Latest articles from Crooks and Liars

Friday Night Funnies: Scrubs

John Amato — Sat, 01 Aug 2026 00:13:56 +0000

I didn't watch Scrubs when it initially ran, but when I finally checked it out on Hulu, it grabbed me.

It's hysterical.

Bill Lawrence is an amazing showrunner who went on to create another one of my favorites, Cougar Town, Ted Lasso, Shrinking, and many others.

The Scrubs revival wasn't too bad either.

Open thread.

U.S. State Dept Apologizes For Map That Mislabels Every African Country

Ed Scarce — Fri, 31 Jul 2026 23:13:23 +0000

"Screenshots of the map first appeared in a Substack post by the Aids expert Emily Bass and were widely ‌shared on LinkedIn, with one post garnering about 40,000 views." I imagine it would be.

Source: Reuters

July 30 (Reuters) - A U.S. government map of Africa mislabeled every country during a State Department presentation at ‌a global conference taking place in Brazil this week, causing a stir among attendees who took screenshots and posted them online.

Reuters viewed a video of the presentation given at the AIDS 2026 conference in Rio de Janeiro, which shows the errant map displayed halfway during a presentation about the State Department's new health agreements.

A Reuters analysis found the image of the map included in the presentation contained an artificial intelligence watermark that ⁠signals it was made with OpenAI tools. The company said it was investigating the report.

The State Department said it took "full responsibility" for the confusion caused and that the map had been produced by a team member who hastily changed the slide deck before the event.

The map showed Nigeria, where the U.S. currently has several hundred troops deployed, as landlocked in the Sahara Desert. Mozambique, which is in southeastern Africa, was relocated to the Horn of Africa, while Ivory Coast in West Africa was placed on the other side of the continent.
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Wisconsin Lawmaker Calls For Fauci To Be Publicly Executed

Chris capper Liebenthal — Fri, 31 Jul 2026 21:53:51 +0000

Waukesha County Supervisor Robert Kolb made a Facebook post calling for the public execution of Dr. Anthony Fauci.

When people started to call or send emails to him, he made another post saying, "I stated that Fauci should be executed for his crimes…. I guess these people think I am going to be upset & bothered by these phone calls. I couldn't be laughing any harder."

Despite his bravado, Kolb deleted his original post. When TMJ3 reporter Rebecca Klopf called him about his posts, all Mr. Tough Guy would say was "no comment."

The reporter then attempted to call all of the other county supervisors as well as the county executive. Of the people she was able to contact, most condemned Kolb's statement, but not one of them took any action to censure him.

The county's lawyers said that Kolb did not violate any laws since he made the comments on a private account. That may or may not be accurate. It depends on when he made the comments, where he was when he made them, and what device he used. If he made those comments in the evening, with his own phone while in the comfort of his momma's basement, he's fine. But if he made those comments while he was on the clock, or while he was on county property, or if he used a county computer to prove that he was an idiot, well, that's a whole other story.

Considering how many people had lost their jobs because of a social media post after Charlie Kirk's death, the fact that this asshat can make a threat on a person's life and not receive the slightest consequence is completely outrageous.

Jim Jordan Calls Abuse Allegations Against Colleague A 'Family Matter'

Heather — Fri, 31 Jul 2026 20:52:25 +0000

Rep. Jim Jordan stuttered and stammered his way through an interview with CNN's Kasie Hunt when she threw his own hypocritical words back in his face. Jordan made an appearance on this Thursday's The Arena with Kasie Hunt. Initially, he called the abuse allegations against his fellow Ohio Congressman "a family matter" until Hunt laid them all out in gory detail in response.

After Jordan tried to feign ignorance on what the accusations were, Hunt reminded him that they'd been widely reported for some time now, and then played a clip of Jordan criticizing Democrats for just wanting to hang onto power with Graham Platner before asking Jordan how this was any different.

Jordan, of course, just lied in response before Hunt finally let him off the hook and ended the interview.

