Jon Stewart could only laugh as he watched a Fox News host try to refocus President Donald Trump during a phone interview that was supposed to be about the late Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC).

Graham, 71, died suddenly of an aortic dissection on Saturday.

On Monday’s edition of The Daily Show, Stewart aired a montage of Trump reacting to Graham’s death in multiple phone interviews with news organizations. During some of those interviews, the president roasted the dead senator.

Trump recalled the time in 2016 when Graham ran against him in the Republican presidential primary and vehemently opposed him for a time before becoming one of his staunchest allies in the Senate.

“He was totally against me,” Trump told the hosts of Fox & Friends on Monday. “That didn’t work out too well.”

Elsewhere during the interview, the president said, “He was a total workaholic politician. You know, some people don’t call that work. Some people call that a lot of talking.”

“It takes a lot of balls for Donald Trump to gently roast someone for yapping too much,” Stewart reacted. “He’s the one who toasted his friend on Meet the Press, CNN’s State of the Union, Fox & Friends. Trump was everywhere, remembering Lindsey Graham, even when the host appeared to not want him to.”

Stewart then played a clip of Trump’s Fox & Friends interview, in which co-host Lawrence Jones repeatedly tried to redirect the president away from false claims of election fraud by asking him about the phone call between Graham and Trump just hours before the senator’s death:

TRUMP: These people suffer from a very fine disease known as Trump derangement syndrome. And yeah, he was seeing that. And–

JONES: Mr. President, did you notice any–

TRUMP: –he’s really come a long way terminating the filibuster.

[…]

JONES: But Mr. President, did you notice anything different?

TRUMP: Look at California. Millions and millions of ballots. It’s impossible… They didn’t know in two weeks. They let it be known an hour later–

JONES: So, Mr. President–

TRUMP: –that Steve Wilton– Steve Hilton had–

JONES: So, Mr. President, real quickly, did you notice anything different from Lindsey–

TRUMP: And he’s gonna be in the runoff.

JONES: –on the phone?

TRUMP: These elections are very dishonest.

“Oh, no, I’m sorry, Mr. President,” Stewart said, pretending to be Jones. “The TV station’s going through a tunnel! Boop.”

Watch above via The Daily Show.

The post Jon Stewart Cracks Up as Fox News Host Fails to Redirect Trump During Wild Rant first appeared on Mediaite.

Daily Show host Jon Stewart aired a montage of President Donald Trump roasting former Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), who died suddenly at age 71 on Saturday from an aortic dissection.

Graham vehemently opposed Trump during the 2016 Republican presidential primary, when Graham was also a candidate. Eventually, the senator became one of Trump’s staunchest supporters. Immediately after the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, Graham said on the floor of Congress, “Count me out.” However, within weeks, Graham was back in Trump’s corner.

On Monday, Stewart said he had met Graham on Capitol Hill.

“But I didn’t know him particularly well,” the host said. “So I’ll let Lindsey Graham’s best friend memorialize the late senator.”

He then aired a clip of Trump on Fox & Friends from earlier that morning.

“He was a great guy and he was a friend,” Trump said. “He would call me all the time. He would just– I’d say, ‘Stop calling me, Lindsey.'”

The clip ended and Stewart said, “Obviously, he’s just opening the eulogy on a lighthearted note. I’m sure the poignancy follows.” He then aired snippets of Trump phoning into various news shows to talk about Graham’s death:

TRUMP, speaking to Fox News: He loved playing golf. He loved being outside…

He wasn’t that he was a great striker of the ball…

He wasn’t exactly a perfect– he wasn’t Jack Nicklaus.

He was not Tiger [Woods]… He was totally against me.

He said, “I’ll get you in South Carolina [in the 2016 Republican presidential primary]. “I’m going to get you in South Carolina.” That didn’t work out too well.

TRUMP, speaking to CNN: It was a nasty campaign. He was tough and nasty…

I wanted to see the war with Ukraine end very quickly. I think he was more into, you know, keeping it going, frankly.

TRUMP, speaking to Fox News: He was a total workaholic politician. You know, some people don’t call that work. Some people call that a lot of talking.

“Well,” Stewart replied. “I think the president has zoomed through the first five stages of grief and gone straight to number six: f*ck that guy.”

On Monday, South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster (R) appointed Graham’s sister, Darline Graham Nordone (R), to finish out the term, which expires in January. An Aug. 11 special election will determine which Republican will face off against Democratic nominee Annie Andrews, a physician.

Watch above via Comedy Central.

The post Daily Show Airs Montage of Trump Roasting Lindsey Graham After Senator’s Death: ‘I’d Say, Stop Calling Me’ first appeared on Mediaite.

Screenshot via @FreddyLA7 on X.

“Freddy,” the German tourist who went viral for his awestruck posts extolling the delights of American cultural institutions like Waffle House and Buc-ee’s as he travelled the country for the World Cup, has returned to social media after a brief hiatus, just in time for the semi-final matches.

Along with Scotland’s Tartan Army, the Norwegians with their Viking rowing chant, and Europeans absolutely losing their minds with a newfound addiction to ranch dressing, Freddy is one of many World Cup foreign tourists who captured American hearts with his posts and he and two friends traversed the country.

The German’s enthusiasm for American sports, fast food, and music racked up hundreds of thousands of followers, drew the attention of celebrities and politicians, and led to invitations and meet-ups with country singer Ella Langley, former Houston Texas player J.J. Watt, Houston Mayor John Whitmire, and multiple professional sports teams — plus lots of complimentary snacks and swag. Germany’s loss during the Round of 32 didn’t end Freddy’s travelogue, as he had booked travel for the duration of the tournament.

File this under the “This Is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things” Department: Freddy soon found himself the target of backlash and conspiracies after political commentators promoted his posts to make partisan arguments. Freddy was accused of faking his guileless enthusiasm for America and being a MAGA plant, some sort of psyop, or secretly on the payroll for some elaborate product marketing scheme.

