News & Politics

'My party has no solution': MTG keeps hammering Republicans as Johnson tries to quiet her

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) is doubling down on attacking her own party as Republicans struggle to stay united in the midst of the ongoing federal government shutdown.

NBC News reported Tuesday that Greene is continuing to lay blame for the shutdown at Republicans' feet and calling on them to work with Democrats to extend Affordable Care Act (ACA, also known as "Obamacare") tax credits. Greene's demands come in spite of President Donald Trump and congressional GOP leadership insisting that Democrats are holding up efforts to reopen federal agencies by refusing to vote for their government funding bill.

"When it comes to the point where families are spending anywhere from $1,500 to $2,000 a month and looking at hikes coming on their insurance premiums, I think that’s unforgivable," Greene told NBC.

The Georgia Republican wrote on her X account that health insurance will become "unaffordable" without a guaranteed extension. tax credits don't expire until the end of 2025, but Democrats have pointed out that health insurance companies are already preparing for the open enrollment period, which starts on November 1. If the tax credits aren't extended, monthly health insurance premium costs in some markets could double, and in some deep-red states, costs could spike by more than 300 percent.

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La) attempted to downplay Greene's attacks while speaking to reporters on Tuesday, and suggested she was uninformed about current healthcare negotiations.

"Congresswoman Greene does not serve on the committees of jurisdiction that deal with that, those specialized issues, and she’s probably not read in on some of that," Johnson said.

Greene didn't accept Johnson's response to her criticism, telling NBC that Republicans "never talk about it," and that it's "not a major secret" that the respective committee that handles the health insurance industry hasn't addressed the topic.

"What I am upset over is my party has no solution," Greene told the outlet. "It’s not something that we talk about frequently, but it is a reality for Americans, and it’s something that I don’t think we can ignore."

Click here to read NBC's full report.

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'Fanning the flames': 3 ex-GOP governors slam Trump's 'infuriating' use of National Guard

Three former Republican governors are speaking out forcefully against President Donald Trump’s plan to federalize the National Guard in Democratic-led cities, calling the move a “constitutional dilemma” that raises serious questions about executive overreach.

In an NBC report published Tuesday, former Ohio Gov. John Kasich used the phrase in warning against what he sees as an increasingly confrontational approach from Trump.

“I would say: ‘Here are my problems. What can you do to help me? Work with me. Don’t just shove stuff down my throat,’” Kasich said, per the report.

"I think it’s a real constitutional dilemma that is unprecedented and it will have to be resolved by the U.S. Supreme Court," former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson (R) told NBC.

The remarks come as Trump pushes to send troops into cities like Chicago and Portland under the stated goal of protecting federal agents and curbing violent crime — a plan that has triggered legal challenges and political backlash from Democratic governors.

Former New Jersey Gov. Christine Todd Whitman described the strategy as not only counterproductive but dangerous in his remarks to NBC.

“This is infuriating,” said Whitman, who left the Republican Party in 2022. “It is stoking resentment and fanning the flames. But as a governor there is nothing you can do to really stop the president from federalizing the guard.”

Trump has floated the possibility of invoking the Insurrection Act — a rarely used law that allows the president to deploy U.S. military forces for domestic law enforcement.

At a Monday press conference, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D) accused Trump of deliberately inflaming tensions to justify that move.

“The Trump administration is following a playbook: Cause chaos, create fear and confusion,” he said, citing what he described as heavy-handed federal responses to protests.Illinois filed a lawsuit on Monday to block the deployment of troops to Chicago, but a judge has yet to rule on the request, setting a hearing for later in the week.

The report also mentioned former governors like Kasich and Whitman, who are long-standing Trump critics. They say they’re not surprised by his latest actions, or by the silence from many current Republican leaders.

While some GOP governors have publicly backed Trump’s moves, including Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) and Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee (R), others have remained quiet.

Abbott went a step further, announcing on social media that he had “fully authorized” Trump to deploy 400 Texas National Guard troops to other states, saying, “No Guard can match the training, skill, and expertise of the Texas National Guard.”

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Trump 'deputized' this MAGA senator to meet with Dems as GOP panics over shutdown: report

As the government shutdown stretches into its second week, President Donald Trump has taken matters into his own hands, enlisting one of his closest Senate allies to open a direct channel to Democrats, Politico reported Tuesday.

The report noted that Trump’s decision to personally “deputize” a senator for backchannel discussions caught GOP leaders off guard, further complicating a fractured Republican strategy that has struggled to present a united front.

According to the report, “the administration has informally deputized Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) to serve as a conduit to Democrats. Asked about the arrangement, Mullin said, ‘I don’t have a badge,’ and otherwise declined to discuss whether he was briefing the administration on bipartisan Senate talks.”

“I would like to see a deal made for great health care,” Trump said Monday in the Oval Office, adding that he had been in talks with Democrats.

But hours later, he reversed course on his Truth Social platform, posting: “I am happy to work with the Democrats on their Failed Healthcare Policies, or anything else, but first they must allow our Government to re-open.”

The conflicting signals prompted a scramble among GOP leaders.

The report further noted that House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) told reporters Tuesday he had spoken with Trump “at length” and reiterated that reopening the government should come first.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.), meanwhile, acknowledged “ongoing conversations” but showed signs of frustration with the president’s messaging.

According to the report, behind closed doors, aides say the White House and Capitol Hill Republicans have repeatedly clashed over strategy, often without coordination.

