “Committing wire fraud to send money to the KKK is an odd way to safeguard democracy, Senator,” Sen. Lee replied to Schumer’s post. “America suffered from a deficit of hatred, so the SPLC supplied some—all the while smearing normal conservatives and Christians,” Sen. Lee wrote on Tuesday, reacting to a DOJ announcement of the indictment. “Our indictment alleges SPLC secretly funneled MORE THAN $3 MILLION in funds to members of white supremacist and extremist groups,” the DOJ post explains. Schumer’s post was in response to a X.com post by The New York Times: “Breaking News: The Justice Department charged the Southern Poverty Law Center, a civil rights group, with financial crimes, accusing the organization of fraud.” As CNSNews reported on Tuesday, the indictment alleges that the SPLC secretly funneled more than $3 million in donated funds to individuals who were associated with various violent extremist groups including the Ku Klux Klan, Aryan Nations, and National Socialist Party of America (American Nazi Party). Charges in the 11-count grand jury indictment include wire fraud, false statements to a federally insured bank and conspiracy to commit concealment money laundering. According to the indictment, the objective of the SPLC scheme and artifice was to obtain money via donations through materially false representations and omissions about what the donated funds would be used for. In order to covertly pay the individuals, the SPLC allegedly opened bank accounts connected to a series of fictitious entities. SPLC “stands accused of manufacturing and creating the very extremism it purports to oppose. Instead of dismantling extremism, @splcenter was funding it,” U.S. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche explained in a post Tuesday. Craig Bannister Wed, 04/22/2026 - 15:32 Marketing Timing Breaking Search Engine Title Sen. Mike Lee Criticizes Schumer for Defending Indicted SPLC Over DOJ Charges CNS Commentary Off
Sen. Lee Mocks Sen. Schumer’s Defense of SPLC, Attack on DOJ Following Indictment
Sen. Lee Mocks Sen. Schumer’s Defense of SPLC, Attack on DOJ Following Indictment Republican Utah Senator Mike Lee shot back at Senator Chuck Schumer Wednesday after the New York Democrat defended the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) after the supposed anti-hate group was indicted regarding its funding of radical, supremacist groups like the Ku Klux Klan. Instead of condemning the use of money donated to stop hate to, instead, actually fund groups that foment hate, Schumer used a post on X.com to vilify the U.S. Justice Department (DOJ) and claim that SPLC is a victim: “The Trump administration is waging a vindictive campaign against the organizations that safeguard our democracy. Weaponizing the DOJ to indict long-standing watchdogs is a message: if you defend voting rights, fight white supremacy, or protect civil rights, you’re next…” “Committing wire fraud to send money to the KKK is an odd way to safeguard democracy, Senator,” Sen. Lee replied to Schumer’s post. “America suffered from a deficit of hatred, so the SPLC supplied some—all the while smearing normal conservatives and Christians,” Sen. Lee wrote on Tuesday, reacting to a DOJ announcement of the indictment. “Our indictment alleges SPLC secretly funneled MORE THAN $3 MILLION in funds to members of white supremacist and extremist groups,” the DOJ post explains. Schumer’s post was in response to a X.com post by The New York Times: “Breaking News: The Justice Department charged the Southern Poverty Law Center, a civil rights group, with financial crimes, accusing the organization of fraud.” As CNSNews reported on Tuesday, the indictment alleges that the SPLC secretly funneled more than $3 million in donated funds to individuals who were associated with various violent extremist groups including the Ku Klux Klan, Aryan Nations, and National Socialist Party of America (American Nazi Party). Charges in the 11-count grand jury indictment include wire fraud, false statements to a federally insured bank and conspiracy to commit concealment money laundering. According to the indictment, the objective of the SPLC scheme and artifice was to obtain money via donations through materially false representations and omissions about what the donated funds would be used for. In order to covertly pay the individuals, the SPLC allegedly opened bank accounts connected to a series of fictitious entities. SPLC “stands accused of manufacturing and creating the very extremism it purports to oppose. Instead of dismantling extremism, @splcenter was funding it,” U.S. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche explained in a post Tuesday. Craig Bannister Wed, 04/22/2026 - 15:32 Marketing Timing Breaking Search Engine Title Sen. Mike Lee Criticizes Schumer for Defending Indicted SPLC Over DOJ Charges CNS Commentary Off
CNN Appreciates Warnock Calling Pope Criticism 'How Fascists Talk'
For CNN This Morning guest host Erica Hill, the Trump administration’s argument with Pope Leo over the Iran War provided her an opportunity to hype the idea that true religion is liberal and the “moral courage” the country needs. To help her make that point, Hill brought on Episcopal Bishop Mariann Budde—best known for turning the Inaugural Prayer Service into Liberal Culture War Hour—and hyped Sen. Raphael Warnock suggesting that pleas that Leo not confuse his political opinions with God’s are “how fascists talk.” Hill wondered, “Could this actually be helping in this moment to elevate the pope's message? Because it is prompting more of a discussion about what the pope is, in fact, talking about?” Budde agreed, “Right. And he's consistent. Utterly consistent in his message of peace, focusing on the suffering and the marginalized, calling for respect and dignity in human discourse. And I think it's really important to note his concern that we all have, quite frankly, of the misappropriation of religious symbolism to justify bellicosity and war and the—and the uncontrolled use of political and military power. And we all have huge concerns about this. And frankly, it's nothing new with this administration.” Popes simply do not endorse military action anymore. Even Pope Francis got himself in trouble several times with the Ukrainians, who are fighting a purely defensive war, if ever there was one. If CNN wants to make an argument against the war, it is going to need to do better than appealing to a pacifist. CNN's Erica Hill tells Mariann Budde (you remember her, the Episcopal bishop that turned the Inaugural Prayer Service into a liberal culture war session) "[Sen. Raphael Warnock "was reacting specifically to some comments from JD Vance, but there's part of this that I think you'll… pic.twitter.com/WBwdZCtUbf — Alex Christy (@alexchristy17) April 15, 2026 As it was, Hill moved on and teed up a clip for the liberal bishop of a liberal pastor on MS NOW’s The Briefing with Jen Psaki, “I thought it was interesting, some of the comments that we heard from Georgia Senator Raphael Warnock, who is, of course, also a pastor at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta. He was reacting specifically to some comments from JD Vance, but there's part of this that I think you'll appreciate as well. Take a listen.” The context for the clip was Vice President JD Vance claiming the pope needs “to be careful when he talks about matters of theology.” Psaki didn’t play the part where Vance also questioned Leo’s remarks about God not choosing sides in wars by asking if God was on America’s side when the U.S. liberated France from the Nazis and the concentration camps and answering that he thought He was. In the video, Warnock claimed that “This is how despots and wannabe despots talk. This is how fascists talk. They tell the people who are faith leaders to stay in their lane…There couldn't be a better time for leaders of faith, for people of moral courage to hold power accountable. If they don't want to be held accountable, if they don't want to hear truth being spoken to power, that's just too bad.” Hill then alluded to Budde’s inauguration remarks when she asked, “Senator Warnock touching there on the pressure the administration seems to be placing on faith leaders to fall in line. I know you've dealt with some of that firsthand. But he also spoke about moral courage. In this moment, where do you see moral courage right now?” Budde concurred in the idea that moral courage is in criticizing Trump, “Where do I see moral courage? Well, I see it everywhere, Erica. I see it certainly in the—in the stance that the pope has taken. I see it in people across this country and around the world who are—who are insisting that there is a better narrative and a better way forward for us as a country. I see it in all manner of endeavors to try and rein in a government right now, our government, that has—that is being led by people with absolutely no accountability and the larger and larger platform with which to wreak considerable damage.” She also claimed, “And so, moral courage, we are seeing rise up across every spectrum of our country. And I think as the—as Raphael Warnock said so well, this is what moral courage looks like. It isn't remaining silent. It's not staying in some self-prescribed safe lane. It is looking at the issues that harm or protect human thriving, which is not about protecting one religion against another, but making sure that all of God's children can live with some modicum of peace and well-being.” Warnock and Budde both believe things about abortion, same-sex marriage, and transgender ideology that Pope Leo would oppose, which shows the logical absurdities of Hill and Psaki’s segments. If Leo is speaking truth to power to Trump on Iran, will he be speaking truth to power to them when this war ends and the news cycle shifts back to something else or will they all of a sudden claim the subject is too nuanced for papal commentary? Certainly not, but that won’t stop them from currently using Leo to score points against Trump. Here is a transcript for the April 15 show: CNN This Morning 4/15/2026 6:52 AM ET ERICA HILL: You—to that point about not focusing on the personalities, could this actually be helping in this moment to elevate the pope's message? Because it is prompting more of a discussion about what the pope is, in fact, talking about? MARIANN BUDDE: Right. And he's consistent. HILL: Yes. BUDDE: Utterly consistent in his message of peace, focusing on the suffering and the marginalized, calling for respect and dignity in human discourse. And I think it's really important to note his concern that we all have, quite frankly, of the misappropriation of religious symbolism to justify bellicosity and war and the—and the uncontrolled use of political and military power. And we all have huge concerns about this. And frankly, it's nothing new with this administration. HILL: I thought it was interesting, some of the comments that we heard from Georgia Senator Raphael Warnock, who is, of course, also a pastor at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta. He was reacting specifically to some comments from JD Vance, but there's part of this that I think you'll appreciate as well. Take a listen. RAPHAEL WARNOCK: This is how despots and wannabe despots talk. This is how fascists talk. They tell the people who are faith leaders to stay in their lane. [jump cut] There couldn't be a better time for leaders of faith, for people of moral courage to hold power accountable. If they don't want to be held accountable, if they don't want to hear truth being spoken to power, that's just too bad. HILL: Senator Warnock touching there on the pressure the administration seems to be placing on faith leaders to fall in line. I know you've dealt with some of that firsthand. But he also spoke about moral courage. In this moment, where do you see moral courage right now? BUDDE: Where do I see moral courage? Well, I see it everywhere, Erica. I see it certainly in the—in the stance that the pope has taken. I see it in people across this country and around the world who are—who are insisting that there is a better narrative and a better way forward for us as a country. I see it in all manner of endeavors to try and rein in a government right now, our government, that has—that is being led by people with absolutely no accountability and the larger and larger platform with which to wreak considerable damage. And so, moral courage, we are seeing rise up across every spectrum of our country. And I think as the—as Raphael Warnock said so well, this is what moral courage looks like. It isn't remaining silent. It's not staying in some self-prescribed safe lane. It is looking at the issues that harm or protect human thriving, which is not about protecting one religion against another, but making sure that all of God's children can live with some modicum of peace and well-being.
CNN Appreciates Warnock Calling Pope Criticism 'How Fascists Talk'
For CNN This Morning guest host Erica Hill, the Trump administration’s argument with Pope Leo over the Iran War provided her an opportunity to hype the idea that true religion is liberal and the “moral courage” the country needs. To help her make that point, Hill brought on Episcopal Bishop Mariann Budde—best known for turning the Inaugural Prayer Service into Liberal Culture War Hour—and hyped Sen. Raphael Warnock suggesting that pleas that Leo not confuse his political opinions with God’s are “how fascists talk.” Hill wondered, “Could this actually be helping in this moment to elevate the pope's message? Because it is prompting more of a discussion about what the pope is, in fact, talking about?” Budde agreed, “Right. And he's consistent. Utterly consistent in his message of peace, focusing on the suffering and the marginalized, calling for respect and dignity in human discourse. And I think it's really important to note his concern that we all have, quite frankly, of the misappropriation of religious symbolism to justify bellicosity and war and the—and the uncontrolled use of political and military power. And we all have huge concerns about this. And frankly, it's nothing new with this administration.” Popes simply do not endorse military action anymore. Even Pope Francis got himself in trouble several times with the Ukrainians, who are fighting a purely defensive war, if ever there was one. If CNN wants to make an argument against the war, it is going to need to do better than appealing to a pacifist. CNN's Erica Hill tells Mariann Budde (you remember her, the Episcopal bishop that turned the Inaugural Prayer Service into a liberal culture war session) "[Sen. Raphael Warnock "was reacting specifically to some comments from JD Vance, but there's part of this that I think you'll… pic.twitter.com/WBwdZCtUbf — Alex Christy (@alexchristy17) April 15, 2026 As it was, Hill moved on and teed up a clip for the liberal bishop of a liberal pastor on MS NOW’s The Briefing with Jen Psaki, “I thought it was interesting, some of the comments that we heard from Georgia Senator Raphael Warnock, who is, of course, also a pastor at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta. He was reacting specifically to some comments from JD Vance, but there's part of this that I think you'll appreciate as well. Take a listen.” The context for the clip was Vice President JD Vance claiming the pope needs “to be careful when he talks about matters of theology.” Psaki didn’t play the part where Vance also questioned Leo’s remarks about God not choosing sides in wars by asking if God was on America’s side when the U.S. liberated France from the Nazis and the concentration camps and answering that he thought He was. In the video, Warnock claimed that “This is how despots and wannabe despots talk. This is how fascists talk. They tell the people who are faith leaders to stay in their lane…There couldn't be a better time for leaders of faith, for people of moral courage to hold power accountable. If they don't want to be held accountable, if they don't want to hear truth being spoken to power, that's just too bad.” Hill then alluded to Budde’s inauguration remarks when she asked, “Senator Warnock touching there on the pressure the administration seems to be placing on faith leaders to fall in line. I know you've dealt with some of that firsthand. But he also spoke about moral courage. In this moment, where do you see moral courage right now?” Budde concurred in the idea that moral courage is in criticizing Trump, “Where do I see moral courage? Well, I see it everywhere, Erica. I see it certainly in the—in the stance that the pope has taken. I see it in people across this country and around the world who are—who are insisting that there is a better narrative and a better way forward for us as a country. I see it in all manner of endeavors to try and rein in a government right now, our government, that has—that is being led by people with absolutely no accountability and the larger and larger platform with which to wreak considerable damage.” She also claimed, “And so, moral courage, we are seeing rise up across every spectrum of our country. And I think as the—as Raphael Warnock said so well, this is what moral courage looks like. It isn't remaining silent. It's not staying in some self-prescribed safe lane. It is looking at the issues that harm or protect human thriving, which is not about protecting one religion against another, but making sure that all of God's children can live with some modicum of peace and well-being.” Warnock and Budde both believe things about abortion, same-sex marriage, and transgender ideology that Pope Leo would oppose, which shows the logical absurdities of Hill and Psaki’s segments. If Leo is speaking truth to power to Trump on Iran, will he be speaking truth to power to them when this war ends and the news cycle shifts back to something else or will they all of a sudden claim the subject is too nuanced for papal commentary? Certainly not, but that won’t stop them from currently using Leo to score points against Trump. Here is a transcript for the April 15 show: CNN This Morning 4/15/2026 6:52 AM ET ERICA HILL: You—to that point about not focusing on the personalities, could this actually be helping in this moment to elevate the pope's message? Because it is prompting more of a discussion about what the pope is, in fact, talking about? MARIANN BUDDE: Right. And he's consistent. HILL: Yes. BUDDE: Utterly consistent in his message of peace, focusing on the suffering and the marginalized, calling for respect and dignity in human discourse. And I think it's really important to note his concern that we all have, quite frankly, of the misappropriation of religious symbolism to justify bellicosity and war and the—and the uncontrolled use of political and military power. And we all have huge concerns about this. And frankly, it's nothing new with this administration. HILL: I thought it was interesting, some of the comments that we heard from Georgia Senator Raphael Warnock, who is, of course, also a pastor at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta. He was reacting specifically to some comments from JD Vance, but there's part of this that I think you'll appreciate as well. Take a listen. RAPHAEL WARNOCK: This is how despots and wannabe despots talk. This is how fascists talk. They tell the people who are faith leaders to stay in their lane. [jump cut] There couldn't be a better time for leaders of faith, for people of moral courage to hold power accountable. If they don't want to be held accountable, if they don't want to hear truth being spoken to power, that's just too bad. HILL: Senator Warnock touching there on the pressure the administration seems to be placing on faith leaders to fall in line. I know you've dealt with some of that firsthand. But he also spoke about moral courage. In this moment, where do you see moral courage right now? BUDDE: Where do I see moral courage? Well, I see it everywhere, Erica. I see it certainly in the—in the stance that the pope has taken. I see it in people across this country and around the world who are—who are insisting that there is a better narrative and a better way forward for us as a country. I see it in all manner of endeavors to try and rein in a government right now, our government, that has—that is being led by people with absolutely no accountability and the larger and larger platform with which to wreak considerable damage. And so, moral courage, we are seeing rise up across every spectrum of our country. And I think as the—as Raphael Warnock said so well, this is what moral courage looks like. It isn't remaining silent. It's not staying in some self-prescribed safe lane. It is looking at the issues that harm or protect human thriving, which is not about protecting one religion against another, but making sure that all of God's children can live with some modicum of peace and well-being.
