Jake Tapper did not shy away from quoting President Donald Trump’s expletive-laden threat to Iran in a stunning moment on CNN Sunday.

At the outset of CNN’s State of the Union, Tapper quoted the president’s Truth Social post in which he threatened Iran’s civilian infrastructure if the Strait of Hormuz is not reopened by Tuesday.

“He has just threatened Iran in extraordinary graphic terms — giving the Iranian regime just over a day to either make a deal, reopen the Strait of Hormuz, or face hell,” Tapper said. “If your children are watching, be warned, the president did not use polite language.”

The CNN anchor proceeded to read the president’s post uncensored.

“‘Tuesday will be Power Plant Day and Bridge Day, all wrapped up in one in Iran,'” Tapper said, quoting Trump. “‘There will be nothing like it. Open the fucking straight, you crazy bastards, or you’ll be living in hell. Just watch.'”

Tapper followed his reading of Trump posts by stating Trump could potentially be committing a war crime if he were to carry out his threat — a position many international law experts have taken in recent days.

“We should note that destroying civilian power infrastructure is generally considered to constitute a war crime under international law, though the president could argue that the infrastructure has dual use and also is utilized by Iran’s military,” Tapper said.

Watch above, via CNN.

The post Jake Tapper Shares Trump’s ‘Extraordinary Graphic’ Iran Threat Fully Uncensored: ‘If Your Children Are Watching, Be Warned’ first appeared on Mediaite.

The panel of MS NOW’s The Weekend went off in what was a candid real-time reaction to President Donald Trump’s latest stunning threat to Iran.

In a fiery discussion shortly after 8 a.m. ET, Weekend hosts Jaqueline Alemany, Jonathan Capehart and Eugene Daniels — along with panelists Ankush Khardori of Politico and MS NOW’s Laura Barron-Lopez absolutely teed off on the president. The segment began with Daniels reading Trump’s Truth Social post uncensored.

“Open the fuckin’ straight you crazy bastards, or you’ll be living in hell!” Daniels said, quoting Trump. “Just watch! Praise be to Allah.”

Khardori was first to weigh in — and he did not hold back.

“It’s really difficult for me to process this moment,” Khardori said. “I mean, this is a very unprecedented statement. We have the President of the United States basically declaring his intent to commit war crimes, right? … You’re not supposed to be targeting civilian infrastructure, even in countries that you are nominally at war with. And this is just a further escalation of the Trump administration’s … lack of interest in domestic international law, right? It started with the boat strikes in the international waters, right? Then we got the deposing of the Venezuelan president. We had the war in Iran. And now this — which is disgraceful, absolutely disgraceful coming from our U.S. President. And the language is disgraceful. The claims are disgraceful…This is a historically terrible communication. This is the sort of thing, I hate to say it, that you would expect to be introduced in a war crimes tribunal in the future.”

Capehart followed up by questioning the president’s mental acuity.

“This right here from the President of the United States, were it anyone else, we would be talking about the 25th Amendment,” Capehart said. “People in Congress would be raising hell! And why do I get the feeling that neither one of those things is going to happen?”

Daniels focused on the language of Trump’s post — particularly in the context of it having been published on Easter Sunday.

“From the leader of the party of family, the leader the party of Christian values, that matters!” Daniels said. “And I think like the fact that we’re not going to see not just the Republicans that are in there, but folks around the country who say …all of these things about queer people, and how people getting married that are gay are ruining the country, and they don’t care about God and Jesus on Easter Sunday, this is what your president tweeted!”

Capehart closed out the discussion by observing that Trump’s motivation for his post, in part, may have been to get a rise out of the media — while conceding that the gambit worked.

“Yeah, he probably did that because he wants us to get angry, wants the media angry,” Capehart. “Well you know what? Yeah — I will speak for myself as a member of the media. I am angry! Because the president of the United States should not be speaking like this! Not to the American people, not to the wider public, and certainly not during a time of war! This is outrageous!’

Watch above, via MS NOW.

The post ‘Absolutely Disgraceful!’ MS NOW Hosts Go OFF in Candid Real-Time Reaction to Trump’s ‘Open the F*ckin’ Strait’ Post first appeared on Mediaite.

President Donald Trump speaks about the Iran war from the Cross Hall of the White House on Wednesday, April 1, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, Pool)

President Donald Trump issued a grave new warning to Iran — threatening to strike the country’s bridges and power plants if the Strait of Hormuz is not reopened by Tuesday.

In a wild Truth Social post early Sunday, the president demanded the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz — the all-important waterway through which much of the world’s oil supply passes — and vowed to go after Iran’s civilian infrastructure if the strait remains closed.

“Tuesday will be Power Plant Day, and Bridge Day, all wrapped up in one, in Iran,” Trump wrote. “There will be nothing like it!!! Open the Fuckin’ Strait, you crazy bastards, or you’ll be living in Hell – JUST WATCH! Praise be to Allah.”

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Trump has consistently threatened Iran’s civilian infrastructure in recent days — as he seeks the reopening of the strait in an effort to bring down the price of oil, which has skyrocketed since the beginning of the conflict.

“Our Military, the greatest and most powerful (by far!) anywhere in the World, hasn’t even started destroying what’s left in Iran,” Trump wrote on Truth Social Thursday. “Bridges next, then Electric Power Plants! New Regime leadership knows what has to be done, and has to be done, FAST!”