Here's the full exchange:

HUNT: I also want to ask you about something a little closer to home. There is a colleague of yours in the Ohio delegation, Max Miller, who is facing allegations of abuse from an ex-wife... of the wife and his then-toddler daughter.

Do you think that Max Miller, who denies this abuse, should he resign from Congress in light of the accusations?

JORDAN: Look, this is a family matter. I know Max is a good man. I was up campaigning for him. I hope he wins re-election. He's done a good job as a member of Congress.
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RFK Jr. On Trump’s High Grocery Prices: 'You Can Buy Liver!'

NewsHound Ellen — Fri, 31 Jul 2026 20:11:36 +0000

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has some words of advice for Americans struggling with the skyrocketing cost of groceries thanks to Donald Trump’s unnecessary tariffs and his unnecessary war with Iran: It’s fine, make do.

On Thursday, Kennedy basically told Americans Trumpflation is no biggie. “This is true all over the country. … Most of the cheap cuts of meat are very inexpensive.”

He went on to lecture Americans who may want to eat a steak. “If you buy a porterhouse steak … it’s gonna set you back. You can buy liver or the cheaper cuts instead that are very, very affordable.”

First of all, liver is not recommended for everybody. Kennedy has no medical qualifications for his Health and Human Services secretary position. So maybe he doesn’t know.

Or maybe he does, and it’s yet another part of his plan to endanger Americans’ health.

School Shooter's Dad Sentenced To 15 Years

Red Painter — Fri, 31 Jul 2026 18:56:23 +0000

Colt Gray, a 14-year old freshman at Apalachee High School in Georgia, decided to bring an AR15 to school on September 4, 2024 and start shooting. He killed 2 teachers - Richard Aspinwall, 39 and Christina Irimie, 53 and 2 students - Mason Schermerhorn, 14 and Christian Angulo, 14.

Prior to the shooting, his father ignored every single red flag, and bought his son a gun. Colt had engaged in cutting, violence, had panic attacks and anxiety, glorified school shootings and even had decorated his wall with a shrine to school shooter Nikolas Cruz. Regardless of these signs, his dad let him have unfettered access to the gun, unlocked, with ammo, at all times.

His father, Colin Gray, was convicted of 29 counts in March of 2026. Jurors took just under two hours to find him guilty of all charges - which included 2 counts of second-degree murder, 4 counts of involuntary manslaughter, 8 counts of cruelty to children and numerous counts of reckless conduct.

After numerous personal impact statements were made, the judge declared the sentence. Judge Nicholas Primm said:

'They Don't Speak English' DJT Trashes Immigrant Truck Drivers

John Amato — Fri, 31 Jul 2026 18:07:48 +0000

Trump continues to destroy the US economy with his racist, anti-immigrant fury by targeting truck drivers in his latest campaign of xenophobia: The "Freedom Haulers" Initiative.

The AP reports, "A new campaign launched Friday will promote programs that let veterans who recently drove large military vehicles skip the required skills test for a commercial driver’s license. Other soldiers can attend a commercial driving school during their last six months of active duty. The GI Bill will also pay for 100% of commercial driver’s license training and for some people even pay a housing allowance while they are in school."

Sean Duffy has failed to recruit Air Traffic controllers, leaving our skies the most dangerous they've been under any Transportation Secretary, but hey, at least we'll have white truck drivers.

TRUMP: They're driving big rigs, semi trucks and tractor trailers, all because radical left maniacs at the state level have issued them commercial driver's licenses, even though they're not entitled to have them.

They don't speak the language for the most part.

Many of these illegal aliens don't even come close.

They don't want to learn the language.

They don't care about the language and they don't speak it.

They don't speak English.

They cannot read basic road signs.

Trump's KKK racism is infuriating.

Fox Host Asks Trump If Iranians Have Food And Water, Trump Hits On Her Instead

Andrea Thompson — Fri, 31 Jul 2026 16:56:32 +0000

As Donald Trump's illegal war with Iran steamrolls into its sixth month, with absolutely no conceivable end in sight, one Fox News host attempted to ask the President a starkly serious question: Are the people in Iran okay?

