UFC boss Dana White said critics who brand President Donald Trump a racist don’t know what the hell they’re talking about because Trump had a great relationship with one of the most famous Black men in history — Michael Jackson.

White defended his old pal during a podcast interview with The New Yorker editor David Remnick on May 22.

“These things that he’s a racist and he’s a Nazi and he’s this and that — I mean, Donald Trump, all this stuff’s coming out now,” White said. “You know, the Michael movie just came out, and you see all these videos now popping up of Trump defending Michael Jackson and the type of person that he was and that Michael Jackson was around his children and around his family a lot.”

Remnick raised his hands in disbelief at that example.

“But wait a minute, Dana! Michael Jackson — as talented as he was, as brilliant as he was — was a deeply, deeply flawed human being, to say the least,” Remnick said. “And was abusive [from] everything we know about him.”

White said there was “no doubt” the “King of Pop” was flawed, before asking “he was abusive?”

“To kids, yes. It’s terrible,” Remnick said.

He was obviously referring to Jackson being accused of sexually abusing multiple children, including claims made against the “Beat It” singer in 1993 and a criminal trial against him a decade later. Jackson was acquitted on all counts in 2005.

“I don’t know if that’s true, but I can tell you the president had a very good relationship with Michael Jackson and had Michael Jackson around his kids all the time,” White responded. “And you know, defended him when that stuff was going down. So to call the guy a racist is crazy. He’s not a racist.”

Remnick said he didn’t want to push the topic too much more, but he asked White if he got “the willies” from Trump posting a video depictinng ex-President Barack Obama as an ape earlier this year.

“If he was that type of person, I never would associate with that type of a person, no matter who he was,” White said.

” But if he does that, how is he not that kind of person?” Remnick followed up.

“He’s not,” White told him.

Watch above via YouTube.

The post Dana White Argues Trump Isn’t Racist Because He Was Pals With Michael Jackson: Pop Star Was Around His Kids ‘All the Time’ first appeared on Mediaite.

Former Vice President Kamala Harris lost the 2024 election to President Donald Trump largely because of the “backlash against a Black woman,” according to one prominent Washington, D.C. reporter.

Dana Milbank — a former Washington Post columnist who now writes for Notus — shared his thoughts during an appearance on ABC’s This Week. The roundtable was discussing the Democratic National Committee’s autopsy on the ’24 race, which was released a few days ago.

Milbank said it didn’t take a doctorate in political science to figure out racism played a big part in it.

“Why did Democrats lose? Well, it’s like Captain obvious, right? Why did incumbent parties all around the world lose at that time, it was high inflation. And that was coupled with the problems of Biden staying in the race too long and the backlash against a Black woman being the Democratic nominee,” Milbank said. “There you have it. Pretty simple right there.”

Harris being Black did not stop the American public from electing her alongside ex-President Joe Biden in 2020, nor did ex-President Barack Obama being Black stop him from winning the 2008 and 2012 elections. But the combo of Harris being Black and a woman was apparently too much to overcome.

The DNC autopsy pointed to several reasons it believes Harris lost to Trump, including the inability to overcome “misinformation” from Republicans and the press.

“In the face of misinformation and disinformation, our candidates have proven incapable of projecting strength, unity, and leadership, and voters have drifted away. Indeed, many of our critical Democratic wins can be attributed to negative partisanship — where Republicans have nominated deeply flawed candidates,” the report said.

Another problem? Biden putting Harris in charge of the border, which the report said set her up for failure.

“Democrats won the election and President Biden assigned the Vice President a brief including immigration, which was poorly framed by Republicans as the ‘border czar.’ It was not the official title, but it was the one that the media propagated and the White House failed to contradict or correct,” the report said.

There may be another opportunity to see if the American public is willing to make Harris president sooner than later. A new Rasmussen poll showed Harris has a big lead on other liberal contenders like California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) to secure the Democratic nomination in the 2028 election.

Watch above via ABC.

The post One Big Reason Kamala Harris Lost in 2024? The ‘Backlash Against a Black Woman,’ Argues Prominent DC Journo first appeared on Mediaite.

(AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

President Donald Trump went on a mini-rant against the “losers’ who are criticizing him for reported details of his negotiations with Iran, with the president saying they need to keep their yaps shut for now because the deal “isn’t even fully negotiated yet.”

Trump slammed his detractors in a post on Truth Social on Sunday afternoon.

“I don’t make bad deals!” Trump said at the end of his post.

Before that, he said everyone needs to wait and see what the deal is before ripping it — “if” he even makes a deal, he said. Trump also jabbed ex-President Barack Obama for his agreement with Iran, saying his deal would be the “exact opposite” and make sure Iran cannot develop a nuclear weapon.

Read his full post below:

If I make a deal with Iran, it will be a good and proper one, not like the one made by Obama, which gave Iran massive amounts of CASH, and a clear and open path to a Nuclear Weapon. Our deal is the exact opposite, but nobody has seen it, or knows what it is. It isn’t even fully negotiated yet.

So don’t listen to the losers, who are critical about something they know nothing about. Unlike those before me who should have solved this problem many years ago, I don’t make bad deals! President DJT

That post came a little while after Trump seemed to respond to skepticism from top Republicans like Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX).

