Frontpage videos

MS NOW anchor Nicole Wallace reached her limit after hearing the slew of manosphere, high-testosterone nonsense now peppering the administration of President Donald Trump and his helpers.

Pentagon Reporter Priya Sridhar and other reporters had spent a good 10 minutes pounding Wallace’s ear Friday night with MAGA-podcaster-grade “medical announcements” pressed by Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and other members of the Trump administration within the last two years. This includes a new high testosterone or “high T” policy, the removal of vaccine requirements, including those for diseases known to strike U.S. soldiers on patrol in other nations.

But among the policies proponents of the administration are considering for the military are unnecessary nicotine infusions as a way to boost testosterone and mental clarity — another theory praised by the MAGA online community against doctors’ advice.

“They're going to start handing out cigs? I want some of those. I'm going to need them to get through the next two years. Jesus Christ,” wailed Wallace.

Near the end of it, Wallace could not contain herself, particularly when confronted with the popular MAGA community recommendation of tanning parts that rarely if ever see the sun.

“Pete Hegseth is like the baby that RFK Jr and some mythical, buffoonish wannabe GI Joe would have,” erupted Wallace, while denouncing reports of a 4-or 5-fold increase in talk about testosterone in the “Manosphere” community.

From there, Wallace blasted claims by wing media Tucker Carlson that testosterone levels are down across the board because of feminism.

“I’m going to need to see some blood work on this,” said Wallace, before lighting into Carlson for arguing that women going to college are somehow personally affecting his “testosterone.” “So, they’re saying Tucker's testosterone plunged because women went to college?”

But reporters said Carlson advocates for nicotine pouches, and the former Fox News entertainer even has his own company now, because “the ones you get on the market, he doesn't think are strong enough.”

But Wallace exploded in cackling after hearing that former FBI second-in-Command Dan Bongino—now returned to the realm of podcasting — was championing the policy that high testosterone “makes you a better man, makes you more masculine and makes you more lethal.”

“Oh, my God! The country is run by men who nobody wanted to date. I cannot believe this is happening,” said Wallace, who showed derision that legitimate companies are helping people get access to testosterone, seemingly for recreation rather than health.

- YouTube youtu.be

An attorney from President Donald Trump’s first presidential administration shared his remarkably dim view of the current crew, particularly in the five-day dismissal of Trump’s latest press secretary.

Former Trump attorney Ty Cobb laid low the current administration and its inept crew on CNN’s “out Front with Erin Burnett,” while lamenting that it appeared only the women in the Trump administration suffered for their mistakes.

“[Katie Zacharia] met the she met the key qualification, of course, having filled her [video] pieces on TV with adulation and praise for the president,” said Cobb. “She met the obsessively loyal idolater standard, which is the essential standard for Trump hires. And of course, she's blond, sort of, like creepy Karoline [Leavitt] and Natalie Harp. But Trump also thought she was a lawyer and he was a little surprised when she wasn’t.”

He corrected Trump’s claim that Zacharia was “treated unfairly” by the media.

“She hasn't been treated unfairly by the by the media. She's been treated unfairly by the president,” said Cobb. “The vetting process is there to protect not just the president, but also the candidate. You don't want somebody who is not qualified or you're hiring them to fail. And she failed miserably, in large part because of the absence of a vetting process.”

But this is a president who has also fired DHS head Kristi Noem former U.S. AG Pam Bondi as well as Tulsi Gabbard and department of labor head Lori Chavez-Deremer and, more recently, ambassador Kimberly Guilfoyle.

“[U.S. Rep.] Elise Stefanik was promised the U.N. position, and Trump canned her and ruined her political career forever and gave it to Waltz,” Cobb continued. “So, that is contrasted with [Secretary of Defense Pete] Hegseth, who puts an Atlantic reporter on a classified telephone conference and [FBI Director] Kash Patel, who flies around the world drunk everywhere and misuses his airplane and personnel for the benefit of his girlfriend, and Lutnick, who lies about his Epstein ties. … There’s no consequences for the men, only for the women. So, I think that's sad.”

Cobb added that he hoped another woman in Trump’s orbit, Susie Wiles is also “reading the tea leaves” on Trump’s treachery toward women and is preparing to leap before she’s pushed.

And, and in terms of those that are circling [for Wiles’ job], Stephen Miller actually benefits from having Wiles in the role because Miller is the de facto chief of staff. He dictates the policies of the White House and he gets a little bit of cover there. If he was out front and had the title, he might take more flak. But in terms of [U.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill] Pulte, I mean, Pulte does have the two-digit IQ that qualifies many of the people in this administration for a job, but we'd rather see somebody more competent.”

- YouTube www.youtube.com

President Donald Trump's Republican Party acts less like a traditional political party than a cult of personality, according to a historian who specializes in fascism — and he points a finger of blame at Russia.

"How does the party go along, in lockstep with that?" podcaster Shane Smith asked historian Timothy Snyder in a video that dropped on Thursday. "I get that, and I probably agree with that, but that’s one person. How do you get the whole party, if not the whole country, to just overnight agree with you in lockstep?"

Snyder replied, "I’m going to answer that, but I’m going to qualify it first, because it’s not the whole country. The polling on the Russia-Ukraine war is actually pretty good. Even Republicans are about fifty-fifty, independents are mostly pro-Ukraine, and Democrats are overwhelmingly pro-Ukraine. So I wouldn’t say the whole country. There has been a seismic shift in the American right. And I think there are a couple of causes beyond Trump, who has a lot of influence. Opinion polls on Russia among certain people change because of him. He does have a lot of influence on, let’s say, half the Republican electorate."