Trump called into Fox for a phone interview this week, where Dana Perino, a co-host on Fox News' The Five and former White House Press Secretary to George W. Bush, pressed him on the living conditions of Iranian civilians amid the ongoing war.

"I think it is alarming that we have not been able to see or hear from any of the Iranian people, and I imagine that is because their internet is shut down, and I think there is some general worry about them. Obviously, their government treats them terribly and killed tens of thousands of them in January," Perino said. "I would never ask you to tell us something that is classified, but do you have any insight as to how they are doing? Do they have drinking water? Do they have food? It's upsetting."

Before Perino was even able to finish her sentence, Trump was already beginning to interject with his typical, "Right... Right... I do. I do."

His interruptions were rude enough, but the more he talked, the worse it got.

In fact, "I do" was the only semblance of an actual response to the question he gave.

CNN Data Guru: Republicans Tanking Badly With Youth Vote

John Amato — Fri, 31 Jul 2026 16:03:32 +0000

CNN's Harry Enten highlighted new polling data that shows people 50 and under have turned away from Trump and Republicans in droves, while the enthusiasm gap is monumental with majorities wanting Democrats to take back the House.

I doubt Trump staffers will let Trump see these numbers.

It's funny to see the youth vote categorized as 50 and under instead of the 18 to 29 group, but that makes these numbers even more impressive.

ENTEN: Young voters are fed up and they're taking their anger out on President Trump. We'll start off there.

Take a look here. Voters under the age of 50 on Trump. In the fall of 2024, Kamala Harris led in her polling by just three points.

Look at where Donald Trump is. He was within three points of Kamala Harris.

Now his net approval rating on the year and the average of CNN polling. Look at that.

Minus 41 points. That is a shift of 38 points away from the president of the United States.

He is falling through the floor.

Phase two is great news for the Democrats.

ENTEN: If you look at 2024, the choice for House margin, Democrats were leading amongst those under the age of 50 by four points.

Look at that lead now though. Look at that lead now. It's more than four times that a double digit shift.

Their lead is now 17 points.
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Ever Wondered What Obama REALLY Thinks About The Trumps? Now You Know...

Andrea Thompson — Fri, 31 Jul 2026 14:59:23 +0000

Kentucky Senator Rand Paul recently took it upon himself to publicly release Dr. Anthony Fauci's private diary, hailing from his COVID days under the Trump Administration and spanning upwards of 1,000 pages of his inside thoughts, as part of Paul's ongoing feud with and investigation against the former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

Those diary pages seemed to have revealed perhaps a bit more than Rand Paul was prepared for -- including former President Barack Obama's true, expletive-ridden thoughts on the Trumps.

Earlier this week, those same diary entries gave us a stunning glimpse into just how hypocritical and two-faced Stephen and Katie Miller are. Now, we're getting a small glimpse into Obama's private thoughts.

According to a new report from The Daily Beast, Obama lent Dr. Fauci support and a comforting ear in November 2021, when Donald Trump's eldest son and namesake, Don Jr., began to sell merchandise openly mocking him, featuring slogans referencing a false claim about Fauci running experiments on puppies.

The Beast reports, "Obama reassured him that Trump Jr. is 'a f---ing moron' before apologizing for using crude language."

Alex Jones Calls For 25th Amendment Against Donald Trump

John Amato — Fri, 31 Jul 2026 13:58:41 +0000

Alex Jones is calling for the 25th Amendment to be implemented against Donald Trump because the only way to stop Trump and his Iran war is to impeach him.

How times have changed. Many members of the MAGA cult are fed up with Trump's tariffs, 1.8 billion dollar slush fund, and starting a war with Iran he promised he never would. Alex Jones was at the forefront of supporting Demented Donald until he got sued to the gills for his horrific actions against the Sandy Hook families. Like most people, Jones sees a ground war coming into Iran, and he wants out.

JONES: The big issue is how to stop Trump. And we have to have Congress go for the war powers. They've three times tried to vote war powers.

