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President Donald Trump putting his face and name on coins and buildings is drawing comparisons to Saddam Hussein, all the way up to the painful, brutal end.

In a panel discussion on Friday, host Antonia Hylton asked political strategist Basil Smikle if he thought Trump was embarrassed by his name coming down.

Smikle remarked, "Talk about embarrassed in an era of no shame."

But MS NOW commenter, Elaine Kamarck, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, said recent events carried undeniable echoes of another regime that ended very badly. Kamarck commented that Trump's name coming off of the Kennedy Center is "like the Statue of Saddam Hussein being pulled down during the Iraq War." Not merely the removal of it, but the moment of significance that it marked for the people of Iraq.

Hylton was a little surprised by the comment.

"To bring up Saddam Hussein and the all that that represents — that is a major statement. I'm not even saying I disagree with it, but I do think that there are probably millions of people who are waiting for that image today of his name — you can see it right there on your screen, come down from this historic building."

She asked Charlie Sykes why the arts are such a huge thing for Trump, who has never been respected by the performing arts community.

"This really is the audacity of Donald Trump's ego and his and his vanity," explained Sykes. "But also, he does fashion himself as kind of a cultural czar, you know. But here's the guy who is about to hold a UFC cage match at the White House. But he also, you know, has these pretensions to be a culture warrior to, you know, slap his name on this cultural icon."

He said that he wasn't certain whether it would be a great turning point, but he confessed he'd be among those watching the name come down on a loop.

"I have to say that I didn't have this on my bingo card. I thought we'd have to wait until, you know, after he left office to see all the things torn down and taken down and the names removed and all of that. So this is going to be a deeply satisfying thing. And, you know, a hell of a pre-birthday present for Donald Trump if, in fact, this gets taken down as per the law. I mean, the reality is, of course, there are appeals, but the black letter of the law is very, very clear," he closed.

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Former deputy White House press secretary Sarah Matthews on Friday tore apart Republicans who have suddenly found their backbones after losing in GOP primaries.

Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) on Thursday got into an online battle with outgoing Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) over Republican-on-Republican attacks. Cornyn spent the past several months being attacked by his own party for not being pro-Donald Trump enough, despite having a 99 percent voting record with the president.

Cornyn's interview with The New York Times cautioned that he thinks the worst is coming for the GOP in the final two years of the Trump administration.

"He's going to have the most miserable two years of his life in the last two years of his term, I think, because I think November is going to be a disaster," Cornyn said.

After harsh primary races, Republicans have often pivoted to try and appeal to voters outside of the MAGA wing. Trump may not be up for reelection, but one reporter explained he's not going to pivot to being more moderate or more focused on issues that matter to voters.

MS NOW White House reporter Laura Barrón-López said that the White House told her, "There is no pivot," even if some of the aides around the president want there to be one, want more focus on the economy and domestic issues," said Barrón-López. "The president himself isn't focused on that. And there are others around the president who genuinely believe, this former official told me, that he has the unique ability to turn out republicans in election cycles."

That hasn't necessarily worked out in past midterm elections. This time around, Trump has told reporters that he doesn't care about the midterms.

"But another source close to the White House did tell me that they think that Senate Republicans don't really fear the president anymore," she continued. "And you're starting to slowly see over the course of the last month or so, even though the president has clearly knocked out Republican incumbents and attacked members of his own party, there are Republicans across the Senate, especially, and also the House, who are voting against him on key issues."

But it was Matthews who clapped back at Cornyn for only now standing up to Trump.

"There is never going to be enough for him, other than 100 percent, you know, slavish adherence to whatever he wants. But obviously that's not what the Senator's role is supposed to be," Cornyn told the Times.

"Yeah, it's a little rich to hear him say that now, because this is what we've known all along about Donald Trump," Matthews said of Cornyn. "That loyalty is a one-way street with himwith him. He demands it from everyone, but he gives it to no one. And so, it's nice to hear Senator Cornyn find his voice and some of these other Republicans be more emboldened now."

The problem, she said, is that this is always the way Trump operated, and it should have been something Republicans realized much sooner.

"He's always operated not in the best interest for the Republican Party or for the American people. It's always been what is in Donald Trump's best interest," explained Matthews. "And we're seeing that play out with all the things that he has been focused on in this second term, whether it be the ballroom or the arch or the UFC event at the White House for his birthday, he's not actually focused on the priorities of the American people, which would then help the Republicans in the midterm elections, because Donald Trump doesn't care about the Republican Party."

She said that she's happy to see Cornyn finally pushing back, but it should have been something he did long ago.

"I guess I'm happy to see Cornyn, you know, pushing back on Trump now that he's going to be leaving office because he lost his primary election. And it's not just Cornyn I'm singling out. There are other republicans like [Thom] Tillis and [Bill] Cassidy who have now become a little bit more emboldened," she name-checked.

But she sees this with Republicans frequently. They suddenly "find their voice when they're retiring, or they've been primaried out." She said she wishes that "more of them had a backbone" to push back against Trump. With more willing to do that, "Trump wouldn't have been able to get away with some of these other things that we've seen take place in his second administration," she said.

President Donald Trump is not only underwater with Democrats and Independents, but now he's losing young Republicans.

CNN data analyst Harry Enten revealed that when it comes to the Iran war and foreign policy in general, Trump has lost his own base.

"Trump [has a] historically strong performance with younger voters. And here we're talking about voters under the age of 45. He beat Kamala Harris with them, or at least beat the prior Republican baselines with them," said Enten. "And you can see it right here on foreign policy. He absolutely crushed Kamala Harris, who was more trusted under the age of 45, on foreign policy."