O’Donnell: Trump's Childlike Iran View and Blockade Prove Insanity
O’Donnell: Trump's Childlike Iran View and Blockade Prove Insanity At the start of a new week for the - definitely not insane - Lawrence O’Donnell of MS NOW, the host of The Last Word spent another monologue against the War in Iran. The host used most of the allotted monologue time, which lasted about 15 minutes, with reference to President Trump as “mentally ill” and clearly “insane.” He also, somewhat bizarrely, claimed Trump lied and was childlike when he said Iran would want to “exterminate the world” if they had nuclear weapons. After he once again accused Barron Trump of a felony, O’Donnell, as many others in the media did yesterday, kept his focus on comments in a Truth Social post about Pope Leo, who increased his messages against the Trump administration. Late Monday Night, Lawrence O'Donnell called Trump's rhetoric that warns an Iran with nuclear weapons would want to "exterminate the world" a "demented lie." He also called it an example of Trump's "childlike understanding of nuclear weapons" and his "depraved stupidity." pic.twitter.com/1gnpAofL1v — Nick (@nspin310) April 14, 2026 But in his attacks, he took issue with the President’s rhetoric in warning of an Iranian regime with nuclear weapons, as he called it a lie and “childlike”: Donald Trump also told the demented lie, in attacking the pope, that Iran wants to, quote, “exterminate the world.” Now, think of the level of depraved stupidity involved in that statement. Iran wants nuclear weapons, quote, “so they can exterminate the world,” end quote. That is Donald Trump's childlike understanding of nuclear weapons that has apparently not become even slightly more informed as a result of becoming president and being in control of nuclear weapons himself. The “depraved stupidity” and “childlike understanding: of nuclear weapons?” But, of course, the country that chanted Death to America in its parliament would never use them against America or our interests around the world. And an Iranian attack against America or somebody else with nuclear weapons would not turn into a worldwide war that could threaten global life? Of all the things to take issue with in Trump’s latest posts, this was the one that O’Donnell went after? Did he believe Iran would use nuclear weapons for peaceful purposes? In a continuation of his 15-minute rant, the MS NOW host turned to call Trump insane as he quoted from a The New York Times article by Peter Baker, who said Trump’s “erratic behavior” has revived a “mental health debate.” The main point O’Donnell portrayed from the article pertained to former Chief of Staff John Kelly’s call of Trump as “mentally ill.” After a long reading of Baker’s article, O’Donnell shifted to call the naval blockade related to the Straight of Hormuz as more proof of Trump’s insanity: But if you are asking for more proof that Donald Trump is insane, there is his latest military announcement about the war he started with Iran without being able to explain why he started that war. Donald Trump has announced that the United States Navy will now blockade the Strait of Hormuz. @nspin310 He then called the new US Naval Blockade of Iran "the single most foolish strategic shift in the history of American warfare” and asked if the move is “anything other than outright screaming insanity.” pic.twitter.com/q9rGzmlEPU — Nick (@nspin310) April 14, 2026 He called the blockade “the single most foolish strategic shift in the history of American warfare” and then asked if the move is “anything other than outright screaming insanity.” Maybe unknowingly to O’Donnell, the move has been suggested by some anti-Trump analysts, which include former advisor John Bolton and Morning Joe panelist Richard Haass, as a way to pressure Iran into a deal. To close his rambling monologue, O’Donnell praised the Obama nuclear deal as the “greatest diplomatic achievement of our lifetimes” as he said Trump’s appearance at UFC in Miami, proves he’s mentally ill: In another sign that Donald Trump is mentally ill, he was at an ultimate fighting festival in Miami because Donald Trump doesn't even know how to fake being presidential in time of war or ever. And Donald Trump doesn't know how to fake, at least appearing, to be sane. O’Donnell’s constant monologues during the Iran conflict continued to reach different heights, as his questions about Trump’s sanity and the new seeming defense of Iran brought questions about his own sanity. As the graphics behind him last week read, “He has gone insane,” along with “he’s out of control.” The transcript is below. Click "expand": MS NOW’s The Last Word w/ Lawrence O’Donnell April 13, 2026 10:11:09 PM Eastern (...) LAWRENCE O’DONNELL: Donald Trump also told the demented lie, in attacking the pope, that Iran wants to, quote, “exterminate the world.” Now, think of the level of depraved stupidity involved in that statement. Iran wants nuclear weapons, quote, “so they can exterminate the world,” end quote. That is Donald Trump's childlike understanding of nuclear weapons that has apparently not become even slightly more informed as a result of becoming president and being in control of nuclear weapons himself. (...) 10:12:25 PM Eastern O’DONNELL: And not one of those Republican Catholics in the House or the Senate had the courage to say, today, “I agree with the pope,” not one of them. Donald Trump's longest-serving White House chief of staff, former Marine Corps general John Kelly, according to a report in the New York Times today, concluded that Donald Trump was mentally ill. John Kelly reached that conclusion, possibly after learning about a book on this program that we featured repeatedly on this program, coauthored by mental health professionals called "The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump.” The Times reports today, quote, “John F Kelly, his longest serving white house chief of staff in the first term, even bought a book by 27 of those specialists called The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump, in an effort to understand his boss, and came to the conclusion that he was mentally ill.” And that is not a six-inch headline in newspapers around the country and around the world tonight, Donald Trump was mentally ill, says chief of staff. Imagine if an Obama White House chief of staff, a Biden White House chief of staff, a Bush White House chief of staff, any any white house chief of staff had ever said that the president and the white house they served in was mentally ill. If that was said at any point in time during or after a presidency, it would be huge news. But now it's buried inside a longer New York Times article under the headline Trump's erratic behavior and extreme comments revive mental health debate. The article shows a photograph of Donald Trump with a couple of his favorite people, Tucker Carlson, and then Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene in 2022. Just having the time of their lives. And now Donald Trump says both of those dear friends are, as he puts it, “low IQ.” Donald Trump says, quote, “they're nut jobs, troublemakers, and will say anything necessary for some free and cheap publicity.” And Donald Trump says that about them because they oppose his war in Iran. Donald Trump's flip against those former friends is now counted in The New York Times today as one of the indicators of Donald Trump's, quote, “erratic behavior.” The Times quotes Donald Trump's threat to Iran last week, saying a whole civilization will die tonight, a threat that is in and of itself, a war crime. And The Times turns to Ty Cobb, who was a white house lawyer in Donald Trump's first term, to quote him, telling Jim Acosta that Donald Trump is, quote, “a man who is clearly insane.” And that is from Donald Trump's former friend and lawyer. In The Times' assessment of Donald Trump's apparent cognitive decline, Democratic Senate Leader Chuck Schumer is quoted calling Donald Trump an “extremely sick person and unhinged.” And Democratic Congressman Jamie Raskin's letter to the White House physician requesting an evaluation of Donald Trump is quoted, “noting signs consistent with Dementia and cognitive decline, and increasingly incoherent, volatile, profane, deranged, and threatening tantrums.” (...) 10:18:01 PM Eastern O’DONNELL: But if you are asking for more proof that Donald Trump is insane, there is his latest military announcement about the war he started with Iran without being able to explain why he started that war. Donald Trump has announced that the United States Navy will now blockade the Strait of Hormuz. Now, recall that the day before Donald Trump's war began, the Strait of Hormuz was wide open to shipping of all kinds, and it has been during every other war in the Middle East. It was only because Donald Trump started a war against Iran that Iran decided on the strategy of closing the Strait of Hormuz. And then, in the single most foolish strategic shift in the history of American warfare, Donald Trump's immediate goal in the war he started was then opening the Strait of Hormuz, which was open before he started his war. And having failed completely to open the Strait of Hormuz, Donald Trump's next strategy was to say, I, Donald Trump, will close the Strait of Hormuz, will block the Strait of Hormuz. So, Iran blocked the Strait of Hormuz. Donald Trump wants them to open it. They won't open it. So Donald Trump says, “I will block it.” Is that anything other than outright screaming insanity? Centcom had to correct Donald Trump's public declaration about his intention of blocking the Strait by - to say - Centcom’s correction was to say that the United States Navy was going to not blockade the Strait of Hormuz, but blockade or try to blockade ships entering and exiting Iranian ports. If anything, not even clear that they're going to do that. (...) 10:21:47 PM Eastern And we got here because Donald Trump, in his first term, when his White House chief of staff thought he was mentally ill, tore up the greatest diplomatic achievement of our lifetimes. The deal, negotiated by Secretary of State John Kerry and President Obama, in which Iran agreed not to develop nuclear weapons. And this weekend, not surprisingly, Donald Trump's Vice President failed to reach an agreement with Iran on anything. It would have been considered a huge victory for JD Vance to achieve even half of what John Kerry and our next guest, Undersecretary of State Wendy Sherman, achieved in their negotiations with Iran. And where was Donald Trump during the crucial moments of this weekend's negotiations with Iran? In another sign that Donald Trump is mentally ill, he was at an ultimate fighting festival in Miami because Donald Trump doesn't even know how to fake being presidential in time of war or ever. And Donald Trump doesn't know how to fake, at least appearing, to be sane. (...) Nicholas Spinnato Tue, 04/14/2026 - 20:00 Marketing Timing Regular Search Engine Title Lawrence O’Donnell Slams Trump Iran Policy as Insane and Dangerous Move CNS Commentary Off
Whose Side Is MS NOW On? Iran War's 'Illegal,' Iran's 'Very Deep Bench,' Trump Must Go
Watching the left wing media present their version of what's going on in our war with Iran can truly make you wonder whose side they are on, with completely one-sided reports, show segments, and entire shows. They do nothing but level accusations against President Trump, and question his rationalization for going after Iran, while letting our enemy skate. On MS NOW's The Weekend: Primetime on Sunday, they championed the notion that Trump's war was "illegal." Co-host Antonia Hylton got things started with a question to Rutgers Law Professor Adil Haque. HYLTON: With this announcement from President Trump to blockade the Strait of Hormuz, that Iran has essentially already been blockading, it sort of seems to me like an announcement to cut off your nose to spite your face. But I also have questions about the legality of all this. HAQUE: So a blockade is presumptively an act of aggression. It's illegal under international law, unless it's authorized by the security council or an act of self-defense. Here, the entire U.S--Israeli military campaign against Iran is already a violation of the U.N. Charter. So we should really look at this as just the latest phase of a larger war of aggression. So unfortunately, it's illegal from start to finish. Co-host Ayman Mohyeldin then asked former Democrat Congressman Max Rose about what he called Trump's erratic messaging, and he wasn't disappointed. ROSE: That's schizophrenic. Since the onset of this unconstitutional, reckless war, we've seen the operational excellence of the United States military juxtaposed with just the abject strategic incompetence of this administration.... Open the Strait of Hormuz tomorrow. We will close it tomorrow. End all your nuclear programs. We're fine with the nuclear programs. An obvious exaggeration, but tame in comparison to the other claims being made. Next Hylton revealed to the lead negotiator on the 2015 Iran nuclear deal (JCPOA), Robert Malley, that she was impressed with the Iranian delegation sent to the talks, our enemies, especially when compared with the U.S. delegation. HYLTON: How did you read the sort of entrance the the teams that both sides sent here? So you have JD Vance, Steve Witkoff, Jared Kushner leading on one side, and then it appeared that the Iranians arrived with a very deep bench. MALLEY: I think that the Iranians did come in force. I think I would want to give some credit to the U.S. side. Having Vice President Vance there, I think was also a sign of seriousness, but I don't think it was either who was at the table or how long they spoke...And again, I don't know what the Iran position was, but based on what we're seeing from the U.S. position, they need to give more than they've given so far. No surprise. Before welcoming in Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), a clip of President Trump, who had appeared earlier Sunday on Fox Business's Sunday Morning Futures was played. TRUMP CLIP: I could take out Iran in one day. I could take out in 1 hour. I could have their entire energy, everything, every one of their plants, their electric generating plants, which is a big deal. And I hate to do it because if I do it, it takes you ten years to rebuild. They'll never be able to rebuild it. MOHYELDIN: Your reaction to the President of the United States openly threatening war crimes? JAYAPAL: It's absolutely terrifying. It is illegal. It is a war crime. He's talking about, just like he did in his tweet before, exterminating an entire civilization.... I don't know what to say about the increasing level of threats because really, there are no words for this guy who is sitting in the White House with his finger on the ability to move that kind of military and is not seeing any pushback from Republicans. MOHYELDIN: Do you support using the 25th Amendment? JAYAPAL: Oh, absolutely. I said that a week ago that we should invoke the 25th Amendment....I have taken the position that we need to do whatever we can to get him out, impeach him, invoke the 25th Amendment, push for him to resign, whatever it is, because this is so grave of a situation. MS NOW exists to channel the left-wing lust to remove Trump from office immediately. There's virtually no discussion of what our enemy has done in the 47 years leading up to the war, or the multiple war crimes they have committed since. Simply disgraceful.
Whose Side Is MS NOW On? Iran War's 'Illegal,' Iran's 'Very Deep Bench,' Trump Must Go
Watching the left wing media present their version of what's going on in our war with Iran can truly make you wonder whose side they are on, with completely one-sided reports, show segments, and entire shows. They do nothing but level accusations against President Trump, and question his rationalization for going after Iran, while letting our enemy skate. On MS NOW's The Weekend: Primetime on Sunday, they championed the notion that Trump's war was "illegal." Co-host Antonia Hylton got things started with a question to Rutgers Law Professor Adil Haque. HYLTON: With this announcement from President Trump to blockade the Strait of Hormuz, that Iran has essentially already been blockading, it sort of seems to me like an announcement to cut off your nose to spite your face. But I also have questions about the legality of all this. HAQUE: So a blockade is presumptively an act of aggression. It's illegal under international law, unless it's authorized by the security council or an act of self-defense. Here, the entire U.S--Israeli military campaign against Iran is already a violation of the U.N. Charter. So we should really look at this as just the latest phase of a larger war of aggression. So unfortunately, it's illegal from start to finish. Co-host Ayman Mohyeldin then asked former Democrat Congressman Max Rose about what he called Trump's erratic messaging, and he wasn't disappointed. ROSE: That's schizophrenic. Since the onset of this unconstitutional, reckless war, we've seen the operational excellence of the United States military juxtaposed with just the abject strategic incompetence of this administration.... Open the Strait of Hormuz tomorrow. We will close it tomorrow. End all your nuclear programs. We're fine with the nuclear programs. An obvious exaggeration, but tame in comparison to the other claims being made. Next Hylton revealed to the lead negotiator on the 2015 Iran nuclear deal (JCPOA), Robert Malley, that she was impressed with the Iranian delegation sent to the talks, our enemies, especially when compared with the U.S. delegation. HYLTON: How did you read the sort of entrance the the teams that both sides sent here? So you have JD Vance, Steve Witkoff, Jared Kushner leading on one side, and then it appeared that the Iranians arrived with a very deep bench. MALLEY: I think that the Iranians did come in force. I think I would want to give some credit to the U.S. side. Having Vice President Vance there, I think was also a sign of seriousness, but I don't think it was either who was at the table or how long they spoke...And again, I don't know what the Iran position was, but based on what we're seeing from the U.S. position, they need to give more than they've given so far. No surprise. Before welcoming in Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), a clip of President Trump, who had appeared earlier Sunday on Fox Business's Sunday Morning Futures was played. TRUMP CLIP: I could take out Iran in one day. I could take out in 1 hour. I could have their entire energy, everything, every one of their plants, their electric generating plants, which is a big deal. And I hate to do it because if I do it, it takes you ten years to rebuild. They'll never be able to rebuild it. MOHYELDIN: Your reaction to the President of the United States openly threatening war crimes? JAYAPAL: It's absolutely terrifying. It is illegal. It is a war crime. He's talking about, just like he did in his tweet before, exterminating an entire civilization.... I don't know what to say about the increasing level of threats because really, there are no words for this guy who is sitting in the White House with his finger on the ability to move that kind of military and is not seeing any pushback from Republicans. MOHYELDIN: Do you support using the 25th Amendment? JAYAPAL: Oh, absolutely. I said that a week ago that we should invoke the 25th Amendment....I have taken the position that we need to do whatever we can to get him out, impeach him, invoke the 25th Amendment, push for him to resign, whatever it is, because this is so grave of a situation. MS NOW exists to channel the left-wing lust to remove Trump from office immediately. There's virtually no discussion of what our enemy has done in the 47 years leading up to the war, or the multiple war crimes they have committed since. Simply disgraceful.