Much of the tension is said to stem from hardline tactics pushed by Trump’s budget chief, Russ Vought, who has championed measures targeting blue-state spending and federal worker protections — gambits that have not moved Democrats but have drawn GOP leaders into awkward defensive postures.

A new memo from the White House budget office on federal worker back pay is the latest example.

Both Johnson and Thune had previously supported guaranteed pay for furloughed employees, yet the administration appeared to waver.

Asked about it Tuesday, Trump offered a murky answer: “For the most part, we’re going to take care of our people, but for some people they don’t deserve to be taken care of.” The report noted that Thune, visibly caught off guard, admitted he wasn’t familiar with the memo’s legal rationale but added, “All you have to do to prevent any federal employee from not getting paid is to open up the government.”.

The GOP appears split over how to handle both the shutdown and the broader health care debate,.

Johnson and Thune have pressed to delay health care negotiations until the government is open, while Trump’s interest in negotiating with Democrats — particularly over Affordable Care Act subsidies set to expire — has opened a new front in the standoff.

“The Administration will not negotiate while the American people are being held hostage by Democrats,” Jackson said.

Republicans had hoped to make Democrats bear the political cost of the shutdown, especially those in the Senate who are blocking the House-passed stopgap bill.

“If you’re Republicans, you have to get Dems to blink first,” said a source close to the White House told the outlet.

But Trump and Vought have largely ignored that plan, opting instead to pursue broader political goals — from punishing the federal bureaucracy to letting premiums spike in Democratic-leaning districts.

That approach has only widened the rift within the GOP, with conservatives like Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) criticizing leadership for ignoring skyrocketing healthcare costs.

“Not a single Republican in leadership talked to us about this or has given us a plan to help Americans deal with their health insurance premiums DOUBLING!!!” Greene posted on the social platform X.

Johnson, attempting to downplay the criticism, responded: “She’s probably not read that in on some of that, because it’s still been sort of in the silos of the people who specialize in those issues.”

Democrats, meanwhile, have seized on the Republican dysfunction.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer read Greene’s post aloud on the Senate floor, saying, “Hold on to your hats: I think this is the first time I’ve said this, but on this issue, Rep. Greene said it perfectly.”Despite the GOP disarray, some quiet bipartisan efforts are underway in the Senate to find a path forward. Lawmakers are considering potential compromises tied to ACA subsidies and unresolved budget issues.

But with Trump now actively engaging in his own strategy and Republicans still at odds over the next move, a resolution remains elusive.

One Senate Republican, who was not named, told Politico: “They are absolutely struggling to figure out how they are going to get out of this.”

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'It only gets ugly': Senator predicts GOP will fold on shutdown in 'a couple more days'

As the federal government shutdown stretches into its second week, pressure is mounting on Senate Republicans to strike a deal — and one Democratic senator says a turning point is near.

Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.) told Semafor in a report published Tuesday he believes it won’t be long before Republicans begin to shift their position.

With key federal workers set to miss paychecks as early as this Friday, Coons predicted GOP senators will soon feel the heat from constituents and push for negotiations to reopen the government.

“A couple more days of this, and you’ll have a group of senators at least trying,” Coons said. “It only gets ugly once people start missing their paychecks.”

The situation could escalate further by mid-month, when military personnel are expected to miss a paycheck — a development that Coons says will amplify public backlash, per the report. Republicans, Coons argued, are not in a strong position.

"I don’t know about their states. I got thousands of people who work at Dover Air Force Base who are going to be p—— and calling me,” he said.

So far, Republicans have been holding the line, insisting Democrats support the House-passed funding bill before any new negotiations begin.

Democrats, meanwhile, are pushing for an agreement that includes an extension of Affordable Care Act subsidies. Some senators from both parties say private conversations are happening behind the scenes, though no formal bipartisan group has emerged to broker a deal.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK.) said talks are underway, but no clear coalition has taken shape yet. Still, she believes some kind of plan will be necessary to get Democrats on board.

“For the Democrats to switch their vote — which is what it will take to get it open — you have to have some germ of an idea as to where we go once we get it open,” Murkowski told the outlet.

With leadership from both parties not actively negotiating, rank-and-file senators may soon have to step up. Coons, a veteran of past shutdown fights, seems confident they will — especially once the political cost becomes unavoidable.

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Fox News employees privately admit their content has made the country 'a worse place'

Private communications between rank-and-file employees at Fox News show that the conservative news network has a significant image problem — even among its own workforce.

In a series of posts to his X account on Tuesday, Guardian media reporter Jeremy Barr pointed out revealing details of Fox News' employees' emails that were recently made public as part of voting machine company Smartmatic's lawsuit against the company. Smartmatic's lawyers maintained that Fox employees demanded assurances from hosts and producers that they would "only tell viewers the truth ... rather than spin or reckless conjecture that causes harm to real people."

"The content we produce has made the world, and especially our country, a worse place," one employee said, according to Barr, who said the responses appear to come from a 2020 company survey.

Barr also discovered new messages from Fox executives warning that President Donald Trump would hold a grudge against the network for calling the 2020 election for then-President-elect Joe Biden. Lachlan Murdoch — who is the chairman of News Corp and son of Fox founder Rupert Murdoch — texted days after the election: "Problem is Trump is going to blame everyone for not winning, especially Fox." In another document, former Fox News managing editor Bill Sammon said in a sworn deposition that he felt he was fired for calling Arizona for Biden before any of the network's main competitors (Biden won Arizona by roughly 11,000 votes).