Trump had a nine-point lead over Harris on foreign policy, but that has shifted significantly.

"He has a net approval rating now on foreign policy — 40 points underwater, a nearly 50-point switcheroo," Enten said.

"So, after putting in the strongest performance, more trusted on foreign policy, the first since George W. Bush all the way back in '04, [Trump] has completely lost that advantage way down there. He is no longer groovy. According to the young people of America," Enten said.

Those foreign policy numbers are coming from Trump's failure in the Iran war.

"Just take a look at how people under the age of 45 feel about Iran not being worth the cost," said Enten. "Look at this: four in five —81 percent said the Iran war is not worth the cost. And look at Trump's disapproval. Basically simpatico with this, 77 percent of those under the age of 45 say the Iran war, or, excuse me, say that Trump's disapproval of the Iran war is way up there, up there like a rocket at 77 percent."

The generations make it clear that it isn't worth the cost.

The older end of those under 45 are members of the Millennial Generation, who faced the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. Brown University's Costs of War Project showed that the casualty and injury rate for the 19 years of war come overwhelmingly from the Millennial Generation.

The Harvard Institute of Politics showed that "young adults [18 to 29] are overwhelmingly skeptical about the current U.S. strategy in Iran."

Ohio voter Annette Dombrowski is one of many swing state voters who picked President Donald Trump three times in a row, but now she’s about to lose her job in a Trump economy where everything is only getting more expensive.

“I actually have panic attacks,” Dombrowski told MS NOW reporter Alex Hebit. “I've had a couple this past week and I get very emotional over it. I don't want to work anymore, but I can't afford to retire.”

Dombrowski works as a janitor at the Conn Selmer plant in Ohio, but MS NOW anchor Jen Psaki says the plant's billionaire owner, John Paulson — a close Trump ally — offshored the plant’s jobs to China, despite Trump purporting to be an “America First” president. Now Dombrowski is about to be unemployed.

When the reporter asked Dombrowski if she believed the wealthy President Trump can understand her predicament she answered flatly, “No.”

“No, he hasn't lived it to understand it. He sees it. He has not lived it. He needs to live it,” said Dombrowski. “Wear the clothes. Wear the shoes. Wear the Walmart clothes. Wear your Walmart shoes. Do your thrift store shopping. Don't eat steaks. I don't get to go out to dinner. … It's not an overnight thing, but it's been two years now. You said you'd bring down the grocery prices. I must be the most angry person when I grocery shop, because I buy the same things every week, and I see it jump every week.”

But she wasn’t the only Trump voter furious in a state that supported Trump in 2008 and 2024. MS NOW also spoke with Ohio truck driver Chris Tackett.

“He said he was going to fight for [us]. This time around. I haven't seen it,” said Tackett. “He's literally backtracked on every single pitch point he had during his election. All we heard was ‘drill, drill, drill’ during the election. And now all we're getting is drilled into the dirt with these prices. So, I'm not a fan of them. I voted for Trump all three terms, to be honest with you. I'm not a big supporter of him at this point.”

One time Trump voter Rob Couch had a more livid response when asked what his message wass to Trump, despite voting for him.

“F—— you,” Couch barked into the microphone. “I don't mean to be disrespectful to any leader, but he's disrespectful to us and he doesn't care.”

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President Donald Trump is planning to hassle Congress to expunge his impeachments.

The president is trying to get Republican lawmakers to remove his impeachments from the record even though legally such a move is impossible, reported The Wall Street Journal’s Annie Linskey, Olivia Beavers and Natalie Andrews on Thursday.

“It should be done because I did nothing wrong,” Trump told the Journal. “It was a rigged deal—it was a whole rigged situation.”

The Journal noted that this could backfire, saying “Any move to attempt to erase the two impeachments, in 2019 and 2021, would open up a debate about Trump’s past behavior in office, forcing GOP lawmakers to relitigate charges of abuse of power, obstruction of Congress and inciting an insurrection. Facing the prospect of losing their majority in the House, Republicans are trying to shift focus to the economy and high costs, the issues that voters care about most.”

Yet even though “the measure likely wouldn’t be considered until after the November election,” the issue could still become a political lightning rod. “Trump has posted news clips about voiding the impeachments on his Truth Social account,” the Journal reported. “But this week, he played down his own role in the effort. ‘If they want to do it, I’m honored by it,’ the president said.”

The Journal added that House Speaker Mike Johnson (R—LA) has discussed the resolution with Trump. He has also discussed it with Harvard law professor emeritus Alan Dershowitz

“I think it makes a lot of sense the more the evidence comes out, the more we know they really were sham impeachments,” Johnson told the Journal, later adding that “we were saying it at the time, now we know. And they make a very compelling case that it should be expunged from the record, because it was a hyperpartisan attack job.”

Speaking with this journalist for Salon in 2019, Dershowitz — who later defended Trump during one of his impeachment trials — denied that he would ever refuse to step down if he lost an election, which is what prompted the impeachment at which Dershowitz did not represent Trump.

“No president will refuse to step down if his opponent is elected in his place,” Dershowitz told Salon. “It just will not happen, and the American public would never tolerate it.”

Discussing the Wall Street Journal, CNN’s correspondents agreed that Trump’s attempt to scrub the impeachment is both purely symbolic and likely to resurrect the Ukraine coercion and election denying scandals that prompted those impeachments in the first place.

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Art of the Deal Co-author Tony Schwartz predicts Trump is destined to make history — just not the side of it he probably wants.

MS NOW anchor Ari Melber asked Schwartz to comment on Trump’s most recent slate of gaffes, particularly his devastating claim that he “loves” the inflation currently racking voters and threatening to destroy his own Republican Party in the November midterms.