Whose Side Is MS NOW On? Iran War's 'Illegal,' Iran's 'Very Deep Bench,' Trump Must Go
Watching the left wing media present their version of what's going on in our war with Iran can truly make you wonder whose side they are on, with completely one-sided reports, show segments, and entire shows. They do nothing but level accusations against President Trump, and question his rationalization for going after Iran, while letting our enemy skate. On MS NOW's The Weekend: Primetime on Sunday, they championed the notion that Trump's war was "illegal." Co-host Antonia Hylton got things started with a question to Rutgers Law Professor Adil Haque. HYLTON: With this announcement from President Trump to blockade the Strait of Hormuz, that Iran has essentially already been blockading, it sort of seems to me like an announcement to cut off your nose to spite your face. But I also have questions about the legality of all this. HAQUE: So a blockade is presumptively an act of aggression. It's illegal under international law, unless it's authorized by the security council or an act of self-defense. Here, the entire U.S--Israeli military campaign against Iran is already a violation of the U.N. Charter. So we should really look at this as just the latest phase of a larger war of aggression. So unfortunately, it's illegal from start to finish. Co-host Ayman Mohyeldin then asked former Democrat Congressman Max Rose about what he called Trump's erratic messaging, and he wasn't disappointed. ROSE: That's schizophrenic. Since the onset of this unconstitutional, reckless war, we've seen the operational excellence of the United States military juxtaposed with just the abject strategic incompetence of this administration.... Open the Strait of Hormuz tomorrow. We will close it tomorrow. End all your nuclear programs. We're fine with the nuclear programs. An obvious exaggeration, but tame in comparison to the other claims being made. Next Hylton revealed to the lead negotiator on the 2015 Iran nuclear deal (JCPOA), Robert Malley, that she was impressed with the Iranian delegation sent to the talks, our enemies, especially when compared with the U.S. delegation. HYLTON: How did you read the sort of entrance the the teams that both sides sent here? So you have JD Vance, Steve Witkoff, Jared Kushner leading on one side, and then it appeared that the Iranians arrived with a very deep bench. MALLEY: I think that the Iranians did come in force. I think I would want to give some credit to the U.S. side. Having Vice President Vance there, I think was also a sign of seriousness, but I don't think it was either who was at the table or how long they spoke...And again, I don't know what the Iran position was, but based on what we're seeing from the U.S. position, they need to give more than they've given so far. No surprise. Before welcoming in Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), a clip of President Trump, who had appeared earlier Sunday on Fox Business's Sunday Morning Futures was played. TRUMP CLIP: I could take out Iran in one day. I could take out in 1 hour. I could have their entire energy, everything, every one of their plants, their electric generating plants, which is a big deal. And I hate to do it because if I do it, it takes you ten years to rebuild. They'll never be able to rebuild it. MOHYELDIN: Your reaction to the President of the United States openly threatening war crimes? JAYAPAL: It's absolutely terrifying. It is illegal. It is a war crime. He's talking about, just like he did in his tweet before, exterminating an entire civilization.... I don't know what to say about the increasing level of threats because really, there are no words for this guy who is sitting in the White House with his finger on the ability to move that kind of military and is not seeing any pushback from Republicans. MOHYELDIN: Do you support using the 25th Amendment? JAYAPAL: Oh, absolutely. I said that a week ago that we should invoke the 25th Amendment....I have taken the position that we need to do whatever we can to get him out, impeach him, invoke the 25th Amendment, push for him to resign, whatever it is, because this is so grave of a situation. MS NOW exists to channel the left-wing lust to remove Trump from office immediately. There's virtually no discussion of what our enemy has done in the 47 years leading up to the war, or the multiple war crimes they have committed since. Simply disgraceful.
MS NOW Lets Dem Rep Rail Against 'Madman' Trump Killing Children 'in the Rubble'
MS NOW Lets Dem Rep Rail Against 'Madman' Trump Killing Children 'in the Rubble' On Saturday evening’s The Weekend: Primetime, MS NOW gave Rep. Madeleine Dean (D-Pa.) free rein to unload an anti-Trump rant without a word of pushback. It's considered essential MS NOW content as the Democrat called Trump a “madman,” urged his removal via the 25th Amendment, and suggested that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had effectively maneuvered him into war with Iran. Throughout, she returned again and again to one word: “rubble.” Six times, Dean invoked “the rubble,” at one point sounding less like a congresswoman than someone stuck in a Flintstones loop. It played like a pre-packaged line she was determined to deliver. Dean’s suggestion that Netanyahu maneuvered Trump into war veers into a familiar and ugly trope—casting Israeli or Jewish leaders as puppet-masters pulling American strings. Notably, there was no pushback on Dean’s “rubble”-fixated rant. Instead, the hosts quickly changed the subject, asking about the Eric Swalwell scandal. There, Dean displayed the same penchant for repetition—calling the allegations “extraordinarily serious,” saying she takes them “very, very seriously,” that she takes any woman who comes forward “very, very seriously,” and labeling the situation a “very, very serious distraction”—before urging Swalwell to end his campaign. MS NOW Gives Free Rein To Dem Rep’s ‘Rubble’ Rant pic.twitter.com/HRLQsAcpou — Mark Finkelstein (@markfinkelstein) April 12, 2026 The hosts engaged on that topic—making their silence in the face of her earlier claims about Trump and Netanyahu all the more conspicuous. Not all of the liberal media is buying the Democrats’ Trump-as-“madman”/25th Amendment pitch. Over on CNN, host Michael Smerconish offered a different take, defending Trump against calls for his removal and arguing that what critics see as instability may instead be a deliberate “madman” strategy to keep adversaries off balance. Here's the transcript. MS NOW The Weekend: Primetime 4/11/26 7:02 am EDT ELISE JORDAN: Joining us now, Democratic Congresswoman Madeleine Dean of Pennsylvania. She sits on the Foreign Affairs and Appropriations Committee, and is also one of the many lawmakers calling on the use of the 25th Amendment. . . . MADELINE DEAN: Our allies cannot understand it, but I hope and pray they have a long view. They recognize this president won't be president forever. He's a wrecking ball right now. He's a madman. He should be removed, whether by way of the 25th Amendment, which of course makes perfect sense. And he should be impeached again, but I don't want to spend time on that having done two of those already. We'll do it again someday. And I want to just make sure you understand something I noticed. This president will be remembered for the rubble. Notice how he went to war in Iran alongside Mr. Netanyahu, who left rubble Gaza. Mr. Netanyahu came over to the Situation Room and said to our president, let's go to war in Iran. Go with me to war in Iran and Lebanon and in the theater. This is a president who will be remembered for the rubble and the children who are dead in the rubble, the futures who are extinguished in the rubble. And to me, it's about the children in the rubble. Mark Finkelstein Sun, 04/12/2026 - 22:35 Marketing Timing Timely Search Engine Title MS NOW Lets Dem Rep Unload Anti-Trump ‘Rubble’ Rant With No Pushback CNS Commentary Off
MS NOW Lets Dem Rep Rail Against 'Madman' Trump Killing Children 'in the Rubble'
MS NOW Lets Dem Rep Rail Against 'Madman' Trump Killing Children 'in the Rubble' On Saturday evening’s The Weekend: Primetime, MS NOW gave Rep. Madeleine Dean (D-Pa.) free rein to unload an anti-Trump rant without a word of pushback. It's considered essential MS NOW content as the Democrat called Trump a “madman,” urged his removal via the 25th Amendment, and suggested that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had effectively maneuvered him into war with Iran. Throughout, she returned again and again to one word: “rubble.” Six times, Dean invoked “the rubble,” at one point sounding less like a congresswoman than someone stuck in a Flintstones loop. It played like a pre-packaged line she was determined to deliver. Dean’s suggestion that Netanyahu maneuvered Trump into war veers into a familiar and ugly trope—casting Israeli or Jewish leaders as puppet-masters pulling American strings. Notably, there was no pushback on Dean’s “rubble”-fixated rant. Instead, the hosts quickly changed the subject, asking about the Eric Swalwell scandal. There, Dean displayed the same penchant for repetition—calling the allegations “extraordinarily serious,” saying she takes them “very, very seriously,” that she takes any woman who comes forward “very, very seriously,” and labeling the situation a “very, very serious distraction”—before urging Swalwell to end his campaign. MS NOW Gives Free Rein To Dem Rep’s ‘Rubble’ Rant pic.twitter.com/HRLQsAcpou — Mark Finkelstein (@markfinkelstein) April 12, 2026 The hosts engaged on that topic—making their silence in the face of her earlier claims about Trump and Netanyahu all the more conspicuous. Not all of the liberal media is buying the Democrats’ Trump-as-“madman”/25th Amendment pitch. Over on CNN, host Michael Smerconish offered a different take, defending Trump against calls for his removal and arguing that what critics see as instability may instead be a deliberate “madman” strategy to keep adversaries off balance. Here's the transcript. MS NOW The Weekend: Primetime 4/11/26 7:02 am EDT ELISE JORDAN: Joining us now, Democratic Congresswoman Madeleine Dean of Pennsylvania. She sits on the Foreign Affairs and Appropriations Committee, and is also one of the many lawmakers calling on the use of the 25th Amendment. . . . MADELINE DEAN: Our allies cannot understand it, but I hope and pray they have a long view. They recognize this president won't be president forever. He's a wrecking ball right now. He's a madman. He should be removed, whether by way of the 25th Amendment, which of course makes perfect sense. And he should be impeached again, but I don't want to spend time on that having done two of those already. We'll do it again someday. And I want to just make sure you understand something I noticed. This president will be remembered for the rubble. Notice how he went to war in Iran alongside Mr. Netanyahu, who left rubble Gaza. Mr. Netanyahu came over to the Situation Room and said to our president, let's go to war in Iran. Go with me to war in Iran and Lebanon and in the theater. This is a president who will be remembered for the rubble and the children who are dead in the rubble, the futures who are extinguished in the rubble. And to me, it's about the children in the rubble. Mark Finkelstein Sun, 04/12/2026 - 22:35 Marketing Timing Timely Search Engine Title MS NOW Lets Dem Rep Unload Anti-Trump ‘Rubble’ Rant With No Pushback CNS Commentary Off
Elitist Media: Trump, U.S. Military in Iran Are Worse Than Nazis
Trump Derangement Syndrome was on full display this past month as members of the elitist media reacted to America’s actions in Iran with preposterous claims, like former NBCer Chuck Todd, who questioned who was more dangerous with nukes, radical Iran or President Donald Trump? Former MSNBC host Mehdi Hasan insulted American sailors, claiming they were worse than Nazis. Former MSNBC/ESPN host Keith Olbermann is already predicting defeat, railing that Iran is Trump’s “instant processed Vietnam.” This last month also saw some silly assertions, too. Former CNN anchor Don Lemon insisted he could run for President, win and do a better job than Trump. Celebrities joined in the anti-Trump freak-out, as well. ABC’s The View co-host Whoopi Goldberg absurdly blurted that Trump bombed Iran to distract from the Epstein files and the search for NBC Today host Savannah Guthrie’s missing mother. Singer Bruce Springsteen lectured from the stage against the “corrupt, incompetent, racist, reckless and treasonous” administration. The following are just a few of the most obnoxious outbursts from leftist journalists and celebrities over the last month: Mehdi Hasan Claims American Sailors Are Worse Than the Nazis MS NOW's Chris Hayes accuses the American military of deliberately targeting civilians "to have the rhetoric being into the region, “we don't we don't care if you live or die” to not make the distinction between civilians and combatants just also strikes me as, like, wildly… pic.twitter.com/9QOmSn5CKl — Alex Christy (@alexchristy17) March 7, 2026 “It’s a moral abomination. And yes, it’s tactically stupid. They, you know, they bombed a submarine and just let the sailors drown to death. Even the Nazis didn’t do that during World War II, apparently. Even the Nazis collected people from the water. This is insane rhetoric. Insane behavior from people who don’t give a damn. Donald Trump has never given a damn about Iranian lives.”— Former MSNBC host, current CEO of Zeteo Mehdi Hasan on MS NOW’s All In With Chris Hayes, March 6. Chuck Todd: We’re Worried About Iran with a Nuke, But What About Trump?! “You got to ask the question, we’re worried about a radical in Iran getting their hands on a nuclear weapon. What about what’s going on in our country?” – @ChuckTodd on @ChrisCillizza’s So What podcast posted Tuesday on Substack and YouTube. “I can see him [Trump] talking himself… pic.twitter.com/8S5TYSu38n — Brent Baker 🇺🇲🇺🇦 🇮🇱 (@BrentHBaker) April 7, 2026 “You got to ask the question, we’re worried about a radical in Iran getting their hands on a nuclear weapon. What about what’s going on in our country?...I can see him [Trump] talking himself into the ultimate weapon here in his head. I do. I could see him being that crazy.”— Former NBC’s Meet the Press moderator Chuck Todd on Chris Cillizza’s So What podcast, April 7. Keith Olbermann: Trump Has Personally Turned Iran Into “Instant Processed Vietnam” Keith Olbermann: Trump Has Personally Turned Iran Into “Instant Processed Vietnam” — Former MSNBC/ESPN host Keith Olbermann on his Countdown podcast, March 16, 2026. pic.twitter.com/fYc48ERrAb — Geoffrey Dickens (@GCDickens) April 9, 2026 “Trump is personally losing the war in Iran. Trump is personally turning Iran into instant processed Vietnam! If we do not want the United States to lose this war, to be materially hurt by this moron’s buccaneering bullshit – and we don’t! We all live here! He has to go!...Iran could never - in a million years - harm this country as much as Donald Trump has harmed it, in the last two weeks.”— Former MSNBC/ESPN host Keith Olbermann on his Countdown podcast, March 16. Lawrence O’Donnell: “Hitler Never Said,” What Trump Just Said Lawrence O'Donnell commends Hitler for being better than Trump because he supposedly never expressed "A whole civilization will die tonight" and claims America as a civilization was dead, that it committed suicide by electing Trump a second time: O'DONNELL: 'A whole civilization… pic.twitter.com/2n5e3BtHX6 — Nicholas Fondacaro (@NickFondacaro) April 8, 2026 “‘A whole civilization will die tonight.’ Hitler never said that. No head of state in the history of the world ever said that. Civilization had to wait literally thousands of years until today, April 7th, 2026 at 8:06 A.M. for a head of state to say and threaten ‘A whole civilization will die tonight.’ No cruel king ever threatened that, no mass murdering tyrant anywhere in the world ever said that, or even thought it was possible. And so, the United States of America now must live with the permanent stain on our history, that we are the only country in the world who has produced a head of state, who said, ‘a whole civilization will die tonight.’”— Host Lawrence O’Donnell on MS NOW’s The Last Word, April 7. Lawrence O’Donnell Attacks Barron Trump For Not Sailing Through the Strait of Hormuz O’Donnell calls Iranian FM more credible than Trump. O’DONNELL: But with Donald Trump in the White House, we have reached the first time in history where Iran's Foreign Minister might have more credibility - might have more credibility than the president of the United States." pic.twitter.com/kelXd72VQP — Nick (@nspin310) March 17, 2026 “Why doesn’t Barron Trump do what all those Harvard students did during World War II? Why doesn’t he leave college now and go join his father’s war? Why doesn’t Barron Trump donate his services as a crew member on an oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz? He doesn’t even have to join the military for that….Donald Trump said, ‘These ships should go through the Strait of Hormuz and show some guts, there’s nothing to be afraid of.’ Well, let’s prove there’s nothing to be afraid of by putting Barron on the deck of one of those ships.”— Host Lawrence O’Donnell on MS NOW’s The Last Word, March 9. Reza Aslan: U.S. “Has Been Doing the Tyrant’s Work” For Iran Reza Aslan tells PBS/CNN anchor Christiane Amanpour that it is America's fault that previous Iran protests have failed "Look, an authoritarian regime, a tyrant, stays in power by isolating his people from the rest of the world. The United States has been doing the tyrant's work… pic.twitter.com/hHAVlidQ8f — Alex Christy (@alexchristy17) March 14, 2026 “Look, an authoritarian regime, a tyrant, stays in power by isolating his people from the rest of the world. The United States has been doing the tyrant’s work for him in Iran for the last half-century. Our policy of containment, isolation and sanction as a hope for regime change has done the exact opposite. That’s just a fact.”— Former CNN host Reza Aslan on PBS’s Amanpour and Company, March 13. Hitler Was Not as Bad as Trump, At Least He Wasn’t “Selling Merch” WATCH: Far-left pundit Anand Giridharadas (the guy with the hair) argues Trump is worse than Hitler because “I don’t think Hitler was selling merch” along with “Stalin and Mao” b/c they were “very serious”... Giridharadas: “[H]e’s a weak man pretending to be a strong man. He's… pic.twitter.com/mGGbL9i0kb — Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) March 11, 2026 “I think he’s [Donald Trump] like, a highly incompetent person trying to do an authoritarian attempt and trying to barnacle the authoritarian attempt with so much personal stealing or whatever, which, by the way, a lot of these authoritarians have the discipline to not do. I don’t know. Someone’s going to call me on. Maybe I’m wrong. I don’t think Hitler was selling merch.”— Frequent MS NOW guest Anand Giridharadas on Real Patriotism with Terry Moran, March 11. Jim Acosta Laughing at “Very Funny” Protest Sign That Wishes Death on Donald Trump Former CNN anchor Jim @Acosta laughs about Trump dying in office. From No Kings rally in DC: “These are some very colorful and clever signs here. It says, ‘OK, cholesterol, do your job.’ I think I you know what that means. That’s very funny. It’s very clever.” pic.twitter.com/TYTfKlG0wV — Brent Baker 🇺🇲🇺🇦 🇮🇱 (@BrentHBaker) March 28, 2026 “These are some very colorful and clever signs here. It says, ‘OK, cholesterol, do your job.’ I think I know what that means. That’s very funny. It’s very clever.”