Latest articles from Crooks and Liars

On This Day: Shopping Carts Were Introduced

John Amato — Fri, 05 Jun 2026 03:00:01 +0000

This is an idea I never thought of, but it revolutionized the grocery industry.

Britannica,"On this day in 1937, a Humpty Dumpty grocery store in Oklahoma introduced the first shopping carts. Alas, customers were initially doubtful. Women already pushed carts around (albeit ones with babies in them) and were tired of doing so, and male shoppers thought the cart made them look effeminate. However, the new invention became hugely popular, revolutionizing grocery shopping."

Open thread.

Trump’s Slush Fund Has A New Back Door Opening

NewsHound Ellen — Fri, 05 Jun 2026 00:05:35 +0000

Let’s be clear: Donald Trump’s $1.8 billion slush fund was never dead, just dormant. His personal criminal-defense attorney turned acting Attorney General, Todd Blanche, made that perfectly clear to anyone willing to pay attention.

But even if President Felonious Trump and Consigliere Blanche permanently shelve it, they are already working on other ways to use taxpayer money to compensate Jan. 6 insurrectionists and others Trump wants to bribe and reward.

Blanche’s Department of Justice “is signaling a willingness to work through other legal channels to pay allies of the president who claim the government targeted them for political reasons,” The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday. “Department officials have emphasized in recent days that, even without the contentious fund, they have the authority-and an uncapped source of money—to settle lawsuits against the federal government as they see fit. ‘We're on it,’ Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward said in a now-deleted social-media post responding to a suggestion Tuesday from Sen. Lindsey Graham (R., S.C.) that the government should use existing law to compensate people who claim they were harmed.”

The Journal goes on to report that “A number of Trump supporters,” including many Jan. 6 insurrectionists “are crafting lawsuits that argue the government needs to pay up.”

Report: CBS Considering Replacing Anderson Cooper With Joe Rogan

Ed Scarce — Fri, 05 Jun 2026 00:05:34 +0000

According to the source at RadarOnline, an executive at CBS said, "You bring in Rogan and you immediately gain a core connection to over 50 percent of the country. He speaks to viewers who feel ignored or mocked by legacy media. That could solve the ratings and credibility problems of CBS overnight."

I'm pretty sure I've seen this idea before in the movie Network.

Source: Austin American-Statesman

CBS News is reportedly searching for a replacement for “60 Minutes” correspondent Anderson Cooper, and network executives may have their sights set on Austin-based podcaster Joe Rogan.

RadarOnline, a celebrity and entertainment news site, reported that CBS considering Rogan, who boasts 20.9 million subscribers on his YouTube channel, “PowerfulJRE,” and millions of viewers of his podcast, “The Joe Rogan Experience,” would be “strategy,” not “stunt casting.”
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Republicans Somehow Still Insist Trump-Russia Investigation Was A 'Coup'

Heather — Thu, 04 Jun 2026 21:28:15 +0000

FBN's Maria Bartiromo and House Intel Chair Rick Crawford used the Democrats' attempt to oust Trump's unqualified pick for DNI head as an excuse to revive their revisionist history of Trump's Russiagate corruption.

As we already discussed here, Sen. Mark Warner, vice chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, has found an ingenious way to pressure Trump to remove his dangerous appointment of Bill Pulte as acting head of the Director of National Intelligence, which is to block the GOP’s beloved FISA bill if Pulte is not gone.

Crawford was asked about the move on this Thursday's Mornings with Maria, and with a big assist by Bartiromo, tried to pretend the Russiagate investigation was some hoax before accusing John Brennan and James Clapper of orchestrating some sort of a "coup" against Trump.

BARTIROMO: What's your take on Bill Pulte as DNI?