“It's demented. I mean, it's so self-destructive,” said Schwartz, who described Trump as an addict who acts as a kind of “black hole.”

“And you pour stuff into it. And he poured it in and maxed out when he was reelected president. And it looked fantastic. But it seeped out incredibly quickly. And then he has to keep upping the ante and chasing the high. And so now where he's at is there's no high to chase. So that's just that's just a piece of self-destructiveness. He's going to go down as the worst president in the history of this country,” said Schwartz, the founder of consulting firm the Energy Project.

The worst of Trump’s crisis will hit when Democrats re-take Congress as a result of Trump’s self-imposed crises with the war in Iran, rampant inflation and other Trump-sources plagues, said MS NOW host Ari Melbar, citing a claim be Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) that Trump was hurting his own party with self-serving decisions and his insistence on a kind of slavish loyalty, ultimately setting himself up for a midterm disaster.

Cornyn added that Trump’s following two years of powerlessness will be “the most miserable two years of his life.”

Schwartz said Trump’s “got something going on pretty significant physically, given the number of visits to the hospital,” and his debilitating health problems will likely merge with his post-midterm powerlessness to drive Trump into the permanent doldrums.

“He would not step down or bow out,” said Schwartz, predicting the second half of Trump’s impotent second term to be “a tortuous time” for him. “I think he's going to quit in his own mind. It's like you're playing a basketball game. You're playing a basketball game, you're down by 29 [points] and you say, ‘you know what? I've had it.’ And that's where we go if they lose the midterms. … He is going to quietly quit, even if he just loses the House.”

But Shwartz predicted Trump’s time of torture is unavoidable.

“I think people really — maybe this is my hope — are underestimating how big this [blue] wave is going to be. I think it’s going to be bigger.”

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Editor’s Note: CNN reports as of noon E.S.T. that the Pentagon lockdown is over and was a false alarm. Chief law enforcement and intelligence analyst John Miller told CNN that after the anthrax attacks in the early 2000s, sensors were put in to detect things in the air. Miller explained that a cleaning substance could ultimately be flagged because it's so sensitive. He explained that false positives happen more often than not.

Original story below.

Floors two through five and corridors four through seven in the Pentagon are locked down Thursday morning as an incident involving the air quality is being dealt with.

According to the local Arlington Fire and EMS, the Hazardous Materials team is operating there "in support of PFPA’s Hazmat Team during a hazardous materials incident."

Police are wearing gas masks and full chemical protective gear, CNN reported.

CNN's Wolf Blitzer was concerned that those working there might be in danger because they're locked down. Others are likely being evacuated, the report said.

The air quality issue is necessitated a "precautionary measure," the Pentagon spokesperson said in a statement to CNN.

Retired Colonel Cedric Leighton remarked, "There are certain facilities within the Pentagon that are windowless facilities. So the only air supply that they're going to get is from the air handling system is in the Pentagon. Then there's the NMCC, the National Military Command Center," which is in the basement of the Pentagon," Leighton explained. Those areas are "critically important to the national security of the United States and to the operations of the military." It's happening at a time when the military is at war with Iran, he noted.

He said that what must happen quickly is for those staffers to move to another operations center.

Sabrina Singh, former deputy Pentagon press secretary, explained that there are plans in place for such emergencies and they're fully prepared. She anticipates it'll resolve quickly.

There are thousands of offices in the Pentagon, and she said that it will likely impact over 20,000 people in the building.

It remains unclear what the specifics are, said Haley Britzky, CNN's senior national security reporter. She added that it is all happening quickly.

The last time there was an evacuation this large was September 11, 2001, after the plane hit the building.

Republican pundit and Trump supporter Scott Jennings suffered an odd moment of silence after CNN anchor Kaitlan Collins and Democratic strategist Karen Finney corrected his claim that inflation numbers today are better than they were under former president Joe Biden.

Collins asked Jennings point blank for his take on President Donald Trump’s claim to “love” inflation—even as it plagues voters seeing $70 vehicle fill-ups and $500 increase in monthly grocery bills.

“No, it was very inartful. I mean, I understand what he was I think he was saying that he feels encouraged that the numbers are better today than they were under Biden,” Jennings informed the panel of the Source with Kaitlan Collins.

“That’s absolutely not true,” corrected Finney.

“They’re as bad as today as they were since 2023,” said Collins.

After a pause, Jennings said: “You’re arguing that inflation today or during Trump’s term is as bad as it was during Biden’s term? Surely nobody would argue that.”

“No, I'm saying that Trump said he was going to come into office and lower inflation and it's higher today than it was when he took office,” Collins said.

At that point, Jennings grabbed the familiar GOP refrain that the rate of inflation is what really matters, as if the speed with which inflation changes is what’s impacting voters’ bank accounts — rather than the amount of it.

“The rate of inflation today is certainly lower than the rate of inflation during Biden's term,” Jennings insisted.

“But not when Trump took office,” said Collins, perhaps not fully grasping the length of Jenning’s logic twist. “It's the highest it's been since 2023.”

“I'm not, I'm not arguing the numbers,” said Jennings. “I saw the report. And by the way, it is a political issue. I mean, if inflation continues to trend up, if gas prices don't come down, you can't deny that.”

At that point Finney and Jennings launched into crosstalk.

“But do you think he'll apologize to the American people for taking the economy and making them broke?” challenged Finney.

“We've had three straight months of massive job growth,” Jennings insisted. “We have manufacturing—”

“Well then why are people losing their health care. Why are gas prices over $6? Why are grocery prices [exploding].”