— Former CNN correspondent laughing at anti-Trump signs at a No Kings rally in Washington DC as aired on The Jim Acosta Show podcast, March 28. Don Lemon: “I Could Be President” and “I Could Definitely Run This Country Better Than Donald Trump” Don Lemon: “I Could Be President” and “I Could Definitely Run This Country Better Than Donald Trump”— Former CNN anchor Don Lemon on Pod Save America, March 29, 2026. pic.twitter.com/GiT8BlBcwh — Geoffrey Dickens (@GCDickens) April 3, 2026 “Look, if I wanted to – I know people gonna think I’m crazy, this is gonna be the headline, and people are gonna laugh about it – I think I could be President of the United States. I could definitely run this country better than Donald Trump.” — Former CNN anchor Don Lemon on Pod Save America, March 29. Sunny Hostin: It’s “Reckless” to Encourage People to Have “Children” Sunny Hostin, who has 2 kids, says It's "reckless" to have any kids at all in Trump's America. Whoopi gets BIG BAD. pic.twitter.com/Mbyy60pXPe — Nicholas Fondacaro (@NickFondacaro) March 30, 2026 “I think it’s just really reckless to be suggesting that people should have children when you now know in this country there’s this affordability crisis and for a two-person household, a married household you need over $400,000 for childcare.”— Co-host Sunny Hostin on ABC’s The View, March 30. Sen. Markwayne Mullin Shouldn’t Be In Charge of “Lawless Band of Masked Bandits” at ICE Because He Was an MMA Fighter While trying to discredit Senator Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) for having worked blue-collar jobs before getting into politics, former federal prosecutor Sunny Hostin claims ICE are all criminals, calling them "lawless band of masked bandits." pic.twitter.com/cdYotXKwSr — Nicholas Fondacaro (@NickFondacaro) March 19, 2026 “This man [Senator Markwayne Mullin] had been in Congress, and so he had governmental experience. He was also a talk show host. He was a construction worker. He was also a professional MMA fighter. And a plumber. I just don’t think that even with his government experience, someone with that sort of fighter mentality, who has been so aggressive, should be heading a lawless band of masked bandits!”— Co-host Sunny Hostin on ABC’s The View, March 19. Joy Behar: Trump Is a “Shell of a Human Being” Joy Behar: Trump Is a “Shell of a Human Being” — Co-host Joy Behar on ABC’s The View, March 18, 2026. pic.twitter.com/Fe4ga56VsI — Geoffrey Dickens (@GCDickens) April 9, 2026 “He [Donald Trump] doesn’t care if there’s a war or that people are suffering or - I mean, he stopped AIDS relief for people in Africa. He’s just a shell of a human being.” — Co-host Joy Behar on ABC’s The View, March 18. Whoopi: Trump Bombed Iran to Distract from Epstein Files and Savannah Guthrie’s Missing Mother Whoopi claims the conflict with Iran is a distraction from the search for Nancy Guthrie and the Epstein files: GOLDBERG: Well, I mean, it's just nutty as hell. It's nutty as hell and you're right, every day is something new. And it's -- you know, I was thinking about it… pic.twitter.com/Boyu2mYouH — Nicholas Fondacaro (@NickFondacaro) March 10, 2026 “I was thinking about it yesterday, because I thought, well, okay, why haven’t we been talking about Savannah Guthrie and what’s going on there? Why haven’t we not been – why have we not been talking about the Epstein files? Because that’s still there. This is meant to get us so worked up that we are unable to see anything else.”— Co-host Whoopi Goldberg on ABC’s The View, March 10. Vice President J.D. Vance Is “Younger,” “Darker” and “A Lot More Evil” Than Trump Professional crazy person/award-winning podcaster Jennifer Welch tells fellow professional crazy person Jim Acosta, "He [JD Vance] is a shape-shifting chameleon. I think it is neck-to-neck. Who is this country's biggest prostitute? JD Vance or the first lady. And I can kind of go… pic.twitter.com/Ew0k5Z3M26 — Alex Christy (@alexchristy17) April 2, 2026 “Here’s the thing about JD Vance and I just, I want to put this memo out. We have a job in this left-wing media ecosystem. We need to muddy up his reputation as best we can. Everybody did a great job with the couch-fucking stuff. A+, no notes. This guy wants to be the heir apparent of MAGA. He’s younger, he’s darker, he’s a lot more evil. He’s a lot smarter than Trump. And he’s a lot easier to corrupt….He’s changed his name three times. He’s changed his religion three times. A grown adult has changed his name three times and changed his religion three times. He is a shape-shifting chameleon. I think it is neck-to-neck. Who is this country’s biggest prostitute? JD Vance or the First Lady?” — Podcaster/former reality show star Jennifer Welch on The Jim Acosta Show, April 1. Elitist Jimmy Kimmel: Sen. Markwayne Mullin Unqualified to Be DHS Secretary Because He Used to Be a Plumber Jimmy Kimmel doesn't think Markwayne Mullin is qualified to be the Secretary of Homeland Security because he used to be plumber, "Before he was elected to the Senate, Markwayne Mullin was a low-level MMA fighter and a plumber. That's right. We have a plumber protecting us from… pic.twitter.com/KT81mBIUOV — Alex Christy (@alexchristy17) March 25, 2026 “Trump’s got a whole new generation of thinkers lined up, including his newly confirmed Secretary of Homeland Security, Markwayne ‘Chuck Mike Bruce Dave’ Melon — Mullin. Maybe Melon’s better. He’s the now former senator of Oklahoma. Before he was elected to the Senate, Markwayne Mullin was a low-level MMA fighter and a plumber. That’s right. We have a plumber protecting us from terrorism now. Well it worked for Super Mario. Why not Markwayne?”— Host Jimmy Kimmel on ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live!, March 24. Charlamagne: When Trump Dies, “People Are Going to Treat It Like Mardi Gras!” Charlamagne: When Trump Dies, “People Are Going to Treat It Like Mardi Gras!”— Charlamagne Tha God on The Breakfast Club, March 23, 2026. pic.twitter.com/xGitJlhUJC — Geoffrey Dickens (@GCDickens) April 3, 2026 “You’re, you know, going to go down as the worst president of all time because you don’t give a damn about democracy, ok? Wiping your ass with the Constitution, and on pace to lead this country into the worst financial crisis of all time. But you are also – ok – putting yourself into a position that when you pass, people are going to treat it like Mardi Gras in New Orleans!” — Charlamagne Tha God on The Breakfast Club, March 23. First Time In American History That an “Authoritarian Regime Has Broken Through” Later, Fonda suggests Trump 2.0 is worse than Jim Crow, "I'm speaking from the vantage point of a white person. I think black people in this country have experienced authoritarianism. I mean, Jim Crow, there were no rights for people who were black. This is the first time in the… pic.twitter.com/kd0Zt2sWAF — Alex Christy (@alexchristy17) March 28, 2026 “I’m speaking from the vantage point of a white person. I think black people in this country have experienced authoritarianism. I mean, Jim Crow, there were no rights for people who were black. This is the first time in the history of the United States that an authoritarian regime has broken through. And worldwide, historians who study these things, they all agree it has never happened so fast in any industrialized democracy. He is moving to consolidate very, very fast, which means that right now we have to use the tools we have to stop it.”— Actress/activist Jane Fonda on MS NOW’s The Briefing with Jen Psaki, March 27. Saturday Night Live’s Michael Che Makes Trump Assassination Joke 'SNL' fake-news anchor Michael Che joked about Trump seeing 'Chicago' at the Kennedy Center, makes a Lincoln-assassination joke. That's nasty, but the show's blue-state audience whooped and screamed in blood lust at the thought. Nobody you can hear in this joke sounds like a… pic.twitter.com/7FAA3VYsom — Tim Graham (@TimJGraham) April 5, 2026 “President Trump attended the opening night of Chicago at the Kennedy Center, and I think that’s cool that the President is going to the theater. I mean, what’s the worst that could happen?”— Weekend Update co-anchor Michael Che on Saturday Night Live, April 4. Bruce Springsteen Rants Against “Corrupt, Incompetent, Racist, Reckless and Treasonous” Trump Administration Bruce Springsteen Rants Against “Corrupt, Incompetent, Racist, Reckless and Treasonous” Trump Administration — Singer/activist Bruce Springsteen from the stage at the Target Center in Minneapolis, March 31, 2026. pic.twitter.com/Dc26duEsDT — Geoffrey Dickens (@GCDickens) April 9, 2026 “The America that I love, the America that I’ve written about for 50 years. That’s been a beacon of hope and liberty around the world is currently in the hands of a corrupt, incompetent, racist, reckless, and treasonous administration! Tonight, we ask all of you to join with us in choosing hope over fear. Democracy over authoritarianism. The rule of law over lawlessness, ethics over unbridled corruption. Resistance over complacency, unity over division, and peace over war.”— Singer/activist Bruce Springsteen from the stage at the Target Center in Minneapolis, March 31.
Elitist Media: Trump, U.S. Military in Iran Are Worse Than Nazis
Trump Derangement Syndrome was on full display this past month as members of the elitist media reacted to America’s actions in Iran with preposterous claims, like former NBCer Chuck Todd, who questioned who was more dangerous with nukes, radical Iran or President Donald Trump? Former MSNBC host Mehdi Hasan insulted American sailors, claiming they were worse than Nazis. Former MSNBC/ESPN host Keith Olbermann is already predicting defeat, railing that Iran is Trump’s “instant processed Vietnam.” This last month also saw some silly assertions, too. Former CNN anchor Don Lemon insisted he could run for President, win and do a better job than Trump. Celebrities joined in the anti-Trump freak-out, as well. ABC’s The View co-host Whoopi Goldberg absurdly blurted that Trump bombed Iran to distract from the Epstein files and the search for NBC Today host Savannah Guthrie’s missing mother. Singer Bruce Springsteen lectured from the stage against the “corrupt, incompetent, racist, reckless and treasonous” administration. The following are just a few of the most obnoxious outbursts from leftist journalists and celebrities over the last month: Mehdi Hasan Claims American Sailors Are Worse Than the Nazis MS NOW's Chris Hayes accuses the American military of deliberately targeting civilians "to have the rhetoric being into the region, “we don't we don't care if you live or die” to not make the distinction between civilians and combatants just also strikes me as, like, wildly… pic.twitter.com/9QOmSn5CKl — Alex Christy (@alexchristy17) March 7, 2026 “It’s a moral abomination. And yes, it’s tactically stupid. They, you know, they bombed a submarine and just let the sailors drown to death. Even the Nazis didn’t do that during World War II, apparently. Even the Nazis collected people from the water. This is insane rhetoric. Insane behavior from people who don’t give a damn. Donald Trump has never given a damn about Iranian lives.”— Former MSNBC host, current CEO of Zeteo Mehdi Hasan on MS NOW’s All In With Chris Hayes, March 6. Chuck Todd: We’re Worried About Iran with a Nuke, But What About Trump?! “You got to ask the question, we’re worried about a radical in Iran getting their hands on a nuclear weapon. What about what’s going on in our country?” – @ChuckTodd on @ChrisCillizza’s So What podcast posted Tuesday on Substack and YouTube. “I can see him [Trump] talking himself… pic.twitter.com/8S5TYSu38n — Brent Baker 🇺🇲🇺🇦 🇮🇱 (@BrentHBaker) April 7, 2026 “You got to ask the question, we’re worried about a radical in Iran getting their hands on a nuclear weapon. What about what’s going on in our country?...I can see him [Trump] talking himself into the ultimate weapon here in his head. I do. I could see him being that crazy.”— Former NBC’s Meet the Press moderator Chuck Todd on Chris Cillizza’s So What podcast, April 7. Keith Olbermann: Trump Has Personally Turned Iran Into “Instant Processed Vietnam” Keith Olbermann: Trump Has Personally Turned Iran Into “Instant Processed Vietnam” — Former MSNBC/ESPN host Keith Olbermann on his Countdown podcast, March 16, 2026. pic.twitter.com/fYc48ERrAb — Geoffrey Dickens (@GCDickens) April 9, 2026 “Trump is personally losing the war in Iran. Trump is personally turning Iran into instant processed Vietnam! If we do not want the United States to lose this war, to be materially hurt by this moron’s buccaneering bullshit – and we don’t! We all live here! He has to go!...Iran could never - in a million years - harm this country as much as Donald Trump has harmed it, in the last two weeks.”— Former MSNBC/ESPN host Keith Olbermann on his Countdown podcast, March 16. Lawrence O’Donnell: “Hitler Never Said,” What Trump Just Said Lawrence O'Donnell commends Hitler for being better than Trump because he supposedly never expressed "A whole civilization will die tonight" and claims America as a civilization was dead, that it committed suicide by electing Trump a second time: O'DONNELL: 'A whole civilization… pic.twitter.com/2n5e3BtHX6 — Nicholas Fondacaro (@NickFondacaro) April 8, 2026 “‘A whole civilization will die tonight.’ Hitler never said that. No head of state in the history of the world ever said that. Civilization had to wait literally thousands of years until today, April 7th, 2026 at 8:06 A.M. for a head of state to say and threaten ‘A whole civilization will die tonight.’ No cruel king ever threatened that, no mass murdering tyrant anywhere in the world ever said that, or even thought it was possible. And so, the United States of America now must live with the permanent stain on our history, that we are the only country in the world who has produced a head of state, who said, ‘a whole civilization will die tonight.’”— Host Lawrence O’Donnell on MS NOW’s The Last Word, April 7. Lawrence O’Donnell Attacks Barron Trump For Not Sailing Through the Strait of Hormuz O’Donnell calls Iranian FM more credible than Trump. O’DONNELL: But with Donald Trump in the White House, we have reached the first time in history where Iran's Foreign Minister might have more credibility - might have more credibility than the president of the United States." pic.twitter.com/kelXd72VQP — Nick (@nspin310) March 17, 2026 “Why doesn’t Barron Trump do what all those Harvard students did during World War II? Why doesn’t he leave college now and go join his father’s war? Why doesn’t Barron Trump donate his services as a crew member on an oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz? He doesn’t even have to join the military for that….Donald Trump said, ‘These ships should go through the Strait of Hormuz and show some guts, there’s nothing to be afraid of.’ Well, let’s prove there’s nothing to be afraid of by putting Barron on the deck of one of those ships.”— Host Lawrence O’Donnell on MS NOW’s The Last Word, March 9. Reza Aslan: U.S. “Has Been Doing the Tyrant’s Work” For Iran Reza Aslan tells PBS/CNN anchor Christiane Amanpour that it is America's fault that previous Iran protests have failed "Look, an authoritarian regime, a tyrant, stays in power by isolating his people from the rest of the world. The United States has been doing the tyrant's work… pic.twitter.com/hHAVlidQ8f — Alex Christy (@alexchristy17) March 14, 2026 “Look, an authoritarian regime, a tyrant, stays in power by isolating his people from the rest of the world. The United States has been doing the tyrant’s work for him in Iran for the last half-century. Our policy of containment, isolation and sanction as a hope for regime change has done the exact opposite. That’s just a fact.”— Former CNN host Reza Aslan on PBS’s Amanpour and Company, March 13. Hitler Was Not as Bad as Trump, At Least He Wasn’t “Selling Merch” WATCH: Far-left pundit Anand Giridharadas (the guy with the hair) argues Trump is worse than Hitler because “I don’t think Hitler was selling merch” along with “Stalin and Mao” b/c they were “very serious”... Giridharadas: “[H]e’s a weak man pretending to be a strong man. He's… pic.twitter.com/mGGbL9i0kb — Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) March 11, 2026 “I think he’s [Donald Trump] like, a highly incompetent person trying to do an authoritarian attempt and trying to barnacle the authoritarian attempt with so much personal stealing or whatever, which, by the way, a lot of these authoritarians have the discipline to not do. I don’t know. Someone’s going to call me on. Maybe I’m wrong. I don’t think Hitler was selling merch.”— Frequent MS NOW guest Anand Giridharadas on Real Patriotism with Terry Moran, March 11. Jim Acosta Laughing at “Very Funny” Protest Sign That Wishes Death on Donald Trump Former CNN anchor Jim @Acosta laughs about Trump dying in office. From No Kings rally in DC: “These are some very colorful and clever signs here. It says, ‘OK, cholesterol, do your job.’ I think I you know what that means. That’s very funny. It’s very clever.” pic.twitter.com/TYTfKlG0wV — Brent Baker 🇺🇲🇺🇦 🇮🇱 (@BrentHBaker) March 28, 2026 “These are some very colorful and clever signs here. It says, ‘OK, cholesterol, do your job.’ I think I know what that means. That’s very funny. It’s very clever.”— Former CNN correspondent laughing at anti-Trump signs at a No Kings rally in Washington DC as aired on The Jim Acosta Show podcast, March 28. Don Lemon: “I Could Be President” and “I Could Definitely Run This Country Better Than Donald Trump” Don Lemon: “I Could Be President” and “I Could Definitely Run This Country Better Than Donald Trump”— Former CNN anchor Don Lemon on Pod Save America, March 29, 2026. pic.twitter.com/GiT8BlBcwh — Geoffrey Dickens (@GCDickens) April 3, 2026 “Look, if I wanted to – I know people gonna think I’m crazy, this is gonna be the headline, and people are gonna laugh about it – I think I could be President of the United States. I could definitely run this country better than Donald Trump.” — Former CNN anchor Don Lemon on Pod Save America, March 29. Sunny Hostin: It’s “Reckless” to Encourage People to Have “Children” Sunny Hostin, who has 2 kids, says It's "reckless" to have any kids at all in Trump's America. Whoopi gets BIG BAD. pic.twitter.com/Mbyy60pXPe — Nicholas Fondacaro (@NickFondacaro) March 30, 2026 “I think it’s just really reckless to be suggesting that people should have children when you now know in this country there’s this affordability crisis and for a two-person household, a married household you need over $400,000 for childcare.”— Co-host Sunny Hostin on ABC’s The View, March 30. Sen. Markwayne Mullin Shouldn’t Be In Charge of “Lawless Band of Masked Bandits” at ICE Because He Was an MMA Fighter While trying to discredit Senator Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) for having worked blue-collar jobs before getting into politics, former federal prosecutor Sunny Hostin claims ICE are all criminals, calling them "lawless band of masked bandits." pic.twitter.com/cdYotXKwSr — Nicholas Fondacaro (@NickFondacaro) March 19, 2026 “This man [Senator Markwayne Mullin] had been in Congress, and so he had governmental experience. He was also a talk show host. He was a construction worker. He was also a professional MMA fighter. And a plumber. I just don’t think that even with his government experience, someone with that sort of fighter mentality, who has been so aggressive, should be heading a lawless band of masked bandits!”— Co-host Sunny Hostin on ABC’s The View, March 19. Joy Behar: Trump Is a “Shell of a Human Being” Joy Behar: Trump Is a “Shell of a Human Being” — Co-host Joy Behar on ABC’s The View, March 18, 2026. pic.twitter.com/Fe4ga56VsI — Geoffrey Dickens (@GCDickens) April 9, 2026 “He [Donald Trump] doesn’t care if there’s a war or that people are suffering or - I mean, he stopped AIDS relief for people in Africa. He’s just a shell of a human being.” — Co-host Joy Behar on ABC’s The View, March 18. Whoopi: Trump Bombed Iran to Distract from Epstein Files and Savannah Guthrie’s Missing Mother Whoopi claims the conflict with Iran is a distraction from the search for Nancy Guthrie and the Epstein files: GOLDBERG: Well, I mean, it's just nutty as hell. It's nutty as hell and you're right, every day is something new. And it's -- you know, I was thinking about it… pic.twitter.com/Boyu2mYouH — Nicholas Fondacaro (@NickFondacaro) March 10, 2026 “I was thinking about it yesterday, because I thought, well, okay, why haven’t we been talking about Savannah Guthrie and what’s going on there? Why haven’t we not been – why have we not been talking about the Epstein files? Because that’s still there. This is meant to get us so worked up that we are unable to see anything else.”