CRAWFORD: Well, first off, the fact that these Democrats over in the Senate are wringing their hands about a potential nominee — he's an acting DNI. That's what the president has stated. So it's not as though he needs their opinion, because he's acting. He's not asking for him to be confirmed.
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McGovern Confronts Rollins: You Kicked Off 700,000 Kids From Food Assistance

John Amato — Thu, 04 Jun 2026 21:28:15 +0000

Rep Jim McGovern raked Agricultural Secretary Brooke Rollins over the coals. He refused to take her lies about the state of the economy and how she kicked out hundreds of thousands of children from the SNAP program because of fraud.

McGovern's first volley was how awful farmers are doing because of Trump's reckless war with Iran and idiotic tariffs that are deemed illegal.

"I wish that you would take the time to talk with farmers in my district who have been totally screwed over by this administration," he said. " They are livid. They are mad. They are pissed off."

He then laid into Rollin's bragging about how she removed millions of people from SNAP, as if it were a badge of honor. Rollins' responses were very weak indeed.

MCGOVERN: Earlier this year, you even bragged about kicking 4.5 million people off nutrition assistance, saying that was, quote, good news. Well, a new report from the Nonpartisan Center on Budget and Policy Priorities found that the number includes at least 700,000 children.

Now, I say at least because that is data from less than half the country. That number is going to be in the millions.

Let me say that again. 700,000 kids plus have lost their food assistance.
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'Team Mamdani' Airs Ad During NBA Finals

Ed Scarce — Thu, 04 Jun 2026 19:13:44 +0000

This is really clever. Mamdani enlisted Morris Katz to produce the ad for the three Democratic challengers, two of whom are challenging Democratic incumbents. The three candidates bore the cost, but it will get widespread attention.

Source: New York Times

A new television ad featuring Mayor Zohran Mamdani debuted on Wednesday night during postgame coverage of the New York Knicks’ Game 1 victory in the N.B.A. finals, but the 30-second spot was not about the team or the mayor.

The mission of the spot was to hype the candidacies of three left-leaning Democrats in competitive House primaries across the city by trying to capitalize on Mr. Mamdani’s popularity and on New York’s collective excitement over the Knicks.

The candidates — Darializa Avila Chevalier, Claire Valdez and Brad Lander — have all been endorsed by the mayor. Mr. Lander and Ms. Avila Chevalier are challenging incumbents; Ms. Valdez is running for an open seat.

“This is the team,” Mr. Mamdani says in the ad, which is shot on a basketball court with a pronounced Knicks’ orange hue. “This is our year.”

The ad aired locally during the game, but the real benefits will be online, where it will receive millions of views.

GOP Rep Accidentally Roasts Todd Blanche While Trying To Praise Him

John Amato — Thu, 04 Jun 2026 17:54:45 +0000

Rep. Jimmy Patronis of Florida's 1st told CNBC he supported the confirmation of acting Attorney General Todd Blanche because he is a loyalist to Trump who can be counted on to always act on Trump's behalf.

Trump's former personal attorney has done everything he can to prosecute those against whom Trump has a vendetta at every turn. To make matters worse, he allegedly perpetrated a fraud on the US government he represents by handing over a $1.8 billion settlement to Trump over his fraudulent lawsuit against the IRS to use as he wishes, as a quote, "anti-weaponization slush fund." It wasn't a surprise that Blanche was forced to rescind the handout.

KERNEN: How about AG Blanche? What do you think - good good pick to be a permanent AG, are you comfortable?

PATRONIS: Look, I think he has been steadfast and and loyal to the president and the president needs somebody he can trust and Todd has shown that he can be counted on. It's not an easy job. You're talking about a president who has been a bigger victim of a weaponized court system than any other sitting president in the history United States so yeah look is there an appetite to want to hit some reset buttons?

Absolutely, it's not just the president. It's just the constituency of the United States in general they want a fair court system a fair prosecution system in place and we saw very clearly where this president was having those type of events in his life where the Justice Department other other administrations were coloring outside the lines.
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Trump Loses His Sh*t After Learning War Powers Aren't A Personal Blank Check

Conover Kennard — Thu, 04 Jun 2026 16:59:14 +0000

On Wednesday, the House passed a measure to limit Donald J. Trump's military authority regarding Iran, with a growing number of Republicans breaking ranks to express dissatisfaction with how the administration has managed the ongoing conflict.