He continued, "But in addition to that, there’s the fact that a lot of Americans on the far right really like Putin’s ideology. They like the notion of civilization. They like the sexism. They like the racism. They like the conspiracy thinking. They like the anti-gay stuff. And then, to make matters a little more practical, Putin’s Russia shares money around with the far right. I worked on this in Europe. I’ve never worked on it in the US, but I’d be stunned if it weren’t true in the US as well. They support individual right-wing actors with money, and they also platform them. And they also coach them, like with Tucker Carlson."

Snyder later pointed out that Russia is no longer left-wing, as it was under the Soviet Union, but is right-wing under President Vladimir Putin.

"There’s the fact that Russia is no longer the communist Soviet Union; it’s right-wing Russia, which is naturally attractive to certain right-wing people," Snyder told Smith. "And then there are all the ops. The way we run social media in the US is basically laissez-faire: anybody can do what they want to do. And under Trump, that’s basically policy, which means that not just the Russians, but the Chinese and everybody else, are all over our social media. I think that’s some of the answer."

He added, "And then let’s not overestimate the American memory, or underestimate the American capacity for contradiction. Right now, the Republicans are trying to claim that the current midterm election is about anti-communism, when their guy admires a former KGB officer, fawns over the head of the Chinese Communist Party, and couldn’t say nicer things about the communist dictator of North Korea. So part of it is just an American capacity to not remember things and to embrace contradiction. I wrote a book that was largely about the 2015–2016 Russian operations in the US. I’m forgetting now who said this, but he had his finger on something important. One of the Russian operatives was actually in the United States trying to figure out what they were going to do with the social media ops. He said, 'These people believe in anything they want, and I admire them for that.' That’s of course not true of all Americans, but there is a certain fluidity around the way we remember politics sometimes, which means the Cold War doesn’t really last as long as one might think."

Investor and former journalist Steve Rattner brought out the charts on Friday to explain President Donald Trump's economic lies as he desperately tries to blame the former administration for his economic failures.

Among Trump's top claims is that under former President Joe Biden, the U.S. had the "worst inflation in history." In fact, it isn't even close. Inflation did spike during the global pandemic, but it rose across the board in all countries. As it came down, Biden handed off inflation that was below 3 percent. Trump is now closing in on four percent (3.7 percent).

"When you talk about all his challenges and how he's trying to avoid this, you know, this is in the desperate men do desperate things category. He's just making a lot of stuff up," said Rattner. "And so this is just one single rally. So, he talked about inflation. He claims that prices are coming down. We're bringing prices way, way down. But you can see, as you guys have been talking about already this morning, and I think everybody in America now knows inflation is, in fact, up to 3 percent, well above where it was when Joe Biden left office."

He said the tariffs, Trump's flagship policy, caused inflation to jump 25 percent.

"Morning Joe" host Joe Scarborough asked Rattner to point out again where it was when Trump took office to compare it to where it is now.

"So what you're saying is, and when Donald Trump says that he's brought inflation down from where it was when Joe Biden left office, he's lying. And it's actually — inflation is 25% higher today than it was when Joe Biden left office," asked Scarborough. Rattner agreed.

In 1980, inflation went up to 15 percent and in the 1920s it was anywhere between 20 and 25 percent.

Trump's second false claim is that gas prices were higher under Biden, too. While fuel costs were higher at times under Biden, they were lower when Trump took office than they are today.

"Come on, man," Scarborough snipped after Trump's false claim played in the clip. "You're not even trying anymore! This is like Elvis 77. You're just, like, sweating too much and just kind of throwing your scarves to the first row. You're just not even trying, steve. He's not even trying to lie well, anymore."

Rattner explained that fuel costs are clearly above $4 per gallon when they were under $4 under Biden. Scarborough said that most people would be elated to have gas cost that.

"So again, for those of you who don't know my economic background, it's pretty, pretty advanced, pretty deep. I took Econ 101 with Abdul Moini at the University of Alabama, and I read Sports Illustrated in the back row, and I got a gentleman's C. So, I don't know exactly like the percentages, but $4.35, how much higher is that percentage-wise than $3 about your town, man," the host asked.

Rattner explained it's about 44 percent higher under Trmp than under Biden.

- YouTube youtu.be

- YouTube youtu.be

CNN anchor Kasie Hunt dropped a painful Thursday supercut of President Donald Trump new press secretary overblowing her resume mere days into her new job as a disseminator of information to millions of Americans and the world.

“I was a corporate lawyer. The friendliness of a westerner being in a. It was a Chinese law firm. It was amazing,” said Katie Zacharia to CNN on May 15.

“I love to be able to break that down. I'm a lawyer,” she told the Greg Kelly Show at WABC 77 Radio October 5.

“I am a lawyer, and I'm a rigorous researcher,” she also told the crew of the Clay & Buck Show August 13.

“I'm a lawyer. I went to Pepperdine, Pepperdine law as a lawyer,” Zacharia informed “In Front of Us with Jeff Storobinski” August 14.

“As a lawyer, the procedural steps are absolutely critical,” she told Fox News August 13.

“Lawyer, attorney, attorney at law, esquire. It's a lot there,” said Hunt at the conclusion of the painful contradiction—which CNN assembled hours after Zacharia rationalize her lies, explaining that she sought advice, potentially legal advice, before referring to herself as a lawyer — despite having failed the California bar after graduating from law school.