— Co-host Whoopi Goldberg on ABC’s The View, March 10. Vice President J.D. Vance Is “Younger,” “Darker” and “A Lot More Evil” Than Trump Professional crazy person/award-winning podcaster Jennifer Welch tells fellow professional crazy person Jim Acosta, "He [JD Vance] is a shape-shifting chameleon. I think it is neck-to-neck. Who is this country's biggest prostitute? JD Vance or the first lady. And I can kind of go… pic.twitter.com/Ew0k5Z3M26 — Alex Christy (@alexchristy17) April 2, 2026 “Here’s the thing about JD Vance and I just, I want to put this memo out. We have a job in this left-wing media ecosystem. We need to muddy up his reputation as best we can. Everybody did a great job with the couch-fucking stuff. A+, no notes. This guy wants to be the heir apparent of MAGA. He’s younger, he’s darker, he’s a lot more evil. He’s a lot smarter than Trump. And he’s a lot easier to corrupt….He’s changed his name three times. He’s changed his religion three times. A grown adult has changed his name three times and changed his religion three times. He is a shape-shifting chameleon. I think it is neck-to-neck. Who is this country’s biggest prostitute? JD Vance or the First Lady?” — Podcaster/former reality show star Jennifer Welch on The Jim Acosta Show, April 1. Elitist Jimmy Kimmel: Sen. Markwayne Mullin Unqualified to Be DHS Secretary Because He Used to Be a Plumber Jimmy Kimmel doesn't think Markwayne Mullin is qualified to be the Secretary of Homeland Security because he used to be plumber, "Before he was elected to the Senate, Markwayne Mullin was a low-level MMA fighter and a plumber. That's right. We have a plumber protecting us from… pic.twitter.com/KT81mBIUOV — Alex Christy (@alexchristy17) March 25, 2026 “Trump’s got a whole new generation of thinkers lined up, including his newly confirmed Secretary of Homeland Security, Markwayne ‘Chuck Mike Bruce Dave’ Melon — Mullin. Maybe Melon’s better. He’s the now former senator of Oklahoma. Before he was elected to the Senate, Markwayne Mullin was a low-level MMA fighter and a plumber. That’s right. We have a plumber protecting us from terrorism now. Well it worked for Super Mario. Why not Markwayne?”— Host Jimmy Kimmel on ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live!, March 24. Charlamagne: When Trump Dies, “People Are Going to Treat It Like Mardi Gras!” Charlamagne: When Trump Dies, “People Are Going to Treat It Like Mardi Gras!”— Charlamagne Tha God on The Breakfast Club, March 23, 2026. pic.twitter.com/xGitJlhUJC — Geoffrey Dickens (@GCDickens) April 3, 2026 “You’re, you know, going to go down as the worst president of all time because you don’t give a damn about democracy, ok? Wiping your ass with the Constitution, and on pace to lead this country into the worst financial crisis of all time. But you are also – ok – putting yourself into a position that when you pass, people are going to treat it like Mardi Gras in New Orleans!” — Charlamagne Tha God on The Breakfast Club, March 23. First Time In American History That an “Authoritarian Regime Has Broken Through” Later, Fonda suggests Trump 2.0 is worse than Jim Crow, "I'm speaking from the vantage point of a white person. I think black people in this country have experienced authoritarianism. I mean, Jim Crow, there were no rights for people who were black. This is the first time in the… pic.twitter.com/kd0Zt2sWAF — Alex Christy (@alexchristy17) March 28, 2026 “I’m speaking from the vantage point of a white person. I think black people in this country have experienced authoritarianism. I mean, Jim Crow, there were no rights for people who were black. This is the first time in the history of the United States that an authoritarian regime has broken through. And worldwide, historians who study these things, they all agree it has never happened so fast in any industrialized democracy. He is moving to consolidate very, very fast, which means that right now we have to use the tools we have to stop it.”— Actress/activist Jane Fonda on MS NOW’s The Briefing with Jen Psaki, March 27. Saturday Night Live’s Michael Che Makes Trump Assassination Joke 'SNL' fake-news anchor Michael Che joked about Trump seeing 'Chicago' at the Kennedy Center, makes a Lincoln-assassination joke. That's nasty, but the show's blue-state audience whooped and screamed in blood lust at the thought. Nobody you can hear in this joke sounds like a… pic.twitter.com/7FAA3VYsom — Tim Graham (@TimJGraham) April 5, 2026 “President Trump attended the opening night of Chicago at the Kennedy Center, and I think that’s cool that the President is going to the theater. I mean, what’s the worst that could happen?”— Weekend Update co-anchor Michael Che on Saturday Night Live, April 4. Bruce Springsteen Rants Against “Corrupt, Incompetent, Racist, Reckless and Treasonous” Trump Administration Bruce Springsteen Rants Against “Corrupt, Incompetent, Racist, Reckless and Treasonous” Trump Administration — Singer/activist Bruce Springsteen from the stage at the Target Center in Minneapolis, March 31, 2026. pic.twitter.com/Dc26duEsDT — Geoffrey Dickens (@GCDickens) April 9, 2026 “The America that I love, the America that I’ve written about for 50 years. That’s been a beacon of hope and liberty around the world is currently in the hands of a corrupt, incompetent, racist, reckless, and treasonous administration! Tonight, we ask all of you to join with us in choosing hope over fear. Democracy over authoritarianism. The rule of law over lawlessness, ethics over unbridled corruption. Resistance over complacency, unity over division, and peace over war.”— Singer/activist Bruce Springsteen from the stage at the Target Center in Minneapolis, March 31.
CNN Implies Trump’s Words are War Crimes, Even if Nothing Happened
CNN Implies Trump’s Words are War Crimes, Even if Nothing Happened After Tuesday night’s ceasefire announcement with Iran, Wednesday’s CNN This Morning shifted to suggest President Trump’s words, itself, were a war crime, since he did not bomb Iranian civilians into oblivion on “bridge and powerplant day,” as the media constantly warned in an over-prolonged 30-hour news cycle where news channels implied Trump would do just that. Among the hour-long morning program, there were multiple moments of Iranian propaganda played on CNN airwaves, including interviews with pro-Regime women, who were dressed in the same garb as those who formed human chains outside power plants. Human shields were actually a war crime. CNN This Morning also displayed many clips of Iranian propaganda, with quick interviews from regime supporters, many dressed in the same garb as those in human chains at power plants, along with a clip from State TV described as "slight propaganda." https://t.co/LaYDa9dzPl pic.twitter.com/4qrqJfP3zL — Nick (@nspin310) April 8, 2026 In the opening minutes of the show, Cornish played two brief interviews with female Regime supporters from state TV who were seen in an arranged regime celebration in an Iranian square waving Islamic Republic flags: AUDIE CORNISH: Now, there are some Iranians asking why the Islamic regime agreed to the ceasefire in the first place. FEMALE REGIME SUPPORTER 1 (Translated): Why should we declare a ceasefire? As you see, there is written that the Strait of Hormuz will stay closed. Why open? FEMALE REGIME SUPPORTER 2 (Translated): America has shown itself a hundred times till now. We have gone to the negotiation table twice when it attacked us and this ceasefire again foregoing and repowering itself. Correspondent Paula Hancocks also introduced a clip from actual Iranian State TV, which she described as just “slight propaganda.” About a quarter into the show, as the CNN chyron read “Has Trump Gone Too Far With His Threats Against Iran?”, Cornish questioned a US victory and American Stability: President Trump told the world he was prepared to, quote, “end civilization in Iran.’ He still might be. What message does that send to U.S. allies and adversaries who are openly questioning America's stability? Cornish played a clip from Democrat Vermont Representative Becca Balint, who said of Republican members of Congress, “They have to stand up to this,” as she stated, “These are war crimes.” After Tuesday's ceasefire announcement and the media's claims of "war crimes" never occurring, CNN This Morning was still stuck on it. Cornish questioned "American stability" as the chyron read: 'Has Trump Gone Too Far With His Threats Against Iran?' pic.twitter.com/4GQ3UMfe7B — Nick (@nspin310) April 8, 2026 Even though nothing happened last night besides a proclaimed ceasefire in the war, Cornish acted, in a question posed to former Ambassador Mark Wallace, as if Trump’s words still went too far: So, I've heard people are talking about the president's threats against bridges and power plants, decimation of a whole civilization. Before yesterday, they were saying, look, these are war crimes he's talking about. This rhetoric is wrong. Here we are today, after a ceasefire has been called. Do you think this diplomacy by threat, diplomacy by ultimatum is working? So now, since the media’s extreme worry of Trump flattening Iran into a full parking lot and 'indiscriminate killings' of all Iranians didn’t materialize, it was now just the words that amounted to Trump being a war criminal for threats to hurt infrastructure, which helped the IRGC carry out its war on American military Gulf allies. In relation to the destruction of bridges as war crimes, just recently, the Ukrainian military had taken out Russian-controlled bridges during their fight back against the Russians’ failure of a “special military operation,” as seen in a video from The Telegraph. It’s almost as if there was a military strategy to taking out places of military movement and usage, as John Kirby said yesterday on MS NOW, would be the actual reason behind large, targeted strikes. But nothing happened, even if CNN’s programs act as if Trump’s words themself were a nuclear bomb dropped on Iran. The transcript is below. Click "expand": CNN This Morning April 8, 2026 6:03:17 AM Eastern AUDIE CORNISH: Now, there are some Iranians asking why the Islamic regime agreed to the ceasefire in the first place. FEMALE REGIME SUPPORTER 1 (Translated): Why should we declare a ceasefire? As you see, there is written that the Strait of Hormuz will stay closed. Why open? FEMALE REGIME SUPPORTER 2 (Translated): America has shown itself a hundred times till now. We have gone to the negotiation table twice when it attacked us and this ceasefire again foregoing and repowering itself. (...) 6:04:33 AM Eastern PAULA HANCOCKS: Now, there's certainly - there was a war of narrative here, as well. This is slightly propaganda, but I want to play this to you does show exactly what Iran thinks this deal is. IRAN STATE TV (Translated): Iran has achieved a great victory and forced America to accept its ten-point plan. America is committed to non-aggression, continued Iranian control over the Strait of Hormuz, acceptance of enrichment, lifting of all sanctions, termination of all resolutions of the Security Council and board of governors, payment of compensation to Iran, withdrawal of American forces from the region, and secession of war on all fronts, including against the Islamic resistance of Lebanon. (...) 6:17:40 AM Eastern MALE PROTESTOR: There's nothing good ever comes from the United States attacking and bombing other countries. FEMALE PROTESTOR: Can't declare that as a win. That's a game. It's not a win. He had a ceasefire in a war that he started. [Cuts to live] 6:17:52 AM Eastern [Chyron reads: “HAS TRUMP GONE TOO FAR WITH HIS THREATS AGAINST IRAN?”] CORNISH: President Trump claims this could be the golden age of the Middle East, after announcing a two-week ceasefire with Iran. He's selling the agreement as a total and complete victory. But what has the U.S. won? President Trump told the world he was prepared to, quote, “end civilization in Iran.’ He still might be. What message does that send to U.S. allies and adversaries who are openly questioning America's stability? [Cuts to video] REP. BECCA BALINT (D-VT): I don't know how to convey to my Republican colleagues any more than than I have already. They have to stand up to this. These are war crimes. [Cuts to live] CORNISH: So, joining me now to discuss is Mark Wallace. He's president of United Against Nuclear Iran, but he's also the former U.S. ambassador to the U.N. Thank you so much for being here. MARK WALLACE (FORMER U.S. AMBASSADOR TO THE UN): Thank you for having me on. CORNISH: So, I've heard people are talking about the president's threats against bridges and power plants, decimation of a whole civilization. Before yesterday, they were saying, look, these are war crimes he's talking about. This rhetoric is wrong. Here we are today, after a ceasefire has been called. Do you think this diplomacy by threat, diplomacy by ultimatum is working? WALLACE: Well, certainly, it's unconventional. Look, as a diplomat and as my friend David Sanger, who's on the - on the panel with us would say, we've done things the same way for many years in Iran. We've watched this for many years. And it's unconventional. That harsh, strong language might resonate well with - in the region and with Iran. Certainly, it's disruptive. A lot of us maybe don't like it, because it's not what we're used to, what we accept; and it's not what -- who we feel like, who we are. What remains to be seen is what happens next. And that is both from a procedural and substantive manner. I think we will closely watch. Will these negotiations actually occur in person? Will the Iranians show up? Will they drag it out and slow- walk it? We've seen these tactics from the Iranians- CORNISH: Yes. WALLACE: - for many years with very maximalist demands. (...) Nicholas Spinnato Wed, 04/08/2026 - 21:12 Marketing Timing Regular Search Engine Title CNN Implies Trump’s Words are War Crimes, Even if Nothing Happened CNS Commentary Off
CNN Implies Trump’s Words are War Crimes, Even if Nothing Happened
CNN Implies Trump’s Words are War Crimes, Even if Nothing Happened After Tuesday night’s ceasefire announcement with Iran, Wednesday’s CNN This Morning shifted to suggest President Trump’s words, itself, were a war crime, since he did not bomb Iranian civilians into oblivion on “bridge and powerplant day,” as the media constantly warned in an over-prolonged 30-hour news cycle where news channels implied Trump would do just that. Among the hour-long morning program, there were multiple moments of Iranian propaganda played on CNN airwaves, including interviews with pro-Regime women, who were dressed in the same garb as those who formed human chains outside power plants. Human shields were actually a war crime. CNN This Morning also displayed many clips of Iranian propaganda, with quick interviews from regime supporters, many dressed in the same garb as those in human chains at power plants, along with a clip from State TV described as "slight propaganda." https://t.co/LaYDa9dzPl pic.twitter.com/4qrqJfP3zL — Nick (@nspin310) April 8, 2026 In the opening minutes of the show, Cornish played two brief interviews with female Regime supporters from state TV who were seen in an arranged regime celebration in an Iranian square waving Islamic Republic flags: AUDIE CORNISH: Now, there are some Iranians asking why the Islamic regime agreed to the ceasefire in the first place. FEMALE REGIME SUPPORTER 1 (Translated): Why should we declare a ceasefire? As you see, there is written that the Strait of Hormuz will stay closed. Why open? FEMALE REGIME SUPPORTER 2 (Translated): America has shown itself a hundred times till now. We have gone to the negotiation table twice when it attacked us and this ceasefire again foregoing and repowering itself. Correspondent Paula Hancocks also introduced a clip from actual Iranian State TV, which she described as just “slight propaganda.” About a quarter into the show, as the CNN chyron read “Has Trump Gone Too Far With His Threats Against Iran?”, Cornish questioned a US victory and American Stability: President Trump told the world he was prepared to, quote, “end civilization in Iran.’ He still might be. What message does that send to U.S. allies and adversaries who are openly questioning America's stability? Cornish played a clip from Democrat Vermont Representative Becca Balint, who said of Republican members of Congress, “They have to stand up to this,” as she stated, “These are war crimes.” After Tuesday's ceasefire announcement and the media's claims of "war crimes" never occurring, CNN This Morning was still stuck on it. Cornish questioned "American stability" as the chyron read: 'Has Trump Gone Too Far With His Threats Against Iran?' pic.twitter.com/4GQ3UMfe7B — Nick (@nspin310) April 8, 2026 Even though nothing happened last night besides a proclaimed ceasefire in the war, Cornish acted, in a question posed to former Ambassador Mark Wallace, as if Trump’s words still went too far: So, I've heard people are talking about the president's threats against bridges and power plants, decimation of a whole civilization. Before yesterday, they were saying, look, these are war crimes he's talking about. This rhetoric is wrong. Here we are today, after a ceasefire has been called. Do you think this diplomacy by threat, diplomacy by ultimatum is working? So now, since the media’s extreme worry of Trump flattening Iran into a full parking lot and 'indiscriminate killings' of all Iranians didn’t materialize, it was now just the words that amounted to Trump being a war criminal for threats to hurt infrastructure, which helped the IRGC carry out its war on American military Gulf allies. In relation to the destruction of bridges as war crimes, just recently, the Ukrainian military had taken out Russian-controlled bridges during their fight back against the Russians’ failure of a “special military operation,” as seen in a video from The Telegraph. It’s almost as if there was a military strategy to taking out places of military movement and usage, as John Kirby said yesterday on MS NOW, would be the actual reason behind large, targeted strikes. But nothing happened, even if CNN’s programs act as if Trump’s words themself were a nuclear bomb dropped on Iran. The transcript is below. Click "expand": CNN This Morning April 8, 2026 6:03:17 AM Eastern AUDIE CORNISH: Now, there are some Iranians asking why the Islamic regime agreed to the ceasefire in the first place. FEMALE REGIME SUPPORTER 1 (Translated): Why should we declare a ceasefire? As you see, there is written that the Strait of Hormuz will stay closed. Why open? FEMALE REGIME SUPPORTER 2 (Translated): America has shown itself a hundred times till now. We have gone to the negotiation table twice when it attacked us and this ceasefire again foregoing and repowering itself. (...) 6:04:33 AM Eastern PAULA HANCOCKS: Now, there's certainly - there was a war of narrative here, as well. This is slightly propaganda, but I want to play this to you does show exactly what Iran thinks this deal is. IRAN STATE TV (Translated): Iran has achieved a great victory and forced America to accept its ten-point plan. America is committed to non-aggression, continued Iranian control over the Strait of Hormuz, acceptance of enrichment, lifting of all sanctions, termination of all resolutions of the Security Council and board of governors, payment of compensation to Iran, withdrawal of American forces from the region, and secession of war on all fronts, including against the Islamic resistance of Lebanon. (...) 6:17:40 AM Eastern MALE PROTESTOR: There's nothing good ever comes from the United States attacking and bombing other countries. FEMALE PROTESTOR: Can't declare that as a win. That's a game. It's not a win. He had a ceasefire in a war that he started. [Cuts to live] 6:17:52 AM Eastern [Chyron reads: “HAS TRUMP GONE TOO FAR WITH HIS THREATS AGAINST IRAN?”] CORNISH: President Trump claims this could be the golden age of the Middle East, after announcing a two-week ceasefire with Iran. He's selling the agreement as a total and complete victory. But what has the U.S. won? President Trump told the world he was prepared to, quote, “end civilization in Iran.’ He still might be. What message does that send to U.S. allies and adversaries who are openly questioning America's stability? [Cuts to video] REP. BECCA BALINT (D-VT): I don't know how to convey to my Republican colleagues any more than than I have already. They have to stand up to this. These are war crimes. [Cuts to live] CORNISH: So, joining me now to discuss is Mark Wallace. He's president of United Against Nuclear Iran, but he's also the former U.S. ambassador to the U.N. Thank you so much for being here. MARK WALLACE (FORMER U.S. AMBASSADOR TO THE UN): Thank you for having me on. CORNISH: So, I've heard people are talking about the president's threats against bridges and power plants, decimation of a whole civilization. Before yesterday, they were saying, look, these are war crimes he's talking about. This rhetoric is wrong. Here we are today, after a ceasefire has been called. Do you think this diplomacy by threat, diplomacy by ultimatum is working? WALLACE: Well, certainly, it's unconventional. Look, as a diplomat and as my friend David Sanger, who's on the - on the panel with us would say, we've done things the same way for many years in Iran. We've watched this for many years. And it's unconventional. That harsh, strong language might resonate well with - in the region and with Iran. Certainly, it's disruptive. A lot of us maybe don't like it, because it's not what we're used to, what we accept; and it's not what -- who we feel like, who we are. What remains to be seen is what happens next. And that is both from a procedural and substantive manner. I think we will closely watch. Will these negotiations actually occur in person? Will the Iranians show up? Will they drag it out and slow- walk it? We've seen these tactics from the Iranians- CORNISH: Yes. WALLACE: - for many years with very maximalist demands. (...) Nicholas Spinnato Wed, 04/08/2026 - 21:12 Marketing Timing Regular Search Engine Title CNN Implies Trump’s Words are War Crimes, Even if Nothing Happened CNS Commentary Off