International law experts have warned that such an attack could constitute potential war crimes.

International law protects from attack objects indispensable to the survival of civilians, and the attacks threatened by Trump, if implemented, could entail war crimes,” a group of 100 experts warned in a letter published Thursday by Just Security.

——

The post ‘Open the F*ckin’ Strait, You Crazy B*stards!’ Trump GOES OFF in Wild New Threat to Iran first appeared on Mediaite.

newly-ousted Attorney General Pam Bondi got the coldest of cold open treatments to kickoff the latest episode of Saturday Night Live.

Bondi — portrayed by Ashley Padilla — was brought on for the last 90 seconds of a six-minute sketch which lampooned the crew of CBS/TNT’s March Madness studio show. Charles Barkley, who went viral for a pro-immigrant rant on the broadcast last Sunday, delivered a wicked parting shot to the attorney general.

“As Attorney General, Pam Bondi was — I don’t say this often — turrible,” said SNL’s Kenan Thompson as Barkley. “It is a shame when somebody gets fired. But we should all be glad that freckle-chested dragon lady is gone.”

At that point, Bondi crashed the sketch to defend against the attack from Barkley.

“I’m sorry, Charles, but I can’t let the lies you said about me go unanswered,” Padilla’s Bondi said. “The truth is, I was amazing at my job. I am proud to say I made history as the first woman ever to be fired as Attorney General. I shattered that glass exit door!”

Bondi was promptly shown crying about her misfortune — and about the reported glee amongst some at the DOJ over her departure.

“They threw my headshot in the trash like it was the Epstein files!” Bondi said.

The attorney general was not the only recently-ousted member of President Donald Trump’s cabinet to catch some flak in Saturday’s cold open. Former DHS Secretary Kristi Noem was the target of a jab from Barkley over the viral photos that showed Noem’s husband, Bryan Noem, wearing women’s clothing and large fake breasts.

“[Her] husband looks like he’s starring in Big Momma’s House 4!” Thompson’s Barkley cracked.

Watch above, via NBC.

The post ‘I Shattered That Glass Exit Door!’ SNL Gives a Frosty Sendoff to ‘Freckle-Chested Dragon Lady’ Pam Bondi first appeared on Mediaite.

President Donald Trump early on Sunday morning celebrated the “miraculous” rescue of the second crew member from the F-15 fighter jet who was shot down in Iran on Friday, with the president saying U.S. special forces pulled off “one of the most daring” missions in American history to make it happen.

“WE GOT HIM!” Trump exclaimed at the start of his Truth Social announcement.

The president said the solider landed behind enemy lines in the mountains of Iran and was being “hunted down” by the country’s theocratic regime while his cabinet — including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth — have been planning his rescue. Trump said the soldier is now “SAFE and SOUND” after he ordered dozens of aircraft to go in and save him.

“He sustained injuries, but he will be just fine,” the president said.

Trump added no American troops were killed or hurt in the rescue operation and that this was the “first time in military memory” that two American pilots were saved deep inside an enemy country in two separate missions. The successful rescue comes after the other crew member was saved on Friday.

Read Trump’s pull post below:

WE GOT HIM! My fellow Americans, over the past several hours, the United States Military pulled off one of the most daring Search and Rescue Operations in U.S. History, for one of our incredible Crew Member Officers, who also happens to be a highly respected Colonel, and who I am thrilled to let you know is now SAFE and SOUND!

This brave Warrior was behind enemy lines in the treacherous mountains of Iran, being hunted down by our enemies, who were getting closer and closer by the hour, but was never truly alone because his Commander in Chief, Secretary of War, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and fellow Warfighters were monitoring his location 24 hours a day, and diligently planning for his rescue.

At my direction, the U.S. Military sent dozens of aircraft, armed with the most lethal weapons in the World, to retrieve him. He sustained injuries, but he will be just fine. This miraculous Search and Rescue Operation comes in addition to a successful rescue of another brave Pilot, yesterday, which we did not confirm, because we did not want to jeopardize our second rescue operation.

This is the first time in military memory that two U.S. Pilots have been rescued, separately, deep in Enemy Territory. WE WILL NEVER LEAVE AN AMERICAN WARFIGHTER BEHIND! The fact that we were able to pull off both of these operations, without a SINGLE American killed, or even wounded, just proves once again, that we have achieved overwhelming Air Dominance and Superiority over the Iranian skies.

This is a moment that ALL Americans, Republican, Democrat, and everyone else, should be proud of and united around. We truly have the best, most professional, and lethal Military in the History of the World. GOD BLESS AMERICA, GOD BLESS OUR TROOPS, AND HAPPY EASTER TO ALL!

Trump’s post came shortly after Fox News chief national security correspondent Jennifer Griffin reported the crew member had been saved in a “complex, layered mission.”

Axios reported the second crew member was rescued around the same time as Griffin.

“The crew member, a weapons system officer, was wounded after ejecting from the aircraft on Friday but could still walk, and evaded capture in the mountains for more than a day,” Axios political reporter Barak Ravid wrote.

Ravid later reported the C.I.A. threw off the Iranians by launching a “a deception campaign spreading word inside Iran that U.S. forces had already found him and were moving him on the ground for exfiltration out of the country.” The C.I.A. then used its “unique capabilities” to locate the troop in the mountains, with one senior Trump official telling Ravid it was the “ultimate needle in a haystack.”