Online sleuths combed through years of his past posts, arguing that he had misled his followers about not visiting the U.S. before. To be fair, that was not a claim Freddy himself had made but an incorrect assumption by some media and people who shared his posts, and he pointed out that while this was not his first visit to the States, this is a huge and diverse country and it was his first time visiting many areas, especially Southern small towns.

Freddy deactivated his account on X amid the backlash, but has now returned, posting a long explanation on his account, explaining that he had left because “things became increasingly toxic.”

“For some people, it’s unfortunately unfathomable that a good story can exist without some kind of hidden agenda behind it,” he wrote. “There was even a Reddit group going through my entire account trying to find anything they could use to reveal my identity.” Throughout his posts, Freddy has avoided showing his face or his friends’ faces, either through the camera angle or by adding emojis to the photos.

He continued, saying that he knew it was “only a small percentage of people,” but the attacks “became exhausting.”

However, the “many kind messages” he received from people who told him they “genuinely enjoyed following” his travels made him change his mind.

“Some people even told me that their grandparents regularly ask them, ‘What are the Germans up to today?’ I think that’s really cool,” he wrote. “I decided to continue because I realized that the overwhelming majority of people loved following along. A small group of very loud people shouldn’t be able to ruin something that brought so many others joy.”

He then addressed one of the key criticisms about his past travels to the U.S.:

I also want to clear something up, as people who follow me on Instagram already know.

I’ve been to the United States before. This is not my first visit, and I’ve never claimed that it was. The last time I was here was in January 2022, when I visited New York and Philadelphia.

A lot of people shared my Raising Cane’s post from November 2025 to make it look like I was secretly American. That post wasn’t from the United States, it was from my trip to Saudi Arabia.

This is my first time back in the U.S. in more than four years, and apart from Boston, I’d never visited any of the places we’ve been to on this trip before. That’s probably why many people assumed it was our first time in America, because for all of these places, it actually was.

And let me tell you, Ohio and Alabama are very different from New York City or Los Angeles.

Freddy posted a few other updates Monday as he drove through Tennessee and North Carolina.

The World Cup semi-finals start Tuesday with France and Spain battling it out in Dallas, then England and Argentina face off in Atlanta on Wednesday. A third place play-off is scheduled for Saturday, July 18 in Miami and the final game for the coveted trophy will be Sunday, July 19 at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

The post German World Cup Fan ‘Freddy’ Returns to Social Media After Break From ‘Increasingly Toxic’ Trolls first appeared on Mediaite.

AP Photo/Lauren Victoria Burke; Photo provided by Sen. Mitch McConnell’s office.

The Washington Post got one of its interns to fact-check a photo of Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) holding the paper’s sports section amid continuing “online speculation” about his health.

The 84-year-old senior senator from Kentucky is retiring, having announced in February 2025 that he would not be running for re-election. He has served in the Senate since 1985 and is currently in his seventh term, making him Kentucky’s longest-serving Senator. McConnell spent years as both Senate Majority and Minority Leader as the Republicans’ electoral fortunes waxed and waned. In 2024, he stepped down from his party leadership role and was replaced by Sen. John Thune (R-SD).

McConnell has been hospitalized for several weeks. Several Republicans have said they have spoken to him on the phone, but rumors and conspiracy theories have flourished online as he has remained out of the public eye. Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear (D) has repeatedly called for McConnell to provide a full update on his health to “end the crazy speculation.”

In the meantime, the senator’s office has released several statements and then on Sunday, a photo of him in the hospital with his wife, former Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao, by his side. In the photo, McConnell is smiling, wearing a button-down shirt and jeans, and holding a newspaper on his lap.

According to the statement released from his office, McConnell said he was “briefly unconscious” and then taken to the hospital, where he has been recovering and “deal[ing] with a mild case of pneumonia,” but he did not break any bones, have a concussion, heart attack, or stroke.

The newspaper in McConnell’s lap was quickly identified as Sunday’s sports section from the Post, but the “proof of life” photo did little to quell the chatter.

The Jeff Bezos-owned paper weighed in Monday with a report by Ben Bindlay, who is identified at the end of the article as “an intern on The Washington Post’s politics team, covering campaigns and democracy.”

Bindlay confirmed that the newspaper seen in McConnell’s photo was “The Post’s July 12 Sports section, featuring Chris Hacopian, the Washington Nationals’ selection with the No. 11 pick in this year’s MLB draft,” and included an image of the front page of the section.

Screenshot via The Washington Post.

The Post reached out to McConnell’s office to request a copy of the original photo, Bindlay wrote, and reviewed it Monday evening, finding that “its metadata appears to show it was taken Sunday.”

“An independent digital forensics expert also said there appeared to be no evidence that the image is fake,” Bindlay added, citing an analysis conducted by Hany Farid, a digital forensics professor at the University of California at Berkeley.

Farid “examined the photo and said there is no evidence that the image is fake or AI generated,” wrote Bindlay, and “said that neither McConnell’s nor Chao’s face looks suspicious, according to an analytical model he used to examine the image.” The professor also found that “the picture’s lighting is plausible and consistent,” and matched the image in the photo with the Post’s Sports section from Sunday.

Some of the social media posts that are fueling the speculation have included AI-generated changes, Farid told the Post, including alterations to the text that differed from the print copy, but the resolution was too low to read the text legibly in the original photo.

Far-right influencer and conspiracy theorist Laura Loomer declared in a tweet Sunday evening that the photo was “bullsh*t” and looked “AI generated,” accusing McConnell’s staff of being “liars.” When Bindlay reached Loomer by phone on Monday, he noted that she was standing by her accusations even though “she did not provide substantiating evidence.”

Bindlay addressed another conspiracy theory circulating online: that the photo of McConnell is legitimate, but is several years old.

“One viral post, with more than 4 million views, claimed without evidence that Sunday’s photo of McConnell is nearly identical to a photo of him from 2023,” he wrote, but “The Post could not find any such picture.”