The documents also confirmed prior reporting that former Fox News host Jeanine Pirro's November 7, 2020 episode was cancelled over fears that she would repeat debunked claims about supposed election fraud. Earlier this year, internal emails showed former Fox News executive David Clark said Pirro was a "reckless maniac" who was "nuts." Pirro later left the network after Trump nominated her to be U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia.

Smartmatic is suing Fox News for $2.7 billion, claiming its hosts made false and defamatory claims about its products alleging that its machines were designed to give Biden an edge. Smartmatic is also suing MyPillow CEO and far-right conspiracy theorist Mike Lindell for his claims about the 2020 election.

The voting machine company's litigation against Fox is still ongoing, and no trial date has yet been set. Fox settled a separate lawsuit with Dominion Voting Systems in 2023 for $787 million.

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'Very challenging': GOP senator admits his party is losing the shutdown battle

One member of the Senate Republican Conference offered his own candid take on how his party's message was being received by the American public in the midst of the ongoing federal government shutdown as it enters its second week.

The Hill reported Tuesday that Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.) admitted that Democrats were getting the better of Republicans as polls continue to show a majority of Americans blame the GOP for the shutdown. Kansas' junior U.S. senator said that it would be difficult for Republicans to convince the public to take their side given how Democrats have centered the shutdown around expiring Affordable Care Act (also known as Obamacare) tax credits.

The tax credits were initially included in legislation designed to provide Americans with economic relief during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, and are due to expire at the end of the calendar year. But Democrats have pointed out that the open enrollment period to sign up for health insurance begins on November 1, and health insurance premiums could skyrocket if the tax credits aren't extended.

"I think it is very challenging because it’s a very deep issue," Marshall said. "Look, I want everybody to have health care. It’s part of my MAHA pillars, is everyone has access meaningful access to affordable health care as well."

The Kansas Republican went on to lament that Democrats were so far standing firm in their refusal to sign the Republican-written government funding bill that doesn't include an extension of the ACA tax credits, and credited it to blue state voters keeping Democratic lawmakers on their toes.

"I think it’s a political issue, and that [Senate Minority Leader] Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) with having such trouble with his base — I don’t know if it’s his base or AOC’s base — for not shutting the government down," he said. "You know, they want to do something to respond to President Trump."

"So [Schumer] had to do something," he continued. "And then they’ve taken us hostage, which is the COVID subsidies."

Click here to read the Hill's full report.

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House GOP has new excuse for refusing to swear in Dem who will cast deciding Epstein vote

Congresswoman-elect Adelita Grijalva (D-Ariz.) won a special election two weeks ago to fill the seat vacated by her late father, Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-Ariz.), though she is still waiting to be formally sworn in. And House Republican leadership is now giving a new excuse for refusing to seat Grijalva.

On Tuesday, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) initially told reporters that he had no problem swearing in Arizona's newest member of Congress, saying "we'll schedule it, I guess, as soon as she wants." The speaker made that comment in response to a reporter reminding him that he had previously sworn in two Republican members of Congress during a pro forma session (a session which is usually gaveled in and out in just a matter of minutes where no official business is conducted).

However, Johnson's staff later walked that statement back, and told NOTUS reporter Daniella Diaz that Grijalva would not be formally sworn in until after the ongoing government shutdown ends.

"We will swear in Rep.-Elect Grijalva as soon as the House returns to session when Chuck Schumer, Mark Kelly and Ruben Gallego decide to open up the government," an unnamed House Republican leadership staffer told Diaz. "It’s a customary practice in the House to swear in members when the chamber is in legislative session."

During a Tuesday appearance on MSNBC's "Deadline: White House," Grijalva told MSNBC host Nicolle Wallace that her main point of contact to date has not been Johnson (the speaker is typically the one handling new member swearing-in ceremonies) but House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.). She told Wallace that her message to Johnson has continued to be "just give me a date," and said she remains ready to fly to Washington D.C. to be sworn in.

Grijalva promised to sign the bipartisan discharge petition to compel the Department of Justice (DOJ) to release all remaining documents pertaining to convicted sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein once she's formally sworn in. The petition — which is being circulated by Reps. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) and Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) – currently has 217 signatures, and Grijalva's signature would give it the 218 signatures required to bypass Johnson and put the bill up for a vote directly on the floor of the House of Representatives.

All 213 Democrats have signed the petition, and Massie convinced three of his fellow Republicans – Reps. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.), Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) and Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) to add their names. Currently, the government shutdown remains unlikely to end anytime soon as Democrats have continued to refuse to vote for a bill to reopen the government without a guarantee that Affordable Care Act (ACA) tax credits will be extended. Should those tax credits expire, health insurance premiums could potentially double in price as the open enrollment period approaches in November.

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Major city's understaffed air traffic control tower to 'go dark for five hours': report

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reportedly plans to suspend approach control operations at the air traffic control tower in Nashville, Tennessee for five hours on Tuesday night, citing widespread staffing shortages.

"Nashville’s air traffic approach control will go dark for five hours tonight due to short staffing—the second FAA facility in as many days to shut down over shortages," CNN reporter Pete Muntean said in a post on the social platform X Tuesday.

The move comes amid growing alarm over the strain on the air traffic control system as employees continue to work without pay during the current federal government shutdown.

As reported by Forbes, controllers — like Transportation Security Administration officers at airport screening checkpoints — have not been paid during this period.

Under law, they are to receive back pay once the shutdown ends, but recent comments by President Donald Trump have raised doubts about the guarantee.