Griffin reported the troop used “SERE (Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape) training to evade capture, hiding on an elevated ridge after hiking away from the wreckage and putting out an emergency beacon.”

The rescue of the second crew member comes 36 days after Operation Epic Fury began.

Watch the Fox News report above.

The post ‘WE GOT HIM!’ Trump Celebrates ‘Miraculous’ Rescue of Second F-15 Crew Member Who Was Shot Down in Iran first appeared on Mediaite.

Fox News hosts on The Big Weekend Show took on a viral chart designed to tell a person’s political ideation by their hairstyle on Saturday.

“According to a chart that’s going viral, longer hair, man buns, and blue dye are associated with being on the left, while slicked-back and buzz cuts are on the right,” guest co-host Tom Shillue said. “Unfortunately for bald men, they are on the fascism spectrum, while one needs a Kim Jong Un haircut to meet the communism criteria.”

“Blue hair, that signals left to me,” Shillue said and fellow guest host Lisa Boothe agreed, saying “exactly!”

“Yeah, blue hair, also a man bun,” Boothe said. “I’ve never met a Republican with a man bun, I think some of these, boom, dead ringer, you can call it immediately. Where it gets a little dicey is even with slicked-back hair, Gavin Newsom has the ‘greasy Newsom,’ he’s got the slicked-back hair and he’s a big liberal, a big lefty. So, that’s where things break down.”

Tomi Lehren offered up, “The female ones, I find easier to identify but normally it’s by body type and hygiene, so I would like to do a female segment of this maybe tomorrow on the Sunday show we can tackle that.

Lehren added, “I do believe when I see people, I can pick out pretty quickly if they are a lib or conservative. It’s usually pretty easy to tell.”

Shillue mentioned tattoos, saying, “generally, that seems kind of liberal to me, like you go into one of these coffee shop and they have a tattoo. But it could also mean like biker guy with tattoos, and he’s like a Trump guy.”

“But even with the women…they also have the nose thing,” Boothe said.

“It’s a septum piercing,” Lehren said. “It’s called the mark of the beast.”

“And I think they have harry armpits but we don’t always see that… Was it Kamala Harris’s stepdaughter, didn’t she have the harry arm —? And them they have the purple hair.”

Watch the clip above via The Big Weekend Show on Fox News.

The post ‘Never Met a Republican With a Man Bun’: Fox News Hosts Decipher Politics By Hairstyle first appeared on Mediaite.

“What exactly does Congress do these days?”

It’s a question a lot of Americans have on their minds lately, including Fox News contributor Lisa Boothe, who asked it to Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) when he appeared on The Big Weekend Show on Saturday.

Boothe said it appears lawmakers have “abdicated” most of their core responsibilities to the courts and the executive branch, resulting in Congress looking impotent as the ongoing partial government shutdown pushes into its second month. The shutdown has led to chaos at airports nationwide, with President Donald Trump recently deploying ICE agents to help with hours-long security lines.

Roy started off his answer by joking Boothe’s question reminded him of a famous scene from Office Space, where consultants are brought in to figure out what employees do. He then got serious, saying Republicans have done a “good job” in the House of Representatives moving legislation along — only for those bills to die in the Senate.

“The fact is, we aren’t getting the job done. Part of that is because we are bound by this big, broken, fake filibuster of 60 votes,” Roy said. “But part of it is you gotta have the willpower to do it. You gotta have 51 Republicans united in purpose in the Senate, and 218 in the House, to deliver.”

Roy continued, “The president is doing all of this great work delivering on his campaign promises. Congress needs to step up and get it done.”

Boothe asked the question as Congress is in the middle of a two-week Spring recess. Trump has been calling for Republicans in the Senate to “END” the filibuster in order to pass the SAVE America Act, which would require Americans provide ID to vote in federal elections.

CNN data guru Harry Enten recently reported voter ID is popular among both conservatives and liberals, with one poll showing 71% of Dems and 95% of Republicans supporting it.

Trump pressed Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) to get the SAVE Act passed last month, saying “he’s gotta be a leader” and find a way to get it through the Senate.

Watch above via Fox News.

The post Fox News Host Has a Direct Question for Republican Lawmaker: ‘What Exactly Does Congress Do These Days?’ first appeared on Mediaite.

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Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) posted a family photo from Disney World on Saturday — despite previously vowing in the press to boycott Disney for its “woke” policies.

In the post, Scott pre-empted gossip site TMZ, writing, “Hey TMZ. Yes, I’m at Disney with my grandkids. Should we be in DC? Yes! But I don’t get to make that decision.”

The post included a photo of Scott, his wife Ann, and their granddaughter.

TMZ covered the story with the headline, “In Your Face, TMZ!!! I’m at Disney World and Proud of It!!!” and called Scott’s move a “pretty good c**k block.”

“Unclear what changed — but it seems the senator came to an understanding with Mickey and decided he wanted to be part of his world again,” the article said.

It added, “True, the leadership told members to skedaddle out of D.C., but what about the last 2 months, when NO ONE would bend, no one would compromise, and the victims were the people who hadn’t gotten a paycheck in 6 weeks?”