“I consulted for a very long time. Many people in the field. Is it okay and acceptable if I label myself lawyer, not attorney at law, not Katie Zacharia, esquire, but lawyer, and provide legal analysis, not legal advice,” she told conservative show “Real America Voice” this Thursday afternoon. “And they said ‘absolutely, absolutely across the board. You can call yourself a lawyer.’”

“Her credibility took a massive hit her first week out, and then she didn't do a great job,” said conservative pundit and Dispatch Editor Jonah Goldberg. “I think she'll get better at it. It's sort of axiomatic because I don't think she could get a lot worse, but I also think she'll get better at it. But if she's going around representing herself as a lawyer or an attorney or whatever and she wasn't one, it gets at her fundamental credibility for a job that requires a good bit of credibility.”

“I don't think it matters,” quipped GOP pundit Scott Jennings. “A press secretary doesn't need to be a lawyer. And he's not hiring a lawyer. They got plenty of lawyers in the White House counsel's office, and I'm sure they're going to have to hire a bunch more. She doesn't need to be a lawyer. What she needs to do is deliver the message from the podium in a way that is concise, on point, and that he likes. And that's really the only thing that matters.”

“Well, part of it might be because she stood next to the president and was asked, ‘where did you pass the bar?’ And the president turned around and looked at her. So now there's video of him, of the two of them standing together [looking bewildered],” said Hunt. “… It just it put Trump in a weird position in that moment.”

“Well, yes, but it's easily cleared up,” assured Jennings. “And again, it's inconsequential to the job whether or not she has a law degree.”

Panelist and former prosecutor Elie Honig, however, did not accept that argument.

“If any friend of mine or any of my students who I teach were to come to me years later and say, ‘I passed the I graduated law school, but I did not pass the bar, and I'm going to go put myself out there as a lawyer.’ I would say, ‘let's not do that because at best it's misleading, or worse,’” Honig said.

President Donald Trump and his MAGA movement have entered what one former Republican official has described as their "fat Elvis" era, as his campaign tactics and recycled attacks are wearing thin with some Republican voters who feel the president is past his prime.

Tara Setmayer, a former Republican communications director on Capitol Hill, delivered her verdict in a Thursday interview with The Guardian, arguing that the conspiracy theories and cheap attacks and high school nicknames have run their course and are no longer resonating with voters facing the reality of high living costs

Setmayer said Trump's political playbook has become predictable, describing his movement as the "fat Elvis period of the MAGA election campaign tactics."

The comparison suggests the movement is continuing its most successful hits long after those tactics have stopped working.

The article also touches on the embarrassing misinformation campaign targeting Democrat James Talarico, who is too close to comfort to potentially win the Senate seat in Texas for the GOP.

The controversy began when Talarico disappeared from the campaign trail for nine days to recover from the flu. His absence turned into a weird conspiracy theory that he had checked into a mental health facility after suffering a mental breakdown.

Many MAGA allies, including former Trump strategist Steve Bannon, helped amplify the rumors when former GOP fundraiser Caroline Wren appeared on his War Room podcast and repeated claims that Talarico had entered a psychiatric facility.

Republican Senate candidate Ken Paxton, who is Talarico’s opponent, also joined the attacks, posting a mock wanted poster questioning Talarico's whereabouts.

Trump himself mocked Talarico during an October 7 rally in San Antonio, baselessly suggesting the Democrat had become sick after being forced to eat meat despite supposedly being vegan.

Conservative social media influencer Nick Sorter shared a 47-second audio clip on X that he said proved that Talarico had been discharged from a mental health treatment center in Mason, Ohio. In the clip, a woman Sorter claimed was an employee appeared to say Talarico “was just discharged this evening.”

The Bulwark later exposed the hoax after obtaining the full recording, which contradicted the influencer's account.

The facility also publicly confirmed that Talarico had never received treatment there, and he confirmed that he had never even been to Ohio before.

Setmayer used the Talarico hit job as an example of the conspiracy tactics that no longer move voters.

"The voters have become hip to this game," she said, adding that everyday Americans are preoccupied with dealing with the consequences of Trump’s failed policies.

Reed Galen, a former Republican strategist and cofounder of the Lincoln Project, said of the Talarico fiasco that the case was a reminder of how effective the Russian disinformation machines could be.

Galen argued that the mere fact that it was amplified without any evidence and became an issue in the Texas Senate campaign proved its effectiveness.

One time, Donald Trump friend Donny Deutsch thinks the president wants to lose the election so he can play the victim.

Speaking on "Morning Joe" Thursday, Deutsch said Trump is always happier when he punches back.

Mika Brzezinski rattled off recent numbers from a Fox poll, which has a different standard than the news side. Things continue to collapse around Trump. The most startling number shows that just 18 percent say that their family is "better off" today than two years ago.

"That's the worst number I've ever seen. Ever. The worst number," Joe Scarborough said.

"Eighteen percent, Joe, you were talking about the two seats before. You were talking about corruption and costs. I'll add chaos into that. I can never remember seeing numbers — I've been doing the show for 19 years. I can never remember seeing an election cycle where everything, everything was lining up just so negatively," said Deutsch. "Like, you just, everybody talked about a blue wave. I can't see how it's not a tsunami. I can't see with three weeks away, obviously nothing's going to change dramatically in the next few weeks. And you just go everything you talk about, even Trump people I talk to, they've had it."