As NewHound Ellen reported, the four Republicans who voted with all the Democrats to end the war were Reps. Tom Barrett of Michigan, Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, Warren Davidson of Ohio, and Thomas Massie of Kentucky. Unsurprisingly, Trump's wrath is being directed at them and the "Dumocrats" in a childish Truth Social outburst.

"Yesterday, in a meaningless vote, the House voted, 4 bad Republicans and all of the Dumocrats, to limit my War Powers, right in the middle of my final negotiations to end the War with the Islamic Republic of Iran," he wrote. "Who would do such an unpatriotic thing."

"They know where the negotiations stand," he added. "The Democrats are fueled by Trump Derangement Syndrome. They would rather have our Country fail than give me another, of many, victories. The four Republicans, that’s a whole other story - They’re GRANDSTANDERS! They should be ashamed of themselves. MAGA!!! President DJT"

Rep. Dean Skewers Todd Blanche Over Redactions Of Epstein Files

John Amato — Thu, 04 Jun 2026 15:57:45 +0000

Rep. Madeleine Dean tore apart the unconscionable number of redacted files in the Epstein files. She proved that Trump lied about being on Jeffrey Epstein's plane while sycophant acting AG Todd Blanche looked on.

DEAN: When will you comply with the law and release all of the files?

TODD: As I said to you when we spoke before, we have complied with the law.

DEAN: There are 3 million more documents, and you know what you said to me? They're all duplicative, and they include another guy named Epstein.

Blanche Dubois claimed he never said it, but you know he did.

After the Chairman interrupted, Dean let Blanche have it.

What is true is that the president has lied about being on Epstein's plane, and the unredacted files prove that.

There's a lot in here. I am shocked at this.

There's also this set of files in the file. This is investigation into the potential co-conspirators of Jeffrey Epstein. I almost used up all the blank ink in the hallway, because it's all covered up. It's all covered up.

The American people are not stupid.

They know that when members of Congress have to go in and actually unredact, try to find the truth for these victims, something is corrupt.

Something is corrosive. You were paid $10 million to represent the president. You hang a 30-foot banner of the president's menacing face over the entrance to the Department of Justice.
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Virginia Residents Loading Up On ARs As New Gun Law Is Imminent

Susie Madrak — Thu, 04 Jun 2026 15:01:23 +0000

So you pass a law restricting semiautomatic guns in your state, and what happens?

“They’re buying the living daylights out of ARs,” said Karen Ballengee, owner of Southern Police Equipment (formerly Southern Gun World) in Chesterfield County. "They're buying guns as fast as they can get their hands on them." This, according to the Roanoke Times.

Customers are looking for ARs, AR pistols and regular handguns with a threaded barrel to accept sound suppressors, Ballengee said.

Many gun manufacturers are giving Virginia stores priority shipping to help Virginians get the firearms they want before it's too late.

The surge in sales comes after Virginia lawmakers passed legislation restricting the sale and purchase of certain semiautomatic firearms and magazines holding more than 15 rounds. Gov. Abigail Spanberger signed the bill into law last month, and the restrictions are set to take effect July 1.

At New American Arms in Richmond, general manager Tony Martin said sales have been on the rise since January, after Congress eliminated a long-standing federal transfer tax on suppressors and certain federally regulated firearms. The shop on Broad Street is billed as Central Virginia's only full-service gun shop; with gunsmiths on staff, the business provides training, repairs and builds custom rifles.

Trump's Treasury Secretary Accidentally Opens A Can Of Epstein Whoop-A** On His Boss

John Amato — Thu, 04 Jun 2026 13:59:00 +0000

During the Senate Finance Committee hearing on Trump's 2027 budget request, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent veered off course after his opening remarks and put the spotlight back on Jeffrey Epstein.

Everyone wants to know the truth about Trump's relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, thanks to Secretary Bessent.

After giving us Trump administration propaganda on the state of the US economy, Bessent left many of the senators speechless with his juvenile attack.