Nick Daniels, president of the 19,000‑member National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA), told Forbes that controllers are scheduled to get a partial paycheck on October 14, and then no paycheck at all two weeks later, unless the shutdown ends.

While NATCA has warned its members that organized “sick outs” would be illegal, some union officials and individual controllers have warned that missed paychecks will compound the stress facing an already overstretched system.

One veteran controller told Forbes: “Missing even one [paycheck] is a cause of stress — stress they don’t need and you don’t want controlling your airplanes.”

The source added, “This will only get worse and escalate the longer this shutdown continues.”

The Nashville shutdown echoes a similar disruption in California. On Monday evening, Hollywood Burbank Airport’s control tower went unmanned from about 4:15 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. local time, after air traffic controllers walked off amid staffing and pay concerns.

During that period, Southern California TRACON in San Diego assumed responsibility for managing the airport’s airspace, coordinating arrivals and departures remotely.

Burbank’s tower outage resulted in significant delays, with average departure delays exceeding two hours.

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'Horrible message': Senate Republican rips White House's 'bad strategy' on shutdown

In a sharp rebuke, Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C) on Tuesday assailed the White House Office of Management and Budget for circulating a draft memo suggesting that furloughed federal workers may not automatically receive retroactive pay once a government shutdown ends.

The criticism comes amid divisions within the GOP over the handling of federal employee compensation.

According to The Hill, Tillis told reporters, “I think it’s a horrible message to send to people who are basically hostages right now to the Democrats shutting down the government, not agreeing to a clean [continuing resolution].”

He added, “I think it’s bad strategy.”

He warned the draft memo sends a distressing signal to those workers already sidelined. Many have now been furloughed and may be forced into debt just to make ends meet.

“I do think there’s some frustration from the White House but you’ve got these people who if they’re members of the credit union who may be borrowing money to pay their bills. Not everybody can draw out of retirement savings or something,” Tillis remarked.

The North Carolina Republican also targeted House Democrats, urging focus on what he framed as their internal inconsistency.

“We don’t have to go that far. Let’s focus on the real issue of the Democrats not having a rational basis” for the shutdown, he said, accusing the party of bowing to its most progressive wing.

“We’re not asking them for anything more than just funding at levels that they voted for in the past,” he continued.

The draft memo from OMB cites a narrow interpretation of the 2019 Government Employee Fair Treatment Act, arguing that only “essential” federal workers are guaranteed back pay under a shutdown scenario.

The memo’s exposure has stirred backlash on Capitol Hill, reigniting debates about the legal obligations owed to federal employees and deepening partisan tensions as lawmakers brace for a looming funding impasse.

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Trump spokesman makes crude reference to AOC after she mocked Stephen Miller's height

Earlier this week, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) made a dog at White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller. The remark apparently made an impression, and now the Daily Beast is reporting one of President Donald Trump's top spokespeople is directly responding.

Ocasio-Cortez urged her followers on social media to mock the "fragile masculinity" of the Trump administration, and singled out Miller as a key example. She called the Trump advisor a "clown" and repeatedly suggested he was less than five feet tall.

"I’ve never seen that guy in real life, but he looks like he’s, like, 4 feet 10 inches," the Bronx congresswoman said of Miller. "And he looks like he is angry about the fact that he’s 4 feet 10 inches. And he looks like he is so mad that he is 4 feet 10 inches, that he has taken that anger out on any other population possible."

Fox News host Laura Ingraham played the clip of Ocasio-Cortez's remarks to Miller while she was interviewing him on air to get his response. Miller pointed out that he was actually 5'10" and called the New York Democrat a "walking nightmare."

"Well, we knew that her brain didn’t work,” Miller said. “Now we know her eyes don’t work. So, the… she’s a mess, right? What a trainwreck. What a trainwreck."

Ocasio-Cortez's criticism of Miller also prompted White House Communications Director Steven Cheung to tweet a crude remark at the congresswoman, writing on Tuesday: "Sounds like @AOC is often used to the shorter things in life," with an emoji of pinched fingers.

Also on Tuesday, Ocasio-Cortez posted a video to her Instagram story apologizing to "the short king community," saying that she was against body-shaming and that her remarks about Miller's height were meant to be understood as an assessment of his inner character.

"I have no idea how tall [right-wing influencer] Andrew Tate is. No idea at all. But that guy looks to me like, 5'3", 5'4"," she said. "Whereas physically, men of small stature can come across — they are spiritually six foot. If you're a good dad, if you stand with women, if you're not belitting immigrants, you're like, 6'3". Spiritually. I don't know, am I being problematic?"

Click here to read the Daily Beast's full report (subscription required).

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'How Tony Soprano talks': Trump buried over remarks about punishing federal workers

The White House reportedly is exploring ways to bypass a federal law mandating government employees furloughed during a shutdown receive back pay once the government reopens. President Donald Trump appeared to suggest that he would not be paying some federal workers — not based on job type but on some other metric.

Fox News senior White House correspondent Jacqui Heinrich on Tuesday asked the president, “Is it the White House’s position that furloughed workers should be paid for their back pay?”

“I would say it depends on who we’re talking about,” Trump replied.

He then attempted to blame Democrats.

“I can tell you this, the Democrats have put a lot of people in great risk and jeopardy, but it really depends on who you’re talking about,” Trump said. “But for the most part, we’re gonna take care of our people.”

He did not explain who he meant by “our people.”

“There are some people that really don’t deserve to be taken care of, and we’ll take care of them in a different way. Okay?” Trump added.