Commentator Mike Barnicle said one of the most difficult things about the year is that as soon as a lawmaker is elected, they have to start raising money for reelection immediately. It means the focus has shifted from serving constituents and legislating to reelection.

Semafor reporter Ben Smith said he found that most new members of Congress are more interested in being content creators than in doing the work of the people.

Deutsch cited a recent comment from former Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.), who thinks Trump wants to lose the election.

"I think on some level, [Trump] wants the Dems to win so he can be the victim, so he can play that guy. He can say, look, I wasn't on the ballot. That's why you lost and be the guy who's counterpunching [and] counterpunching. He's comfortable in that position. I just don't think he cares."

Scarborough agreed, noting that Trump is "much better being the politically hunted than being the hunter. He's much better. He likes it. Playing defense. Doing the rope-a-dope."

Longtime Democratic strategist James Carville said last week that he agrees with the assessment that Trump may very well be trying to lose.

Speaking to The Hill, Carville said, “I mean, there’s nothing that he does that’s consistent with trying to win, and [there’s] probably not much he can do. He is the central issue in the campaign, he dominates everything. But I got to keep asking: Is he trying to do this? Does he just want to screw the congressional Republicans? Does he hate them?”

- YouTube youtu.be

A focus group of Iowa rural and suburban voters who cast ballots for President Donald Trump in 2024. None of them are casting ballots for the GOP candidate for the U.S. Senate.

Elise Jordan showed clips of the meeting with voters where she asked independents what they're leaning toward in the next 19 days. Not one person said they were voting for Republican Ashley Hinson. Not one person said they were leaning toward voting for Hinson.

They had reservations about Democrat Josh Turek and said they wished he would talk more about what he wants to do rather than his background. That said, one voter said, "his ads are better than hers. I mean, he at least — like perception — again and the narrative in his ad is that he's more among the people, or he at least he's engaging with people. I just see him being a little bit more diverse than what her ads have been."

Jordan asked what comes to mind when she says Hinson's name. A woman immediately jumped in to say, "Out of touch."

"You know, with the war in Iran and now she's kind of changing her stance, you know, while she's behind in the polls," one woman said.

Another comment: "She's been a 'yes' woman for a long time. And now all of a sudden her tune is changing. So it's hard to know really where she stands."

"I think since Turek has — because he's gone through his own battles and so has his father. I think he has a more relatable stance on it regards to cost and how it affects all of us rather than she does. But if we want change, then we can't necessarily vote for Trump 'yes men' either. So it's kind of stuck between two hard places."

They did like that Hinson voted to stop insider trading and dumped all of her stocks. "Yet, she's still a millionaire," one woman said.

"So ashley hinson got a lot of money, and she's still getting a lot of money," said one woman.

"I think she's still got a lot of money," said another.

"No, I know, but if we are comparing the two of them," she said about the senate candidates for the state.

When Jordan asked if anyone was leaning toward Hinson, a man said that he wanted to because he supports Republicans, "but I can't with all the bad things and all the money and all this stuff."

The group said that the thing that has most influenced their vote is just how much money Hinson has made while in office.

"It just makes you question, why are these people going into politics," said another woman. "Is it just to use us and to get rich? Or is it actually to help your community?"

A few people said they were likely to vote for Turek, and one person hasn't ruled him out. They simply want to know his plans. They particularly liked that he wants to work across the aisle and supports border security.

- YouTube youtu.be

While shining a spotlight on the suggestion of the Trump administration’s grift and talent for scamming the markets network editors also managed to blast out a Wednesday supercut revealing the extent of President Donald Trump’s overplayed predictions for cheaper gas in time for the midterms.

“Today marks the 158th consecutive day that gas prices have been more than $4 a gallon. It's been a long time now, precisely the opposite of what Donald Trump and his team have been promising,” said MS NOW anchor Katy Tur.

“So, yes, we have a we have a temporary period of elevated energy prices, but it will not be long in the worst case. This is weeks. This is not months,” said Trump’s energy secretary Chris Wright in March.

“Rest assured to the American people, the recent increase in oil and gas prices is temporary, and this operation will result in lower gas prices in the long term,” claimed former Trump press secretary Karoline Leavitt in March 10, with unwavering confidence.

“I'm optimistic that sometime between June 20th and September 20th that we can have $3 gas again,” crowed Trump’s Secretary of Treasury Scott Bessent on April 15.

“Gasoline is coming down very soon and very big,” claimed Trump himself on April 15.”

“So, you think gas prices will be lower before the midterm elections?” demanded Fox News entertainer Maria Bartiromo, in response.

“I think they'll be much lower before midterm. Much lower.,” Trump assured.

“All right. We're close to the midterms 20 days away, in fact. And no, they are not cheaper,” corrected Tur. “Even if they were, though only about a third of Americans say it would make a difference.”

In whacking the Trump administration’s skewed optimism, Tur also cited a handful of unknown traders who’s made “billions with a ‘B’, betting that oil prices would drop and the stock market would spike 15 minutes before Trump mysteriously called off an Iran attack that would have escalated costs.

The trades went down around 6:50 in the morning, 15 minutes before Trump made his surprising about-face on dropping more bombs, and now Bloomberg reports analysts in the Commodity Futures Trading Commission were called off investigations of potential insider trading “because staffers were told to retract the referral” by “a senior advisor to the agency's Trump appointed chairman.”

This, said Tur, potentially shielding those insider traders from scrutiny and opened up a fresh round of allegations that the Trump administration “is either looking the other way or actively taking part in making money off foreign policy decisions.”