And I do want, I had hoped to keep this in terms of the economy.

Senator Wyden has mendaciously slandered the treasury building in an attempt to cover up his son having an investment meeting with Jeffrey Epstein to ask for funding.

Thank you.

Mr. Chairman?

Yes.

Let's be clear here.

Nobody is interested in the ramblings of a capo in the most corrupt regime in American history.

We want to get some facts about this deal.

That's what we're here for.

Thank you.

Well thank you and I will ask my questions first today.

And we would like to hear what Adam Wyden and Jeffrey Epstein talked about.

Your son's largest investment position was Rick's Cabaret.

So did your son and Jeffrey Epstein talk about pole dancing as he begged him for money using your limited credibility?

Should I just proceed?

I'm going to proceed with my questions...

Scott Bessent, his staffers, and the Trump administration actually thought this was a good line of attack.

Albanians Furious Over Ivanka And Jared's Island Paradise

Susie Madrak — Thu, 04 Jun 2026 13:53:51 +0000

This is some story, huh?

Thousands of Albanians have taken to the streets — and the internet — to rage against a planned luxury resort linked to Ivanka Trump and her husband Jared Kushner, with protesters demanding the government cancel the project and chanting "Ivanka, go home."

The flashpoint is a proposed €4 billion ($4.7 billion) development — described by Prime Minister Edi Rama as an "extraordinary investment" — on Sazan Island and the protected Vjosa-Narta coastal wetlands in southern Albania. Ivanka described it in dreamy terms on a recent podcast.

"It's an unbelievable, beautiful, 1,400-hectare private island in the middle of the Mediterranean," she told host David Senra. "We swam to the island, we went on a hike, barefoot all the way up to the top, and we were just captivated."

Imagine. You find a beautiful, pristine island, and because you're a Trump, your immediate reaction is: Hey, let's fuck it up with a huge resort with massive environmental impacts -- you know, like sewage. And I presume you call Daddy, and put on your best little-girl voice, saying, "Daddy, anything you can do to help?"

Trump Wants To Nominate Evil Minion Todd Blanche As Permanent AG

Susie Madrak — Thu, 04 Jun 2026 11:32:00 +0000

Tired of dreaming up new gold decorations, Trump said Wednesday he planned to formally nominate acting attorney general Todd Blanche for a full term as the nation’s chief law enforcement officer, signaling confidence in his former personal defense lawyer’s leadership of a department over which the president has sought to exert unprecedented control i.e. corruption.

Trump announced his intention to move forward Thursday with the nomination during a White House dinner Wednesday evening, according to a video of his remarks posted to social media by deputy White House chief of staff Dan Scavino.

“We are going to make him permanent attorney general,” Trump said.

Blanche has held the job on a temporary basis since Trump fired former attorney general Pam Bondi earlier this year.

Trump’s decision to back Blanche for a permanent term will kick off a Senate confirmation process that could face tough headwinds.

Some Republican senators have already expressed hesitation about supporting Blanche for the job, raising questions about recent comments in which they believed he appeared to excuse violence committed during the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol.

Dems Make Power Move To Oust Shockingly Unqualified Pulte As DNI

NewsHound Ellen — Thu, 04 Jun 2026 10:17:57 +0000

Donald Trump’s appointment of the dangerously unqualified housing official and professional troll Bill Pulte to the position of acting director of national intelligence has rattled Republicans as well as Democrats.

Since Pulte is the acting director, Trump has conveniently avoided what would likely be a losing Senate confirmation process.

But Sen. Mark Warner, vice chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, has found an ingenious way to pressure Trump to remove his dangerous pick.

Warner has told Senate Majority Leader John Thune that Democratic support for the extension of FISA Section 702 is in danger if Pulte is in charge of the government’s 18 intelligence agencies, Punchbowl News has reported. The controversial provision can allow the government to spy on Americans without a warrant if it is surveilling a foreigner communicating with an American. Warner has reportedly asked Thune to “use his influence with the White House” to uninstall Pulte.