“Our relationship with Iran is becoming a much more professional and productive one. They must understand, however, that they cannot develop or procure a Nuclear Weapon or Bomb,” Trump said earlier on Sunday.

He continued, “I would like to thank, thus far, all of the countries of the Middle East for their support and cooperation, which will be further enhanced and strengthened by their joining the Nations of the historic Abraham Accords and, who knows, perhaps the Islamic Republic of Iran would like to join, as well!”

The New York Times reported on Sunday that the Trump administration and Iran had agreed in principle to a deal that would reopen the Strait of Hormuz. 

Axios reporter Barak Ravid reported a deal is not expected to be announced on Sunday. There are “still several details to close,” he reported.

That comes a day after Trump announced a peace deal with Iran “will be announced shortly.” The president said significant progress had been made on a deal after conversations with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the leaders of several Muslim-majority countries.

His time spent working on the deal may have been slowed down a bit by a crazed gunman opening fire at the White House on Saturday.

The post Trump Bashes ‘Losers’ Ripping His Iran Negotiations: ‘I Don’t Make Bad Deals!’ first appeared on Mediaite.

Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) gave an awkward response when Face The Nation’s Nancy Cordes asked how he would explain away President Donald Trump’s sweetheart deal with the IRS to his constituents.

“How are you explaining to your constituents this new settlement that prevents the IRS from auditing any Trump family documents prior to this year?” Cordes asked on Sunday’s show.

“Well, I think when it comes to any agreements that the president has made with the IRS, from my vantage point, you know, I think looking back at what the Biden administration did, they certainly weaponized the government and were targeting the president,” Lawler said. “And I think he obviously had claims that he brought against the government as a result of that.”

Lawler gave no further explanation and Cordes didn’t push him.

Other GOP lawmakers have vehemently opposed the fund, with Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) calling it “stupid on stilts.”

Trump sued his own IRS for $10 billion after an employee leaked Trump family tax returns to the press during the president’s first term in office. The Department of Justice announced last week that Trump essentially settled with himself, agreeing to drop the suit in exchange for a $1.8 billion “Anti-Weaponization Fund” for anyone who felt persecuted by the federal government during the Biden administration. Critics were quick to call the arrangement a “slush fund” and warned that January 6 rioters who were found guilty on various charges before being pardoned by Trump, could cash in for millions.

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche justified the fact that rioters who harmed Capitol police could end up millionaires, telling CNN’s Paula Reid, “People that hurt police get money all the time.”

He added, “There’s a process where … if you believe you have your rights violated, you can apply for funds, you can sue, you can file a claim, you can go to court. In some of those cases, the state, the government, the federal government settles those cases.

“It’s abhorrent to ever, ever touch a law enforcement officer, which is why anytime anybody does that and it’s a federal officer, we’ll prosecute them. But that’s a completely different question than whether an individual is allowed to apply for a claim.”

One rioter named Brandon Fellows, who broke into the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, told CNN he was claiming $30 million for wrongful imprisonment after serving more than 1,000 days behind bars. Other MAGA notables who’ve said they plan to file claims included MyPillow guy Mike Lindell, Trump campaign manager Michael Caputo, and former Trump fixer Michael Cohen.

Watch the clip above via CBS News’s Face the Nation.

The post WATCH: House Republican Delivers Awkward Defense of Trump’s IRS Deal By Blaming Biden first appeared on Mediaite.

(AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

President Donald Trump posted to Truth Social Sunday morning, seemingly in response to the blowback his still-to-be-finalized Iran peace agreement has been receiving from some conservatives.

Prominent Republicans like Trump’s former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) have expressed trepidation with the way the talks are progressing.

“One of the worst deals ever made by our Country was the Iran Nuclear Deal, put forth and signed into existence by Barack Hussein Obama and the rank amateurs of the Obama Administration,” Trump wrote. “It was a direct path to Iran developing a Nuclear Weapon. Not so with the transaction currently being negotiated with Iran by the Trump Administration – THE EXACT OPPOSITE, in fact!”

Trump continued:

The negotiations are proceeding in an orderly and constructive manner, and I have informed my representatives not to rush into a deal in that time is on our side. The Blockade will remain in full force and effect until an agreement is reached, certified, and signed. Both sides must take their time and get it right. There can be no mistakes!

Our relationship with Iran is becoming a much more professional and productive one. They must understand, however, that they cannot develop or procure a Nuclear Weapon or Bomb. I would like to thank, thus far, all of the countries of the Middle East for their support and cooperation, which will be further enhanced and strengthened by their joining the Nations of the historic Abraham Accords and, who knows, perhaps the Islamic Republic of Iran would like to join, as well!

On Saturday, Trump announced that a peace deal had been “largely negotiated” and was on the verge of being signed. Trump did not give any details, writing, “Final aspects and details of the Deal are currently being discussed, and will be announced shortly.”

Earlier Saturday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters during a trip to India, discussed the prospect of the deal becoming final.

“I don’t have news for you at this very moment, but there might be some news a little later today,” Rubio said. “There may not be. I hope there will be, but I’m not sure yet.”

——

The post Trump Defends Iran Deal Amid Blowback from Ted Cruz, Pompeo and Others on Right: ‘EXACT OPPOSITE’ Of Obama’s Deal! first appeared on Mediaite.

Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY), who recently lost his primary bid against Trump-backed candidate Ed Gallrein, answered an emphatic, “Heck, yes!” when asked if he would support a short-term peace deal with Iran.

Trump declared on Truth Social Saturday that a “PEACE” deal with Iran has been “largely negotiated” and is on the verge of being signed.

Trump added, “Final aspects and details of the Deal are currently being discussed, and will be announced shortly. In addition to many other elements of the Agreement, the Strait of Hormuz will be opened.”

On Sunday’s Meet The Press, moderator Kristen Welker began Massie’s interview by asking about the possibility of a deal being reached.

“I have to start with that developing news on Iran,” Welker said. “President Trump posting on Saturday that an agreement with Iran has, quote, ‘largely been negotiated.’ It’s unclear what exactly has been agreed to, whether any deal would directly address the issue of the nuclear program, which, of course, is at the center of the war with Iran. So far, no final deal has been announced. But, congressman, would you support a short-term deal with Iran?”

“Well, I was the author of the first war powers resolution to get us out of Iran,” Massie said. “My constituents are hurting, gas is almost $5 a gallon, diesel is almost $6 a gallon, and the farmers here in Kentucky can’t afford the fertilizer to put on their fields.”

“Heck, yes, I would support it!” he exclaimed. “We don’t know what the terms of it are, but if Lindsey Graham and Ted Cruz are crashing out about it last night, I’d say it’s a pretty good deal.”

On X Saturday night, Cruz wrote that he was “deeply concerned” about aspects of the deal “pushed by some voices in the administration.”

Cruz continued that if the deal allows “an Iranian regime—still run by Islamists who chant ‘death to America’—now receiving billions of dollars, being able to enrich uranium & develop nuclear weapons, and having effective control over the Strait of Hormuz, then that outcome would be a disastrous mistake.:

Former Trump Secretary of State Mike Pompeo criticized any deal that would “Pay the IRGC to build a WMD program and terrorize the world,” as “Not remotely America First.”

“It’s straightforward,” Pompeo wrote. “Open the damned strait. Deny Iran access to money. Take out enough Iranian capability so it cannot threaten our allies in the region.”

Pompeo’s assertion was visciously attacked by White House communications director Steven Cheung who wrote, “Mike Pompeo has no idea what the f*ck he’s talking about. He should shut his stupid mouth and leave the real work to the professionals.”

Watch the clip above via NBC News’s Meet The Press.

The post ‘Heck Yes!’ Trump Foe Thomas Massie Goes to Bat for President’s Iran Deal first appeared on Mediaite.

Retiring Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) went off on Senate hopeful Ken Paxton after President Donald Trump endorsed him just ahead of his primary runoff election.

In an interview on CNN’s State of the Union Sunday, the North Carolina Republican held nothing back in his commentary on Paxton — accusing CNN anchor Jake Tapper of an understatement when he referred to Paxton as “ethically-challenged.”

“To call Paxton ethically challenged is to call Jeffrey Dahmer suffering from an eating disorder,” Tillis told Tapper. “This guy is an empty suit and will do us no service by being in the U.S. Congress. I hope that Texans realize how tough [incumbent Senator] John Cornyn is, how pro-Second Amendment he is, how pro-limited government he is, how pro-America first he is. And when they go to the polls on Tuesday, I hope that they know that they have got a great American who deserves reelection, and the other guy is going to be nothing but an anchor on our conference for as long as he’s in the U.S. Senate.”

Paxton — who has faced numerous scandals over the years in connection with alleged bribery, fraud and other misconduct — received the endorsement of President Trump on Tuesday, which has made him a prohibitive favorite to win Tuesday’s runoff primary election in the Lone Star state.

“Ken is a true MAGA Warrior who has ALWAYS delivered for Texas, and will continue to do so in the United States Senate,” Trump said. He added, “Ken Paxton has my Complete and Total Endorsement to be the next United States Senator from the Great State of Texas.”

The retiring Tillis, who has repeatedly criticized by Trump as a “RINO,” was asked by Tapper whether he and several of his other departing colleagues now feel uninhibited as they conclude their terms.

“Is there going to be something of a ‘you only live once, YOLO’ caucus of Republicans on their way out the door that President Trump has helped pressure and instigate?” Tapper asked.

“I try to tell everybody, ‘folks, if you’re not running for reelection, then that one filter that you need to make sure your words are measured so that the Democrats can’t use it against you and maybe some Republicans, you have just got to have that extra filter,'” Tillis said. “And I’m telling you, it’s great not having it, so that you can you can get the same point across, but now you can use unambiguous words. And I’m being unambiguous on Paxton. He is a failure. He doesn’t deserve to be in the U.S. Senate.”

Watch above, via CNN.

The post GOP Senator Absolutely Smokes Ken Paxton After Trump’s Endorsement: He’s an ‘Empty Suit’ and a ‘Failure first appeared on Mediaite.

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) speaks with reporters at the U.S. Capitol Jan. 15, 2026. (Francis Chung/POLITICO via AP Images)

Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) clapped back hard at a young MAGA influencer who criticized his skepticism on President Donald Trump’s still-to-be-finalized peace deal with Iran.