WHAT? NBC’s Kristen Welker Seems Unaware That There’s a New DHS Secretary
Much of the Elitist Media’s claim to credibility is premised on the access to knowledge and expertise, combined with reporting backstopped by rigorous editing and fact-checking. But it is often the case that this claim is exposed as hollow and outright false. Consider a recent exchange on NBC’s Meet the Press. Watch as host Kristen Welker unironically asserts, despite widely available evidence on the public record, that there is currently “no head of DHS:” NBC's Kristen Welker: "there is no head of @DHS." @SecMullinDHS was confirmed and sworn in TWO WEEKS AGO pic.twitter.com/x5TqgojQDU — Jorge Bonilla (@BonillaJL) April 5, 2026 KRISTEN WELKER: Secretary Johnson, weigh in on that point and the fact that there is no head of DHS right now at a time when DHS is shut down. Does that do real damage? JEH JOHNSON: Yes. I am concerned that these perpetual shutdowns do long-term to aviation security, counterterrorism, cybersecurity. Last Sunday, Senator Lankford told you he was sponsoring the Prevent Government Shutdown Act. I support that. It's a bill that would, if you run out of time, if they go past October 1- automatically you revert to a continuing resolution at last year's funding levels. The detractors say “well, that takes away our leverage and it promotes complacency.” Well, on the other hand, a piece of legislation like that also says we're limiting your congressional travel. In other words, you can't go home until you finish your job. I think -- I think in concept that's a good idea because we're getting into these shutdown modes year after year, more often than once a year. We have to decouple policy disagreements in Congress with funding. The most basic function of Congress is keep the lights on and fund the government. Welker brought Obama-era DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson into a discussion on the recent firings of Cabinet officials such as Attorney General Pam Bondi and former DHS Secretary Kristi Noem. Johnson did not correct Welker on her glaring error, instead going into a mild rebuke of Congress attempting to settle policy disputes via government shutdown that avoids directly confronting both the authors of the still-ongoing DHS shutdown and its underlying rationale. The record is clear. Markwayne Mullin, former U.S. Senator from Oklahoma, was confirmed as DHS Secretary on March 23rd, 2026. Welker reported his nomination on March 5th: Here's Welker, one month ago today, reporting on the nomination of Mullin to lead the agency: pic.twitter.com/XYqTQMy2yJ — Jorge Bonilla (@BonillaJL) April 5, 2026 KRISTEN WELKER: We begin with breaking news and that major shakeup in the Trump Administration, the president announcing on his social media feed this afternoon that he's firing Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and naming Oklahoma senator Markwayne Mullin as his pick to replace her. How do we go from this to Welker confidently saying that the DHS has no head a month later? It appears that standards and rigorous fact-checking give way to whatever Trump-deranged talking point is currently en vogue. Something to consider as the “media reporter” clerisy continues to try to smear conservative media as spreaders of disinformation, despite so-called “legacy” outlets’ demonstrated inability to master even the most basic of facts.
Nevada Democrat Congresswoman Lee Drops F-Bombs in Late-Night Anti-Trump Tweet
Nevada Democrat Congresswoman Lee Drops F-Bombs in Late-Night Anti-Trump Tweet Democrat Nevada Rep. Susie Lee’s late-night F-bomb laced anti-Trump tweet about the president’s upcoming Supreme Court appearance went viral Wednesday before being deleted – but, posts of screenshots and comments reacting to her vulgarity remain. “JUST IN: Nevada Democrat Congresswoman Susie Lee DELETES UNHINGED profanity-laced rant against President Trump going to SCOTUS,” Florida Voice News Chief Content Officer Eric Daugherty reported on X.com. “So f*cking f*cked up. I’ll pray they f*ck him to his face. Sorry, I say f*ck a lot these days,” Rep. Lee said in a 1:03 a.m. post, according to an unedited X.com screenshot shared by Daugherty. “Rep. Susie Lee is going viral after a strongly worded social media post reacting to reports that Trump will attend a Supreme Court hearing on birthright citizenship,” confirmed TalkRadio 77 WABC, posting a screenshot editing the F-word. Reaction to Lee’s vulgar attack on the president mostly claim that Rep. Lee was revealing her true character in the now-deleted post and declared the congresswoman “unhinged.” Another vulgar overnight post by Rep. Lee has yet to be deleted: “Want to hear some bullsh*t? Republicans cut your health care to pay for tax breaks to the wealthiest Americans and corporations.” Craig Bannister Wed, 04/01/2026 - 10:39 Marketing Timing Breaking Search Engine Title Nevada Democrat Congresswoman Drops F-Bombs in Late-Night Anti-Trump Tweet CNS Commentary Off
After Weeks of Anti-Semitic Terror Attacks, Pathetic PBS Warns of ‘Islamophobia in America’
Monday’s PBS News Hour fell into the footsteps of its fellow public media outlet NPR, raising alarm over purported “hateful rhetoric” by the Republican Party against Muslims. The online title: “Anti-Islamic rhetoric from GOP politicians sparks concerns over religious hatred.” The opening graphic behind co-anchor Geoff Bennett read “Islamophobia in America.” Yes, after weeks of attacks on Jews and others by Muslims, “Islamophobia” remains the thing the elitist press wants to discuss. Geoff Bennett: More than two weeks into the war with Iran, Muslim Americans are confronting a new surge of hateful rhetoric here at home, amplified online and echoed by Republican lawmakers. Tennessee Congressman Andy Ogles posted that Muslims don't belong in American society. Florida Congressman Randy Fine wrote this: "We need more Islamophobia, not less. Fear of Islam is rational." And Alabama Senator Tommy Tuberville paired images of 9/11 with New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, saying -- quote -- "The enemy is inside the gates." Civil rights advocates and Democratic lawmakers have condemned the remarks as dangerous and openly bigoted. We're joined now by Maya Berry, executive director of the Arab American institute….When you hear and read some of the comments from Republican lawmakers right now, what stands out to you most? Maya Berry, Executive Director, Arab American Institute: I mean, to be honest, the initial response is just how broken our democracy is….the fact that it's coming from elected officials who have American Muslim constituents who should understand with greater clarity how their rhetoric is perhaps different than mine or yours, and yet they feel very comfortable continuing to engage in this, stoking fear and putting communities and individuals at risk. Berry is highly favored at NPR. In her capacity at the AAI, Berry has claimed on X that "Palestinians are regularly killed by Israel without consequence." As usual, anti-Jewish hate crimes and violence were glossed over. Bennett: And you have some defending their remarks by pointing to these recent attacks allegedly carried out by Muslim men, the car ramming at a Michigan synagogue, the shooter at Old Dominion University last week. President Trump, who you mentioned, he was on Brian Kilmeade's FOX radio show last week. Take a listen to what he said. After a Trump clip, Bennett continued. Bennett: ….And there can be legitimate concerns about how people become radicalized and then carry out acts of violence. There's a separate question around how leaders address that without turning it into sweeping claims, derogatory claims about millions of Americans. Berry: Look, I'm not going to argue that someone who resorts to violence like we saw in the horrific attack in Michigan or the shooting in Virginia isn't perhaps sick in some way. There's something wrong there, without a doubt. The difference, though, is that no one would suggest that we engage in that kind of talk when we talked about the Sikh shooting, the temple shooting in Oak Creek [Wisconsin]. No one said that when there was a shooting in South Carolina. No one said that when we were talking about the devastating killing of congregants at the Tree of Life Synagogue or Charlottesville, Virginia, where Heather Heyer was killed, or the supermarket in El Paso…. Bennett: ….I want to ask you this, because in the past, party leaders have taken action against members of Congress for racist and extremist rhetoric. That was the case back in 2019, when Speaker, then-Speaker Kevin McCarthy booted Steve King off of his committees for racist rhetoric. Fast-forward to the present moment. There doesn't appear to be that same level of accountability. What's the impact of that? Wouldn’t a more relevant comparison be the treatment of Democratic House members Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) and Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI). Omar has spouted a lot of anti-Semitism both in and out of office, while Tlaib was censured by the House for defending the eliminationist chant "from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.” But as usual, Democratic rhetorical controversies involving anti-Semitism were ignored. A transcript is available, click “Expand.” PBS News Hour 3/16/26 7:36:09 p.m. (ET) Geoff Bennett: More than two weeks into the war with Iran, Muslim Americans are confronting a new surge of hateful rhetoric here at home, amplified online and echoed by Republican lawmakers. Tennessee Congressman Andy Ogles posted that Muslims don't belong in American society. Florida Congressman Randy Fine wrote this: "We need more Islamophobia, not less. Fear of Islam is rational." And Alabama Senator Tommy Tuberville paired images of 9/11 with New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, saying -- quote -- "The enemy is inside the gates." Civil rights advocates and Democratic lawmakers have condemned the remarks as dangerous and openly bigoted. We're joined now by Maya Berry, executive director of the Arab American institute. Thank you for being with us. Maya Berry, Executive Director, Arab American Institute: Thank you for having us, Geoff. Geoff Bennett: When you hear and read some of the comments from Republican lawmakers right now, what stands out to you most? Maya Berry: I mean, to be honest, the initial response is just how broken our democracy is. I feel it in a very personal way in terms of the targeting in the American Muslim community like this, the scapegoating of a community like this. But the fact that it's coming from elected officials who have American Muslim constituents who should understand with greater clarity how their rhetoric is perhaps different than mine or yours, and yet they feel very comfortable continuing to engage in this, stoking fear and putting communities and individuals at risk. Geoff Bennett: Does the rhetoric we're hearing now, does this represent an escalation or is this part of a longer pattern in American politics? Maya Berry: So I think that's a really important observation. Communities being scapegoated at different times for different reasons is certainly a pattern in our country. What's different here, and I would even suggest worse than what we saw post-9/11, is that after the terror attacks in 9/11 happened, you had elected officials, a president, who went to a mosque within a couple of days to get those attacks and said, do not target your fellow Americans. This is not who we are. This is not what we're going to do. Now, obviously, there are policies that ensued that securitized a community, that treated it as a potential security threat moving forward and that really harmed the relationship between those individuals and their fellow countrypeople. But what I would say is that, when the largest office of the land, the presidential bully pulpit, is being used to tell their fellow Americans, do not scapegoat those communities, that's very, very different than what we see today. The single largest crime -- or hate crime data that we had that targeted both actually Arab-Americans and American Muslims came after 9/11. The second largest numbers came after the 2015 and 2016 years, which is the beginning of President Trump's initial campaign and running for office. So there is certainly, I think, a decision among some that this rhetoric is helpful. It gives them viral moments. It helps them raise money. That, to me, is why I keep emphasizing that you should care about this because it is harmful to a community, but you should also care about this because I think it is indicative of how problematic and how fragile our democratic institutions are right now. Geoff Bennett: And you have some defending their remarks by pointing to these recent attacks allegedly carried out by Muslim men, the car ramming at a Michigan synagogue, the shooter at Old Dominion University last week. President Trump, who you mentioned, he was on Brian Kilmeade's FOX radio show last week. Take a listen to what he said. President Donald Trump: They're sick people. And a lot of them were let in here. They shouldn't have been let in. Others are just bad. They go bad, something wrong. There's something wrong there. Genetics are not exactly -- they're not exactly your genetic. It's one of those problems. Geoff Bennett: I want to ask you to respond to that. And there can be legitimate concerns about how people become radicalized and then carry out acts of violence. There's a separate question around how leaders address that without turning it into sweeping claims, derogatory claims about millions of Americans. Maya Berry: Look, I'm not going to argue that someone who resorts to violence like we saw in the horrific attack in Michigan or the shooting in Virginia isn't perhaps sick in some way. There's something wrong there, without a doubt. The difference, though, is that no one would suggest that we engage in that kind of talk when we talked about the Sikh shooting, the temple shooting in Oak Creek. No one said that when there was a shooting in South Carolina. No one said that when we were talking about the devastating killing of congregants at the Tree of Life Synagogue or Charlottesville, Virginia, where Heather Heyer was killed, or the supermarket in El Paso. There have been systematic ways in which our country has increasingly moved with some level of comfort with political violence that's really very alarming. There were two assassination attempts on President Trump. There was a legislator and her husband that -- killed in Minnesota. The question is, why do we take those individual incidents and understand there to be a problem that our country has to address and not suggest that we develop a different relationships with white supremacists, for example, who've engaged with those and start saying that we need to -- what went wrong? How do we take away their citizenship? What's the denaturalization process? None of that happens, except when it is looking at American Muslims and sometimes Arab Americans. Geoff Bennett: Well, on that point, I want to ask you this, because in the past, party leaders have taken action against members of Congress for racist and extremist rhetoric. That was the case back in 2019, when Speaker, then-Speaker Kevin McCarthy booted Steve King off of his committees for racist rhetoric. Fast-forward to the present moment. There doesn't appear to be that same level of accountability. What's the impact of that? Maya Berry: No, to the contrary, there's no censure. There are no committees assignments being withdrawn. In fact, in the case of Congressman Randy Fine, the day he actually said starve them all is the day that he was appointed to the House Foreign Affairs Committee. And you have a situation where the House speaker, instead of saying this kind of rhetoric must stop, it's harmful to our fellow Americans and we ought not to engage in it, he said there's a legitimate fear about Sharia, demanding Sharia law in our country. Sharia law is something, a concept within like a moral or religious code that applies to me personally. It would never apply to you or anyone else if they weren't Muslim. It dictates things like our prayer or our marriage processes or burials. So this idea that we're going to take something like that and the speaker would suggest this is the reason why his members would get away with saying the kinds of things that they said is just intellectually dishonest and morally replicable. Geoff Bennett: Beyond the rhetoric, are you seeing signs that these attitudes are influencing policy? Maya Berry: Without a doubt. There have been some pretty, pretty significant setbacks in terms of basic civil rights protections and First Amendment protection rights. But I would focus more on -- at this point, frankly, I go back to Congress, because certainly I'm not suggesting the executive is working great. But the issue with Congress is, it's not just that a member tweets something that's reprehensible. Look at the remarks they're giving on the House floor. Look at the questions and comments they make during congressional hearings. It's not just about, like, they need to engage or behave in ways that are decent. It's really about a structural problem within the body itself. It's not passing budgets on time. It's not passing laws. There's no congressional oversight. Our country just went to war without a war powers resolution. But what do they find time to do? They find time to sit and tell us that we need to fear our fellow Americans. Geoff Bennett: Maya Berry, executive director of the Arab American Institute, thank you for your perspectives. Maya Berry: Thank you.