“At the very least, it only serves to amplify what Americans are already feeling about Donald Trump, that he's focused on enriching himself and his cronies,” said Tur.

- YouTube youtu.be

President Donald Trump has been celebrating the idea of his firing squad punishment for the Fort Hood shooter, and that dream looks to be falling apart amid growing scandals.

General Mark Hertling and former prosecutor Margaret Donovan joined Ben Parker for The Bulwark's "Command Post" podcast Wednesday, noting reporting this week that Trump is now wavering on having Nidal Malik Hasan put to death by firing squad.

Trump appears to be imagining a movie in which a defiant strongman stands before the squad and is taken down by the U.S. military. Both Donovan and Hertling noted that Hasan is a 60-year-old man who is paralyzed from the chest down. He can't walk. He can't stand. And if they intend to shoot him, he'll likely be sitting in a wheelchair.

According to CBS News, Trump now understands that the optics don't seem to be what he wants.

Hertling pointed out that the other risk is that Hasan is trying to paint himself "as a martyr for his religion. Killing the infidels. So, this would only contribute to that view of him as a martyr. You know, the president suggested he might change his mind because he found out the guy was in a wheelchair? That also gives an indicator of a lack of the entire case by our leaders that are making this decision."

Both he and Donovan recalled specific Army regulation (190-55) that outlines how executions are carried out for military prisoners. Donovan explained that there's also a logistical nightmare of trying to have a certified place to carry out an execution since Fort Hood is not a location where they do that. They typically execute prisoners at Fort Leavenworth in Kansas.

So, the question she had was whether the cost and logistics of doing everything properly were worth something that is nothing more than theater for Trump.

"If it's all for theater, is that fear going to be appropriated by somebody else? Because I'm pretty sure it is. That's kind of the whole thing about how particularly soon extremists recruit each other," Donovan said.

Several Army units are at Fort Hood, so Hertling asked whether they'll require military members to watch the execution as part of the theater. Will those who carry out the shooting be trained to carry this out, since there are no members of the military who've done this?

"But most importantly, how much of a moral injury is this going to contribute to?" the retired general asked. "Because if you ask one of the last firing squad executions in the military was Private Eddie Slovik in 1945. And in that execution they had a rack of rifles with 12 rifles on it, and it depends on the regulation on it, but one in four of those have blank rounds in it. So, a soldier who's firing at the individual could claim deniability of being actually being the one who murdered him."

His second point, he said, is that if these military members "intend to use M-16 or M-4 rifles with a 556 caliber bullet that travels at 29 feet per second when it exits the chamber, it is going to rip that body up. And to have that kind of gore and horrific action on a live stream is just contrary to everything I think we aspire to be as a nation."

Donovan agreed, adding that it's an extremely violent way to die and it is again another reason not to make Hasan a celebrity.

She pivoted to comments about Trump's obsession with turning everything into World War II and the ethos and heroism that surrounds it. Trump has recently decided to create expensive ships in his "Golden Fleet" that don't follow the latest designs the military has spent decades perfecting. Instead, he wants them to look like World War II ships. The firing squad idea is also what Trump said was once done in World War II.

This fantasy that Trump has, Donovan said, basically negates everything about the realities of that war, in which the top leaders from that war came together afterward to outline a set of rules, treaties, agreements and laws that would prevent another war like that.

Parker chimed in, saying that for all of Trump's WW2 obsessions, he's ignoring a key piece of that war: the draft, which required participation from all American men, not just 1 percent of them.

- YouTube www.youtube.com

A now-former ambassador departed the Trump administration amid a mounting scandal, but according to President Donald Trump's one-time biographer, there was a much more personal and "fatal" issue that really led to her ouster.

Last week, reports emerged that Kimberly Guilfoyle, Trump's ambassador to Greece and ex-fiancée of Donald Trump Jr., had pressed a GOP donor to help pay off her $100,000 credit card bill. On Tuesday, after days of increasing heat, she resigned from the office after the new White House Press Secretary, Katie Zacharia, said during his first briefing that she had been asked to leave the administration.

Michael Wolff, meanwhile, claimed there was a deeper reason behind her ouster. Wolff is a longtime reporter and author known for his coverage of Trump's political career, including several books about his first term. In the latest episode of his Daily Beast podcast, "Inside Trump's Head," he told co-host Joanna Coles that while Trump was "not happy" about Guilfoyle's scandals, other major factors were at play in the call to push for her resignation, namely, Trump's family.

"Kimberly Guilfoyle is a reflection of so much that goes on in Trumpworld... Donald Trump sets the model for this," Wolff explained. "It’s ‘gimme gimme gimme,’ across the board. ‘We’re using this position where we can’t believe we’ve gotten into this position where we can effectively extort money from everybody. You have to give me money.' So the question: Why are we hanging Kimberly? One of the answers there is that she’s low-hanging fruit. And the other answer is that they can’t stand her. I mean, the Trumps can’t stand her."

He added: “I think they’ve been asking this question for a long time: ‘How do we get rid of her? How did Don Jr. ever end up with her?’... Everyone is holding their nose. I feel a little bad for her, actually. I mean, this has been a desperate—her climb—a desperate, indefatigable, just clawing up... I mean, just think of how preposterous it is that she became an ambassador.”

Wolff mused about what might be next for Guilfoyle, perhaps another position in or around the Trump administration. Coles suggested that she could end up on a track similar to Kristi Noem, who was ousted as Homeland Security secretary in the spring and moved to a new role as a special envoy for Trump "Shield of the Americas" initiative.