In a feisty exchange on X late Satuday, Cruz mixed it up with Alex Bruesewitz — a 29-year-old influencer who has an informal role as an outside advisor of the president’s. The exchange kicked off after Cruz said he was “deeply concerned” about some of the reported details of the deal with Iran.

“President Trump’s decision to strike Iran was the most consequential decision of his second term,” Cruz wrote on X. “He was right to do so, and we achieved extraordinary military results—including destroying all of their missiles & drones and sinking their entire navy. If the result of all that is to be an Iranian regime—still run by Islamists who chant “death to America”—now receiving billions of dollars, being able to enrich uranium & develop nuclear weapons, and having effective control over the Strait of Hormuz, then that outcome would be a disastrous mistake.”

Bruesewitz replied to the Cruz post and slammed the senator for breaking with Trump.

“No one asked you, bro,” Bruesewitz told Cruz. “Stop trying to undermine the President and his administration.”

The senator unleashed a stinging attack in response.

“Hush, child,” Cruz said. “The adults are talking. I’m not your ‘bro.’ And young political grifters pushing Iran appeasement are not remotely helping the President.”

Cruz is not the only major conservative figure to question the reported details of the framework of the deal. Mike Pompeo, who served as Secretary of State during President Trump’s first term, said the proposed deal, “eing floated with Iran seems straight out of the Wendy Sherman–Robert Malley–Ben Rhodes playbook: Pay the IRGC to build a WMD program and terrorize the world. Not remotely America First.”

——

The post ‘Hush, Child!’ Ted Cruz Calls Trump’s Iran Deal a Potentially ‘Disastrous Mistake’ — Then Smacks Young MAGA Influencer Defending it first appeared on Mediaite.

(AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais, File)

President Donald Trump posted an image on social media Sunday which depicted former President Barack Obama, former FBI Director James Comey, and other political enemies decked out in prison garb.

In the post to his Truth Social platform, the president showed Obama, Comey, and six others in mugshot-style images set against the backdrop of opening titles of The Brady Bunch — only this group of eight was captioned as “The Shady Bunch” and depicted in orange prison jumpsuits.

“This is a bad (Sick!) group of people,” Trump wrote. “Very destructive to our great Nation. Caused tremendous damage through Weaponization!”

This photo comes on the heels of Trump’s DOJ securing a second indictment against Comey in the past year — this one in connection with the social media post in which Comey showed a photo of seashells arranged to read “86 47.” Comey recently said he may file a claim for the $1.776 billion “anti-weaponization” fund which was set up after the president dropped his $10 billion lawsuit against his IRS.

“It’s to compensate people who’ve been targeted by the Justice Department for, they say, personal, political or ideological reasons,” Comey told CNN’s Jake Tapper on Tuesday. “So I’m guessing I’ll be in line. I hope I’ll be ahead of those who savagely beat police officers and sacked the Capitol.”

Trump has posted similar images numerous times suggesting that Obama should be imprisoned.

——

The post Trump Posts Image of Obama, Comey and Others in Prison Jumpsuits: ‘Sick Group of People!’ first appeared on Mediaite.

Left AP/Mark Schiefelbein, Right AP/Andrew Harnik

White House Communications Director Steven Cheung ripped President Donald Trump’s former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo for criticizing the newly-announced, still-to-be-finalized peace deal with Iran.

In a fiery post on X late Saturday, Cheung raged at the man who President Trump entrusted as his chief diplomat for three years during his first term — with Cheung arguing that man’s opinion on the Iran conflict is now ill-informed.

“Mike Pompeo has no idea what the f*ck he’s talking about,” Cheung wrote. “He should shut his stupid mouth and leave the real work to the professionals. He’s not read into anything that’s happening, so how would he know.”

Several hours earlier, Pompeo — in his own X post — trashed the proposed deal as “not remotely America first.”

“The deal being floated with Iran seems straight out of the Wendy Sherman-Robert Malley-Ben Rhodes playbook: Pay the IRGC to build a WMD program and terrorize the world,” Pompeo wrote. “Not remotely America First. It’s straightforward: Open the damned strait. Deny Iran access to money. Take out enough Iranian capability so it cannot threaten our allies in the region. Overdue. Let’s go.”

Pompeo is one of numerous high-profile conservatives to criticize the reported framework of the agreement. Those critics — like Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) — believe the U.S. is making far too many concessions to the Iranian regime.

“If the result … is to be an Iranian regime—still run by Islamists who chant “death to America”—now receiving billions of dollars, being able to enrich uranium & develop nuclear weapons, and having effective control over the Strait of Hormuz, then that outcome would be a disastrous mistake,” Cruz wrote on X.

——

The post WH Spox Excoriates Trump’s Fmr. Secretary of State for Criticizing Iran Deal: ‘No Idea What the F*ck He’s Talking About!’ first appeared on Mediaite.

A deranged gunman who fired multiple shots at the White House with a pistol died at a local hospital after he exchanged fire with Secret Service, Fox News correspondent Alex Hogan reported on Saturday evening..

Hogan reported the gunman died about two hours after firing three shots at the White House. President Donald Trump was inside the Oval Office and working on finalizing a deal to end the Iran war when the shooting took place.