They're supposed to authorize a war. This is a war, they're getting the draft ready.

If this isn't a war, nothing's a war. I mean, this is absolutely out of control.

And so I'm calling for it right now. 25th Amendment, impeachment, whatever needs to happen to get this front and center, to get control of our country.

It's impeachable alone with the President supporting the NDAA.

I agree with Tucker Carlson and all of the people that voted for this, to merge us with the foreign military. It actually says in section 219, clear as day.

Need to be in Nuremberg-style trials. I mean, this is unbelievable.

And if you think it's crazy now, imagine what's coming with this.
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Trump Asks SCOTUS To Reinstate His Bogus Lawsuit Against Hillary Clinton

NewsHound Ellen — Fri, 31 Jul 2026 13:02:22 +0000

Despite repeated losses in his lawsuit against Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump is trying yet again to go after her. As Bloomberg explains, in 2022, Trump sued Hillary Clinton, the Democratic National Committee and others, accusing them of conspiring to harm his 2016 campaign when they accused him of colluding with Russia. Trump and his legal flunky, Alina Habba, have already been sanctioned almost $1 million dollars for bringing what a federal judge deemed a frivolous suit when he dismissed it. A U.S. Court of Appeals upheld, 3-0, both the dismissal and the sanctions in November. Two of the three judges were appointed by Republicans, one by Crybaby, himself.

Now, Trump is hoping his MAGA toadies on the U.S. Supreme Court will do him yet another solid. “In a Supreme Court filing made public Tuesday, the president requested an additional month, until Sept. 9, to seek review" of the Appeals Court decision, Bloomberg reported.

Unfortunately for the Crybaby-in-Chief, just two weeks ago, as part of his whinefest about the 2020 election, Donald Trump declassified and released documents showing that Russia did indeed interfere in the 2020 election by trying to smear Joe Biden and “ensure” a Trump victory.

Secret Diary Confirms Stephen And Katie Miller Are A Couple Of Hypocritical Clowns

Andrea Thompson — Fri, 31 Jul 2026 12:25:13 +0000

Stephen and Katie Miller are a couple of hypocritical clowns, and Dr. Anthony Fauci has the receipts to prove it.

Fauci, now 85 years old, stood at the helm of the US government's response to the COVID-19 pandemic during Donald Trump's first presidential term. For a while, he was openly hailed as a true American hero, responsible for saving millions of lives.

Now, the far-Right has turned on him with a vengeance, with dozens of MAGA talking heads now claiming that they've always hated and distrusted the now-former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. However, Dr. Fauci's own personal records paint a far different picture -- one of people who had no qualms with leaning on him for guidance and support only to vilify him now, as the President and his Republican party sculpt him into a scapegoat.

Fauci appeared before the Senate Homeland Security Committee this week in response to a subpoena, where he repeatedly invoked his Fifth Amendment rights and refused to answer questions that Republicans would only use to twist and further vilify him.

This waste of taxpayer money for the witch hunt against Fauci is being spearheaded by Kentucky's Rand Paul, as part of his larger investigation into the origins of COVID-19—because who better to conduct an expansive, epidemiologic investigation than a defunct eye doctor?

As part of that investigation, Paul recently released over 1,000 pages of Dr. Fauci's private diary with entries spanning from 2019 to 2022.

Fox News' Gen. Keane Wants All-Out War With Iran

John Amato — Fri, 31 Jul 2026 12:25:00 +0000

Fox News Senior Strategic Analyst and national security contributor General Jack Keane told Fox Business that Trump must initiate "major combat operations" in Iran if he wants to succeed.

The general didn't outright say Trump will have to send troops on the ground, but "major combat operations" and "comprehensive attacks" do not just mean bombing raids. Those raids have not been as effective as Trump and his moronic Secretary of Defense are trying to have us believe.

Host Stuart Varney is not happy over Iran's control of Hormuz. Killing more leaders is his solution.

"Sir, are we negotiating away full control of the Strait?" Varney asked. "Because that wouldn't be a win, would it?"