“And Kimberly looks like Kristi Noem, so that might trigger Trump,” Coles said. “He might think, ‘Oh, we have to do what we did for Kristi for her.’”

President Donald Trump is sinking deeper into "despair" as he and the GOP are overcome by "extreme panic," one former Trump staffer wrote for The i Paper, adding that he knows from experience what comes next.

Miles Taylor previously worked in the Department of Homeland Security during Trump's first term, rising to the level of chief of staff before departing in 2019. He first gained notoriety after publishing an anonymous New York Times op-ed claiming to be part of a movement within the White House resisting the president's worst impulses. Now, he has emerged as an outspoken critic of his former boss, making numerous media appearances to offer his own unique perspective on Trump's political machinations.

On Tuesday, he published his latest piece for The i Paper, explaining why it is clear that things are not going well for the White House and the Republican Party overall.

"You can tell how a campaign thinks it’s doing by its closing argument in the final weeks," Taylor wrote. "Candidates who believe they’re winning talk about their record. Candidates who believe they’re losing throw everything at the wall, including the kitchen sink. Three weeks out from the U.S. midterm elections, Donald Trump and his allies are in a state of extreme panic. His opponents are cautiously celebrating this apparent validation that the MAGA movement is on the ropes. But I watched this US president lose up close, when I worked for him, which is why I see the panic as an ominous sign, too."

Amid all of the signs that Trump is scrambling for something, anything that might sway midterm voters, Taylor said that he was feeling overtaken by a grim sense of caution and deja vu, explaining what happened when Trump faced similar headwinds in his first term.

"The last time Trump believed he was losing, he searched for any voice near him that was willing to whisper back reassuring lies that he hadn’t really lost," Taylor wrote. "Indeed, in December 2020, he was in such denial that he summoned outside advisers Sidney Powell, Michael Flynn and Patrick Byrne to the Oval Office to hear their pitch for seizing the voting machines from the election he had just lost. White House lawyers spent hours fighting them off. Weeks later, Trump spoke to a rally of MAGA followers who then marched across town and stormed the Capitol – although he did not make a direct call for violent action."

He continued: "These outsiders are what I call Trump’s 'crackpots cabinet.' As his anxiety about the midterms swells, he’s consulting with these flunkies about his options. The one that has me most worried is Tina Peters, a former Colorado county clerk and conspiracy theorist convicted of election interference. Trump spent a year pressuring Colorado’s governor to let her out of jail; within weeks of her release, she was having lunch at the White House with the President. Last Monday, according to Trump ally Ed Martin, she was back in the Oval Office discussing election 'plans,' which the White House won’t confirm or deny."

Taylor also detailed a conversation that he had with former chief of staff John Kelly as Trump's 2020 desperation became undeniable. Kelly said it was unlikely that Trump would "concede gracefully" if defeated, adding, "Nothing would please me more than if he chained himself to the Resolute desk, and they have to go in and cut the chains and carry him away in a straitjacket."

"The end result wasn’t far off," Taylor concluded. "This time, the people who’d happily hand him the chains are back in the Oval Office. They’re whispering in his ear again. And they’re telling him that desperate times call for desperate measures."

President Trump's new press secretary, Katie Zacharia, has repeatedly presented herself as a lawyer. A new investigation found no record of her ever being licensed to practice law in the US, which could be a criminal issue in California.

Judd Legum's Popular Information Substack published an investigative report, searching attorney licensing records in all 50 states and Washington, D.C., and found no evidence that Zacharia had been admitted to any bar.

The point is that Zacharia hasn't just spoken about having a legal education. She has on numerous occasions described herself as a lawyer and has listed a California-based organization as an employer where she was General Counsel.

Zacharia described her profession on The Greg Kelly Show on 5th October, stating: “I'm a lawyer.” In an August podcast interview, she repeated the claim, "I'm a lawyer, I went to Pepperdine, Pepperdine Law."

The university confirmed she earned her J.D. in 2011. However, earning a law degree is not the same as admission to practice law.

When announcing her appointment, Trump also referred to her as 'an attorney.'

Popular Information found no listing for Zacharia in California's attorney registry or in those of Texas and Washington, D.C., where she had previously worked. Their wider search across the country yielded no results.

Alternet independently searched the official California Bar records and found no results under her maiden name or current name.

That absence in itself doesn't prove wrongdoing; however, the title Zacharia used at Fix California, a conservative non-profit founded by Trump ally Ric Grenell, makes the issue much harder to brush aside.

Her LinkedIn profile states that she was the group's General Counsel from Jan. 2024 to March 2025. A General Counsel would normally be responsible for the legal affairs of the group, though the exact nature of Zacharia's work in that role has not been established.

Under Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code § 6126, a person who is not licensed or otherwise authorized to practice law commits a misdemeanor if they advertise themselves as being entitled to practice law or otherwise engage in the practice of law.

A conviction under that provision can result in up to one year in county jail, a $1,000 fine, or both. It is not known whether Zacharia's conduct rose to that level, and the report provides no evidence of a criminal violation.

The publication also notes that her descriptions of the Fix California role have changed over time. Her LinkedIn profile shows the General Counsel role ended in March 2025, but she was still using that title in her social media bios into 2026.

This leaves the fundamental question unaddressed: was Zacharia ever actually authorized to practice law?

President Donald Trump's new press secretary, Katie Zacharia, held her first briefing at the White House on Tuesday after starting her job this week, replacing Karoline Leavitt.