Scott wrote an op-ed in the conservative Washington Examiner in 2022 titled, “No one wants a woke mouse in their house.”

In it, he wrote, “Disney used to be the happiest place on Earth, now it’s just woke central.” He argued, “Disney is mad that Florida will not allow teachers to talk to 5-year-olds about sex.”

“I’ve enjoyed taking my children and grandchildren to Disney World, and I really had no problems with Disney in my eight years as Florida’s governor. But now, just like many huge corporations in America, it’s going woke. It’s really a shame,” Scott wrote.

He added, “Maybe we should thank Disney for showing us who it really is. I’ll tell you one thing — I won’t be going back or watching Disney+ anytime soon, and I bet a lot more parents and grandparents are making that same choice.”

In 2022 Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) signed the Parental Rights in Education Act, also known as the “Don’t Say Gay” law. The Walt Disney Company came out against the legislation that limited discussions of sexual orientation and gender identity in schools.

Scott’s media tour at the time included Fox News, where he told Maria Bartiromo, “I got rid of my Disney+, I’m not planning on going back to the park. But these companies, it doesn’t make any sense. They sit here and criticize us in America, but then they’ll go to China, and it’s Okay that China puts a million people in prison for religion, takes away the basic rights of Hong Kong citizens…but then they want to criticize us for doing logical things.”

The post Republican Senator Outs Himself in Disney Photo After Vowing to Boycott ‘Woke’ Park first appeared on Mediaite.

Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) quipped God pulled an Easter week miracle by having President Donald Trump fire Pam Bondi as attorney general.

Jeffries joked about Bondi getting booted from the Justice Department on Saturday during an appearance on Don Lemon’s YouTube show.

“Does this give you some degree of satisfaction?” Lemon asked the House Minority leader.

“Well, this is Holy Week and vengeance is mine, saith the Lord,” Jeffries responded. That answer — referring to Romans 12:19 — cracked Lemon up.

“But as someone who grew up in the Cornerstone Baptist Church, we put these things in God’s hands, and it tends to work out,” Jeffries continued.

He then lambasted Bondi for a moment — and hinted Bondi and other Republicans could face legal consequences in the Democrats win more seats in the 2028 midterms.

Jeffries said:

Listen, Pam Bondi’s a disgrace. I mean, she violated her oath of office, weaponized the department of justice, as you very well know. She deserved it, she should have never been confirmed.

Shame on those Republican senators, but we’re going to hold her and others accountable, particularly in the aftermath of Democrats taking back control of the House in November.

The lawmaker was obviously referring to Lemon facing federal charges for his role in an anti-ICE protest that sabotaged a Minnesota church service earlier this year.

Lemon has said he was merely reporting on the protest, while prosecutors said he actively participated in it; critics have also pointed to footage showing Lemon handing out donuts and coffee to the protesters as a sign he was more than just reporting on the incident. The ex-CNN star pleaded not guilty to the charges against him.

Jeffries ripped Bondi two days after she was fired by Trump. Trump named Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche as acting attorney general right after, but it is unclear if he will keep the position long-term. CBS News reported on Saturday that EPA Administrator and former Republican congressman Lee Zeldin is one of the “front runners” to be the next AG, and the outlet reported Trump is debating making more changes at the DOJ soon.

Watch above via YouTube.

The post Hakeem Jeffries Suggests God Booted Pam Bondi From DOJ: ‘Vengeance Is Mine, Saith the Lord’ first appeared on Mediaite.

(AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

The Trump administration has filed an emergency appeal to continue building his $400 million ballroom, arguing that the structure’s completion is a matter of national security.

The 27-page motion filed Friday night in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit claimed that U.S. District Judge Richard Leon’s “shocking, unprecedented, and improper injunction” to stop construction would put the lives of Trump, his family, and White House staffers in danger.

In the motion, Justice Department lawyers wrote that the ballroom and its subsequent basement bunker, was necessary to defend Trump against “hostile attacks via drones, ballistic missiles, bullets, biohazards” and other potential threats.

“Time is of the essence!” the attorneys wrote.

Stopping construction by April 14, as ordered in the injunction, would leave “a massive excavation and structurally completed site adjacent to the now open and exposed Executive Mansion and threatening grave national-security harms to the White House, the President and his family, and the President’s staff,” the lawyers wrote.

Trump’s attorneys argued that The National Trust should have seen the ballroom project coming because it was all over the media, despite the fact that Trump began demolishing the East Wing of the White House without any consultation.

The injunction “could have been sought long ago, prior to the start of construction (in that there was full knowledge, through large scale media attention and publicity, that the White House ballroom was planned to be built, and there would have been a great deal of time for them to object, long before the start of construction, even though their objection would likewise have been baseless and frivolous),” the attorneys argued.

The motion gives some indication of the scale of Trump’s ballroom project, by mentioning that “the bomb shelters, hospital and medical area, protective partitioning, and Top Secret Military installations, structures, and equipment, are built and/or ready to be built, installed, and placed. ”

The filing comes after federal judge Richard Leon ordered Trump to halt building his much-publicized and much-criticized ballroom on Tuesday. Leon granted a request for a preliminary injunction by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, saying Trump cannot proceed with the project — — which Trump is funding via private donations and his own dough — until it is approved by Congress.

Trump railed against the injunction in a lengthy Truth Social post calling The National Trust for Historic Preservation, “a Radical Left Group of Lunatics.”