The post Washington Post Gets One of Its Interns to Fact-Check McConnell Photo Showing Paper’s Sports Section first appeared on Mediaite.

AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster

Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) called out the ’20-minute’ phone conversations Republicans have held with Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and said those calls should be taken publicly.

McConnell, 84, was reportedly transported to the hospital via ambulance on June 14 after paramedics arrived at his home to assist someone unconscious from cardiac arrest.

While McConnell released a statement on Sunday in which he claims he was hospitalized due to a fall that rendered him “briefly unconscious,” he said he did not break any bones, have a concussion, tumors, hemorrhages, nor endured a heart attack or stroke. He also included a photograph from a hospital bed with his wife Elaine Chao sitting beside him. Some social media users and members of the press have questioned the photo’s authenticity.

Since McConnell’s hospitalization, a striking number of senior Republican figures and pundits have claimed they spoke to McConnell in nearly 20-minute phone calls.

Politico reported that Senate Majority Leader John Thune and Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso also spoke with McConnell for a similar, nearly 20-minute stretch.

Amid all the 20-minute call claims, Massie took to X to crack a joke: “I spoke to McConnell for about 20 minutes this morning. He said we should end the war with Iran, quit giving aid to Israel, stop spying on Americans without a warrant, and he’s really sorry about how my primary turned out.”

He continued the joke on Monday when Congressional reporter Pablo Manríquez asked him if he was convinced by McConnell’s photo.

“Well, you know I had a 20-minute conversation, nearly 20 minutes, with Senator McConnell,” Massie said. “And he said we should stop spying on Americans, quit bankrupting the country, and stop starting these new wars. And he expressed his sadness that I lost my primary.

Massie pointed out the coincidence of this plethora of timed conversations with McConnell.

“But it appears that a lot of people had those 20-minute conversations,” he said. “We just need to start having them publicly.”

The post Thomas Massie Calls Out the Many ’20-Minute’ Convos Republicans Have Had with Mitch McConnell: ‘Start Having Them Publicly’ first appeared on Mediaite.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent proudly showed Fox’s Jesse Watters a new $ 1 coin — complete with President Donald Trump‘s face on it.

In an interview from the Treasurer’s Office that aired Monday night, Bessent gave Watters a glimpse at the currency changes underway to celebrate America’s 250th anniversary. Among those changes are new paper currency touting Trump and Bessent’s signatures and the $1 coins with Trump’s headshot.

The coin Bessent showed Watters did not appear to be the 24-karat commemorative gold coin, approved by the federal Commission of Fine Arts in March, that features Trump from the waist up with his fists on a desk. Instead, it seemed to be the legal-tender coin intended for circulation to commemorate America’s 250th Anniversary.

Trump’s White House released candidate designs for that latter $1 coin in December 2025. To date, based on publicly available information, the semiquincentennial coin does not seem to have final design approval from the Commission of Fine Arts.

An 1866 law, the Thayer Amendment, prohibits the use of the likeness of any living person on U.S. currency, bonds or other notes. It came about after Treasury Department official Spencer Clark attempted to put his own image on banknotes to honor explorer William Clark. Apparently, the congressional bill for the note’s creation said it should honor “Clark,” so Spencer Clark took it to mean himself.

Additionally, the Presidential $1 Coin Act of 2005 states that a president must have been deceased for at least two years prior to being honored on a coin.

“As Treasury Secretary, I only have two mandates: The currency has to say, ‘In God We Trust,’ somewhere on it, and there cannot be an image of a living person,” Bessent told Watters as he attempted to make a distinction between the rules that apply to paper currency versus coins. “But, we have the president’s signature, which again, I think it is appropriate for the 250th. During that 150th, there was a Calvin Coolidge coin. So, we can put living people’s images on a coin.”

Watch above via Fox News.

The post Treasury Secretary Shows Off $1 Coin With Trump’s Face On It first appeared on Mediaite.

President Donald Trump offered quite the explanation for the sudden death of Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), who died on Saturday.

Graham, 71, died from an aortic dissection, which occurs when the aorta – the largest artery in the human body – endures a tear in the inner lining. That tear allows blood to leak into other layers and reduces blood flow to vital organs.

Trump joined Monday’s edition of Greg Kelly Reports on Newsmax, where the host asked if foul play may have caused the senator’s death. Specifically, Greg Kelly inquired about the possibility that Russian President Vladimir Putin had something to do with Graham’s death. Kelly noted that the senator had just returned from Ukraine hours before his death.

“Look, the Russians, they have a habit of poisoning people they don’t like,” Kelly told Trump. “And Lindsey Graham once called for Putin to be taken out. Do you have any suspicions or worries? Do you think we know the whole story about his death?”

Trump downplayed Kelly’s suggestion and explained what happened to the late senator:

Well, I think we do. We’ve had great doctors. And they talked about, you know, a certain part of his body literally blew up. And that’s a condition I believe his father had also. His father died very, very young from heart complications. And that’s what Lindsey had. And it’s something that’s, number one, it’s very tough to see. And even if you see it, it’s hard to fix, very hard to fix. And, you know, he had a problem with arteries and I thought it was like a 70% blockage. I said, “Lindsey, you’re gonna have to go and take care of that.” But this was not that problem. This was a different problem that wasn’t really related.

The president went on to add that he spoke with Graham hours before the senator died.

“But he just got back, and I said, ‘How are you doing?’ And he said, ‘Well, I’m doing good, but I’m tired.’ And within, you know, a short period of time after that call, he was gone. Amazing actually. But he was, I don’t think, you know, just to answer the conspiracy theory, I don’t know. I’d love to say yes, but I think he had some problems.”

On Monday, South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster (R) appointed Graham’s sister, Darline Graham Nordone (R), to finish out the term, which expires in January. An Aug. 11 special election will determine which Republican will face off against Democratic nominee Annie Andrews, a physician.

Watch above via Newsmax.

The post Trump Explains Lindsey Graham’s Cause of Death: ‘Part of His Body Literally Blew Up’ first appeared on Mediaite.

Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) said her split with President Donald Trump may mean the end of her political career, especially after she said she “got my butt beat” running for governor.

Mace was one of a handful of House Republicans last year to sign a discharge petition to force a vote on legislation that would compel the Department of Justice to release all of its files – unredacted except for victims’ names – on deceased sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein. The House passed the bill, as did the Senate. Trump signed the bill into law, even though he could have unilaterally released the files without Congress.

In May, Trump snubbed Mace in South Carolina’s gubernatorial campaign by endorsing Lt. Governor Pamela Evette. The next month, Mace finished the Republican primary in fifth place.

Mace, who is leaving Congress at the end of her term in January, appeared on NewsNation on Monday night, where Chris Cuomo asked if she will run in the special election to replace former Sen. Lindsey Graham (R), who died on Saturday, on the ballot. On Monday, South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster (R) appointed Graham’s sister, Darline Graham Nordone (R), to finish out the term, which expires in January. An Aug. 11 special election will determine which Republican will face off against Democratic nominee Annie Andrews, a physician.

“Will you run in the special election?” Cuomo asked.

Mace dodged the question, stating, “My focus right now is focusing on South Carolina.”

Cuomo then pivoted to her “righteous break” with Trump over the Epstein files, but noted that it could prove pivotal should she decide to run for Senate.

“But could that be enough to ruin your chances?” he asked.

“It may have ended my political career, Chris,” Mace replied.

“You said it,” the host responded.

Mace said she enjoys “calling out Democrats and Republicans alike,” though she added, “I got my butt beat in the governor’s race, ok? So, you know, those are all things that you sort of weigh.”

Watch above via NewsNation.

The post Nancy Mace Says Trump ‘May Have Ended My Political Career’ first appeared on Mediaite.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) said he was “hopeful” about passing a tough new Russian sanctions bill after the death of Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), saying it would be an “incredible legacy” to honor his colleague.

Graham, 71, passed away unexpectedly on Saturday. The preliminary cause of death was aortic dissection due to arteriosclerotic cardiovascular disease, according to a statement released by the senator’s office. His younger sister, Darline Graham Nordone, was appointed Monday by South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster (R) to finish Graham’s term.

The South Carolina senator was a staunch advocate for supporting Ukraine against Russia’s invasion, and the day before his death, he met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv.

Zelensky posted that he was “deeply saddened” when he heard of Graham’s passing and that he would “always be especially grateful” for the senator’s support.

Thune was on Monday’s episode of CNN’s Inside Edition to talk to anchor Dana Bash about Graham’s legacy, and she asked about some of Graham’s final public comments regarding a bipartisan agreement for a new Russian sanctions bill.

“Is that still going to happen?” asked Bash about the bill. “Will that package be put up for a vote to put more sanctions on Russia?”

“I certainly hope that we can get there to do that,” replied Thune. He added that the White House “obviously had been working closely” with Graham on these sanctions and there were Democrats who supported it as well, so he thought there was a version of the bill “that could get 80 to 90 votes in the Senate,” they just needed to “figure out exactly” what that would look like.

“Lindsey had been working that issue for a long time,” said Thune. “It’s one of those things he was very passionate about. He wants to see a free and independent Ukraine, as all of us do. And he was a big believer that economic sanctions are a huge tool for the president and his administration, for us to achieve that outcome.”

This sanctions bill was probably “in his last days, the thing that [Graham] cared the most about, in terms of an accomplishment,” said Thune, and he was “hopeful we can get that done.”

“So I’m hopeful we can get that done. It’s something we’ve been talking about for a long time.”

“It would certainly be an incredible legacy for him if in fact, we could find a path forward,” he concluded. “It’ll take Democrats and Republicans here in the Senate to do that. But I’m hopeful we can make that happen.”

Watch the clip above via CNN.

The post GOP Leader Thune ‘Hopeful’ Senate Will Pass Russia Sanctions Bill as ‘Incredible Legacy’ to Lindsey Graham first appeared on Mediaite.

CNN’s Kaitlin Collins confronted President Donald Trump about his administration’s ongoing bombing of Iran, asking whether the drawn-out conflict is “just the new normal for the American people.”

Trump accused Iran of violating the fragile ceasefire last weekend with attacks on a Cyprus-flagged container ship in the Strait of Hormuz, derailing all peace deal talks. In response, the U.S. resumed its bombing of Iran.

The president quietly submitted a letter to Congress on Friday to share that the war against Iran had officially resumed on July 7.

During a press conference from the Oval Office on Monday evening, Trump said he hadn’t reached the “conclusion” that a negotiated settlement is off the table, but insisted the U.S. will continue to attack Iran.

“We’re hitting them very heavy tonight, as you know,” Trump said. “We’re heading in. We have tremendous amounts of ammunition. We have numbers that we haven’t had in years, and we’re hitting them very hard. And it will continue, and we’ll see what happens.”

Collins pressed Trump on the timeline of the conflict.

“You noted that the United States is bombing Iran again,” she said. “I mean, you’ve been bombing Iran for months now. Is this just the new normal for the American people?”

Trump responded with an attempt to contrast the Iran War, which began on Feb. 28, with the Vietnam War.

“No, well, you know, we were in Vietnam for 19 years. We’re here for four months. So, I think we’ve done a lot. We’ve knocked out their Navy in a period of one month. We knocked out their Air Force. Their Air Force is nonexistent. We knocked out most of their missiles, most of their drones. We knocked out their drone manufacturing capability, about 92 percent. Their missile capability for manufacturing, we knocked out 89 percent. And they have a little capability, but they don’t have any capability for us. This is almost a military skirmish.”

He went on to slam former presidents, including George W. Bush, Barack Obama, and Joe Biden, for their handling of U.S. relations with Iran while praising his own negotiating prowess:

Now, with all of that being said, you have to get people that want to make something. We had a deal with them two days ago and then they said, ‘Oh, we can’t make that deal. We have to negotiate it further.’ And this is what they’ve done for 47 years. The difference is nobody negotiated like I do. And this should have been done by Bush and Obama and Biden and people before them, frankly. It’s 47 years they’ve been ripping off everybody and really hurting and killing thousands of people.