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MS NOW anchor Nicole Wallace had no patience for President Donald Trump’s officials stretching themselves to blame president Biden for Trump’s self-created inflationary mess. And her argument was buttressed by a host of agreement from politicians and assorted politicos.

“A gallon of milk can cost $10 if it's organic and non-organic is like $6. … You don't have to be particularly price sensitive to know that the price of everything is through the roof. I mean, gas is up. You don't have to drive a truck to know that diesel is through the roof,” ranted Wallace, speaking of Trump’s helpless ignorance inside his own “feedback loop.”

Voters, however, are well aware, with “90 percent” of Americans aware of gas and food price increases.

And yet, Trump’s lieutenants and his fellow Republicans are laboring to deny the cause of it all.

“Let me show you the delusional attempts at spinning that reality,” Wallace told her panel before replaying footage of a recent standoff between Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.) and U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins during a Senate hearing. “They're still trying to blame former president Biden.”

“You've supported aid packages for farmers hurt by Trump's policies,” Warnock told Rollins. “Would you also support a food aid package for working families who are just struggling to afford groceries due to increased costs?”

“So, senator, the 3 percent is actually an average cost of food increase over the years. Under the last administration, it went up 20 percent. But the SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program), I think, is really—”

But that that moment, Warnock cut Rollins off, saying: “Do you realize, madam secretary, with all due respect, how sterile that answer sounds for a person who's just trying — right now somebody's trying to buy groceries in Georgia and they can't afford it.”

“Well, but that's because of the Biden administration is the reason,” Rollins insisted.

“Two years later,” proclaimed Warnock. “Two years later, that's your answer: ‘because of the Biden administration?’”

“I mean, the good news is Trump's voters don't even buy that baloney,” said Wallace, turning away from the exchange. “The bad news is people in Georgia are struggling to buy a bag of groceries.”

“And Trump and his family are making money,” said "Runaway Country" podcaster Alex Wagner. “… [H]is children are using the federal government as a honeypot. His son is engaged in incredibly corrupt activities with department of defense contracts for drone companies for rare earth minerals companies. I mean, there are people that are doing very well in this economy, and their name is Trump. And that, I think, is why the message of corruption is particularly galling right now.”

“You just have to either actually care — as most politicians do — or pretend to care, as some politicians do. Donald trump doesn't do either,” said Wallace. “And that's why the real economic data and the political crisis are driving Trump's poll numbers down to historic lows.”

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Democrat Graham Platner secured the Maine Democratic nomination, and now he goes on to face Susan Collins (R) in the midterm elections.

Speaking after one of the 2026 primaries, data analyst Harry Enten explained that Maine isn't necessarily a must-win state if Democrats intend to take back the U.S. Senate. It would certainly help, but there are still four other seats, including Democratic former Sen. Sherrod Brown, currently running in a special election in Ohio and North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, currently running for Senate in that state. Right now, even the Texas Senate race looks bad for Republicans. Democrats in both Ohio and Texas are up by 3 points.

"We see James Talarico again, a small lead well within the margin of error. But in the average poll, he's up three points," explained Enten. "So, in two states we have polling out in the last few weeks, last few months, when you average it all together, where you actually have Democrats ahead again within the margin of error, but up by three points in two states that Donald Trump won by double digits just two years ago."

Enten looked at the Kalshi prediction markets to gauge how elections were going in other states, such as North Carolina and Alaska. In the case of former Gov. Roy Cooper, prediction markets indicate an 86 percent chance that he will win. In Alaska, Mary Peltola has a 62 percent chance of winning the state.

"When you combine it with one and two, and all of a sudden we ask the question, can Democrats get to a net gain of four Senate seats without Maine? Well, the answer is absolutely yes," said Enten.

The National Republican Senatorial Committee staff met with members on Capitol Hill Tuesday and revealed "tough polling numbers in some key races," wrote Semafor congressional reporter Burgess Everett in a post on X.

Officials described the data as "bleak" or "challenging," said Everett.

"There are seven GOP-held seats, so the map is actually really wide this year," Enten said. "It is widened out, which is not a big surprise when the president of the United States has an approval rating, if he's lucky, averaging about 40 percent. If you look at most of the polls, it's under 40 percent. Bottom line is the map is wide. Democrats have a path without Maine. Yes, Maine helps them, but they have a clear path without it."

President Donald Trump nominated his personal lawyer to lead the Department of Justice, and if he isn't appointed, MS NOW experts think he'll unleash a political plague on officials who vote against it. The problem is that some of the Senators Trump could target have already lost their jobs, thanks in part to him.

Senators like John Cornyn (R-Texas), Bill Cassidy (R-La.) and Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) have informally become known as part of the YOLO caucus (you only live once). Some of them have been more willing to buck Trump's demands after losing their GOP primary races, or, in Tillis' case, announcing his retirement.

MS NOW's Erielle Reshef said that the confirmation hearing is "expected to be an uphill battle."

Thus far, Blanche's leadership has resulted in a slew of suits against Trump's political enemies and "undercut the DOJ's credibility with judges," reports have said.

Crime and justice reporter Ken Dilanian characterized Blanche as "very aggressive in trying to serve Donald Trump's needs as he campaigns essentially for attorney general."

While those actions might endear him to Trump, they're "imperiling his confirmation chances, particularly when you've got some republicans who are no longer beholden to Donald Trump," he said.

Republican strategist Maura Gillespie said that Blanche "has a lot to answer for" and that Trump's may end up on the warpath if Republicans don't deliver.

"I do think that the president is used to getting what he wants, and then when he doesn't, his reactions are very — It's hard to predict, but they can be very destructive," she said. "And we already saw that with this weaponization fund that was destructive to the reconciliation process just a few weeks back. It really derailed it in a lot of ways by even mentioning this. And so I wonder what this will do to that ahead of the midterms."