The post Trump Files Emergency Appeal To Keep Building His Ballroom, Claims It’s a Matter of National Security first appeared on Mediaite.

(AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, file)

Former Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George, who was ousted this week by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, sent a farewell letter declaring that the Army deserves “leaders of character.”

George has received heaps of support from military professionals stunned at his firing, as a senior Defense Department official told CBS News that the Army needed a “leadership change.”

The Hill confirmed that the email posted to Reddit’s Army page was legitimate, and was sent to a variety of Army staff including officers and generals.

Under the subject line “Thank you,” the email read:

Army leaders: I had the chance to speak with a few of you yesterday and wanted to follow up with a broader note of thanks to all of you for your support and exceptional teamwork while I served as the CSA.

As my time in the Army ends, I reflect on the immeasurable pride being part of the Army team has been for me these past 38 years.

I enlisted in the Army right out of high school and always made the decision to “stay another tour” because of the selfless people I was blessed to serve alongside.

It has been the greatest privilege to serve beside you and lead Soldiers in support of our country.

I know you’ll all continue to stay laser-focused on the mission, continue innovating, and relentlessly cut through the bureaucracy to get our warfighters what they need to win on the modern battlefield.

Our Soldiers are truly the best in the world – they deserve tough training and courageous leaders of character. I have no doubt you will all continue to lead with courage, character, and grit.

Patty sends her gratitude as well – she’s always been inspired by the strength of our Army families!

“This We’ll Defend”

VR,
Randy

Republican Rep. Richard McCormick (GA), a decorated Marine veteran, was stunned to learn of George’s sacking during a Newsmax interview Friday, saying he wanted to learn the reason why.

“I mean, Gen. George is a brilliant mind. I think Gen. George and Admiral [Samuel] Paparo are two of the brighter minds we have in the military. I’ve never heard him say anything contrary to what the president is trying to achieve. I thought he’s done a really good job of getting the army ready for war, so I’d like to hear more because that’s concerning to me,” McCormick said.

Hegseth, who attained the rank of major in the Army National Guard, has fired more than a dozen senior military officers since the Senate confirmed him to lead the Pentagon.

The post Former Army Chief of Staff Canned By Hegseth Pens Farewell Letter: Military Deserves ‘Leaders of Character’ first appeared on Mediaite.

(AP Photo/Alex Brandon, Pool)

President Donald Trump on Saturday afternoon posted a video of several missiles striking Tehran in a barrage he said “terminated” Iran’s top military leaders.

The clip — posted to the president’s Truth Social platform — showed half a dozen big explosions that lit up the pitch black Tehran night, followed by a few smaller explosions. A woman could be heard yelling after one of the strikes, and the faint sound of fighter jets whirring could also be heard in the 67 second clip.

“Many of Iran’s Military Leaders, who have led them poorly and unwisely, are terminated, along with much else, with this massive strike in Tehran!,” Trump captioned the video.

You can watch via the X post below:

Trump shared the footage a few hours after he warned Iran its “time is running out” to cut a deal or fully open the Strait of Hormuz. The president said Iran now has 48 hours left to get either done or the U.S. military will start striking the country’s power plants one by one.

“Hell will reign down on them. Glory be to GOD!” Trump posted.

Soon after that, Reuters reported Israeli is preparing to attack Iranian energy facilities “but is awaiting a green light” from the Trump administration.

Trump’s post about many Iranian military leaders being eliminated comes on the 35th day of Operation Epic Fury, which started with joint U.S. and Israeli strikes killing Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on Feb. 28. Dozens of other leaders from Iran’s theocratic regime have been killed since then, and Trump has recently quipped to reporters he does not want to reveal who he is negotiating with because he fears they will get wiped out in another strike.

There have been 13 American service members who have died since the war started, compared to about 3,500 Iranians. Despite the huge gap in casualties, critics like The Atlantic’s David Brooks have argued the U.S. is “losing every day” the war continues, with Brooks claiming NATO is in  “shreds” and world economies are “in crisis” during an appearance on PBS on Friday.

The post ‘Terminated!’: Trump Brags ‘Massive Strike’ Has Killed Iran’s Military Leaders first appeared on Mediaite.

(AP Photo/Alex Brandon, Pool)

The White House’s Rapid Response team addressed rumors circulating on social media that President Donald Trump must be incapacitated because of the early press “lid” called Saturday morning in the midst of the Iran war.

Trump did not make any press statements Friday following news of multiple American aircraft being shot down by Iran and the frantic search for one airman still missing. In addition, the White House declared a press “lid” at 11:08 a.m. Saturday, indicating there would be no updates because the president was engaging in “Executive Time.”

“Deranged liberals cook up insane conspiracy theories when @POTUS goes 12 hours without speaking to press,” read a post on the Rapid Response 47 X account. “(They said nothing when Biden routinely went 12 days without speaking to press).”

“Fear not! President Trump literally never stops working,” the account added.

White House communications director Steven Cheung also posted Saturday, “There has never been a President who has worked harder for the American people than President Trump. On this Easter weekend, he has been working nonstop in the White House and Oval Office. God Bless him.”

In addition, CBS News producer Emma Nicholson posted a photo to X, writing, “A Marine sentry is standing at the door of the West Wing as of 1:50pm, indicating the president is working inside.”