Watch above via CNN.

The post Kaitlin Collins Confronts Trump on Latest Iran Attacks: ‘Is This Just the New Normal?’ first appeared on Mediaite.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy tested the upper limits of sycophancy during an IndyCar event at the White House on Monday.

President Donald Trump hosted a trio of IndyCar drivers ahead of next month’s Freedom 250 Grand Prix in Washington, D.C. In January, it was first reported that Duffy had his sights set on the nation’s capital as a race venue. The course will take drivers around the National Mall. During the event, Trump watched as a pit crew quickly changed a racecar’s tires.

Speaking at the event, Duffy said tickets will be free for the Aug. 23 race, which is part of the administration’s commemoration of the 250th anniversary of the founding of the U.S. He praised the president for holding UFC fights at the White House last month and then thanked the drivers and pit crew for coming to D.C. Duffy then pivoted back to Trump:

“And again, just finally, Mr. President, thank you for your leadership,” the secretary stated. “You don’t do anything that’s small. Everything you do is big, it’s huge, it’s the best, it’s the greatest, whether it’s the UFC fight or an IndyCar race in the capital. We appreciate your leadership. America loves you. And thank you for making this happen.”

For what it is worth, Trump’s approval rating is hovering around 40%, with most Americans disapproving of the job he is doing.

Trump’s cabinet secretaries are no strangers when it comes to heaping plaudits on the president. His televised cabinet meetings are rife with cabinet members trying to one-up each other in their praise. In May, The New York Times published a report after analyzing dozens of hours of footage spanning 10 cabinet meetings. The publication found that one out of every six sentences praised the president.

Watch above via Fox News.

The post ‘America Loves You’: Sean Duffy Lays It On Thick, Tells Trump, ‘Everything You Do Is Big… Huge… The Best… The Greatest’  first appeared on Mediaite.

(Screengrab via X)

Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) sparked a firestorm of controversy over the weekend when he claimed he was “detained” by violent Israeli settlers, assisted by Israeli soldiers in the West Bank. During a contentious Fox News interview on Monday, Khanna was pressed hard on the facts surrounding his detention, including whether or not he was trying to pass through a restricted military zone without having coordinated his trip with local officials.

Khanna repeatedly said that the IDF and the Israeli ambassador to the U.S. were lying about the circumstances of his so-called detention and pointed Fox News viewers “to watch the videos that came out today” to see what happened to him.

“There’s a body cam video for one minute and 30 seconds by an Israeli citizen, Nadav Weiman,” Khanna added, saying it shows the IDF allowing his detention by the settlers.

And just as Khanna said, Weiman did indeed release a clip from his bodycam video, claiming it showed the detention. “The IDF is lying about the detention of Rep. Khanna,” Weiman wrote, adding:

I was on the ground with him that day, and my body camera captured us being detained by both settlers and Israeli soldiers. The IDF did not disperse the violent settlers, as they claim. They explicitly sided with them.

The only issue, at no point does the video show the IDF or the Israeli settlers detaining Khanna or anyone he is with – including progressive activist and failed congressional candidate Cameron Kasky. Settlers are clearly blocking the road ahead of Khanna’s minibus, and the video evidence does not dispute (or verify) his claims that the settlers kicked his tires and cursed him. But the video, which Khanna points to as the main evidence of his detention, certainly shows no such thing.

In the clip, Weiman, who is the executive director of the anti-IDF NGO Breaking the Silence, goes up to a young female IDF officer and, in a polite exchange, asks that the IDF remove the settlers from the road. The soldier says she would like to wait for the local police to come and deal with them as Weiman protests, saying that the inconvenience will make the congressman late.

Weiman claims to the two IDF officers that the U.S. Embassy had cleared Khanna to proceed, a claim that the U.S. Ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, said on Monday is not true. “He did not coordinate his visit with either the U.S. or the Israeli government,” Huckabee told SiriusXM radio. Another person in the video says that the police had already told Weiman that he was restricted from accessing the road.

The IDF said in a statement that they did eventually clear the road: “Earlier this week (Wednesday), a report was received regarding Israeli civilians who were unlawfully blocking the vehicles of foreign nationals and members of the media in the area of Khirbet Zanuta, within the Judea Regional Brigade. Upon receiving the report, IDF troops were dispatched to the scene, quickly dispersed the Israeli civilians, and reopened the blocked road. The IDF soldiers operating in the area did not take part in blocking the road.”

The IDF’s version of events is similar to what the local police told the media. “Police said by the time officers arrived, IDF soldiers had halted the tour group’s progress in the restricted zone,” reported NBC News on the Israeli Police statement, adding:

Police said officers witnessed no violence during the confrontation, but said the tour group’s leader was warned he could be arrested. Tour participants were told civilians are not allowed there and then released, police said.

“A review of body-worn camera footage confirms that the group leader was explicitly warned by officers, as this was not his first time violating the Closed Military Zone order,” police said. “He was issued a final warning that any future violations would result in immediate arrest.”

While there is no doubt that Israeli settlers are carrying out atrocities against Palestinians living in the West Bank, Khanna’s story simply is not the drama he wants it to be and appears to simply be political grandstanding.

At most, Khanna and his allies are stretching the term “detained,” which usually involves some kind of physical restriction being imposed, to mean his minibus was not allowed to pass into a restricted zone. Anyone who has spent time traveling around Israel, the West Bank, or the Golan Heights knows that traveling in certain areas is heavily restricted, primarily to avoid provocations between the two sides and to also keep civilians and wandering tourists out of danger.

The IDF in this instance was never going to allow a sitting US Congressman to proceed further into an area where he could be attacked, something Khanna and those with him certainly understood. Khanna’s “detention” was the exact response he was hoping to provoke by entering a restricted area without official Israeli chaperones.