NBC News reported that a draft White House memo “clashes with a 2019 law that requires back pay for federal workers. The law, called the Government Employee Fair Treatment Act of 2019, says all federal employees, whether furloughed or deemed essential and working without pay, must receive back pay after a shutdown ends.”

President Trump signed that legislation into law.

Critics blasted the president’s remarks.

The Steady State, a consortium of over 330 former national security officials, wrote that “the President of the United States [was] explaining how he will ‘take care’ of his people, and ‘take care’ of some others — the second ‘take care’ is Tony Soprano. This is how dictators take and hold power.”

Similarly, Sophia A. Nelson, an award-winning author and journalist, wrote: “This is how Tony Soprano talks. Not the President of the United States.”

— (@)

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'Vastly unaffordable': MTG blames health insurers for 'destruction of the American dream'

In a series of posts on the social platform X Tuesday, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) once again pushed back hard against her fellow Republicans for failing to contain skyrocketing health insurance costs.

She called the current system “messed up” and declared that it represents “the destruction of the American dream.”

Greene’s initial post likened the Affordable Care Act (also known as Obamacare) to toothpaste that can’t be put back in the tube:

“The toothpaste (Obamacare – ACA) is out of the tube. Trying to make it clear that I think the entire system is messed up. Health insurance is vastly unaffordable for all Americans especially since the cost of living has sky rocketed in the past 4 1/2 years.”

In a follow-up (a quote‑tweet of her own post), Greene expanded her critique:

“Read comments and comments to comments and there are hundreds of real life examples of Americans literally destroyed by health insurance and healthcare costs. This is the destruction of the American dream.”

She also claimed small business owners and families of four are reportedly paying $2,000+ per month in premiums with deductibles of $7,000–$10,000.

Greene added that healthy individuals paying $20,000+ annually — despite rarely using health services — are essentially wagering against “what if” scenarios.

The Georgia Republican also claimed that doctors were being "imported from abroad" because “American doctors … are being strangled by health insurance companies and regulations.”

Greene’s comments come as enhanced ACA subsidies are set to expire at the end of the year. Without renewal, analysts warn many Americans could see their premiums double.

Earlier on Monday, Greene warned that if Republicans in Congress don't act to extend certain Affordable Care Act (“Obamacare”) tax credits, health insurance premiums are poised to "double" next year.

In a post on X, Greene wrote: “[W]hen the tax credits expire this year my own adult children’s insurance premiums for 2026 are going to DOUBLE, along with all the ... families and hard‑working people in my district.” She added that no Republican leadership has offered a plan to prevent the soaring costs.

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'Simply not credible': CNN fact-checker demolishes 5 of Trump's most 'absurd' claims

During Donald Trump's first presidency, CNN's Daniel Dale spent a lot of time fact-checking his claims. Now, eight and one-half months into the second Trump administration, Dale is still scrutinizing Trump's speeches and press conferences and separating fact from fiction.

Dale examined Trump's latest talking points during a Tuesday, October 7 fact-check, analyzing the U.S. president's claims on everything from investment in the United States to crime to drug policy.

"The president repeated this imaginary figure he keeps using, saying that he secured more than 17 trillion worth of investment in the U.S. in just eight months," Dale told his CNN colleague Manu Raju. "The White House itself, on its website, uses the figure 8.8 trillion — so just over half of the one the president keeps citing. And even that 8.8 trillion is a wild exaggeration. It includes a bunch of vague promises, a bunch of vague statements from foreign countries that I wouldn't say even rise to the level of promises."

Dale noted that Trump is counting "hundreds of billions in promised trade expansion as investment."

The CNN fact-checker dismantled Trump's claims about crime in Washington, D.C.

"The president also said that under his leadership, with his (National) Guard deployment and takeover of D.C. law enforcement, nobody is being shot now in Washington, D.C.," Dale observed. "It is true that crime is down in D.C., but it hasn't vanished as he keeps claiming. In fact, just this morning, the Washington Post ran a headline that said three people (were) found fatally shot in D.C. in three days. So, shootings do continue."

Dale tore apart Trump's claims about U.S. military attacks on alleged Venezuelan drug boats in the Caribbean supposedly saving lives.

Dale noted, "The president also made just an absurd claim that he saved at least 100,000 lives with a smattering of military strikes on alleged drug boats off Venezuela in the Caribbean. Now, aside from the fact that we don't have firm evidence of what was on these boats — aside from the fact that fentanyl, the most deadly of these synthetic opioids that is killing Americans, is generally brought over the border by Americans (via) the land border, rather than on boats from Venezuela — it is just absurd to say 100,000 lives because there were well under 100,000 total overdose deaths in the U.S. last year."

Dale added, "So the notion that 100,000 lives were saved by striking four or five boats is simply not credible."

The CNN fact-checker went on to tear apart Trump's claims about trade with the European Union (EU).

"And the president (was) also talking about his trade deal with the European Union, repeated his claim that before this trade deal, the U.S. couldn't sell any agriculture to the EU," Dale told Raju. "Of more than $12 billion worth of farm products to the EU last year, before the trade deal, the EU was the fourth biggest buyer in the world of these products."

- YouTube www.youtube.com

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'Unhinged': Critics blast Canadian PM for 'sucking up' to Trump in Oval Office meeting

Following a meeting with President Donald Trump to discuss trade issues amid escalating tensions caused by U.S. tariffs on Canadian products, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney seemed to laugh off Trump's backhanded taunts and quips.

“It's an honor to have the Prime Minister of Canada, Mark Carney, who I have made very popular," Trump said to laughs.