Shortly after the press lid was called Saturday, rumors circulated on X that something was afoot at Walter Reed Medical Center, and that must mean Trump was receiving treatment:

“There are some reports, some speculation and unconfirmed info coming in that Trump has been taken to Walter Reed Hospital – it is currently reported that roads around the hospital have been closed, and the White House announced that the President will not appear before the public today.”

“There’s a temporary flight restriction (TFR) for Walter Reed.”

“Speculation is rising that Donald Trump is at Walter Reed Medical Center.”

“There is growing speculation that Donald Trump is currently at Walter Reed Medical Center. Details are still emerging. Stay tuned.”

“There are credible reports that Donald Trump has been hospitalized.”

“The news about President Donald Trump being rushed to the hospital broke about three hours ago but several people are now sharing it.”

Trump’s account on Truth Social has posted several updates Saturday about Friday’s favorable jobs report, as well as several posts about Trump’s high approval rating among CPAC attendees, and threats to Iran with one ending, “Glory be to GOD!”

The post White House Addresses Trump Walter Reed Rumors on Social Media: ‘Fear Not!’ first appeared on Mediaite.

Podcaster and comedian Tim Dillon sported an impressive set of massive fake breasts while mocking former Department of Homeland Security chief Kristi Noem’s husband and railing against President Donald Trump.

Dillon cited the recent Daily Mail article that Bryon Noem, Kristi Noem’s husband, allegedly sported massive breasts when chatting with cam girls to satisfy a “bimbofication” kink.

Dillon revealed that he paid $200 for the H-cup breasts on Amazon, and expressed doubt that Kristi Noem knew nothing of her husband’s alleged dalliances.

“It’s hard to hide these t*ts,” Dillon exclaimed. “Waddaya, put em in a box underneath all the Christmas decorations?”

After removing the prosthetics, Dillon went after Trump and his $1.5 trillion request for defense spending.

“They want to convert the country into a war economy. This is what this whole thing is about,” Dillon declared. “It was about winning so that they could hand these government contracts to Palantir and all of these other companies and they could go and topple regimes all over the world and take their resources.”

He continued, “And it’s the complete opposite of what these people said. And by the way, you can’t ignore the Israel connection in this. You can’t ignore Netanyahu, and you can’t ignore the people that put Trump into office and the people that gave him lots of money.”

Dillon then cut to video of Trump claiming the federal government can’t pay for daycare or Medicaid because it’s funding wars around the world.

“It’s the greatest con in history,” Dillon said. “It makes Enron look like a guy doing three-card monte on the street. Anything that you can identify and remember as a complete and utter scam, this is the greatest con in history. To run as America first and you’re gonna take care of America — and then turn around and go, you know, ‘All of these things: daycare, Medicaid, Medicare, we have nothing to do with that. We’re fighting wars. That’s what we’re here to do.'”

Dillon added, “It is the greatest scam in history. And I gotta hand it to him, and I mean truly…this is the greatest about-face in political history that I have really ever seen.”

Watch above via The Tim Dillon Show.

The post Tim Dillon Mocks Kristi Noem Over Husband’s Alleged Antics While Dunking on MAGA: ‘The Greatest Con in History!’ first appeared on Mediaite.

(AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

President Donald Trump is debating whether to make more changes at the Department of Justice following his firing of Attorney General Pam Bondi this week.

CBS News reported on Saturday the president is “likely to make leadership changes involving two more top roles,” with Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward potentially being demoted and Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division Harmeet Dhillon being promoted.

The outlet noted Dhillon is a “staunch loyalist” to Trump, before adding the following on her tenure:

The Civil Rights Division has undergone a major shift under Dhillon’s leadership. More than 75% of its attorneys left over the past year, with most of them accepting buy-outs or early retirements, some due to concerns over new mission statements she issued for the office.

Dhillon has hewed closely to Mr. Trump’s policy directives, taking actions that have included launching investigations into diversity, equity and inclusion policies at universities, filing lawsuits to prohibit transgender athletes from playing on girls’ and women’s sports teams, and litigating against dozens of states in an effort to access unredacted copies of their voter registration lists.

Woodward, meanwhile, is the No. 3 official at the Justice Department. But his days could be numbered in that role, with CBS reporting “senior officials” are discussing whether to demote him.

The story — from senior White House reporter Jennifer Jacobs and senior justice reporter Sarah N. Lynch — said it was “unclear if finals decisions” have been made yet. It also did not mention what the key reason or reasons would be for demoting Woodward.

CBS pointed out “Woodward previously served as a defense attorney representing many prominent Trump allies in the past, including White House adviser Peter Navarro, FBI Director Kash Patel and Walt Nauta, who was charged by Special Counsel Jack Smith in the classified documents case.”

The report comes two days after Bondi was fired by Trump. Trump named Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche as acting attorney general right after, but it is unclear if he will keep the position long-term. CBS said EPA Administrator and former Republican congressman Lee Zeldin is one of the “front runners” to be the next AG.

The post Trump Reportedly Plots Bigger DOJ Shakeup After Bondi Ouster first appeared on Mediaite.

Fox News’ Rachel Campos-Duffy couldn’t help but editorialize on Saturday when she heard news of a Democrat senator targeting the TSA’s “shoes on policy.”