"No, I can't imagine us doing anything like that, Stuart," Gen. Keane replied. "Look, we've got to open the Straits of Hormuz. If we're not going to be able to do it through negotiation, we've got to do it by force."

Force has been useless so far in Trump's attempts to control the Strait of Hormuz. The general is not happy that Iran is fighting back and attacking the US, and he feels negotiating with Iran is pointless.

KEANE: Iran is not going to make a deal with us that would satisfy us.

The reality is, we've got to reassess where we are.

Escalating against Iran, which is what we've been doing day by day based on their attacks, is not working.

It's obvious what we must do is return to major combat operations, Stuart, and the sooner we get on with that, the better.
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SF 49ers Coach Kyle Shanahan Photo Released After Car Crash

Ed Scarce — Fri, 31 Jul 2026 12:24:50 +0000

WGN in Chicago with the faux pas. Understandable mistake, though, using a meme photo of Kyle Shanahan with Elaine Chao in the hospital instead of a real one.

Source: The Daily Mail

A Chicago-based TV station has gone viral for being tricked into using a fake image of San Francisco 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan in hospital.

WGN-TV ran the picture of Shanahan sitting upright in a hospital bed alongside a woman, suggesting it was in the aftermath of the car crash that has left him with multiple serious injuries.

But the actual photo, released earlier this month, was of Senator Mitch McConnell and his wife Elaine Chao following his admission to hospital in mid-June after a fall and 'mild case of pneumonia'.

The 84-year-old has not spoken publicly since his hospitalization 47 days ago amid widespread speculation about his health.

Earlier this week, Shanahan admitted to a small group of 49ers reporters that he was to blame for the car crash in northern California on July 14 after briefly looking away from the road to pick up his cell phone.

The 46-year-old collided with an SUV near his home in Palo Alto while returning from a chiropractor appointment. He broke his nose, three ribs, his hand, required more than 40 stitches in his face and suffered a severe concussion.
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Mike's Blog Round Up

Batocchio — Fri, 31 Jul 2026 12:02:01 +0000

Lawyers, Guns and Money: Make America Healthy Again, with explosive diarrhea.

Emptywheel: James Comey's lesson about no kings.

Center on Budget and Policy Priorities: People losing food assistance due to Republican legislation.

Constant Commoner: On being ashamed of the good in us.

This Modern World: Strategizer-in-chief.

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

Blame Biden Becomes GOP Strategy To Hide From Failure

Cliff Schecter — Fri, 31 Jul 2026 12:00:01 +0000

The Republican Party is now trying to accomplish something unheard of in Western civilization – hold power indefinitely while accepting responsibility for absolutely nothing. Including massive infighting that has pitted numerous Senators against Trump, with John Thune even taunting him.

The GOP has been in control of the U.S. House for nearly four years and the Presidency and Senate for nearly two. And yet the Republicans are going into the midterms blaming the ongoing economic problems on Joe Biden, not on Trump’s tariffs, corruption, and wars.

Recently, on Fox Business News, Pat Fallon (R-TX) answered a question about the affordability crisis and energy shocks by declaring, “Sure, Joe Biden and the democrats did that. Affordability takes a few years to kick in.” Huh? At the end of Joe Biden’s term, inflation stood at 3%. Now, under Trump, inflation stands at 3.5%. In May under Trump, inflation reached a three-year peak of 4.2%.

The First Quarantine In History Began During The 'Black Death' Plague

John Amato — Fri, 31 Jul 2026 00:34:19 +0000

The Black Death's first blow started in 1348 in Ragusa, we now call Dubrovnik, spreading to all of Europe.

Britannica:

On this day in 1377, the lawmakers there instituted the first quarantine in the world.Anyone arriving from a plague-stricken place would be stopped at the gate and made to sit 30 days (later extended to 40) in isolation, either on the nearby uninhabited island of Mrkan or in the town of Cavtat, before stepping inside. Ships likewise were made to anchor off the coast to be sure the crew and their goods were not infected. Residents were barred from visiting them.