Trump has already said that Zacharia is a loyalist of his, and she's certainly known for promoting a number of bizarre conspiracy theories.

She's already appeared on Fox News, where they incorrectly called her an "attorney." There have been questions about whether she has ever been admitted to the bar. While she may call herself one, there's no evidence she's ever passed the bar exam.

Criminal defense attorney Scott Greenfield, who writes at "Simple Justice," said he searched the California bar database, where she was supposed to be admitted. However, her name doesn't appear.

There was always a chance that members of the White House Press Corps would go easy on her, given it is her first day. Meanwhile, CNN, MS NOW and Politico reporters, who were briefly banned, were also back in the press room.

MS NOW's Vaughn Hillyard went in with realistic expectations, doubting he'd be called in for a question, but host Stephanie Ruhle urged him to think positively. He joked that he was certain to score a personal interview with the president next.

Zacharia, who spread the so-called "Pizzagate" conspiracy theory that nearly led to a mass shooting, started the first event several minutes late to the podium. It was scheduled to begin at 9:30 a.m. but started about 15 minutes late.

She began by harkening back to the first-ever Trump White House press briefing in which Sean Spicer maintained that the inauguration crowd was the biggest "of all time." He then added, "both in person and on time." According to Zacharia, the Ohio arena was "overflowing" with enthusiasm. She claimed it was "energy and excitement never seen before in the history of midterms thanks to President Trump." She called it a "blockbuster rally" with "thousands" of supporters.

Photos and videos showed the sparse crowd was among his most embarrassing ones yet, with large sections of empty seats beside him.

MS NOW pulled from Zacharia's statement less than three minutes into the remarks she read about herself and the midterm campaigns. Former Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney said she works for the American people, not Trump, and that promoting Trump's rallies isn't part of her job. Maloney added that this job isn't about her.

The press quickly asked tough questions about the firing of Kimberly Guilfoyle, and Zacharia said he'd asked her to resign. Fox News' Peter Doocy asked whether the U.S. had stopped sharing intelligence with Ukraine, and Zacharia had no clue.

The briefing lasted under 15 minutes.

CNN commentator Scott Jennings was also considered for the job, but clearly missed out.

The full panel of "Morning Joe" started off Tuesday cracking up over President Donald Trump's bizarre new fascination with "the male physique."

Speaking in Ohio on Monday night, Trump talked about checking out the rear end of Sen. John Husted (R-Ohio) and gushed over the size of his hands.

"But I'm standing over here, and I don't do this with men very often. I started examining his body because I didn't know he was a great athlete," Trump confessed to his audience. "And I looked, and I watched up and down. I looked at his a—, and I looked at the whole — and then I looked at his hands, look at his hands. He's got these like claws. And I got it. You are a great athlete. I didn't know that because he doesn't talk about that. Congratulations. Now they finally know that was very good. John fought for Ohio. Look at that jawline. I'm telling you, I never saw that. I never studied him."

The camera turned to Joe Scarborough and a very confused Mika Brzezinski.

"He has a rank," Scarborough told Willie Geist. He's "become quite the admirer of the male physique. We hear it all the time. Loves talking about buff men. I mean, this is out of a village people video. Like every one of his events. It's like, whoa, look here, look here."

"Did he say he was looking at his..." Brzezinski quewstioned.

"His rear end," Geist said. "And his jawline."

From jawline to rear end. Front to back, he sees it," mocked Scarborough.

"This time it wasn't Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart. He's usually going out of his way to compliment the thick, beautiful, tree-trunk legs that he has. He talked about the beautiful," Geist said, trailing off. "Yeah, members of the military that he sees in the audience. He praises their physical appearance. But this was a new..."

Brzezinski said she wished that Trump would "keep his private life private."

"He said. I looked at him top to bottom, including, forgive me, his a—. He was checking out the a— of a U.S. senator."

"No," Brzezinski said.

"Which actually, you know, when you invite a U.S. president to come in during a midterm election, you're having trouble possibly losing. This is not on the top of your list of things you want the president of the United States to come in and talk about at your rally," Scarborough said as the panel laughed.

Laura Barrón-López noted that the year began with Trump talking about New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani: "he's better looking in person."

Scarborough noted that Trump does tend to talk a lot about how buff men are.

"So, I guess it's wonderful he appreciates the male physique, I guess," he said.

They brought in New York Times columnist David French, who said that while Trump is rambling about someone's physical characteristics, he's not making horrible deals with Russia.

- YouTube youtu.be

New footage from his ongoing campaign rally tour has exposed something "bizarre" about President Donald Trump's appearance, with The Daily Beast reporting that something described as "boxy" and a "mystery bulge" could be seen beneath his pants.

Trump has been on a campaign rally blitz through several states, hoping to shore up MAGA base support for several candidates as the midterms approach fast. Most of these states have been traditional red states as opposed to swing states, with some observers arguing that Trump's presence is meant to prevent bigger losses in conservative strongholds, while others have suggested that he is being deployed to places where his toxic presence might do the least amount of damage.

It was at one of these rallies in Tennessee this weekend that the videos in question first emerged, shared online by one of his staffers, according to The Daily Beast. In it, observers were perplexed by something odd about Trump's body while he did his standard dance moves

"The 80-year-old president was seen with an unusual bump on his backside while he danced onstage Saturday during a campaign rally in Tennessee," the report detailed. "The odd, box-like shape held its position as the president, who already suffers from a growing number of health ailments, danced onstage. Trump’s apparent protrusion was seen on full display in video captured by White House aide Margo Martin, as the protrusion jutted out through the president’s suit."