After Weeks of Anti-Semitic Terror Attacks, Pathetic PBS Warns of ‘Islamophobia in America’
Monday’s PBS News Hour fell into the footsteps of its fellow public media outlet NPR, raising alarm over purported “hateful rhetoric” by the Republican Party against Muslims. The online title: “Anti-Islamic rhetoric from GOP politicians sparks concerns over religious hatred.” The opening graphic behind co-anchor Geoff Bennett read “Islamophobia in America.” Yes, after weeks of attacks on Jews and others by Muslims, “Islamophobia” remains the thing the elitist press wants to discuss. Geoff Bennett: More than two weeks into the war with Iran, Muslim Americans are confronting a new surge of hateful rhetoric here at home, amplified online and echoed by Republican lawmakers. Tennessee Congressman Andy Ogles posted that Muslims don't belong in American society. Florida Congressman Randy Fine wrote this: "We need more Islamophobia, not less. Fear of Islam is rational." And Alabama Senator Tommy Tuberville paired images of 9/11 with New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, saying -- quote -- "The enemy is inside the gates." Civil rights advocates and Democratic lawmakers have condemned the remarks as dangerous and openly bigoted. We're joined now by Maya Berry, executive director of the Arab American institute….When you hear and read some of the comments from Republican lawmakers right now, what stands out to you most? Maya Berry, Executive Director, Arab American Institute: I mean, to be honest, the initial response is just how broken our democracy is….the fact that it's coming from elected officials who have American Muslim constituents who should understand with greater clarity how their rhetoric is perhaps different than mine or yours, and yet they feel very comfortable continuing to engage in this, stoking fear and putting communities and individuals at risk. Berry is highly favored at NPR. In her capacity at the AAI, Berry has claimed on X that "Palestinians are regularly killed by Israel without consequence." As usual, anti-Jewish hate crimes and violence were glossed over. Bennett: And you have some defending their remarks by pointing to these recent attacks allegedly carried out by Muslim men, the car ramming at a Michigan synagogue, the shooter at Old Dominion University last week. President Trump, who you mentioned, he was on Brian Kilmeade's FOX radio show last week. Take a listen to what he said. After a Trump clip, Bennett continued. Bennett: ….And there can be legitimate concerns about how people become radicalized and then carry out acts of violence. There's a separate question around how leaders address that without turning it into sweeping claims, derogatory claims about millions of Americans. Berry: Look, I'm not going to argue that someone who resorts to violence like we saw in the horrific attack in Michigan or the shooting in Virginia isn't perhaps sick in some way. There's something wrong there, without a doubt. The difference, though, is that no one would suggest that we engage in that kind of talk when we talked about the Sikh shooting, the temple shooting in Oak Creek [Wisconsin]. No one said that when there was a shooting in South Carolina. No one said that when we were talking about the devastating killing of congregants at the Tree of Life Synagogue or Charlottesville, Virginia, where Heather Heyer was killed, or the supermarket in El Paso…. Bennett: ….I want to ask you this, because in the past, party leaders have taken action against members of Congress for racist and extremist rhetoric. That was the case back in 2019, when Speaker, then-Speaker Kevin McCarthy booted Steve King off of his committees for racist rhetoric. Fast-forward to the present moment. There doesn't appear to be that same level of accountability. What's the impact of that? Wouldn’t a more relevant comparison be the treatment of Democratic House members Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) and Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI). Omar has spouted a lot of anti-Semitism both in and out of office, while Tlaib was censured by the House for defending the eliminationist chant "from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.” But as usual, Democratic rhetorical controversies involving anti-Semitism were ignored. A transcript is available, click “Expand.” PBS News Hour 3/16/26 7:36:09 p.m. (ET) Geoff Bennett: More than two weeks into the war with Iran, Muslim Americans are confronting a new surge of hateful rhetoric here at home, amplified online and echoed by Republican lawmakers. Tennessee Congressman Andy Ogles posted that Muslims don't belong in American society. Florida Congressman Randy Fine wrote this: "We need more Islamophobia, not less. Fear of Islam is rational." And Alabama Senator Tommy Tuberville paired images of 9/11 with New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, saying -- quote -- "The enemy is inside the gates." Civil rights advocates and Democratic lawmakers have condemned the remarks as dangerous and openly bigoted. We're joined now by Maya Berry, executive director of the Arab American institute. Thank you for being with us. Maya Berry, Executive Director, Arab American Institute: Thank you for having us, Geoff. Geoff Bennett: When you hear and read some of the comments from Republican lawmakers right now, what stands out to you most? Maya Berry: I mean, to be honest, the initial response is just how broken our democracy is. I feel it in a very personal way in terms of the targeting in the American Muslim community like this, the scapegoating of a community like this. But the fact that it's coming from elected officials who have American Muslim constituents who should understand with greater clarity how their rhetoric is perhaps different than mine or yours, and yet they feel very comfortable continuing to engage in this, stoking fear and putting communities and individuals at risk. Geoff Bennett: Does the rhetoric we're hearing now, does this represent an escalation or is this part of a longer pattern in American politics? Maya Berry: So I think that's a really important observation. Communities being scapegoated at different times for different reasons is certainly a pattern in our country. What's different here, and I would even suggest worse than what we saw post-9/11, is that after the terror attacks in 9/11 happened, you had elected officials, a president, who went to a mosque within a couple of days to get those attacks and said, do not target your fellow Americans. This is not who we are. This is not what we're going to do. Now, obviously, there are policies that ensued that securitized a community, that treated it as a potential security threat moving forward and that really harmed the relationship between those individuals and their fellow countrypeople. But what I would say is that, when the largest office of the land, the presidential bully pulpit, is being used to tell their fellow Americans, do not scapegoat those communities, that's very, very different than what we see today. The single largest crime -- or hate crime data that we had that targeted both actually Arab-Americans and American Muslims came after 9/11. The second largest numbers came after the 2015 and 2016 years, which is the beginning of President Trump's initial campaign and running for office. So there is certainly, I think, a decision among some that this rhetoric is helpful. It gives them viral moments. It helps them raise money. That, to me, is why I keep emphasizing that you should care about this because it is harmful to a community, but you should also care about this because I think it is indicative of how problematic and how fragile our democratic institutions are right now. Geoff Bennett: And you have some defending their remarks by pointing to these recent attacks allegedly carried out by Muslim men, the car ramming at a Michigan synagogue, the shooter at Old Dominion University last week. President Trump, who you mentioned, he was on Brian Kilmeade's FOX radio show last week. Take a listen to what he said. President Donald Trump: They're sick people. And a lot of them were let in here. They shouldn't have been let in. Others are just bad. They go bad, something wrong. There's something wrong there. Genetics are not exactly -- they're not exactly your genetic. It's one of those problems. Geoff Bennett: I want to ask you to respond to that. And there can be legitimate concerns about how people become radicalized and then carry out acts of violence. There's a separate question around how leaders address that without turning it into sweeping claims, derogatory claims about millions of Americans. Maya Berry: Look, I'm not going to argue that someone who resorts to violence like we saw in the horrific attack in Michigan or the shooting in Virginia isn't perhaps sick in some way. There's something wrong there, without a doubt. The difference, though, is that no one would suggest that we engage in that kind of talk when we talked about the Sikh shooting, the temple shooting in Oak Creek. No one said that when there was a shooting in South Carolina. No one said that when we were talking about the devastating killing of congregants at the Tree of Life Synagogue or Charlottesville, Virginia, where Heather Heyer was killed, or the supermarket in El Paso. There have been systematic ways in which our country has increasingly moved with some level of comfort with political violence that's really very alarming. There were two assassination attempts on President Trump. There was a legislator and her husband that -- killed in Minnesota. The question is, why do we take those individual incidents and understand there to be a problem that our country has to address and not suggest that we develop a different relationships with white supremacists, for example, who've engaged with those and start saying that we need to -- what went wrong? How do we take away their citizenship? What's the denaturalization process? None of that happens, except when it is looking at American Muslims and sometimes Arab Americans. Geoff Bennett: Well, on that point, I want to ask you this, because in the past, party leaders have taken action against members of Congress for racist and extremist rhetoric. That was the case back in 2019, when Speaker, then-Speaker Kevin McCarthy booted Steve King off of his committees for racist rhetoric. Fast-forward to the present moment. There doesn't appear to be that same level of accountability. What's the impact of that? Maya Berry: No, to the contrary, there's no censure. There are no committees assignments being withdrawn. In fact, in the case of Congressman Randy Fine, the day he actually said starve them all is the day that he was appointed to the House Foreign Affairs Committee. And you have a situation where the House speaker, instead of saying this kind of rhetoric must stop, it's harmful to our fellow Americans and we ought not to engage in it, he said there's a legitimate fear about Sharia, demanding Sharia law in our country. Sharia law is something, a concept within like a moral or religious code that applies to me personally. It would never apply to you or anyone else if they weren't Muslim. It dictates things like our prayer or our marriage processes or burials. So this idea that we're going to take something like that and the speaker would suggest this is the reason why his members would get away with saying the kinds of things that they said is just intellectually dishonest and morally replicable. Geoff Bennett: Beyond the rhetoric, are you seeing signs that these attitudes are influencing policy? Maya Berry: Without a doubt. There have been some pretty, pretty significant setbacks in terms of basic civil rights protections and First Amendment protection rights. But I would focus more on -- at this point, frankly, I go back to Congress, because certainly I'm not suggesting the executive is working great. But the issue with Congress is, it's not just that a member tweets something that's reprehensible. Look at the remarks they're giving on the House floor. Look at the questions and comments they make during congressional hearings. It's not just about, like, they need to engage or behave in ways that are decent. It's really about a structural problem within the body itself. It's not passing budgets on time. It's not passing laws. There's no congressional oversight. Our country just went to war without a war powers resolution. But what do they find time to do? They find time to sit and tell us that we need to fear our fellow Americans. Geoff Bennett: Maya Berry, executive director of the Arab American Institute, thank you for your perspectives. Maya Berry: Thank you.