A bystander was also hit by a bullet, with Hogan reporting it was unclear if the bystander was shot by the gunman or during the shootout that followed between the shooter and Secret Service.

The New York Post later identified the shooter as 21-year-old Nasire Best, a “mentally troubled individual who was well-known to the Secret Service for repeatedly loitering around various entry posts” near the White House.

Best violated a court order to stay away from the White House that stemmed from an incident last year when he entered a restricted zone and made “crazed statements” to cops, including claiming he was Jesus Christ, the report added.

The shooting happened at the corner of 17th St. and Pennsylvania Ave. around 6:00 p.m. local time.

Reuters reported Best was transported to George Washington Hospital, and the Associated Press reported Best and the bystander were both in critical condition when they were rushed to the hospital.

Trump had posted from the White House a few hours earlier that “final aspects and details” of a peace deal with Iran were being worked out and that an agreement would be “announced shortly.”

The sound of dozens of gunshots sent ABC News reporter Selina Wang diving for cover before she and her team were rushed to the White House press briefing room for safety. Several other reporters were rushed there as well. CNN reported its journalists also heard dozens of gunshots, “triggering a lockdown and a rapid response” from Secret Service.

DC News Now reporter Chris Flanagan reported he and other journalists were released from lockdown at 6:51 p.m. local time. He said there was a “huge” law enforcement response to the shots outside the White House. Fox News reported earlier on Saturday that the shooter never got inside the White House gates.

Watch above via Fox News.

The post Shooter Died at Hospital After Firing Multiple Shots at White House With Trump Inside first appeared on Mediaite.

A gunman fired three shots at the White House and hit a civilian before he exchanged fire with Secret Service and was “taken down,” Fox News chief congressional correspondent Chad Pergram reported on Saturday afternoon.

Pergram called into The Big Weekend Show to share the latest details on the chaotic scene, which sent reporters scrambling for cover and put President Donald Trump on lockdown.

He reported the condition of the pistol-wielding shooter was not immediately known, as well as the condition of the person who was shot.

The attack happened around 6:00 p.m. local time. Reuters later reported the suspect was transported to George Washington Hospital, and the Associated Press reported both the suspect and the bystander who was shot are both in critical condition.

Pergram reported:

I am told a gunman came up near the White House on the west side, described as a Gate 17. This is kind of near 14th street on the west side of the White House, and came up and brandished some sort of a pistol; we do not know what type of pistol it was.

He then fired toward the White House three times. Then the United States Secret Service, they returned fire — we do not know how many shots they got off. They apparently took the gunman down.

Now, sometime in this gunfire exchange a civilian on the street was struck by this gunfire and we do not know the condition of that person right now. But the important thing to know is the gunman who came up with the pistol was taken down by the Secret Service and  we do not know his condition right no. But he never got inside the perimeter of the White House.

Pergram said that was information from a senior administration official who had direct knowledge of the shooting.

Trump was inside the Oval Office working on getting a peace deal with Iran finished when the shots were fired. He posted earlier in the afternoon that “final aspects and details” of the deal were being worked out and that the agreement would be “announced shortly.”

The sound of dozens of gunshots sent ABC News reporter Selina Wang diving for cover before she and her team were rushed to the White House press briefing room for safety; several other reporters were rushed there as well. CNN reported its reporters also heard dozens of gunshots, “triggering a lockdown and a rapid response” from Secret Service.

DC News Now reporter Chris Flanagan reported he and other journalists were released from lockdown at 6:51 p.m. local time. He said there was a “huge” law enforcement response to the shots at the corner of 17th St. and Pennsylvania Ave.

Former FBI Special Agent Chris Swecker told Fox News that the threat had to have been “completely neutralized” for the White House to have lifted the lockdown.

Watch above.

The post Gunman Fired 3 Shots at White House Before Being ‘Taken Down’ By Secret Service first appeared on Mediaite.

ABC News senior White House correspondent Selina Wang had to dive for cover and scramble for safety after dozens of gunshots were heard nearby while she was recording a video report in front of the White House on Saturday afternoon.

Wang posted video of the harrowing moment on X. She was in the middle of reporting on Trump saying a peace deal with Iran was close to being signed when the shots started firing. Her camera picked up the loud sound of the gunshots as Wang immediately ducked and crawled under a table.

“Down!” a man in the background — likely an ABC producer — could be heard yelling to the crew.

Wang posted her team was being rushed to the White House press briefing room to stay safe.

Watch below:

CNN reported its reporters also heard dozens of gunshots, “triggering a lockdown and a rapid response” from Secret Service. ABC News reported the North Lawn was cleared by Secret Service.

The gunshots were heard as Trump was inside the Oval Office as he tries to hammer out a deal to end the Iran war. Trump posted the deal has been “largely negotiated” and is on the verge of being signed after he talked to a number of leaders from the Muslim world and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday.

“Final aspects and details of the Deal are currently being discussed, and will be announced shortly,” Trump posted. “In addition to many other elements of the Agreement, the Strait of Hormuz will be opened. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”

Fox News anchor Tomi Lahren reported on the gunfire on Saturday afternoon during The Big Weekend Show. Lahren said this was a “disturbing pattern” that follows the assassination attempt against Trump and several administration officials last month at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner.