The order was copied into the city’s lawbook, the Liber Viridis, or “Green Book,” which still survives in Dubrovnik’s archives. The word still survives too: quarantine from quaranta, Italian for 40.

I try to find different things to post in our late night open thread.

Open thread.

Trump Vowed Private Donors Would Pay For Freedom 250; Taxpayers Just Got The Bill

Conover Kennard — Thu, 30 Jul 2026 23:24:52 +0000

Turns out "Freedom" isn't free — and neither is Trump's sparsely attended 250th anniversary bash.

The Department of the Interior is going back to Congress with its hand out again, this time asking for another $10 million to cover costs from this summer's Freedom 250 festivities: a Christian prayer service, the Great American State Fair, and the July 4th fireworks show that tried (and failed) to set a world record. That's on top of the $150 million Congress already handed over — money the administration swore private donors would supplement.

Instead, taxpayers are footing more of the bill. According to Oregon Senator Jeff Merkley, the top Democrat on the Senate Appropriations subcommittee that oversees National Mall funding, the administration first tried to slip the request into a more extensive stopgap spending bill without specifying an amount, The Independent reports.

When his office pushed for details, officials gave one explanation to his staff — routine National Park Service costs — and a different one entirely to the Washington Post, which reported the request needed to cover "elevated security" after several high-profile incidents in D.C., including an attack at the White House Correspondents' Association dinner and vandalism around the Mall.

Republican Lawmaker Wants To Ban Yoga Pants From Congress

Chris capper Liebenthal — Thu, 30 Jul 2026 23:24:44 +0000

Rep Drunken Van Orden (MAGA-corner bar) apparently believes his own bullshit and thinks that everything is going swimmingly, so he has time to worry about what Congresswomen are wearing on the floor of the House:

Yoga Pants should be BANNED on the House Floor says Rep Van Orden pic.twitter.com/kNyFuJQPin

— CHARLIE COTTON (@hicharliecotton) July 26, 2026

DVO said that he is against yoga pants because they are too casual and that there should be more respect for the Institution.

Well, the good news is that if DVO doesn't like yoga pants in the House, he doesn't have to wear yoga pants in the House. I'm sure all of his colleagues would be grateful if he didn't wear them.

However, if he is worried about showing respect for the institution of Congress, maybe he shouldn't be wandering the halls, drunk as a skunk, screaming at teenage pages. Just saying.

Ingraham Brings On Dr. Death To Smear Fauci After Rand Paul Witch Hunt

Heather — Thu, 30 Jul 2026 23:24:39 +0000

Rand Paul's perjury trap failed miserably, but that won't stop the liars on Fox from continuing to smear Dr. Anthony Fauci. Laura Ingraham, who was sitting behind Fauci during yesterday's farce of a hearing mugging for the camera, brought on Trump's former unqualified COVID advisor, Scott Atlas, to weigh in on the debacle, and Atlas once again attacked Fauci for heaven forbid trying to keep people alive during the pandemic.

INGRAHAM: Here to react is Dr. Scott Atlas, former special advisor to President Trump, former member of the Trump COVID Task Force.

Doctor, you warned early on that the lockdowns, the closures, the mandates would inflict enormous damage to the country, but you still believe Fauci is hiding more information from the American people.

ATLAS: Well, I think he's certainly hiding what he said to the people to get... coerced, really, scientists to write that it couldn't have been from the, you know, the lab leak because of course he signed off on grants.
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Republican Lawmaker Discovers A New Conspiracy Theory: The BLT Sandwich

Conover Kennard — Thu, 30 Jul 2026 19:30:03 +0000

Virginia GOP Rep. John McGuire appeared on Newsmax following Dr. Anthony Fauci's roughly three-hour hearing before the Senate Homeland Security Committee on Wednesday, which left Sen. Rand Paul going full crazy pants on the government's former top infectious disease expert.

McGuire rambled that vaccines supposedly contain "human fetus baby parts" — apparently by way of something he called a "BLT sandwich" — and grumbled that ivermectin should've been used instead, tossing in a vague accusation that Big Pharma is just profiteering.