Mike's Blog Round Up

Batocchio — Thu, 04 Jun 2026 10:17:38 +0000

First Draft: Ignore the crazy guy behind the curtain.

Off Message: Filibuster reform is no longer enough.

Civil Discourse: The criminal case dismissed against Kilmar Abrego Garcia.

Governing: Maryland takes aim at surveillance pricing in grocery stores.

This Modern World: Carnival of wonders.

This installment by Batocchio. E-mail tips to mbru AT crooksandliars DOT com.

Elizabeth Warren Puts Bessent On The Hot Seat Over Trump's Insider Stock Trades

David Edwards — Thu, 04 Jun 2026 10:17:17 +0000

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) put Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on the hot seat Wednesday over President Donald Trump's unprecedented stock trading, demanding to know whether the White House should face the same scrutiny Bessent himself once said Congress deserved.

The exchange, at a Senate Finance Committee hearing on Trump's FY2027 budget, turned combative fast.

Warren opened by turning Bessent's own words against him — reminding the former hedge fund manager that he had previously said congressional traders posted returns so strong that "every hedge fund would be jealous of them," and that "if any private citizen traded that way, the SEC would be knocking on their door."

Trump's financial disclosures show he made more than 3,400 stock trades worth more than a quarter of a billion dollars in just the first three months of 2026 — roughly half of what all 535 members of Congress traded last year combined, she said.

Bessent insisted Congress should clean up its own act first."I think it's incumbent upon both houses of Congress to get their house in order before you move to the administrative branch," he said.

Warren didn't budge. "How about we get the White House in order at the same time?"

Can The Democratic Party Have Their Candidates' Backs Just This Once?

Steve M. — Thu, 04 Jun 2026 10:16:58 +0000

Graham Platner is, or was, a lousy husband. He was sexting with other women in the early days of his marriage. He and his wife, as she noted in a video over the weekend, are in marriage counseling, and are looking into fertility treatments in order to have a baby. They're trying to make the marriage work. It was Platner's wife who brought the texts to the campaign's attention. That happened last fall. For some reason, this story broke now, more than a month after his main primary opponent suspended her campaign, and with very little time for Maine Democrats to pick another candidate. (In the most recent public poll of the primary, Platner has a 73-point lead over the only remaining Democratic opponent who's on the ballot and actively campaigning. The primary is a week from now.)

Do Maine Democrats even want to switch candidates? In isolation, this is the kind of story that hasn't derailed politcal careers in the past few decades. Ever since Bill Clinton, voters have decided that marriage is personal, people are flawed, and relationship troubles are none of our damn business. Down in Texas, opponents of the GOP's Senate nominee, Ken Paxton, have tried to use his marital woes against him in more than one election. Voters don't care.

Playing The Hand He Dealt Himself

Steve Greenberg — Thu, 04 Jun 2026 03:00:02 +0000

Open thread below...

Sorry, Donald, The House Just Voted To End Your Stupid Iran War

NewsHound Ellen — Wed, 03 Jun 2026 23:00:13 +0000

In what The New York Times called a “bipartisan” and “remarkable rebuke” to Donald Trump, the House of Representatives passed a resolution directing him to “withdraw U.S. forces from Iran or win approval from Congress to continue the war.” The Times also called it “a striking sign of growing opposition” to Trump’s unnecessary war that he can’t seem to figure out how to end.

You may recall that Mike Johnson shut down Congress early for the Memorial Day holiday to avoid the embarrassing-to-Trump vote. Perhaps even more embarrassingly, Republicans “made no headway over the ensuing days in winning converts,” The Times reported. Also, once the War Powers Resolution was invoked, there is a limited period of time in which it must be voted on.

The four Republicans who voted with all the Democrats to end the war were Reps. Tom Barrett of Michigan, Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, Warren Davidson of Ohio and Thomas Massie of Kentucky.

The war powers resolution will now go to the Senate, which already passed a similar bill. But that does not mean Trump will be forced to end the war.