DC News Now reporter Chris Flanagan reported he and other journalists were released from lockdown at 6:51 p.m. local time. He said there was a “huge” law enforcement response to the shots at the corner of 17th St. and Pennsylvania Ave.

A few minutes earlier, FBI Director Kash Patel posted Secret Service was responding to shots “near” the White House.

Watch the Fox News report at the top of the page.

The post WATCH: Gunshots Near White House Send ABC Reporter Scrambling for Cover first appeared on Mediaite.

Megyn Kelly believes President Donald Trump’s Make America Great Again movement is an “increasingly tiny group” that now only includes “loyalists” who are similar to cult members.

Kelly shared her state-of-MAGA take during an interview on the Hodgetwins podcast on Friday.

“MAGA is not what it was. MAGA is now this very, very small group of Trump diehard loyalists who have to love Mark Levin,” Kelly said. “And so that’s by definition an increasingly tiny group.”

That comment drew a chuckle from the hosts. Kelly has an ongoing feud with Levin and has accused him of having a “micropenis”; Trump came to the Fox News host’s defense afterward, saying he was a “Great American Patriot” who is getting unfairly maligned by critics who are “jealous and angry.”

“I guess I’ve been surprised to see how quickly [MAGA has] shrunk down to something less formidable, by far, than it used to be,” Kelly continued.

One of the twin hosts then branded the president “George Bush 2.0″ because of the “money he’s made” and the “new war he started.” Kelly agreed Trump has betrayed his base.

She said:

It’s stunning to me that the people who voted for the man who said over and over “No new wars,'[and] ‘No war with Iran, no Middle East wars”— and specifically over and over said “Iran” and also said “The Democrats are going to get us into a war with Iran” — that was not a throwaway line. That was a massive part of his campaigning and his promising.

That those people on a dime were like “Yes, we’re pro-war with Iran! Yes, Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon.”

We all know that that’s a lie. It’s so obvious that’s a lie to get us into this conflict.

A moment earlier in the show, Kelly said it was “disrespectful” to call Trump voters cultists, “but they do have the same kind of loyalty.”

“Where it’s like ‘In Trump We Trust’ and he can do no wrong,” Kelly said. “And I get that. You know, they’ve been burned by a lot of other politicians. They felt like Trump got them at a time when everybody was ignoring them.”

But Kelly said Trump has let them down on Iran and other issues, like his approach to the files on dead sex criminal Jeffrey Epstein.

The timing of her comments on MAGA dying off are interesting, considering Trump-backed candidates just went 37-0 in primaries last week.

Watch above via YouTube.

The post Megyn Kelly Declares MAGA Is Rapidly Dying: Nothing More Than a ‘Very Small Group’ of Trump Diehards Who Have the Same ‘Loyalty’ as Cult Members first appeared on Mediaite.

Officials in Southern California have ordered 50,000 people to evacuate as temperatures rise inside a toxic chemical tank, raising concerns of a massive leak or catastrophic explosion.

The situation is happening in Garden Grove, CA, near Disneyland and Knott’s Berry Farm, which are both outside the evacuation zone and remain open.

CNN’s Rafael Romo said the tank is owned by an aerospace company, and initially, authorities thought they had the temperature under control.

“Evacuation orders were initially issued for the area around the plant on Thursday, but they were lifted that night after the vapor conditions improved,” Romo said. “As crews tried to remove and contain the chemical known as methyl methacrylate, or MMA, they realize that the tank had a damaged valve so the chemical could not be removed, which prompted authorities to reinstate evacuation orders.”

Romo said emergency crews were working nonstop to prevent the overheating tank from leaking or triggering what what officials warned  “could be a catastrophic explosion.”

Incident commander Chief Craig Covey told CNN, “Yesterday afternoon. I did report that we had some positive intel and that the tanks were stable and we were keeping the temperature cool, and actually we thought we were reducing it a little bit. Unfortunately, I have to say, ‘thought.’ Those temperatures we are doing is via drone, doing external readings on the…vessel. Unfortunately, I do have to report that the temperature was 90 degrees yesterday morning. It was 77 degrees when we backed out. It’s been averaging about a degree an hour, increasing.”

Romo reported that MMA can cause “major respiratory issues, including significant irritation to the lungs and nasal passages, as well as dizziness and nausea.”

“In a statement, GKN Aerospace, the company that owns the plant, apologized, quote, ‘For the significant disruption to the many local residents and businesses who have had to be evacuated. We are fully focused on working with emergency services, specialized hazardous material teams and the relevant authorities to ensure the safety of the local community, our employees and everyone else involved,’ the company said,” according to Romo.

“Chief Covey with the Orange County Fire Authority said that if efforts to cool the tank fail…two possible scenarios include the tank cracking and leaking 7,000 gallons of MMA into the surrounding parking lot, or worse, the container could explode,” Romo reported.

Watch the clip above via CNN.

The post 50,000 Californians Evacuated As Chemical Tank Overheats And Officials Fear Massive Explosion first appeared on Mediaite.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth gave the commencement address Saturday at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, but not before dishing out what’s become a hallmark of the Trump administration — blanket pardons.

“West Point class of 2026, good morning and congratulations,” Hegseth began as a steady rain poured down on the cadets. “I bring you greetings from our commander in chief, President Donald J. Trump,” he said to applause.