“What?!” Campos-Duffy exclaimed on Fox & Friends Weekend as Kevin Corke reported on the news.

Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) wants the TSA to reverse its decision to allow passengers to keep their shoes on while going through airport security screenings.

Duckworth noted reports that an inspector general red-flagged the shoes on policy after an audit.

The policy, the lawmaker claimed, is “outrageous, unacceptable and dangerous to the flying public.”

“At a minimum, TSA’s failure to swiftly implement corrective action warrants the immediate withdrawal of Secretary [Kristi] Noem’s reckless and dangerous policy that increases the risk of a terrorist smuggling a dangerous item onto a flight,” she wrote in a statement.

Corke reported on Saturday:

A Democratic lawmaker is demanding that TSA reverse its shoes-on policy over concerns it can poses a safety risk. Tammy Duckworth a argue some screening machines can’t detect threats hidden inside footwear like the ones worn by Richard Reid back in 2001, 25 years ago. It’s been nine months, by the way, since U.S. Airports started allowing passengers to go through scanners without taking off their shoes.

Reid was an Al-Queda member Reid who attempted to ignite explosives hidden in his shoes on a flight from Paris to Miami in 2001. He was ultimately subdued. This caused the original policy for passengers to remove their shoes at airports.

“I’m going to editorialize on this because I’m very passionate about it, Kevin” Campos-Duffy said about Duckworth’s proposal to go back to the original policy. “Not making us take off our shoes was the greatest achievement of Kristi Noem’s tenure at DHS, I’m sorry. It just is. It was — well, that and the border.”

“A lot of people would agree,” Corke said.

Watch above via Fox News.

The post Fox Host Can’t Help But Go Off on Democrat Fighting TSA’s ‘Shoes On Policy’: ‘What?!’ first appeared on Mediaite.

Former 60 Minutes correspondent Steve Kroft admitted to Bill O’Reilly that he “hated” his 30 season gig with CBS and he wouldn’t do it again if he had a do-over.

Kroft joined O’Reilly on the recently-launched We’ll Do It Live! podcast where the two press veterans discussed major moments from their careers, as well as their thoughts on where media stands today.

O’Reilly blasted the current state of 60 Minutes and CBS, which has gone through recent major changes under editor-in-chief Bari Weiss. One of those changes was introducing Tony Dokoupil to the anchor gig on CBS Evening News.

Kroft described his time with 60 Minutes as a “snake pit.” During his 30 seasons at 60 Minutes, Kroft won 11 Emmy Awards and five Peabody Awards. Kroft retired from the position in 2019.

He told O’Reilly:

I can remember when I was tapped to go to 60 minutes I thought this was fantastic and I expected a lot of people would just come up and say, that’s really great, I’m really happy for you, whatever the thing right is and then you realize after a while that not everybody was happy that I got this job. There were other people… that wanted it. And so then you’ve all of a sudden made a bunch of enemies. And that’s, it’s just, you know, it’s a snake pit.

O’Reilly asked Kroft if he’d do it again if he could, and Kroft gave a frank answer.

He said:

I think that I, no, I probably wouldn’t do it again… I hated it. I mean, I was, look — the best job I ever had at CBS when I was a correspondent at the London Bureau and I got to see the world, that was the job I always wanted. 60 Minutes was really appealing, and I thought, I wasn’t really sure I was ever going to get there. I didn’t really seriously think about it. When I did, there’s so many things that, first of all, the job is just 24 hours a day. I mean, you may get a couple hours of bad sleep. Beepers going off — they had beepers — beepers going off, getting on jets, going here and there, the whole thing, then coming back and spending, you know, three or four days writing the script, and then going to the screenings and then getting on, starting it all over again.

Kroft still said there were “exhilarating” parts of the job.

“It was exhilarating in the sense that the reason I loved the job was because of the stories that I could do, and the fact that they liked good stories,” he said. “The level, you can’t go into that job and not do — I was kind of at a disadvantage. I was the first person on that show that had not been an anchorman. I wasn’t really well known. I’d been, you know, a lot on the evening news and was obviously, and I had been at West 57th. But I had to keep doing it. I had to keep doing what I had been doing.”

Watch above via We’ll Do It Live! podcast.

The post Former 60 Minutes Correspondent Spills the Dirt to Bill O’Reilly About Hating 30-Season CBS Gig first appeared on Mediaite.

Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) made it clear she was “not impressed” with interim Attorney General Todd Blanche’s first comments on the Epstein files in his new role.

Mace joined Fox News on Saturday where she pushed for outgoing Attorney General Pam Bondi to be subpoenaed as part of the House Oversight Committee’s investigation into the release of files related to the case of convicted child sex predator Jeffrey Epstein.

Mace, one of a handful of Republicans to break with her party on the vote to release Epstein files, said she was disappointed and left “not impressed” with Blanche dismissing Epstein as having any future interest for the Department of Justice.

“I was not impressed by some of the comments this week that the DOJ would have no further interest in arresting anyone related to trafficking and the Epstein cases. That was very disappointing to hear. I want women across the country to know that we care and that we will get to the bottom of this,” she said.

Blanche’s comment she was referring to was from Fox News earlier in the week.

“I think that to the extent that the Epstein files was a part of the past year of this Justice Department, it should not be a part of anything going forward,” Blanche told Jesse Watters.