Gillespie also flagged that the $1.8 billion slush fund doesn't make a lot of sense to most Americans, and Blanche's defense of it will be a key part of the questioning for both parties.

Reshef noted that the absolute earliest that Blanche could be confirmed is August, and the latest is in September.

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President Donald Trump's disastrous trip to the NBA Finals was not just a public humiliation for him, because according to one cognitive health expert, it also showed a dire sign of his potential "sundowning" cognitive decline for the entire world to see.

Amid the New York Knicks' historic run, Trump opted to return to his hometown of New York City to attend Game 3 of the NBA Finals on Monday evening. The decision turned into a nightmare for all involved: Trump was booed mercilessly when he was shown on the jumbotron during the national anthem; fans had to arrive hours early and go through heavier security checks to due the president's attendance; and, in what fans are chalking up to a "curse" caused by Trump, the Knicks lost their first game to the San Antonio Spurs after a 13-game winning streak.

On top of all of that, Trump was once again caught on camera appearing to nod off while watching the game, this time in a much more high-intensity environment than the Oval Office events and Cabinet meetings where he has been caught falling asleep in the recent past.

Aside from the embarrassment, this incident also renewed concerns about Trump's seemingly declining health. Hilary Shae, a licensed speech and language pathologist who frequently comments on Trump's cognitive condition, released a new video on Tuesday explaining why this latest nap might be yet more evidence that he is dealing with dementia and "sundowning behavior."

Shae explained that what makes this incident more notable than others was the fact that Trump was surrounded by noise and commotion at Madison Square Garden, circumstances under which a person with healthy cognitive function would struggle to nod off.

"When people have dementia, and they have sundowning behavior, what happens is they get lots of this confusion, this agitation, their whole time clock is messed up because of their suprachiasmatic nucleus being deteriorated and their circadian rhythm is just not aware of what's going on," Shae explained.

She noted that Trump, in recent days, has likely been off his normal schedule and encountered situations that could potentially have messed with his head, including gloomy weather during a trip to Wisconsin — which she previously noted can cause disorientation in dementia patients — and his disastrous interview with NBC News, where he stormed off early after being aggravated by tough questions. All of this might have left Trump unable to use his environment to set his internal clock.

She further explained that someone falling asleep in such a high-stimulus environment as a basketball game is doing so because their brain is "shutting down."

"Their brain no longer has the cognitive and physical and emotional energy to function, and it just shuts itself down," she added. "His brain could not keep him awake even in one of the most stimulating environments that we could possibly put him in."

Jon Stewart's Monday night episode of "The Daily Show" knocked President Donald Trump's blowup at "Meet the Press" host Kristen Welker.

According to Stewart, the ordeal was Trump's "worst nightmare."

“Now, you could view this as the hissy-fit of an incredibly fragile man-baby, whose paper-thin skin can’t handle venturing out of the sycophantic embrace of his tongue-bathing acolytes,” Stewart began, according to Entertainment Weekly. “Or, actually, I don’t know how else you can view it. It really is just that. It is sad. It’s very sad.”

Trump tore off his microphone and stormed off the set of an interview in Wisconsin after he was pressed for "evidence" that the California primary elections were rigged. Trump had claimed that clearly they were rigged because Los Angeles County continues to count ballots. Once Welker asked Trump for evidence, he quickly asserted she simply had to "look" to find it.

Trump is rarely challenged by the media on the facts. It began easy enough, with a “reasonable question," and "ridiculous answer” about the war in Iran, Stewart mocked.

“But then we get to a moment when the heartland, rainswept rom-com becomes a man trapped in a barn with his worst nightmare, a woman who won’t stop asking pertinent questions,” Stewart quipped.

Welker even mocked Trump's claim that he ran for office promising "no new wars." She played several clips for the president from the campaign trail in 2024, saying as much.

“But this reporter on this day had the temerity to mention to Donald Trump that, well, actually, he did say that all the time,” Stewart continued. “She just lit the fuse on the bulls— bomb.”

“He went to it, the fail-safe–in case of journalism, break glass. The EpiPen in case you’ve been stung by reality,” Stewart said with a laugh, later adding that Trump’s “fail-safe failed to save.”

When that didn't work, Stewart said Trump resorted to his "second option: smoke bomb,” and fled.

“You’re a one-sided crooked network. Sorry. Let’s call it quits because I’ve had enough. Thank you, darling. Have a good time," Trump said before storming off.

Welker said that Trump was bothered by the rain and was triggered by the sound of it hitting the metal roof. But Stewart didn't buy it.

"He wasn't aggravated by the rain. Donald Trump didn't storm out because of the rain; he stormed out because he was challenged, not because he was distracted. So, maybe it's time we stop making excuses for that man in order to preserve access to his constant bull—," Stewart said.

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Laverne Cox published a new book where she's revealing details about her relationship with a pro-Donald Trump police officer.

Transcendent, the new book out Tuesday, describes her five-year relationship with the cop and what happened when they ultimately ended the relationship, The Root reported.

“My ex-boyfriend, when we met five years ago, at the height of the pandemic, he was 26, and I was 48. He was a blonde-haired, blue-eyed MAGA Republican voter who is a New York City police officer,” she said in a video to Instagram when she talked about it.

Cox isn't merely a proud transgender woman; she's also solidly progressive.

At first, he lied about what he did for a living. After about 3-and-a-half years, "his politics and his head examined became clear."

