Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis ruffled feathers within his own party when he said Ukraine isn’t one of the United States’ “vital national interests.” We did a close reading of his recent statement to see whether, and how, it breaks from his previous statements.
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National News
Abby Phillip brutally fact-checks MAGA pundit with devastating takedown
CNN's Abby Phillip brutally fact-checked a MAGA pundit during Monday's broadcast of her show "NewsNight" over the White House's claim that left-wing rhetoric inspired the shooting at the White House Correspondents' Dinner on Saturday.
Ben Ferguson, who co-hosts the "Verdict" podcast with Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) joined the panel to discuss the shooting, and defended the White House's claim that Democrats inspired the shooter to attack the event. He pointed to recent statements from Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) and language the shooter included in his alleged manifesto as evidence that the rhetoric inspired the attack.
Phillip fact-checked Ferguson's claims with a couple of clips putting the Democrats' statements into their full context, and highlighting how Trump has spoken of Democrats the same way he has accused them of speaking about him.
"The point is that it's not that Donald Trump is responsible for violence against those people. The point is that it's not enough to explain that the moment we are in is just, 'Did he call her a fascist? Did she call him a fascist?'" Phillip said. "Because that is happening on both sides of the debate. There is more that is contributing to where we are as a country, and it is bad. It is unquestionably bad. And if we fail to actually address the root causes, we are going nowhere."
National News
Trump’s ‘revenge’ meltdown plans leak for White House Correspondents’ Dinner: report
President Donald Trump is preparing to throw a scripted tantrum at the White House Correspondents' Dinner this year, reported The Daily Beast on Wednesday.
"Donald Trump will launch a 'revenge' attack on the White House media when he confronts them in person at a Washington dinner on Saturday night — then flee before there can be revenge," said the report. "He is expected to target publications that he has accused of writing negatively about his administration and his war with Iran, in particular, according to sources."
This would track with his recent rants on Truth Social, where he has accused of the media of rigging reports about the Iran war to make it look like it's going worse than it actually is.
After he is done with his speech, said the report, he is skipping on the rest of the ceremony — in large part because he doesn't want to stick around for an award being given to a story that revealed his closeness to deceased financier and accused child trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.
"Trump will leave the White House Correspondents’ Association event after making his speech, so he will miss the presentation of press awards — one of which would be certain to embarrass him," said the report. "He has told aides he has no intention of still being in the International Ballroom at the Washington Hilton when the Wall Street Journal is honored with the Katherine Graham award for its scoop about a bawdy letter Trump allegedly wrote for Jeffrey Epstein’s 50th birthday card."
The president sued WSJ over that reporting, alleging that the birthday letter was not authentic. This month, a federal judge tossed out that suit.