'He Likes The Results': Oz Tries To Spin Trump's Cognitive Test Addiction As A Flex

John Amato — Wed, 03 Jun 2026 22:58:43 +0000

During the White House press conference yesterday, "Dr." Mehmet Oz explained with a straight face that Trump has been getting so many medical checkups because he loves acing the results.

Huh?

This is less credible than Ivermectin, bleach, UV lights, and hydroxychloroquine cures for COVID.

Q: If the President is in such perfect health, why does he keep going back in for checkups?

OZ: Mr. Schultz, I think he likes the results.

He does really well. He aces the test every single day.

And I do actually believe that he is curious to make sure everything is going in the right direction.

He's a very meticulous person in so many ways that are often underappreciated.

But for him to want to know all the numbers and keep on top of them, it's the same reason he calls people at odd hours because something's on his mind and he wants to deal with it.

Is Oz telling us Trump loves taking the Cognitive Assessment test? So much that he continually goes to Walter Reed for them? WTF?

Does Trump take the test every single day?

If he does, he is mentally unbalanced.

This is such a lie.

Trump does not need to go to Walter Reed to take this test.

Tom Tiffany Vies To Be Trump’s Number One B*tch

Chris capper Liebenthal — Wed, 03 Jun 2026 22:58:43 +0000

Wisconsin Representative and gubernatorial wannabe Tom Tiffany appeared on Fox and showed off his bootlicking skills by praising Trump's handling of the illegal war in Iran:

Well, doesn't it appear, Cheryl, that the president, especially in the last month, has shown great restraint in regards to Iran? I mean, he's been, there's been some tough talk, and it's been going back and forth between conciliation and this tough talk, but the president has shown real restraint. And I think he's hoping that someone who is reasonable in Iran will come forward in leadership and say it's time to negotiate a deal. Let's be among the peaceful nations of the world. Let's bring peace to the Middle East.

Trump hasn't shown restraint since he started his illegal war with a country with which we had a peace agreement. He sure as hell didn't show restraint when he targeted a school and killed scores of young girls. He didn't show restraint while he committed one war crime after another. Also, threatening genocide is a bit more than "tough talk."

However, I encourage Tiffany to keep kissing Trump's giant, diapered ass. It'll only help the Democrats retain the governor's office in November. And who knows, you might be able to surpass Rep Drunken Van Orden as Trump's number one little bitch.

Trump Energy Secretary Plays 'What About The Democrats' Gas Price Game

Heather — Wed, 03 Jun 2026 20:44:34 +0000

Trump Energy Secretary Chris Wright served up a big heaping helping of whataboutism when asked about Trump voters' concerns about rising gas prices.

Here's Wright pretending we just had to attack Iran and ignoring the damage Trump did by tearing up Obama's nuclear agreement, while lying that gas prices are likely to come down any time soon during an interview on Fox this Wednesday.

HEMMER: You heard from Democrats taking shots at you and others. What would you say in return?

WRIGHT: Yeah, Bill, it's a little rich. It's a little rich. We're in the middle of solving a 47-year-old problem that's a growing problem about a nuclear-armed Iran. I've never met anyone, not even a Democrat, who's comfortable with a nuclear-armed Iran.

But the bigger problem, the even bigger problem with gasoline prices, electricity prices, heating prices, is Democrat green policies.

They've done everything they can for 20 years to drive energy prices up, and now they're upset about high energy prices. I'm glad. hope they keep that attitude going forward and will work with us to drive energy prices back down.

HEMMER: So you can understand... (crosstalk) You can understand how an explanation of that would be necessary. The president told Miranda Devine that prices will come down in the not too distant future. He's referred to that recently. "They'll come down when the conflict ends." Average gas today is $4.26. A week ago was $4.45, so it's come down in a week.
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You'll Never Guess Who Trump Is Blaming For Grocery And Gas Prices

Conover Kennard — Wed, 03 Jun 2026 20:42:55 +0000

Donald J. Trump is mentally exhausting with his avalanche of lies, blaming Joe Biden daily for problems largely of his own making. Gas prices aren't usually the fault of any president — unless they start an unnecessary war in the Middle East.