During an episode of "The View," Cox said that he was seemingly good to her, even "better" than some previous relationships. Over time, however, she said she was exposed to parts of his "true colors" that weren't acceptable to her.

“People show you who they are eventually,” Cox said. She added that she never intended to fall in love with him or develop any deep feelings. By the time she understood where he was politically, she was in too deep.

“We didn’t plan to fall in love, but we did. Later, his political affiliation became obvious, but I’d already had feelings for him and wanted to see him as a human being, beyond that,” she said.

Over time, “his politics and his unexamined life became clear," she added.

“I love him, but I love myself more, and staying in this relationship, I betrayed myself — not just my political values, because, in theory, I’d like to believe we can have relationships across political differences. But there was a value difference,” she explained.

“Fascism is not consistent with my values. I am an anti-fascist. I never adopted any of my ex’s politics.”

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President Donald Trump prompted a firestorm of commentary and speculation after he stormed out of a major interview, but as one certified psychologist argued, his body language also exposed things about his agitated mental state.

On Sunday, NBC News's Meet the Press aired an interview with Trump conducted by Kristin Welker, in which, among other things, she pressed him about the lack of evidence for his longstanding claims that elections in the U.S. are rigged against Republicans. Trump, after growing increasingly frustrated over the tough questions, cut off the interview early, saying that Welker was either "crooked" or "stupid" before storming out.

Much has already been speculated based on this blow-up from Trump, including from Dr. John Paul Garrison, a licensed clinical and forensic psychologist, who maintains a popular YouTube account, "Dr. G Explains," where he gives forensic breakdowns and body language analyses for over 700,000 subscribers. While he typically focuses on true crime stories, he also delves into politics, and recently released a video breaking down Trump's body language during his interview with Welker.

At the start of the interview, Garrison noted that "most" of Trump's visible behaviors were "pretty standard" and in line with his typical demeanor. He did note one brief movement of Trump's mouth that could potentially indicate a change in the president's motor control, but said that not much could be made of it for now. What he did put particular emphasis on, however, was the sound of rain during the interview, as it was being conducted in a Wisconsin barn during a period of extended downpours.

Garrison argued that as the noise from the rain picked up and became more intense, Trump had a harder time focusing and concentrating on the questions from Welker. While stressing that nothing could be said for sure, he argued that Trump having a greater difficulty dealing with background noise could be a sign that he suffered a neurological episode at some point.

From that point, Garrison noted numerous signs that Trump was growing more and more agitated, including him furrowing his brow, bearing his teeth and putting extra emphasis on certain words, eventually escalating to the point of "real anger" and "real fury." While he concluded that it was typical for Trump to be testy with the press, Garrison argued that he showed an "unusual" level of anger during the interview, and suggested that he might having "a harder time than he used to" dealing with things like the background noise from the rain.

Another medical expert and content creator, speech and language pathologist "Hilary M.A. CCC-SLP," also argued that the weather might have been having an outsized effect on Trump's mood, suggesting in a recent video that he was exhibiting symptoms common in dementia patients, who struggle to keep track of the time of day during periods of extended gloomy weather.

President Donald Trump's blowup at "Meet the Press" host Kristen Welker on Sunday signals something far darker than his usual outbursts at female reporters.

Trump stormed off the set of an interview in Wisconsin after he was pressed for "evidence" that the California primary elections were rigged. Trump had claimed that clearly they were rigged because Los Angeles County continues to count ballots. Once Welker asked Trump for evidence, he quickly asserted she simply had to "look" to find it.

Speaking to tech writer Gil Duran, author of The Nerd Reich, The New Republic's Greg Sargent said it puts Trump's actions into perspective and explains why he was so furious when his reality was questioned.

California allows any ballots postmarked on Election Day to be counted. So, it typically takes about a week for all mailed-in ballots to arrive at the election location, plus a few more days for processing.

"This is typical Trump," said Duran. "He’s been doing this for years and years. He tries to create his own version of reality and insist that other people agree with it. The main enemy, the main challenge that Republicans have in California, is called simple math."

Trump thinks that Republican Spencer Pratt should have won the race, but there are fewer than 20 percent of registered voters in Los Angeles County. They're only 25 percent of the state. Pratt has already outperformed that number, but it doesn't mean he is anywhere close to a win.

Meanwhile, Steve Hilton's numbers actually look good when it comes to making it through the primary.

"But this is important to Trump because Trump’s brand is about winning," said Duncan. "He can’t accept that his party and his politics are so unpopular in California. So in order to maintain his winning image, he creates this counter-reality in which it’s all because of fraud on the part of the Democrats and that he would have actually won. He said, actually, in 2020 that he would have won the race if Jesus had been allowed to count the votes, whatever that means."

Trump and other Republicans have long claimed that California is only a Democratic state because of cheating. There's no evidence to prove it. Even Arnold Schwarzenegger said in 2007 that the California Republican Party was dying at the box office, Duncan recalled.

Sargent thinks that Trump's anger is coming from the fact that someone he endorsed, like Pratt, is losing. Durant affirmed that the early votes always break for Republicans because they vote in person. About 80 percent of California voters cast mail-in ballots. So those ballots coming in after the fact are more likely to break for Democratic candidates.

"And so what Trump is doing is exploiting this simple, very well-known mechanism. We all knew that the Republican numbers go down. [He’s exploiting it] to create a false narrative for the MAGA audience, to continue this kind of complaint of fraud and thievery that he’s so fond of. That’s all it is. It’s a very simple mechanism. You take the early returns, you claim that any deviation from those early returns is evidence of a crime of some kind. And that’s pretty much it," Duncan said.

As of Tuesday morning, about 81 percent of the votes have been counted in Los Angeles County.