After blaming Democrats for the shutdown, riffing on "boys in girls sports," taking victory laps for America being the "hottest country in the world" and digging at Canada, Trump went off on a bizarre tangent seemingly about Rep. Ihan Omar (D-MO).

"The Democrats have no leader. They remind me of Somalia, and, you know, I met the president of Somalia and told him about the problem he's got. I said, 'you have somebody from Somalia who's telling us how to run our country. She's from Somalia. Do you want to take her back?' He says, 'No, I don't want her.' You know who I'm talking about?" Trump said as Carney sat next to him and laughed.

"Bad stand up comedy at a dive bar," remarked DJ Mark Farina on X. "Unhinged," wrote X user Barb Diment.

Canadian social media also had a field day with the meeting.

Canadian X account Tablesalt wrote, ”BREAKING Trump interrupts Canadian PM Mark Carney's flattery to make a joke about 'merging Canada and USA.'"

"Plot twist: it’s not a joke. He’s already designing the new flag," wrote X user Brian.

"Listening to Carney/ Trump. Of course Trump is bulls—— about Canada. He talks about his deals but nothing about working with Canada, I love Carney's smirks," wrote Canadian X user Cardigan-Elaine.

Another X account said, "Mark Carney praises Trump, and says Canada supports his efforts, as Trump jokes about Canada becoming the 51st state. It looks like Carney's elbows have been completely removed. All he did was kiss Trump's a— ."

Canadian WhineNot mused on x, "It was a repulsive sucking up presser. Trump praising Carney. Carney sucking up to Trump. Vomit inducing. Just do a presser and announce the deal already."

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Anchor baits Trump into accusing Fox of an anti-MAGA 'undercurrent' and 'lower' poll numbers

President Donald Trump was easily baited into bashing Fox News by an anchor at the network's competition who goaded him by telling him Fox has been against him for years, Mediaite reports.

Newsmax anchor Greg Kelly asked Trump what Mediaite called "a leading question about Fox News," and Trump jumped right on it, "accusing the network of an anti-Trump 'undercurrent' and 'lower' poll numbers than other outlets."

Kelly kicked off the conversation by saying, "So President Trump, you know, there are some good people at Fox News, but let’s face it, a good chunk of them also did not support you in 16 and in 20 and again in 24. What do you make of that opposition?"

The anchor then added that "I saw you put it on Truth Social. They seem to be at war with conservatives they don’t like. And they gave you a really hard time, at times, over the past, well, nine years."

First Trump defended at least one of his Fox loyalists, saying, "Well, but I’ve had many that have been really loyal and really great. I mean, you know, if you look at Sean Hannity and some of the other, I mean ... they couldn’t be better."

"But there’s an undertow there," he added. "There’s like an undercurrent that goes there. Like with polls, I have the best polls I’ve ever had. But Fox never gives you – my numbers are good no matter what they do, because they’re just still good. We have the best numbers I’ve never had, actually."

In September, Trump told Fox News' Martha MacCallum that the "network needs to hire a new pollster" when he was asked about his recent poor polling on the economy, according to Newsweek.

On Newsmax, Trump continued to dump on Fox, saying, "But it’s always lower with Fox than it is with others. And I don’t — you know, I really don’t understand it, but I don’t spend too much time thinking about it or understanding it."

Careful not to entirely alienate the Fox News crew, Trump added, "But, look, we have some great people. It’s like everywhere else, you have some great people, there were some great people and there’s some people I don't like very much."

'Imminent danger': Experts sound alarm over Trump’s Insurrection Act threat

Military, legal, and political experts are warning after President Donald Trump vowed to invoke the Insurrection Act if he deems it necessary — a move some see as the culmination of an authoritarian trajectory he has been telegraphing since taking office. No president has used the law in more than three decades, and then only in limited, localized crises.

In the Oval Office late Monday afternoon, asked if he would invoke the Insurrection Act, the president replied, “Well, I’d do it if it was necessary.”

“So far, it hasn’t been necessary, but we have an Insurrection Act for a reason,” he continued. “If I had to enact it, I’d do that.”

“If people were being killed, and courts were holding us up, or governors or mayors were holding us up? Sure, I do that. I mean, I want to make sure that people aren’t killed. We have to make sure that our cities are safe.”

Former U.S. Attorney Joyce Vance, a well-known MSNBC and NBC News legal analyst, on Substack wrote, “It’s hard to mistake what’s happening here. This is a president in the process of looking for excuses and seeing how far he can go until someone—right now it’s the courts—reins him in.”

“The Insurrection Act is the primary vehicle for circumventing Posse Comitatus, which prohibits the use of the military on American soil to enforce laws against American citizens,” she explained. “That is not the role the military plays in American democracy. The Insurrection Act is reserved for extreme situations like rebellions or invasions. Trump is fully capable of spinning a narrative that would claim one of those preconditions, even while having no resemblance to the truth.”

Indeed, on Monday night, President Trump was asked on Newsmax about his remarks.

“It is a way to get around” opposition to his efforts, Trump said. “If we don’t have to use it I wouldn’t use it.”

“If you take a look at what’s been going on in Portland, it’s been going on for a long time, that’s insurrection, that’s pure insurrection” he added.

The Lincoln Project’s Gregory Minchak commented, “The Insurrection Act is NOT a way to ‘get around’ anything. It’s a break glass law in case of extreme and dire emergency. NOTHING in this country even remotely qualifies.”