“Now, most senior leaders wait until the end to have this discussion, but I’m just going to come off the top rope right now and get this out of the way,” Hegseth continued. “For all those cadets who’ve committed minor infractions or violations of the regulations of the United States Military Academy, for which ordinary and special punishment has been imposed or is being considered. To the corps of cadets, as President Trump might say, ‘A complete and total pardon,'” Hegseth said, doing his best Trump impression.

When the cadets burst into cheers and applause, Hegseth added, “Man! They must have done a lot!”

Hegseth then regaled the cadets with biblical scripture.

“Well, on a day like today, there’s no better way to start than with a word from scripture,” Hegseth said, continuing:

And on a day as special as this, for the 998 great Americans of this class, there’s no more fitting verse than from Isaiah 6:8. “Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, whom shall I send, and who will go for us? And I said, ‘Here I am. send me.'”

Four years ago, you raised your right hand, swore an oath to preserve and defend the Constitution, and in that moment you said to your country, “Send me.” And here you are. You survived beast barracks. You survived the early morning formation, the Saturday morning inspections, the academics, the grueling demands, and you beat the dean multiple times over. You’ve proven that you have what it takes to lead our nation’s top 1%. America’s most valued treasure, America’s sons and daughters. The American soldier. And now today, we are going to send you. We’re sending you to lead, we’re sending you to forge warriors. And we are sending you perhaps to war. And you are ready.

Regarding the war with Iran, the president sent a Truth Social Saturday hinting that the U.S. was close to reaching a peace agreement.

“An Agreement has been largely negotiated, subject to finalization between the United States of America, the Islamic Republic of Iran, and the various other Countries,” Trump wrote. “Separately, I had a call with Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu, of Israel, which, likewise, went very well. Final aspects and details of the Deal are currently being discussed, and will be announced shortly.”

Watch the clip above via C-SPAN.

The post Hegseth Harnesses His Trump Voice to Offer ‘Total Pardon’ to Military Cadets for ‘Minor’ Infractions first appeared on Mediaite.

(AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

President Donald Trump announced a “PEACE” deal with Iran has been “largely negotiated” and is on the verge of being signed after he talked to a number of leaders from the Muslim world and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday.

The president shared the update in a post on Truth Social.

“Final aspects and details of the Deal are currently being discussed, and will be announced shortly,” Trump posted. “In addition to many other elements of the Agreement, the Strait of Hormuz will be opened. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”

That came after Trump rattled off a number of leaders he spoke to during a call inside the Oval Office. Trump posted:

We just had a very good call with President Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud, of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, of The United Arab Emirates, Emir Tamim bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim bin Jaber Al Thani, and Minister Ali al-Thawadi, of Qatar, Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir Ahmed Shah, of Pakistan, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, of Türkiye, President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, of Egypt, King Abdullah II, of Jordan, and King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, of Bahrain, concerning the Islamic Republic of Iran, and all things related to a Memorandum of Understanding pertaining to PEACE.

An Agreement has been largely negotiated, subject to finalization between the United States of America, the Islamic Republic of Iran, and the various other Countries, as listed.

Separately, I had a call with Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu, of Israel, which, likewise, went very well.

The president’s announcement comes a few hours after Secretary of State Marco Rubio teased a deal was on the verge of being agreed to. 

“I don’t have news for you at this very moment, but there might be some news a little later today,” Rubio told reporters in India. “There may not be. I hope there will be, but I’m not sure yet.”

Trump’s announcement also comes 84 days after the Iran war started on February 28, when joint U.S. and Israeli strikes killed Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

The war — dubbed Operation Epic Fury by the president — has officially been paused since early April when Trump announced a ceasefire, although that has been violated several times by Iran; the U.S. has responded with its own strikes, largely in an effort to keep the Strait of Hormuz open.

The post Trump Declares Iran Peace Deal ‘Will Be Announced Shortly’ After Talks With Muslim Leaders and Israel first appeared on Mediaite.

Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) slammed the Southern Poverty Law Center for being “one giant grift” that was only focused on “funding racism” in America — a crime that should lead to the nonprofit group’s leaders being chucked behind bars, she said. The Republican lawmaker also accused the SPLC of colluding with ex-President Joe Biden and Democrats to target Christian Americans.

Mace went off on the SPLC during an interview on Saturday in America on Fox News.

“The SPLC, the left, it is one giant grift. We now know they were funding racism, paying for racism, grifting off of racism. It was one giant grift, I believe, in concert with the Democrats and the Biden administration. And they were going after Christians, they were going after American patriots, American citizens, making this country more divisive than it’s ever been because of their hatred.”

She continued, “They need to be held to account. They should probably all be sitting in prison, and I look forward to Jim Jordan getting to the bottom of this.”

Jordan — the GOP lawmaker from Ohio who is the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee — spearheaded a meeting last week that focused on the SPLC’s alleged crimes. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche announced 11 charges against the organization last month that span from bank fraud to money laundering.

The DOJ claimed the SPLC “secretly funneled” $3 million to hate groups like the Ku Klux Klan and towards the white supremacist “Unite the Right” rally in 2017; the group also paid $1 million to an informant inside a neo-Nazi organization to steal documents from the group.