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One of President Donald Trump's staunchest MAGA allies lashed out after being cornered on his election lies in a NewsNation interview, insisting that there is "tons of evidence" of election fraud despite the mountain of evidence to the contrary.

Trump has been rehashing his debunked claims about widespread election fraud this week, spurred on by conservative gloom over GOP candidate and ex-reality TV star Spencer Pratt losing out on a spot in the Los Angeles mayoral race's general election. Trump has also claimed that his controversial acting DNI nominee, Bill Pulte, will be doing his bidding and seeking arrests linked to his false claims about the 2020 election.

One of Trump's most outspoken allies over the years has been Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson, who has proven himself to be an avowed promoter of conspiracy theories. He has also been closely involved with Trump's efforts to undermine the 2020 election results, with aides from his office allegedly being involved in a scheme to provide fake Wisconsin electors to Vice President Mike Pence as part of a plot to keep Trump in power.

On Monday, he appeared for an interview with NewsNation host Connell McShane and was pressed about the continual lack of evidence for Trump's claims of widespread voter fraud that was sufficient to tilt national election results. Johnson lashed out at the line of questioning, saying he was "getting very tired" of the argument," and insisting that there was abundant evidence.

"There's tons of evidence. There's tons of irregularities," Johnson said. "We need to take them seriously because what is absolutely true as Americans on both sides do not have confidence in our elections. That's unsustainable."

Johnson continued in a rambling fashion, claiming that allegations that the Trump campaign colluded with Russia in 2016 were "ginned up" by Hillary Clinton, calling her "the first election denier."

When McShane pressed the senator about why Trump and his allies have not presented concrete evidence of fraud during the many court hearings that have resulted from his claims, Johnson insisted that they have, but that they are ignored and not investigated further once elections are certified.

Trump himself also recently had a blow-up on national television when confronted about his election fraud claims, storming out of an interview with NBC News' Kristin Welker when she pressed him about the lack of evidence. Trump said that she was either "crooked" or "stupid" for asking him about it, and insisted that U.S. elections are still rigged.

As California continues to count ballots, Republicans spread conspiracy theories that something shady is unfolding in the state.

California's large population has about 80 percent of its voters who vote by mail, and the state counts all ballots that were postmarked on or before election day. They give one week for the ballots to arrive.

Republicans think that because Spencer Pratt was initially in the lead and has now fallen to third place, something is afoot. Pratt was a boyfriend of a former reality TV star. In reality, only about 12 percent of voters identify as registered Republicans, the County Registrar said in a report. So, Pratt's numbers are impressive and show that he managed to encourage not only GOP voters but also other groups.

Nithya Raman has pulled ahead of Pratt, however, which isn't what Mayor Karen Bass wants to see.

CNN data analyst Harry Enten explained that Bass likely wanted Pratt to do well because she trounces him in the general election.

Still, Republicans insist that Democrats are stealing votes from Pratt.

"This is the dumbest conspiracy theory I've ever heard!" Enten exclaimed. The last person Bass wants to run against is another Democrat."

"The democratic establishment and Karen Bass wanted Spencer Pratt in the runoff. They don't want any part of Nithya Raman. Why is that? Because — just take a look here. Okay, mayor. Mayor, runoff polls, Bass versus opponent versus Pratt," he explained. "Bass would have crushed Pratt by 18 points. That's what the polling showed. Look at how she does against Nithya Raman. On the other hand, Raman is ahead by four points. Bass has a real race on her hands, if, in fact, Ramen is the one who advances. And of course, the Democratic establishment is backing Karen Bass, but versus Spencer Pratt, she was crushing him. She wanted to face Pratt."

"And that's why these conspiracy theories. Simply put, make no sense, people," he added.

Bass' favorability numbers are also considerably lower than Raman's.

Enten and co-host John Berman discussed President Donald Trump's hope for Pratt, which Enten called unsurprising. But Trump has dragged Pratt down.

"Los Angeles City voters, Trump's net approval rating in the city of Los Angeles is about 55 points underwater," Enten said. "It's so difficult — 55 points underwater and then registered as a Republican."

It was already a tough climb for Pratt, but Enten explained that there's simply no chance for a Republican.

"The only way [Bass] could lose is if she goes up against another Democrat. And you see it right here, very simply put up by four, no wonder. And that is where the results right now are moving a Ramen versus Bass general election, which I said at the top, an absolute nightmare for the Democratic establishment. And Karen Bass, they would have much preferred Spencer," he closed.

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Democratic political consultant James Carville wants Maine voters to back Graham Platner despite the candidate’s flaws — and partly because of some of them. Platner is currently the likely Democratic nominee in Maine’s U.S. Senate race. If Platner wins the primary, he will face Republican Senator Susan Collins, who was first elected in 1996.

“I understand he’s f—— up,” said Carville on his Politicon podcast. “Yeah, maybe we need a combat veteran right on that Senate floor, who is f—— up.”

Carville berated Senator Collins by calling her “the most pliable member in the history of the United States Senate.”

He warned that he believes the country is “in imminent peril — I mean, imminent peril,” and asked: “Who is most likely to slow this criminal in charge?”

“I think it’s Graham Platner.”

“I ask all of you to understand his flaws, and understand the peril that this nation is in, and maybe he might be the right guy at the right time,” said Carville.

“Graham Platner grew up, I think, pretty privileged,” Carville said, sharing some of the likely Democratic nominee’s backstory. “He went to some kind of fancy fancy boarding school. He graduated, he joined the United States Marine Corps. He was in for eight years. He had three combat deployments. He gets out of the Marine Corps, and he goes to GW.”