Independent journalist Jasper Nathaniel, who helped inspire Khanna’s trip, made a crack on social media to that effect: “If you are an American politician and would like to be held up by machine gun wielding settlers and soldiers, call me.”

Many of Khanna’s critics were also quick to point out that his “detention” in the West Bank came as he was facing an avalanche of criticism over his staunch endorsement of Graham Platner, who dropped his Senate bid after a rape allegation came to light.

While recalling his experience to the New York Times, he couldn’t help but boast of his presidential ambitions, “Free advice to the Israelis: It’s not a good idea to detain long-shot presidential candidates. Not how you’re going to build good will with the next American president, whoever that is.”

MS NOW columnist Michael Cohen jabbed Khanna over the sheer performative politics of it all, “So Ro Khanna manufactured this event, is according to several Israeli officials lying about what happened, and is trying to blame the entire state of Israel for it – and all because he thinks it’ll help his near-non- existent presidential aspirations with Israel-hating Democrats. The cynicism is off the charts.”

Unfortunately, settler violence in the West Bank should be a bigger topic of conversation in the U.S., and Democrats (and Republicans) who care about the issue should press the Israeli government harder to do a better job of cracking down on settler intimidation of Palestinians. But Khanna’s cynical self-serving trip and “detention” did little to draw attention to the real issues and will only spark a mini newscycle about him and whether or not he was really detained when all he had to do was turn his air-conditioned minibus around.

The post Ro Khanna’s ‘Video Evidence’ He Was Detained By the IDF Shows the Exact Opposite first appeared on Mediaite.

Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) said a source has told him that a photo of Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) released by his office to assuage concerns about the senator’s health is “an older photo.”

McConnell, 84, has been hospitalized since June 14. It was reported that paramedics were called to McConnell’s home that day to tend to someone unconscious due to cardiac arrest. The senator’s office refused to give any updates on McConnell until Sunday. In a statement, McConnell said he is hospitalized due to a fall. He added that he did not break any bones and did not endure a heart attack or stroke, though he did say he had a mild case of pneumonia.

The statement was accompanied by a photo of a smiling McConnell sitting up in a hospital bed with his wife Elaine Chao beside him. Some users on social media and members of the press questioned the authenticity of the photo.

Johnson joined Monday’s episode of The Balance on Real America’s Voice, where host Eric Bolling asked about the photo.

“I saw a picture that I’m not sure I believe is actually Mitch McConnell from the hospital after what I’ve heard and what I’ve seen,” Bolling said. “Do you believe Mitch McConnell is the one who said, ‘I’m ok. Here’s the picture of my wife, Elaine Chao and I’ in that hospital bed?”

Johnson replied:

Well, I just heard from some other source that was an older photo. So, I really don’t know. I haven’t talked to Mitch. I certainly wish he and his family well. I hope he can recover. It’s– listen. It’s sad to watch people age no matter who that person is. I’ve served with Mitch McConnell for 16 years. Obviously, I’ve disagreed with him on a host of things, but I also know he loves this country. He loves. He loves the Senate. He reveres the Senate. And so, again, I do try and put the best construction on things. I try and look for the best in people. Mitch McConnell also loves his country, so I wish him well. I hope he recovers. I hope he can come back and and contribute and vote with the president’s agenda.

McConnell’s health update came on the heels of the sudden death of Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), who died on Saturday at 71.

Watch above via Real America’s Voice.

The post GOP Senator Casts Doubt on Mitch McConnell’s Health: ‘I Just Heard From a Source…’ first appeared on Mediaite.

President Donald Trump said the U.S. Military will be striking Iran “hard” on Monday and Tuesday during a radio interview with conservative pundit Hugh Hewitt.

The president said because Iran violated the fragile ceasefire last weekend by attacking a merchant ship in the Strait of Hormuz, the talks of a long-term peace deal have been scrapped. Instead, the U.S. will bomb the enemy

“We’re gonna hit ’em very hard tonight, and we’re gonna hit ’em hard tomorrow,” Trump said. “And there’s not a damn thing they can do about it. They have nothing — they have nothing going except they have big mouths.”

Hewitt loved hearing it.

“Keep it up, Mr. President!” the Fox News contributor said.

Trump told him Iran is run by theocrats who are “stone cold crazy” — which he said has made it hard to hammer out a deal.

“We had a deal yesterday… these people are crazy,” Trump said a moment earlier. “We had a deal where we won everything, and they basically break the deal. To them, deals are made to be broken. They are extremely unreliable people, and frankly if they ever had a nuclear weapon they would use it within one day.”

Trump’s interview with Hewitt follows Iran firing on a Cyprus-flagged merchant ship on Saturday, which led to retaliatory strikes from the U.S. military. Iran claimed it was closing the Strait of Hormuz, but U.S. Central Command and Trump both said that was nonsense and that the U.S. was really in charge.

The president reiterated the U.S. was now the “GUARDIAN” of the strait on Monday morning.

Trump posted on Truth Social the blockade against Iranian ships is back on, while all other countries are free to enter and exit the strait. He said the second change is the U.S. will now be reimbursed “at the rate of 20% on all cargo shipped” through the strait, which Trump said is a matter of “FAIRNESS” because the United States is the country guarding passage.

Watch above.

The post Trump Reveals US Will Hit Iran ‘Hard’ Over The Next Two Days: ‘Not a Damn Thing They Can Do About It’ first appeared on Mediaite.

President Donald Trump will reportedly use his primetime address on Thursday night to push specific new claims that the 2020 election was stolen from him.

On Monday afternoon, Trump announced on Truth Social that he’d be giving a Thursday speech. The third-person post read:

Donald Trump will be making a Speech to the Nation on Thursday evening, at 9 P.M. Eastern. Thank you for your attention to this matter!