Barely hours after Trump made his first set of remarks, Illinois Democratic Governor JB Pritzker had told reporters:

“The Trump administration is following a playbook: Cause chaos, create fear and confusion, make it seem like peaceful protesters are a mob by firing gas pellets and tear gas canisters at them. Why? To create the pretext for invoking the Insurrection Act.”

Other experts also responded to the president’s remarks.

“This has always been the plan,” declared political and national security analyst, and well-known veterans advocate Paul Rieckhoff. “Most Americans won’t realize it until he does it.”

Rieckhoff was not alone in that observation.

Former U.S. Secretary of Labor Robert Reich, a Berkeley professor of public policy, wrote: “Everything Trump is doing now is a preamble for his regime’s real goal: to invoke the Insurrection Act. I don’t want to unduly alarm you, but you need to be aware of this imminent danger. It’s unfolding very rapidly.”

On Wednesday on Substack Professor Reich wrote: “The direction we’re going is either martial law or civil war.”

He also laid out what he believes the “plan” is to invoke the Insurrection Act, noting that “Trump and his enablers have worked this out in advance.”

U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) wrote: “We have the Insurrection Act for a reason—But it’s not so a President with 34 felonies can ignore court orders and punish cities he doesn’t like with military intimidation. Especially not when the courts are telling him his claims of insurrection are ‘untethered to the facts.'”

U.S. Rep. Primala Jayapal (D-WA) commented, “Trump is threatening to invoke the Insurrection Act and send the National Guard to our cities — completely ignoring federal judges’ orders. This is authoritarianism — and from someone who actually incited an insurrection on Jan 6th.”

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Trump forced to design costly off-ramp as his policies cost farmers 'billions of dollars'

Although the United States' 2024 presidential election was close — Donald Trump won the popular vote by roughly 1.5 percent — the GOP nominee had the clear advantage in rural agricultural areas. And farmers went for Trump in big numbers.

But for many U.S. farmers, Trump's steep new tariffs are a major hardship. Now, Trump is, according to the Daily Beast's Janna Brancolini, pushing for farm bailouts in response to the hardship his trade policies are causing.

"President Donald Trump will unveil a bailout plan this week for farmers whose markets have been destroyed by his signature economic policy," Brancolini reports in an article published on October 7. "'I'm going to do some farm stuff this week,' the president told reporters at the White House. That's Trump speak for finalizing a massive new aid program for farmers who have lost billions of dollars thanks to the president's tariffs, which sparked a trade war with China earlier this year."

Brancolini notes that Trump's tariffs on China are especially hard on farmers.

"American farmers are on track to sell $10 billion less in soybeans to China compared to last year, and sorghum exports to China — which last year totaled $1.3 billion — are down 97 percent this year, according to The (New York) Times. At the same time, the tariffs have pushed up costs for American farmers, who are facing higher prices for fertilizer and equipment at the exact moment that they've lost their biggest customer.

Over the last few years, interest rates have also risen, and prices have fallen for key crops."

Brancolini adds, "The result is that prices for nearly every row crop are lower than the cost of production," The Times reported. "Republican lawmakers estimate that farmers could need as much as $50 billion in economic support to weather Trump’s trade war."

Read the full Daily Beast article at this link (subscription required).

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'Dishonest': Experts fact-check GOP senator’s 'conspiracy' claims about FBI phone tapping

After his questioning of Attorney General Pam Bondi at a Senate Committee Hearing Tuesday, Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) ignited a firestorm of reactions after expressing outrage that, following his fleeing of the January 6, 2021 Capitol insurrection, his phone was investigated by President Joe Biden's Department of Justice.

"We learned that the FBI tapped my phone," Hawley said to Bondi at the hearing, adding, "Who knows why?"

On Monday, Hawley called for a Justice Department investigation following reports that special counsel Jack Smith's Jan. 6 probe tracked communications of several Republican senators.

According to Media Matters senior fellow Matthew Gertz, in his reply to Hawley's hearing statement, MAGA loyalist and Wisconsin's Republican Senator "Ron Johnson — RON JOHNSON — corrected a Newsmax host who said [that the FBI tapped Republican senators' phones] last night, pointing out that the FBI only obtained metadata," he wrote on X. "'More dishonest and conspiracy-minded than Ron Johnson' is a hell of a choice here."

HuffPost's congressional and White House reporter Jennifer Bendery wrote on X, "Today, Josh Hawley — who voted to overturn the 2020 election after fanning the Big Lie the election was stolen from Trump, the same lie that fueled the Jan. 6 insurrection Hawley was egging on — is outraged the FBI analyzed some senators' phone logs in its Jan. 6 probe."

Bendery continued to correct Hawley's claim, saying, "Hawley also raging about the FBI having 'tapped my phone,' but that's not what happened. The FBI analyzed data relating to dates and times of some GOP senators' calls during the week of Jan. 6. No wire tapping or looking at content of communications."

Hawley, Bendery points out, isn't exactly looking out for democracy, she says, adding, "Relatedly, Josh Hawley gets an 'F' rating by the Republican Accountability Project on his efforts to protect democracy."

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Here’s one question senators must ask Trump official as she 'ducks questions' on the stand: analyst

During a hearing on Tuesday morning, October 7, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi was questioned by members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, both Republicans and Democrats.

Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Missouri) and other Republicans asked Bondi softball questions. But the U.S. attorney general became angry and combative when questioned by Senate Democrats, including Rhode Island's Sheldon Whitehouse and Minnesota's Amy Klobuchar.

Bondi often recited MAGA talking points, blaming Democrats for the partial government shutdown while claiming that President Donald Trump enjoys broad support.