It added later: "The new health concern only adds to the growing list of problems the president is facing... The Daily Beast has extensively covered Trump’s many health ailments, including his severely bruised hands, his perpetually swollen ankles, his repeated confusion, his habit of falling asleep in public, combined with his sleepless nights spent rage posting online, his slurred speech, and a surprise neck rash."

The Daily Beast also noted that Saturday was not the first time that footage from a Trump rally captured an oddly "boxy" protrusion under his clothing. The issue first cropped up during an August rally in Long Island, New York, "and since then has fueled rampant speculation as to what could be tucked beneath Trump’s suit."

Another Daily Beast report from earlier this week noted that a very similar protrusion was spotted in photos taken of Trump at the "New Golden Age" summit recently held in Washington, D.C. Citing "online speculation," the report noted that the theories about the cause of the bulge have ranged from it being "a medical contraption to a colostomy bag to even an adult diaper," though the White House has confirmed nothing about the situation.

A former Republican lawmaker is slamming Republicans’ hypocrisy as President Donald Trump eases a Russian oil embargo to diminish a Republican midterm bloodbath.

Trump said Friday that Russia will supply more than 4 million tons of diesel to the global market under a deal he struck with President Vladimir Putin during a phone call.

“I have just concluded a highly successful discussion with President Vladimir Putin, of Russia, wherein it was agreed that Russia will immediately supply over 300,000 Tons of Diesel Fuel to the American and Global Marketplace, another 500,000 Tons during the month of November, and 1,000,000 Tons immediately thereafter,” Trump said on Truth Social.

He then dropped an unproven claim of having “TOTAL CONTROL of the Strait of Hormuz,” and between that and the agreement, “Diesel Prices for Americans and, indeed, the World, will be COMING DOWN, IN RECORD NUMBERS, AND FAST!”

The Treasury Department temporarily waived sanctions on Russian diesel through April 2027 under a general license issued Friday. However, former Republican lawmaker Adam Kinzinger was quick to slap Congressional Republicans with their hypocrisy at the announcement with an old anti-Biden post from 2022.

“Hey look what i found!” wrote Kinzinger on X, while sharing a March 2022 post by the House Judiciary GOP to “Stop buying Russian oil, @JoeBiden.”

Social media hecklers immediately pounced the duplicity

“There's always a tweet, always,” posted one critic on X.

“GOP remain the biggest turn coats ever!” hollered another.

Still another critic posted a 2014 tweet from Trump, complaining about China signing a “massive” oil and gas deal with Russia, which Trump claimed gave “Russia plenty of ammo to continue laughing in U.S. face.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy immediately condemned Trump’s diesel deal with Putin, with Zelenskyy warning that easing sanctions without a commitment from Russia to de-escalate will only prolong the war.

“Gifts to Putin will not bring peace or any benefit to the civilized world,” Zelenskyy said in a social media post. “Russia will ‘repay’ the diesel with further terror and perfidy. Allowing Russia to sell petroleum products is an investment in a war that must be ended, not prolonged.”

But Trump is desperate to lower the high diesel prices that are destroying Republicans in the final weeks of this year’s midterms—prices aggravated by his voluntary war on Iran.

Earlier this week, Trump issued an executive order that allows truckers to use tax-exempt offroad diesel on highways without paying federal penalties. But critics say the EO is largely a toothless ploy because it only defers the tax obligation and creates confusion about whether truckers will have to pay up later. Additionally, the EO does not reduce the patchwork quilt of diesel tax fees truckers will find while driving across multiple states.

Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin snapped at a reporter who asked a question he didn't like during a Friday press conference about another ICE agent-involved shooting in New York City.

Mullin delivered the statement after the incident as protestors and local lawmakers demand accountability. Mullin also struggled to get his facts straight, telling reporters at one point that the man shot by agents was "wanted for trafficking." In fact, one reporter explained, it was "traffic infractions." Mullin said he knew nothing about the man's case and pivoted to talk about Joe Biden instead.

At another point, Mullin said that they needed to take the man who broke a traffic law to a maximum-security facility, so they needed to remove him from the state. He wouldn't say where the man was. Mullin referred to the man as "the worst of the worst," and emphasized that he was "going after the worst of the worst" several times.

"They're going to try to make the gentleman they shot the worst human being you've ever heard of. But I want you to know that a father picking up his child was shot by a rogue agency controlled by Donald Trump," warned public advocate Jumaane Williams in a New York City press conference about the incident.

A reporter then asked him about the recent reports about the expensive luxury planes that were purchased under former Secretary Kristi Noem. The fleet of planes was painted as help for deportations, but photos of the planes showed two bedrooms, a stand-up bar, leather chairs, marble showers and other finery.

"This is what I hate about Fake News!" Mullin snapped.

The New York Times reported this week that the person who got the contract for the private planes was a big donor to Noem.

"You guys, you guys, when we're doing a press conference or something, you guys want to completely steer away when you realize that this isn't someone that you should be defending and you bring up something as ridiculous as that," Mullin ranted.

"I'm just — I'm just saying I'm not even going to entertain your question, because that's not what we're here for," Mullin claimed. "That's not — we're here for — if you want to add something that's detained to what we're having this press for, I'd be happy to do that. Okay? I'll take this last question because that wasn't even a question."

After the final question, he raged, "I'm so tired of it all of a sudden being controversial because it's a political talking point."