Fox News graphic shown during Mace’s interview

Mace said that if the SPLC boss Bryan Fair will not testify before Congress on his own volition, he should be “subpoenaed, given a date, and he needs to show up or be behind bars”

When guest host Jonathan Hunt asked if it was fair to say the group was “stoking hatred almost to justify their own existence,” Mace said it was “100%” accurate.

“That was the sole purpose of their existence,” she said. “If they can’t portray people at as racist, they don’t have a reason to exist. This is wrong, this is illegal, and every single one of ’em should go to jail.”

Watch above.

The post Nancy Mace Skewers SPLC for Being ‘One Giant Grift’ Funding Racism: ‘Every Single One of ‘Em Should Go to Jail’ first appeared on Mediaite.

CNN’s Table for Five panelists battled with Pro-Trump pundit Emily Austin Saturday for claiming that the president’s $1.8 billion taxpayer-funded “Anti-Weaponization Fund” was actually “something very altruistic.”

“The truth is, we don’t know where this money is going yet. And I feel like we’re always prematurely just very negative when it comes to anything that President Trump wants to do,” Austin said.

“But I actually, I view this as something very altruistic. Trump did not take the money and put it in his pocket like he could have, and like most people probably would have done. And instead, he wants to help those people who were absolutely destroyed by the weaponization of the government. I have friends who declared bankruptcy over proving their innocence, that spent hundreds of thousands of dollars, some millions, to avoid spending time in jail. And they don’t get that money back. Why can’t we help those people?” Austin asked.

“Well, there lies the root of the problem,” said Democratic pundit Isaiah Martin. “You just said the very simple fact that we’re not going to know exactly who gets this money…So I think that it’s absolutely absurd that there’s going to be a fund that’s $1.8 billion, we don’t know where the money is going to go through, and honestly, we don’t know if we’ll ever know who the money is going to go to. You don’t think that that’s absurd, that the president of the united States can create a fund and divvy payments to people, and we don’t know who the money goes to?”

“People in this country who have been wronged by the law already have legal pathways to seek justice for that,” said journalist Josh Rogin. “And you know…what you said, ‘Trump could have just taken the money.’ No, he can’t just take the money because we live in a —”

Host Jessica Dean interrupted, “I want to ask this question because, Emily, you were saying Trump didn’t benefit. What about this piece, this other—”

“That he settled with himself!” said Martin, with Rogin adding, “That he negotiated with himself!”

“I want to ask about the IRS not being able to prosecute him or his family over taxes forever,” Dean continued. “What do you think about that?”

“Obviously, optically, it looks horrendous,” Austin said, while Martin interjected, “‘Cause it is horrendous!”

“I admit that,” Austin said, “but there’s also an unprecedented amount of persecution when it comes to the trump and the trump family. There has never been a president that has been persecuted as much as Donald Trump.”

Watch the clip above via CNN.

The post CNN Panel Battle Pro-Trump Pundit Claiming $1.8 Billion ‘Slush Fund’ Is Actually ‘Something Very Altruistic’ first appeared on Mediaite.

FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez ripped her own agency for waging a campaign of “straight-up censorship” against The Walt Disney Company and ABC that is being driven by President Donald Trump and FCC Chairman Brendan Carr.

Gomez went off during an interview on MS NOW’s The Weeknight on Friday.

“This administration has been engaged in a campaign of censorship and control, and Disney has been a real target of this administration because it’s actually not capitulating,” Gomez said.

“Unlike CBS or Paramount, the parent company of where [Stephen] Colbert was,” co-host Symone Sanders Townsend chimed in.

“Exactly,” Gomez affirmed.

Gomez then said it was a “direct assault on the First Amendment” when the FCC ordered eight ABC-owned TV stations to file early license renewal requests in April, which came soon after Trump called for ABC to fire the “seriously unfunny” Jimmy Kimmel. The commissioner told MS NOW it was an “unprecedented” violation by her agency.

She then accused Paramount of “capitulating” to the Trump administration, before patting herself on the back for sending a letter to Disney CEO Josh D’Amaro earlier this month and urging him not to cave.

“I wanted to call out all the actions that this FCC is taking against it and to have them understand that the law is on their side. The First Amendment is on their side,” Gomez said. “Because what this is is straight- up censorship. And nobody should like having the free press and our our First Amendment rights trampled upon by one entity.”

As Mediaite’s David Gilmour wrote, that letter was sent following a “series of FCC investigations into Disney’s DEI practices and ABC, as well as the FCC’s decision to revive a complaint about ABC’s moderation of a 2024 presidential debate between” Trump and then-Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris.

Gomez was nominated to the FCC by ex-President Joe Biden in 2023; Carr was picked as the chairman by Trump in early 2025.

She added ABC is learning the hard way that it’s decision to settle with Trump over George Stephanopoulos claiming the president was found “liable for rape” does not shield the company from scrutiny.(Trump was found liable for sexual abuse in civil court, which carries a different definition in New York.)

“It is one thing after another, and Disney has learned that when you capitulate, it actually doesn’t buy you protection. It just buys you a little bit of time,” she said.

Watch above via MS NOW.

The post FCC Commissioner Blasts Her Own Agency’s ‘Straight-Up Censorship’ Fueled by Trump first appeared on Mediaite.