Then he somehow pivoted to a separate matter: someone - presumably Fauci - facing possible contempt charges (a fine up to $100,000 and up to a year in jail), which he argued isn't a stiff enough penalty. He also echoed Senator Rick Scott's claim that the person in question is dodging accountability by hiding behind what Scott called a "fake auto pen pardon" — and said he hopes to see "accountability and justice" served.

"I don't know if you heard about the BLT sandwich using human fetus baby parts in the vaccine when they could have used ivermectin, but maybe they're helping the big pharma get rich," McGuire insisted.

J.D. Vance Got Scolded Like A Toddler By Netanyahu In Private Confrontation

Andrea Thompson — Thu, 30 Jul 2026 19:16:36 +0000

In recent weeks, Vice President J.D. Vance took a break from holding down the couch in the Oval Office and actually formed a big-boy opinion, all on his own.

Unfortunately for him, that opinion was not well received by his real boss, Benjamin Netanyahu.

According to new reporting from Axios, Vance earned himself a stern talking-to in a private confrontation with the Israeli prime minister after the US vice president had the nerve to publicly criticize Israel's government. Officials with both the United States and the Israeli government have confirmed that the pair had a one-on-one meeting at Blair House, described as candid but "direct," following months of Vance's increasingly public disagreement with Netanyahu over US policies toward Iran.

In June, Vance publicly chastized Israeli officials for criticizing the agreement Trump had struck with Iran, stating that Israel essentially had no business "attacking the only powerful ally" that the country has "anywhere left in the entire world" -- implying that the US is all Netanyahu's got and he damn well better be grateful.

At the time of this statement, the Israeli prime minister publicly pushed back, stating that Israel has "many friends," effectively undermining Vance's implication that the US is an island of support for his country.

Weak Trump Lays Foundation For Withdrawing Blanche Nomination

Conover Kennard — Thu, 30 Jul 2026 17:30:54 +0000

Donald J. Trump unleashed a perfect example in saying, "I am in control" while doing the opposite on Truth Social. Trump opened by canonizing Blanche as a "STAR" and a potential all-time-great AG — for a job Blanche doesn't currently have and, per his very post, isn't getting anytime soon.

Then comes the real tell: Trump claims he "refused to endorse" Cornyn and Thom Tillis and that he personally "ended" their political careers. This is backward. Cornyn is the one holding Blanche's nomination hostage right now — the guy with actual leverage — and Trump's response is to retroactively claim credit for a primary loss as if it were some 4D chess move, rather than admit two sitting Republican senators are just ignoring his stupid ass.

Then there's this gem: "Todd's name" can be "withdrawn" and Blanche will just stay Acting AG indefinitely, then get "put back" once Cornyn and Tillis are "out of office."

That's not a threat; that's a concession speech, Mr. President, sir. He's basically saying "if I don't get my way, we'll just leave the DOJ leadership in a legally ambiguous holding pattern until my problems retire," which is a wild flex for a guy who's supposedly still running Washington.

Meta To Use Newsmax Propaganda As AI News Source

NewsHound Ellen — Thu, 30 Jul 2026 17:19:50 +0000

Thanks to the Meta/Newsmax deal your next Facebook, Threads or Insta search may bring you AI “answers” straight from the same Trump propagandist network that recently paid out $67 million for promoting 2020 election lies. That was a year after it reportedly paid out $40 million to settle another lawsuit over the same lies.

A press release from Newsmax announced, “Under the agreement, Meta will have access to Newsmax's digital news content. Meta will be able to draw upon Newsmax's significant current reporting as well as archived content across its platforms to support AI queries across Meta's apps and devices.”

Mark Zuckerberg seems to be paying big bucks for the privilege of shoving untrustworthy material down Meta users’ throats. The press release further states, “Newsmax applauds the significant resources Meta is putting into AI to keep America at the forefront of this emerging technology," commented Chris Ruddy, CEO of Newsmax. "We are pleased to work with Meta to help ensure users have access to timely, high-quality journalism through AI technologies."