At the time, it was unclear what Trump would talk about during the speech. On Deadline: White House, MS NOW’s Nicolle Wallace revealed Trump’s speech would focus on the six-year-old election — citing a report from the network’s Jake Traylor. Specifically, the president will reportedly point to newly-declassified reports he claims will show foreign interference in the 2020 election. She added:

Donald Trump appears to be taking his assault on the truth, and democracy, and American elections, to primetime. MS NOW is now reporting that Trump will deliver an address Thursday evening where he plans to unveil another round of lies about why he lost in 2020 to Joe Biden. This time, claiming that newly declassified reports reveal foreign interference in that election that his own government didn’t know about at the time, lies that seemed to conveniently obscure that he was the President of the United States. All of his handpicked people ran every facet of the government in 2020. His handpicked Attorney General Bill Barr ran the Justice Department. His handpicked replacement for Jim Comey, Chris Wray, ran the FBI. Both of them have repeatedly and publicly debunked these lies that there was any foreign interference.

Watch above via MS NOW

The post Trump Will Use Primetime Speech to Claim Newly-Declassified Intel Reveals Foreign Plot to Interfere in 2020 Election: MS NOW first appeared on Mediaite.

Screenshots

President Donald Trump posted a lengthy Truth Social on Monday afternoon bashing Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-TX), a man he pardoned last December.

Cuellar filed for reelection as a Democrat shortly thereafter, saying he had no intention to switch parties, despite the unconditional pardons for him and his wife, Imelda, who were indicted in 2024 on charges of bribery, money laundering, and conspiracy.

Some seven months later, however, Trump decided to post his rant, and included a copy of the pardon request sent by the Cuellar’s daughters.

“Nobody knows Henry Cuellar better than Donald J. Trump,” the president wrote. “I studied his records, learned about his financing, and listened to his two wonderful daughters beg me to help the mother and father that they love. Their letters were heart wrenching and beautiful, but their father had problems that nobody could solve but me, and the daughters very correctly and respectfully knew that.”

Trump continued:

He and his wife were headed to jail for up to 20 years because he was “stupid” in what he did but, above all, because the Biden Administration practiced Political Weaponization on Cuellar and his wife because they didn’t agree with his policies on the Southern Border. He was a weak and incompetent version of me, who wanted the Border closed to criminals, drug dealers, people from mental institutions and, above all, murderers and heavy handed criminals that were sitting in jails and mental institutions, and should never have been given the right to be released into our Country.

Henry’s views on these subjects were not strong, but they were better than other Democrats. Biden and his crew of Radical Left Thugs did not like those things about Cuellar, and they worked hard, and expected to put him in jail for the rest of his life. Being an expert on Political Weaponization, based on what the Biden Losers had done to me, and without having ever met Henry Cuellar, and in particular because of the magnificence of the letter drawn by his daughters asking me to help “Mom and Dad,” I gave him and Mrs. Cuellar a full and unconditional Pardon.

Trump added, “In doing so, I never assumed he would be running for Office again, and certainly not as a Democrat, who essentially destroyed his life even with the Pardon given, but he did, and now, despite doing him by far the greatest favor of his life, 20 years of FREEDOM, I am fighting him for his seat in Congress because his views are not nearly as good or strong as Judge Tano Tijerina, who is much more powerful on the Border issue, cutting Taxes, our Military, and just about everything else than is Henry Cuellar.”

Although it’s not known what set Trump off, Cuellar did post to X on Monday demanding an investigation into the latest ICE-related killing in Maine.

—–

The post Trump Turns on Congressman He Pardoned in Wild Post: Despite Doing Him ‘The Greatest Favor of His Life’ I’m Now ‘Fighting Him!’ first appeared on Mediaite.

Darline Graham Nordone, the younger sister of the late Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) delivered an emotional speech Monday as she accepted an appointment to finish her brother’s term, saying she believed this is what her brother would have wanted.

Graham, 71, passed away unexpectedly on Saturday. The preliminary cause of death was aortic dissection due to arteriosclerotic cardiovascular disease, according to a statement released by the senator’s office. His little sister was only 13 years old when both their parents died within 15 months of each other and he became her legal guardian.

Under South Carolina law, Gov. Henry McMaster (R) has the power to appoint someone to finish Graham’s term, and on Monday, both President Donald Trump and Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) urged the governor to choose the senator’s sister. Multiple media outlets reported Monday afternoon that McMaster had indeed decided to appoint Graham Nordone; the announcement was soon made official.

In a press conference at the South Carolina Statehouse in the state capital Columbia, McMaster delivered some brief remarks in tribute to Graham, “this poor boy from a little town in South Carolina,” and said it was his “duty and honor to name someone to serve in the place of this irresistible man, this irreplaceable man, this extraordinary man, for the remainder of his term.”

McMaster said that Graham Nordone had “agreed to serve through tears” and he was “humbled by your quickness to see the duty that you had to serve.” The governor added that he had “called the president afterwards and he thought it was a great idea, and I’m sure that everyone here does as well.”

“Darline, little sister, come forward please,” McMaster introduced her as she stepped up to the microphone to deliver her remarks.

“Thank you, Governor, and just bear with me as I try to get through this, but first, I just want to say one thing I’ve never heard Lindsey described as is ‘irresistible,'” she said, drawing laughter from those gathered as she began her prepared remarks, her voice occasionally wavering with emotion:

First, I would like to thank everyone who has called and reached out over the past couple of days. I can’t tell you how much it’s meant to me and our family. I know Lindsey was loved and respected by many, and I greatly appreciate the memories and even the funny stories that have been shared. These shared experiences, along with our faith, have gotten us through these past two very difficult days.

Next, I want to thank the governor for selecting me to serve the remainder of Lindsey’s term. It is such an honor, Lindsey has always been there for me, and now I will be there for him.

My brother was the most amazing person, outstanding leader, and just a genuinely good man. He was kind and considerate and loved by his family dearly.

As I think everyone would agree, Lindsey worked harder than anyone. He worked nonstop to make our state, country, and world better. He loved his family and loved serving this state and our country. He dedicated his life to our country.