After Weeks of Anti-Semitic Terror Attacks, Pathetic PBS Warns of ‘Islamophobia in America’
Monday’s PBS News Hour fell into the footsteps of its fellow public media outlet NPR, raising alarm over purported “hateful rhetoric” by the Republican Party against Muslims. The online title: “Anti-Islamic rhetoric from GOP politicians sparks concerns over religious hatred.” The opening graphic behind co-anchor Geoff Bennett read “Islamophobia in America.” Yes, after weeks of attacks on Jews and others by Muslims, “Islamophobia” remains the thing the elitist press wants to discuss. Geoff Bennett: More than two weeks into the war with Iran, Muslim Americans are confronting a new surge of hateful rhetoric here at home, amplified online and echoed by Republican lawmakers. Tennessee Congressman Andy Ogles posted that Muslims don't belong in American society. Florida Congressman Randy Fine wrote this: "We need more Islamophobia, not less. Fear of Islam is rational." And Alabama Senator Tommy Tuberville paired images of 9/11 with New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, saying -- quote -- "The enemy is inside the gates." Civil rights advocates and Democratic lawmakers have condemned the remarks as dangerous and openly bigoted. We're joined now by Maya Berry, executive director of the Arab American institute….When you hear and read some of the comments from Republican lawmakers right now, what stands out to you most? Maya Berry, Executive Director, Arab American Institute: I mean, to be honest, the initial response is just how broken our democracy is….the fact that it's coming from elected officials who have American Muslim constituents who should understand with greater clarity how their rhetoric is perhaps different than mine or yours, and yet they feel very comfortable continuing to engage in this, stoking fear and putting communities and individuals at risk. Berry is highly favored at NPR. In her capacity at the AAI, Berry has claimed on X that "Palestinians are regularly killed by Israel without consequence." As usual, anti-Jewish hate crimes and violence were glossed over. Bennett: And you have some defending their remarks by pointing to these recent attacks allegedly carried out by Muslim men, the car ramming at a Michigan synagogue, the shooter at Old Dominion University last week. President Trump, who you mentioned, he was on Brian Kilmeade's FOX radio show last week. Take a listen to what he said. After a Trump clip, Bennett continued. Bennett: ….And there can be legitimate concerns about how people become radicalized and then carry out acts of violence. There's a separate question around how leaders address that without turning it into sweeping claims, derogatory claims about millions of Americans. Berry: Look, I'm not going to argue that someone who resorts to violence like we saw in the horrific attack in Michigan or the shooting in Virginia isn't perhaps sick in some way. There's something wrong there, without a doubt. The difference, though, is that no one would suggest that we engage in that kind of talk when we talked about the Sikh shooting, the temple shooting in Oak Creek [Wisconsin]. No one said that when there was a shooting in South Carolina. No one said that when we were talking about the devastating killing of congregants at the Tree of Life Synagogue or Charlottesville, Virginia, where Heather Heyer was killed, or the supermarket in El Paso…. Bennett: ….I want to ask you this, because in the past, party leaders have taken action against members of Congress for racist and extremist rhetoric. That was the case back in 2019, when Speaker, then-Speaker Kevin McCarthy booted Steve King off of his committees for racist rhetoric. Fast-forward to the present moment. There doesn't appear to be that same level of accountability. What's the impact of that? Wouldn’t a more relevant comparison be the treatment of Democratic House members Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) and Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI). Omar has spouted a lot of anti-Semitism both in and out of office, while Tlaib was censured by the House for defending the eliminationist chant "from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.” But as usual, Democratic rhetorical controversies involving anti-Semitism were ignored. A transcript is available, click “Expand.” PBS News Hour 3/16/26 7:36:09 p.m. (ET) Geoff Bennett: More than two weeks into the war with Iran, Muslim Americans are confronting a new surge of hateful rhetoric here at home, amplified online and echoed by Republican lawmakers. Tennessee Congressman Andy Ogles posted that Muslims don't belong in American society. Florida Congressman Randy Fine wrote this: "We need more Islamophobia, not less. Fear of Islam is rational." And Alabama Senator Tommy Tuberville paired images of 9/11 with New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, saying -- quote -- "The enemy is inside the gates." Civil rights advocates and Democratic lawmakers have condemned the remarks as dangerous and openly bigoted. We're joined now by Maya Berry, executive director of the Arab American institute. Thank you for being with us. Maya Berry, Executive Director, Arab American Institute: Thank you for having us, Geoff. Geoff Bennett: When you hear and read some of the comments from Republican lawmakers right now, what stands out to you most? Maya Berry: I mean, to be honest, the initial response is just how broken our democracy is. I feel it in a very personal way in terms of the targeting in the American Muslim community like this, the scapegoating of a community like this. But the fact that it's coming from elected officials who have American Muslim constituents who should understand with greater clarity how their rhetoric is perhaps different than mine or yours, and yet they feel very comfortable continuing to engage in this, stoking fear and putting communities and individuals at risk. Geoff Bennett: Does the rhetoric we're hearing now, does this represent an escalation or is this part of a longer pattern in American politics? Maya Berry: So I think that's a really important observation. Communities being scapegoated at different times for different reasons is certainly a pattern in our country. What's different here, and I would even suggest worse than what we saw post-9/11, is that after the terror attacks in 9/11 happened, you had elected officials, a president, who went to a mosque within a couple of days to get those attacks and said, do not target your fellow Americans. This is not who we are. This is not what we're going to do. Now, obviously, there are policies that ensued that securitized a community, that treated it as a potential security threat moving forward and that really harmed the relationship between those individuals and their fellow countrypeople. But what I would say is that, when the largest office of the land, the presidential bully pulpit, is being used to tell their fellow Americans, do not scapegoat those communities, that's very, very different than what we see today. The single largest crime -- or hate crime data that we had that targeted both actually Arab-Americans and American Muslims came after 9/11. The second largest numbers came after the 2015 and 2016 years, which is the beginning of President Trump's initial campaign and running for office. So there is certainly, I think, a decision among some that this rhetoric is helpful. It gives them viral moments. It helps them raise money. That, to me, is why I keep emphasizing that you should care about this because it is harmful to a community, but you should also care about this because I think it is indicative of how problematic and how fragile our democratic institutions are right now. Geoff Bennett: And you have some defending their remarks by pointing to these recent attacks allegedly carried out by Muslim men, the car ramming at a Michigan synagogue, the shooter at Old Dominion University last week. President Trump, who you mentioned, he was on Brian Kilmeade's FOX radio show last week. Take a listen to what he said. President Donald Trump: They're sick people. And a lot of them were let in here. They shouldn't have been let in. Others are just bad. They go bad, something wrong. There's something wrong there. Genetics are not exactly -- they're not exactly your genetic. It's one of those problems. Geoff Bennett: I want to ask you to respond to that. And there can be legitimate concerns about how people become radicalized and then carry out acts of violence. There's a separate question around how leaders address that without turning it into sweeping claims, derogatory claims about millions of Americans. Maya Berry: Look, I'm not going to argue that someone who resorts to violence like we saw in the horrific attack in Michigan or the shooting in Virginia isn't perhaps sick in some way. There's something wrong there, without a doubt. The difference, though, is that no one would suggest that we engage in that kind of talk when we talked about the Sikh shooting, the temple shooting in Oak Creek. No one said that when there was a shooting in South Carolina. No one said that when we were talking about the devastating killing of congregants at the Tree of Life Synagogue or Charlottesville, Virginia, where Heather Heyer was killed, or the supermarket in El Paso. There have been systematic ways in which our country has increasingly moved with some level of comfort with political violence that's really very alarming. There were two assassination attempts on President Trump. There was a legislator and her husband that -- killed in Minnesota. The question is, why do we take those individual incidents and understand there to be a problem that our country has to address and not suggest that we develop a different relationships with white supremacists, for example, who've engaged with those and start saying that we need to -- what went wrong? How do we take away their citizenship? What's the denaturalization process? None of that happens, except when it is looking at American Muslims and sometimes Arab Americans. Geoff Bennett: Well, on that point, I want to ask you this, because in the past, party leaders have taken action against members of Congress for racist and extremist rhetoric. That was the case back in 2019, when Speaker, then-Speaker Kevin McCarthy booted Steve King off of his committees for racist rhetoric. Fast-forward to the present moment. There doesn't appear to be that same level of accountability. What's the impact of that? Maya Berry: No, to the contrary, there's no censure. There are no committees assignments being withdrawn. In fact, in the case of Congressman Randy Fine, the day he actually said starve them all is the day that he was appointed to the House Foreign Affairs Committee. And you have a situation where the House speaker, instead of saying this kind of rhetoric must stop, it's harmful to our fellow Americans and we ought not to engage in it, he said there's a legitimate fear about Sharia, demanding Sharia law in our country. Sharia law is something, a concept within like a moral or religious code that applies to me personally. It would never apply to you or anyone else if they weren't Muslim. It dictates things like our prayer or our marriage processes or burials. So this idea that we're going to take something like that and the speaker would suggest this is the reason why his members would get away with saying the kinds of things that they said is just intellectually dishonest and morally replicable. Geoff Bennett: Beyond the rhetoric, are you seeing signs that these attitudes are influencing policy? Maya Berry: Without a doubt. There have been some pretty, pretty significant setbacks in terms of basic civil rights protections and First Amendment protection rights. But I would focus more on -- at this point, frankly, I go back to Congress, because certainly I'm not suggesting the executive is working great. But the issue with Congress is, it's not just that a member tweets something that's reprehensible. Look at the remarks they're giving on the House floor. Look at the questions and comments they make during congressional hearings. It's not just about, like, they need to engage or behave in ways that are decent. It's really about a structural problem within the body itself. It's not passing budgets on time. It's not passing laws. There's no congressional oversight. Our country just went to war without a war powers resolution. But what do they find time to do? They find time to sit and tell us that we need to fear our fellow Americans. Geoff Bennett: Maya Berry, executive director of the Arab American Institute, thank you for your perspectives. Maya Berry: Thank you.
CNN and MS NOW Ignore Reality, Blame Republicans for DHS Shutdown
During Tuesday morning’s cable news morning shows on MS NOW and CNN, blame was placed on Republicans for the lasting DHS shutdown caused by Democrat protests of immigration enforcement and ICE funding. The hosts of CNN This Morning, CNN News Central, and, of course, MS NOW’s Morning Joe ignored the Democrats' impact on the shutdown, a growing media trend. In a tease for the News Central segment, CNN This Morning host Audie Cornish teed up the story as a Republican attack on Democrats: Okay, you guys, we want to talk a little bit more about the partial government shutdown affecting the Department of Homeland Security enters another week and as we mentioned earlier, very long lines at the airport as a result. So, Republicans want voters to blame Democrats. We're going to talk about how this is going to play out. In a tease for CNN News Central, CNN This Morning host Audie Cornish minimized the Democrats impact on the DHS shutdown and impacts to the TSA. Instead, she stated "Republicans want voters to blame Democrats" for the shutdown. pic.twitter.com/UWdcdOu6s9 — Nick (@nspin310) March 17, 2026 An hour later in CNN programming, during the precursor to an interview with Republican Congressman Pete Sessions of Texas, Bolduan began to frame the segment as Democrats being the saviors who would end the shutdown just like they released the Epstein files: And now Democrats, today, are pushing ahead with a new move to try to force a vote that could end the shutdown. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries is now telling fellow Democrats he's launching a discharge petition tomorrow. It would fund most of DHS, including TSA, while not approving new funding for ICE and Customs and Border Patrol. This tactic has worked for Democrats recently, a discharge petition, like in successfully forcing the vote to release the Epstein files. In the segment Cornish alluded to, News Central host Kate Bolduan treated Congressional Democrats as the saviors that will fund DHS, except for CBP and ICE, through a discharge petition, just like they did with the Epstein Files. pic.twitter.com/r5YzLafBNx — Nick (@nspin310) March 17, 2026 Bolduan was tough in the interview with Session, with questions on if he would be “open to funding TSA, FEMA, CISA and then debating funding for ICE afterward?” Her question ignored the reality that ICE was already funded. The shutdown right now was a tactic for reforms that has just ended up putting national security at risk. Bolduan ended the DHS shutdown part of the interview with: “It sounds like we are nowhere near breaking the stalemate, is what I take from this.” Next, on the premiere liberal morning talk show, Morning Joe, Katty Kay and Jonathan Lemire placed blame on Republicans, especially Senator Katie Britt of Alabama, for not agreeing with Senator Patty Murray’s (D-WA) bill that would still have not fully funded DHS. Kay read, “Last week, Senate Republicans blocked five separate bills proposed by Democrats to fund TSA and other non-immigration agencies. One of the proposals, from Democratic Senator Patty Murray of Washington, was killed by a Republican senator, Katie Britt of Alabama.” Kay's introduction to the segment blamed Sen. Katie Britt (R-AL) for blocking a funding bill. She ignored the actual reasoning for the shutdown, which was Democrat protests of immigration policy. pic.twitter.com/STxQEVT4AL — Nick (@nspin310) March 17, 2026 Kay and Lemire focused on Democratic Congressman Greg Casar’s (TX) confrontation at an airport in Texas with Senator John Cornyn (R-TX). The hosts made fun of Cornyn’s attempt to give the TSA workers Whataburger meals. Kay connected the burgers to how the shutdown is actually working for Democrats: Yeah, John. Burgers, paychecks, I think most TSA agents know which one they would rather have. This has been interesting politically because I think initially some Democrats were worried about the framing of this. But in the last few days, as those queues and those lines have got longer during spring break travel, I think they have seen something shift and they think, well, look, if we can single out funding for the TSA agents and separate that from funding for ICE, this could actually work politically in Democrats favor. What are you seeing? MS NOW's Morning Joe, unsurprisingly, continued to place blame on Republicans, as Katty Kay and Jonathan Lemire stated that the Democrats are winning the shutdown fight. https://t.co/Z98G9B2ptn pic.twitter.com/uY0eguMuJf — Nick (@nspin310) March 17, 2026 Lemire also parroted the talking point of republicans being in control of the Senate, while ignoring the existence of the filibuster vote threshold: But you're right. I think Democrats do feel like just, like the last funding fight, that they're on the right side of this. That the Republicans are in control. They have both houses of congress. They have the white house. They're taking most of the blame. One wonders, though, how much longer this can last. The liberal cable networks refusal to blame Democrats for the shutdown is alike to the big three broadcast networks almost entirely ignoring the Democrat’s impact on the shutdown, as seen in a recent MRC Newsbusters study. The transcript is below. Click "expand": CNN This Morning March 17, 2026 6:48:52 AM AUDIE CORNISH: Okay, you guys, we want to talk a little bit more about the partial government shutdown affecting the Department of Homeland Security enters another week and as we mentioned earlier, very long lines at the airport as a result. So, Republicans want voters to blame Democrats. We're going to talk about how this is going to play out. (...) CNN News Central March 17, 2026 7:48:02 AM Eastern KATE BOLDUAN: The partial government shutdown of DHS has led to brutal and growing wait times at airports and led to hundreds of TSA agents now quitting. That shutdown now enters its second month. At the center of the political stalemate is the future, and funding of ICE. And as with every shutdown, as we have seen of recent, Democrats and Republicans are currently and still blaming each other for not coming to the table to bring an end to this. And now Democrats, today, are pushing ahead with a new move to try to force a vote that could end the shutdown. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries is now telling fellow Democrats he's launching a discharge petition tomorrow. It would fund most of DHS, including TSA, while not approving new funding for ICE and Customs and Border Patrol. This tactic has worked for Democrats recently, a discharge petition, like in successfully forcing the vote to release the Epstein files. But this move this time, like others, would require Democrats to win over a number of Republicans to get this to the floor. Joining me right now is Republican Congressman Pete Sessions of Texas. Congressman thanks for coming in. Texas has seen some crazy wait times at airports. In Austin, though I know not in your district, the security lines we've seen video reached outside the terminal. Facing that and the reality that TSA workers are quitting now, are you open to funding TSA, FEMA, CISA and then debating funding for ICE afterward? REP. PETE SESSIONS (R-TX): I think we all recognize that there's a political difference here. Our friends that were Democrats years ago wanted to defund ICE. This is not a new issue. This is not a new issue because these same types of arrangements have happened for years. I am not open to that. We must understand that ICE has a role and a function. And I think that the negotiation that took place several weeks ago about the changes that would be made should have been significant enough to get my fellow Democrats, my friends, back on with some bit of reliability. They've also seen a change - a change at the top. Kristi Noem came and testified. It was a hearing that really ended up, I think, showing the American people some of the frailties of the policies. I think those will be corrected. I think that effective with Sen. Markwayne Mullin, who will become the director, that there will be a different viewpoint perhaps as is seen by the American people in their hometown. But no, I believe we need ICE. We've got to have them. There has to be someone who will go and be on the front line to take criminals out of this country. BOLDUAN: Why is buying more time to have that debate, at the same time getting people paid and back to work at America's airports, not an ok compromise though? SESSIONS: Well, I voted yes. Generally speaking, you look at the people who vote yes and then question why people vote no. The people that vote no are those people that did not want the compromise. I think that the fight should now take place over who is going to be the secretary, and that will be Markwayne Mullin. And he is a United States senator who knows each of these people. He will speak with clarity about the issues. I spoke with Mr. Markwayne Mullin yesterday about my ideas about the job and performance that he will be doing. He was very open to hearing from me. I think I made sense to him. I want to be able to explain to my constituents what ICE has as not just a policy but how they're going to play these things out, and I want to know where they're going to go and what order they're going to do them in. So, I think that that's really the crux of the matter. This is simply a political battle that should be one that would be done professionally and in - and looking at the secretary. I think the president made the change. That should be the opening that would be necessary politically for the Democrats to seize upon. Ok, now let's renegotiate. And I think that's what needs to take place; not holding up federal workers. BOLDUAN: It sounds like we are nowhere near breaking the stalemate, is what I take from this. (...) MS NOW’s Morning Joe March 17, 2026 7:42:21 AM Eastern KATTY KAY: Chicago Midway Airport, though, with a plane coming in to land. And more US airports are seeing extremely long security lines amid the partial government shutdown that's now in its fifth week. Last week, Senate Republicans blocked five separate bills proposed by Democrats to fund TSA and other non-immigration agencies. One of the proposals, from Democratic Senator Patty Murray of Washington, was killed by a Republican senator, Katie Britt of Alabama. It comes as the New York Times reports, a growing number of TSA employees have picked up second jobs, sometimes calling out sick just to do so, after missing their first full paycheck. That was last Friday. So far, more than 300 officers have quit. This was the scene at the airport in Fort Lauderdale yesterday. Amazing lines. Other big hubs are also reporting painfully long queues like Houston, Atlanta, Newark, Laguardia in New York. Meanwhile, a tense back and forth erupted yesterday outside the airport in Austin between two Texas lawmakers, Democratic Congressman Greg Casar and Republican Senator John Cornyn got into it after Cornyn arrived to deliver burgers to TSA agents working without pay due to that partial government shutdown. Cornyn has blamed Democrats for blocking the DHS funding bill. Casar, a Democrat who represents Austin, arrived at the airport first and was talking to reporters when Cornyn showed up. Take a watch. (...) 7:44:50 AM KAY: Yeah, John. Burgers, paychecks, I think most TSA agents know which one they would rather have. This has been interesting politically because I think initially some Democrats were worried about the framing of this. But in the last few days, as those queues and those lines have got longer during spring break travel, I think they have seen something shift and they think, well, look, if we can single out funding for the TSA agents and separate that from funding for ICE, this could actually work politically in Democrats favor. What are you seeing? JONATHAM LEMIRE: Yeah. First of all, Cornyn in the political fight for his life right now - KAY: Yes. LEMIRE: - Not surprised. He probably welcomes some sort of confrontation. But you're right. I think Democrats do feel like just, like the last funding fight, that they're on the right side of this. That the Republicans are in control. They have both houses of congress. They have the white house. They're taking most of the blame. One wonders, though, how much longer this can last. We were talking - a theme today has been about political pain, right? These lines at airports are gigantic and getting worse. And there's - at a certain point, the frustration from the public may push some sort of action. We will, of course, stay on it.