CNN brought on two of its legal analysts during the hearing: Elliott Williams and Alyse Adamson.

Williams noted how evasive Bondi was when answering questions from Democratic senators.

Asked what "stood out" to him about Bondi's testimony, Williams responded, "I think two things. One, there is a level of punchiness or punching back from the attorney general that we really are not used to seeing in hearings. You saw it with (FBI Director) Kash Patel as well. She clearly has, in the binder, literally an opposition file on every one of the Democratic senators and is pointing to things about their states — things about them personally — that might be distractions from the questions they're asking, but are ways to turn the questioning back on to them. That's just not something you often see in the lofty decorum of these hearings. That's one."

Williams continued, "Number two — and I think the way the Democrats or anybody of either party could just get out of the partisan fight here — there's one question she's not being asked. And it occurred to me with her opening statement today where she says: you know, all of this is designed to halt an agenda that won the popular vote and all seven battleground states less than a year ago. She's bringing politics into this. The question for her from anybody ought to be: Madam Attorney General, does the fact that something's popular make it legal, yes or no? And just ask her to get on the record, because all these things about polls and this is what the people wanted — but she's not talking about the legality of them. She's sort of ducking the questions."

- YouTube www.youtube.com

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'Bombshell': AG 'shocks' ex-US attorney by refusing to answer question about Trump and Epstein

While testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee Tuesday morning, Attorney General Pam Bondi dodged and deflected on many subjects. But it was her refusal to answer specific questions on President Donald Trump and his relationship with the late convicted sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein that was most shocking.

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) questioned Bondi about her Epstein evasiveness, saying "You said you would look into this. There were hundreds of suspicious activity reports. Some people would deduce from the fact that they are called suspicious activity reports that there might be suspicious activity."

Whitehouse pressed Bondi, saying, "There's been public reporting that Jeffrey Epstein showed people photos of President Trump with half naked young women. Do you know if the FBI found those photographs in their search of Jeffrey Epstein's safe or premises or otherwise? Have you seen any such thing?"

A visibly uncomfortable Bondi replied, "You sit here and make salacious remarks once again trying to slander President Trump," she said, offering her own theory on Whitehouse allegedly "taking money from one of Epstein's closest confidantes."

"I believe. I could be wrong," she said of Whitehouse's connection to Epstein associates. "Yet you're grilling me on President Trump and some photograph with Epstein."

Not backing down, Whitehouse retorted, "The question is: Did the FBI find those photographs that have been discussed publicly by a witness who claimed Jeffrey Epstein showed them to him? You don't know anything about that?"

Bondi just looked down, swallowed and said nothing.

Following the exchange, CNN anchor Wolf Blitzer asked former federal prosecutor Alyse Adamson, "Were you surprised? The questions that Whitehouse was asking about the Jeffrey Epstein case? And if there are pictures of Trump with half naked women involved with Epstein?"

Adamson agreed it was shocking revelation, saying, "That was the first time I had ever heard that. Of course, we need more facts. If that is true, I think that would be a bombshell revelation. It would also explain why the Department of Justice has been hesitant to release the files."

"And I think Senator Whitehouse is asking exactly the right questions. And, you know, demanding the transparency that the DOJ and Pam Bondi promised to the American people. So I was shocked. And I think that could be very significant," she added.

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'Doesn’t make sense to manufacture in America' as vindictive Trump 'plays politics' with US jobs

During his 2016, 2020 and 2024 campaigns, Donald Trump promised a renaissance in manufacturing jobs in the United States.

But according to a factory in Upstate New York, the second Trump Administration's policies are making it more difficult, not less, to create manufacturing jobs.

The factory is Bitzer Scroll Inc., which manufactures electric heat pumps in DeWitt, New York (a Syracuse suburb). Syracuse.com's Mark Weiner reports that the factory "may cut back its expansion plans after President Donald Trump's administration canceled a $5 million grant to help pay for the project."

On October 1, the Trump-era Department of Energy announced that it was terminating grants totaling almost $8 billion for 223 green energy projects in 16 different states — and one of those grants was for Bitzer Scroll.

Russell Vought, director of the U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and a key architect of the controversial Project 2025, tweeted, "Nearly $8 billion in Green New Scam funding to fuel the Left's climate agenda is being cancelled. More info to come from @ENERGY. The projects are in the following states: CA, CO, CT, DE, HI, IL, MD, MA, MN, NH, NJ, NM, NY, OR, VT, WA."

In response, liberal firebrand and former MSNBC host Keith Olbermann posted, "Thanks for being pro-extinction-of-mankind. Good call, Baldy."

According to John Allcott, Bitzer Scroll's vice president of North American operations, the Trump Administration's policies are making it harder to do business in the U.S.

Allcott told Syracuse.com, "It impacts us significantly. It would just be far harder to finance the expansion. We'd probably end up dropping some components of the project, and that hurts all around."

According to Allcott, Trump's tariffs are significantly adding to the company's overhead.

Allcott told Syracuse.com, "The whole thing of Trump bringing jobs back to America is completely running in reverse for us. It's just killing us…. It's not an easy time right now. If I was a board member right now at Bitzer, I might be saying it doesn't make any sense to manufacture in America."

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer is highly critical of Trump's manufacturing policies as well. The veteran senator recently said, "Instead of playing politics with the shutdown, President Trump should be working on bipartisan solutions to lower Americans' costs and create jobs."

Read the full Syracuse.com article at this link.

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