It is such a privilege to get to finish some of his important work, and I promise to work hard over the next several months to support the president and carry forward the efforts of my brother on behalf of the citizens of South Carolina and the United States.

I know Lindsey thought the world of his staff and colleagues, and with their support, I feel confident. I think this is what Lindsey would have wanted, and I plan to honor him in this way.

Now to Lindsey, I miss you more than I can even put into words, but I’m going to do this. I got it. Thank you.

Watch the clip above via CNN.

The post ‘This Is What Lindsey Would Have Wanted’: Graham’s Sister Emotionally Accepts Appointment to Finish His Term first appeared on Mediaite.

Alex Brandon/AP Photo

President Donald Trump wrote a letter to Congress on Friday notifying the body that the U.S. military had resumed its war against Iran as of July 7th.

CNN, Politico, and other outlets revealed the letter was sent late last week in reports on Monday afternoon. Politico noted that Trump’s letter is “giving his administration another 60-day clock to use the military in the region without congressional approval.”

Trump said the U.S. had resumed “defensive” strikes against Iran. “These strikes are limited, measured, planned, and executed in a manner designed to minimize civilian casualties,” Trump added in the letter sent to Senate President Pro Tempore Chuck Grassley (R-IA).

On Fox News Monday morning, Trump said that the U.S. will “take over” the Strait of Hormuz, the flashpoint that has led to the resumption of hostilities in recent days. Iran has attacked commercial vessels trying to transit the key energy hub in recent weeks, a violation of the ceasefire agreement reached between the two sides.

Trump also announced on Truth Social Monday that “The Hormuz Strait is OPEN, and will remain OPEN, with or without Iran.” In an eyebrow raising social media post, Trump added, “The U.S.A. will be, from this point forward, known as “THE GUARDIAN OF THE HORMUZ STRAIT,” but as such, and as a matter of FAIRNESS, will be reimbursed, at the rate of 20% on all cargo shipped, for any and all costs necessary to do the job of providing safety and security to this very volatile section of the World. The process and formation will begin immediately. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”

Trump has vowed to continue bombing Iran “hard” both Monday and Tuesday.

This is a developing story and has been updated.

The post Reports Reveal Trump Quietly Notified Congress US Is At War With Iran Again first appeared on Mediaite.

(AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

Louisiana rapper Boosie Badazz thought he’d been given a new opportunity this January, three years after he was arrested and charged with felony possession of a firearm. Boosie’s legal team told him that the two men he’d hired and paid $600,000 to get him a pardon from President Donald Trump had come through.

Unfortunately, it turned out that the men likely scammed Boosie out of his money, NOTUS reported in a lengthy feature Monday.

Boosie, who was born Torence Hatch, is suing Jacob Wohl and Jack Burkman. The men are described as “far-right political operatives and lobbyists at JM Burkman & Associates” by NOTUS, who also received the contract Boosie signed.

The paperwork appears to promise the rapper can receive at least half of his payment if the men fail to come through. But the contract was also improperly dated for 2025 and has several typos and other errors. JM Burkman & Associates also told NOTUS that “no provision to return half the fee was ever actually agreed to.”

The process of issuing pardons has typically fallen under the jurisdiction of the Department of Justice, but that’s not the case under the Trump administration. Now, “a handful of White House aides routinely guide who is considered for a pardon.” Trump has the final say in who is and is not approved.

These changes have altered the ecosystem in which pardons have existed. Now, people who have access to Trump—or, possibly, who can make it appear they do—can sell that access. Boosie first sought the help of Alice Marie Johnson, Trump’s pardon czar. He turned to Wohl and Burkman after he didn’t hear back.

The trio met up. “They were real aggressive, they were talking like they had Trump on speed dial,” Boosie told NOTUS. He signed a contract that he believed held a “provision that would allow Boosie to request a partial refund of the $600,000 fee if the lobbyists had not secured a presidential pardon by ‘close of business’ on Jan. 31, 2025″— a date NOTUS points out was already in the past at time of signing.

The pair also reportedly promised to get the help of Laura Loomer. When Boosie’s lawyer inquired about her effectiveness, they are said to have told him Loomer “is the person for the Jewish guys” and they’d tried to “rapper batch” the pardon “through the Black world.”

Boosie was under the impression a pardon was imminent as recently as New Year’s Eve, when Burkman texted it was “in hand and is ready to sign.” A White House aide told Boosie and his lawyer no pardon application had ever been filed in his name. His relationship with the pair ended this March.

Read the above at NOTUS.

The post Rapper Paid $600k to Two Men in Wild Scheme to Get a Trump Pardon: Report first appeared on Mediaite.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) choked up on the Senate floor Monday as he remembered his friend and colleague Sen. Lindsey Grahan (R-SC), who died unexpectedly over the weekend.

During his address, Thune said he relied on Graham for a “steady flow of humor and encouragement” as they served in the House of Representatives and in the Senate together.

“He always could make me laugh. Always,” Thune said.

“If there is any light to be found in this grief, it is this: That, as a Christian like Lindsey, I know that death is not the end,” Thune continued:

The Apostle Paul writes, and I quote, “Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope. For we believe that Jesus died and rose again. And so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him,” end quote. Or as another Graham once put it, and I quote, “Someday you will read or hear the Billy Graham is dead. Don’t you believe a word of it. I shall be more alive that I am now. I will just have changed my address. I’ll have gone into the presence of God,” end quote. I will miss Lindsey’s friendship, Mr. President, more than I can say. We pray for his staff and for his family, whom he loved dearly, and who loved him dearly in return.

“But I am comforted by the knowledge that in the end, he has just changed address, and that one day Mr. President,” Thune added while pausing to hold back tears, “we will laugh together again.”

A bouquet of white roses adorned Graham’s desk on the Senate floor that was draped in a black shroud.

Watch the clip above via NewsNation.

The post GOP Senate Leader Chokes Up in Emotional Senate Floor Tribute to Lindsey Graham first appeared on Mediaite.