Trump spoke to Miranda Devine of Pod Force One, who, by the way, offered no pushback whatsoever from the president's pathetic claims.

"What about people who don't have 401Ks, and they're worried about gas or groceries?" she asked. "We hear about that a lot."

"Well, see, I inherited very high prices when I came in," Trump flatly lied. "I inherited the highest inflation in the history of our country. You know, Biden had like 9%, 10% inflation. And I inherited that, and we have it way down."

Devine didn't bother correcting Trump. Inflation was never 10% under Biden, and the most recent inflation rate — 3.8% in April 2026 — is, in fact, the highest since May 2023, meaning inflation is now higher than it was when he took office.

And there is a lot of factual blame for high grocery costs, including Trump's tariffs, but to hear the president tell it, it's Joe Biden's fault, even though it's Trump's second year in office. Gas prices peaked at $5.02/gallon in June 2022 (driven heavily by Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the post-COVID demand recovery). Still, when Biden left office, gas prices were roughly $3.08–$3.12/gallon, much lower than where we are now.

Marco Rubio's Boldest Lie Of The Day, Immediately Fact-Checked With Video Evidence

Conover Kennard — Wed, 03 Jun 2026 18:55:34 +0000

Things took a turn for Marco Rubio during a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing on the State Department's FY 2027 budget when Rep. Ted Lieu directly confronted the Secretary of State by playing video footage of Donald Trump falling asleep at official events.

The kicker: Rubio denied it before Lieu broke out the receipts. And then he denied it again after seeing the video evidence.

"Secretary Rubio, have you been at more than one meeting where President Trump has fallen asleep?" Lieu asked.

"That's false," Rubio said. "I've never seen him fall asleep. On the contrary, the guy doesn't sleep, which is a big problem because he calls me at two in the morning. He calls me at five in the morning."

"And, you know, I like to sleep a little bit, maybe not 12 hours, but at least six," he continued. "So he works. The other day, he was at the Oval Office until 12.30 p.m. 12.30 a.m. I don't know what you're talking about."

"Secretary Rubio, I'm going to show you in a moment a video that shows you just lied to Congress," Lieu said.

"Oh, OK," Rubio responded.

"So this is a video of a cabinet meeting literally from last month, where Donald Trump is sleeping while you are talking," Lieu said. "Please show this video."

And they indeed showed the video of Grandpa Trump napping during a cabinet meeting.

"You are literally talking about issues of war and peace, and Donald Trump is sleeping right next to you," Lieu said.

Trump-Endorsed Rep. Randy Feenstra Loses Iowa Governor Primary

Ed Scarce — Wed, 03 Jun 2026 17:59:22 +0000

A recent poll by JMC Analytics had Zach Lahn winning by exactly the margin he ended up with, so not exactly shocking, but perhaps that was the impetus for Trump's endorsement. Whatever the case, it wasn't enough to save the Iowa Congressman. Polls have also shown Feenstra losing badly to Democrat Rob Sand, so that probably played a role in his defeat to Lahn.

Source: Politico

Rep. Randy Feenstra lost the GOP primary for Iowa governor on Tuesday, a shocking upset after he earned President Donald Trump’s last-minute endorsement.

Feenstra, who was narrowly defeated by rival Zach Lann, conceded and called to congratulate him before results were official.

The three-term representative outspent Lahn, a businessperson and former GOP operative, by nearly $1 million and leaned heavily into his MAGA credentials during the primary.

The loss is a blow for Trump, who has seen most of his chosen candidates this cycle sail to victory or advance to runoff elections — until now. He backed Feenstra just four days before the primary, a last-ditch attempt to bolster his loyal GOP ally in a race that became increasingly competitive in the final stretch. Feenstra had asked for Trump’s endorsement earlier this year and began calling himself a “Trump conservative” in ads even before receiving the president’s backing.
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