Blanche claimed, as Bondi has, that all Epstein files that can be released have been, something critics like Mace have openly doubted. Mace also argued the DOJ needs to redact more names of alleged co-conspirators.

“One false statement that Todd Blanch stated there is that there are documents that are unredacted. Many of the most important documents that I’ve sought to view at the Department of Justice are still redacted, particularly the names of co-conspirators. Like, why is that information being hidden from the American public?” Mace said.

The congresswoman continued:

As a leading candidate for governor, I’ve been to small towns all across the state the last week or so. People have been thanking me for standing up. They’re bring it up in the campaign for governor. They’re very proud of the work we’ve done subpoenaing Pam Bondi and getting to the bottom of the Epstein files. Conservatives in South Carolina want answers.

Watch above via Fox News.

The post ‘Not Impressed’: House Republican Blasts Trump’s Interim Attorney General’s New Dismissal of Epstein Files first appeared on Mediaite.

The Atlantic staff writer David Brooks argued the war against Iran is going terribly for the United States — but President Donald Trump is too much of a “huckster” to admit it to the American public.

Brooks shared his thoughts on the war during an interview on PBS NewsHour on Friday.

“The costs are just exorbitant now, not to mention the human suffering. And so, if Trump doesn’t see that we’re losing every day he continues this thing, he’s going to just face more and more political problems, military problems, and all sorts of problems,” Brooks said. “And so he just needs to admit that [is] what’s going on, and I doubt he has the mental ability to do that.”

That came after he said he had been “somewhat moderately hoping there’d be some positive outcome” from the war and that he believed there had some benefits. But he said those benefits are now being outweighed by the costs of Operation Epic Fury, both at home and abroad.

“We’ve had to go to the Middle East for almost every decade for the last 50 years because of radical Islam, which the Iranian regime typifies. But this is clearly the week where the costs of the war are so exponentially larger than the benefits of what we’re getting in these marginal weeks,” he said.

Brooks continued, “Russia is getting all this revenue, Iran is getting all this revenue, the European and world economies are in crisis, NATO is in shreds.” He also said Trump failed to warn Americans that Iran is a “serious country” and can make life tough for other nations; he pointed to traffic through the Strait of Hormuz slowing down during the war — leading to higher oil prices.

His answer came after two American fighter pilots were shot down over Iran on Friday; one pilot has been found and the other is still be searched for.

It also came a few days after Trump told the American public the war was going great and would be wrapping up in a few weeks during a televised address on Wednesday night.

Trump’s speech came a little more than a month after Operation Epic Fury started on Feb. 28, when joint U.S. and Israeli strikes killed Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Dozens of other leaders from Iran’s theocratic regime have been killed since then. There have been 13 American service members who have died since the war started, compared to about 3,500 Iranians. There is currently a search and rescue operation underway for a pilot from a fighter jet shot down over Iran. The first pilot was reportedly successfully rescued.

MS NOW anchor Jonathan Capehart, who was the other guest alongside Brooks on Friday night, said it seemed to him like there was “more of a plan” to save the abandoned pilots in the movie Top Gun: Maverick than there is right now.

Watch above via PBS.

The post ‘We’re Losing Every Day’: David Brooks Argues Trump Needs to Accept Iran War Is Going Terribly first appeared on Mediaite.

House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-MN) made an extraordinary claim Saturday that the Democratic base in the Senate is made up of “extreme” anarchists, marxists, and socialists.

Emmer appeared on Fox News Saturday with Aishah Hasnie who asked about the status of the partial government shutdown due to squabbling over Department of Homeland Security funding.

The Senate passed its funding bill during a pro forma session around 7 a.m. on Thursday that would have provided money for DHS and paid TSA agents, while creating a separate budget bill for the sticking point — funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol.

But the House didn’t take up the bill when they met the same day, leaving the issue unresolved until they meet again on Monday.

“Frankly, what is happening here is the Senate — it was a bad look,” Emmer said. “You don’t pass something at three in the morning with only six people on the floor and literally defund everything — fund everything but the Immigration, Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol. It just doesn’t work that way.”

He continued, “The House, frankly, with our speaker, has negotiated that the Senate will move this as quick as they can when they get back to town after the Easter recess, and the White House has assured us that the relevant agencies have money they need to do the job that they’re required to do to over the period of time.”

“But don’t you want to get these people paid?” Hasnie asked of the TSA agents who have gone some 44 days without a paycheck. “Don’t you feel it’s necessary to to get this done as quickly as possible instead of waiting for the break to be over?”

“Aishah, the House has done this,” Emmer argued. “We’ve passed complete funding four times. By the way, a bill that was agreed to on a bicameral, bipartisan basis, Republicans and Democrats. It’s just because an extreme, anarchist, marxist-socialist base that Chuck Schumer has to deal with that he reneged on the deal, yes. Republicans have been trying to do this since the beginning of the year.”

Emmer added, “The problem we’ve got is the precedent that has been set is not going to to be good going forward, and that precedent is, if you’re going to be able to pull out whatever piece you don’t like in an appropriations bill, where does this end, Aishah?”

Watch above via Fox News.

The post Republican Lawmaker Claims Senate Democratic Base Is Made Up Of ‘Extreme’ Anarchists, Marxists, and Socialists first appeared on Mediaite.