Then Platner “joined the Maryland National Guard. Oh, you know what happened? He gets deployed a fourth time.”

“He’s f—— up,” said Carville. “He’s been shot at. He’s a veteran. All right? He’s got a little bit weird. He’s an oysterman. I know what oystermen do. I live in Louisiana. I think that oyster harvesting is the same the world over, it’s hard a—— work.”

Carville acknowledged that he has concerns, but said that maybe senators “need to look at this guy before they start sending young people off to fight wars, and see what the consequence of it is. Maybe he ought to run and say, ‘You don’t know, I’m gonna be on a veterans affairs committee, and I wanna be on a mental health subcommittee, ’cause I know something about… Yeah, I might be five degrees off dead center. So f—— what?’ They need that.”

He said he doesn’t agree with Platner’s economic stances, that they are “to the left of anything I’d say I’m for.”

“But you know what? He recognizes this horrific inequality in this country. And it actually would do some good to have somebody in there.”

Carville called Platner’s tattoo “very troubling.”

He said, “what I have to consider first, is this country is about to lose it. The whole goddamn thing.”

“Okay, we gotta win this,” Carville concluded. “And if we got a person who’s understandably got issues, yeah, good. And maybe people ought to see it, and maybe we ought to just be reminded of what these stupid wars have brought about in the consequence of said stupid wars. It’s [what] stupid Susan Collin's been for all her political life.”

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San Francisco Gate reports employees are searching for someone who appears to have illegally driven a car through the delicate bristlecone pines ecosystem of the Inyo National Forest.

“Adam Leidy, Inyo National Forest’s off-highway vehicle and over-snow vehicle program manager, posted two videos to his Facebook account in late May — one flagging tire marks on the wrong side of some ‘no motor vehicles’ signs and another one showing a Subaru on the move,” reports SF Gate. “Leidy asked anyone with information about the driver to contact Inyo’s dispatch at 760-873-2405.”

“Scientifically, I’m appalled,” said Jeff Holmquist, a researcher for the White Mountain Research Center, told SFGATE. “In my view, it’s obscenely damaging and extremely unfortunate.”

Home to some of the oldest trees on earth, the alpine region of the Inyo National Forest has remarkably vulnerable soil. Between the revered, ancient trees lies a fragile biocrust, a thin layer of living material consisting of algae, moss and lichen that binds the topsoil and protects it from harsh highland wind and sparse rain.

“Vehicle tires can compact soils and damage root systems — making it more difficult for plants to absorb water and nutrients — and also leave behind seeds of invasive species, according to a park spokesperson. “In high-elevation settings — especially in Bristlecone Pine forests and alpine tundra — this damage is particularly severe,” Inyo National Forest personnel told SFGATE. “These plants grow extremely slowly. A single vehicle driving just a short distance off-road can kill or damage hundreds of small plants and shrubs. Recovery of soils in these ecosystems can take decades or even centuries.”

Car tires carousing though restricted sections can damage slow-growing seedlings, or blast roots that would sooner rot away than recover. They certainly damaged the fragile biocrust, said the park spokesperson.

“My guess is that the tracks that this vehicle left will be there for the rest of my life and probably yours, too,” Holmquist told the paper. “… It’s a horrible thing, and I say that both as somebody who has a real reverence for the natural world and as a scientist. We’re ants compared to these ancient trees, in terms of size but particularly in terms of longevity. It’s such a peaceful, serene place. You have a sense of deep time as you sit at the base of these trees.”

Despite the destruction, SF Gate reports the citation for driving a vehicle off the road in a way that disturbs land, wildlife or vegetation only comes with a $250 fine. The agency’s main tool for against degrading the precious environment and filling it with invasive bramble is education, starting with clear signage.

“We also install physical barriers — rocks, bollards, and other structures — to discourage off-road driving,” the spokesperson told SFGATE. “And we invest in public education, because most visitors want to recreate responsibly; they just need clear guidance.”

CNN host Dana Bash on Friday mocked members of the MAGA movement who appear to assume California is taking a long time to count votes because political hijinks are afoot.

Fox News host Jesse Waters explained, "I can't prove it — but everybody watching thinks there's shenanigans when it takes this long."

Fox's Greg Gutfeld similarly proclaimed, "You know what that means," when he was told it would take a week or more to count the ballots.

"These are baseless, fraud claims," Bash explained.

California elections have always taken this long, largely due to the massive counties with populations of over 5 million people. Los Angeles County, for example, has a population of 9.6 to 9.8 million people. It's twice the size of Oklahoma.

CNN's Elex Michaelson did an explainer video in which he said that about 80 percent of the voters cast ballots by mail. Each mail-in ballot goes through a signature verification process. There are more than 5.9 million registered voters in Los Angeles County. The single county is larger than 41 U.S. states.

So, he said, there are many steps to prevent voter fraud.

CNN's Aaron Blake showed a post from Gov. Ron DeSantis "who was never a big election denier" during the aftermath of the 2020 presidential election. The Florida Republican asked whether California simply keeps counting until it gets the result it wants.

Bash again reiterated that the comments aren't "based on anything that's actually happening."

Time and time again, she said that California votes appear heavily Republican at the beginning and then slowly become more Democratic. If 80 percent of people vote by mail, those votes take longer to count because the ballot must be verified as authentic. Fewer Republicans vote by mail, according to an MIT Election Lab study.

"And part of the reason is that Donald Trump has spent years discouraging Republicans from returning mail ballots. And so, when you're counting these mail ballots late, they tend to be more Democratic-leaning," Blake said.

He added that it has become commonplace for Republicans to seed suspicion that something untoward is happening, even if those conspiracy theories have tons of evidence to the contrary.