LIVE: Meiselas and Cohen GO LIVE on BREAKING NEWS – 1/2/2026


Michael Cohen and Ben Meiselas break down Donald Trump’s catastrophic Friday as he desperately shouts out to the world that he’s not sick and falling apart and he rushes to a warehouse to shop for marble and onyx as he threatens war with Iran. All that and more on a new episode of Political Beatdown.

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"On Capitol Hill: political posturing, stonewalling, and anger, but very few answers about how to open the Strait of Hormuz"

The post Fox’s Jennifer Griffin Says ‘Very Few Answers’ Given On How Trump Can Reopen The Strait of Hormuz first appeared on Mediaite.

Republicans made a ‘tacit admission’ about midterms — and it could blow up in their face



A conservative columnist warned on Monday that her Republican colleagues just made a "tacit admission" about the 2026 midterms that could blow up in their face.

S.E. Cupp, a columnist for CNN, said during a segment on "The Source" with host Kaitlan Collins that Republicans have all but admitted that they don't stand a chance during the midterms with their push for mid-cycle redistricting. While those efforts seem to have paid off so far, Cupp warned that they could energize the Democratic base in a way that thwarts all the time Republicans spent trying to rig the election in their favor.

"Here's the thing that I think is important to point out if you care about democracy," Cupp said. "The republicans have done what they've done because they've been allowed to. But it's also a tacit admission that they know they cannot win without rigging it. They're out of ideas. They're not even attempting to win new voters or win back the voters that they've been losing since gaining them in 2024."

Several Republican states from Texas to Louisiana and Tennessee have adopted new election maps ahead of the midterms in an effort to preserve the Republican majority in the House of Representatives and the Senate.

Cupp warned that voters can see through the Republicans' plans, and that may cause them to backfire in November.

"So this is the giddiness and the crowing I'm seeing from republicans about the state of the redistricting math and how it's helping Republicans," she said. "What they're not saying out loud is what I think a lot of voters can see, which is you had to rig it to make yourself competitive. And I don't even know if this will still make them competitive. They might actually be handing Democrats an advantage by really ginning up that base, firing them up to go and vote."

Trump could ignite global chaos by giving the wrong ‘wink and nod’ on China trip: analyst



President Donald Trump may send the wrong signals to Chinese President Xi Jinping when he travels to China later this week, and that could ignite a new round of global chaos, according to one analyst.

Trump is scheduled to visit China between May 13 and 15, where he will meet with Xi and perform what is known as the "great kowtow," according to political columnist David Rothkopf of The Daily Beast. He noted during a new episode of "The Daily Beast Podcast" with host Joanna Coles that it will be the first time in American history that the President of the United States visits China while not being the most powerful leader in the world.

Rothkopf also noted that the dynamic between the two world leaders has some people worried that Trump may inadvertently send the wrong message to Xi, one that escalates the likelihood of another global conflict.

"There is a long history of world leaders making their way to China, the middle kingdom, because it was so important," Rothkopf said. "In this case, we have our wannabe king going to their successor to the emperor, but Xi Jinping is the emperor, and what is going to happen is that same thing that has happened throughout history, which is called "The Great Kowtow," when these leaders come in, and they have to bow to the Emperor of China. Trump is going to do a bunch of that. You just know that he is."

Rothkopf noted that there is plenty of stuff Trump could ask Xi for help with on the trip, such as his disastrous war in Iran. That could give Xi enough leverage to get Trump's help with a move that benefits China.

"In private meetings, this is what really worries people: Is he going to give a wink and a nod and say, 'I don't really care so much about Taiwan, ' or 'Help me out on Iran, and I'll help you out with Taiwan,'" Rothkopf said. "Nobody knows because everybody knows Trump doesn't actually believe in anything that doesn't put money in his pocket."

Ted Cruz’s inadvertent admission on Fox News brutally mocked by observers



Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) was brutally mocked by political analysts and observers after he made an inadvertent admission during an interview on Fox News.

Cruz joined Fox News host Sean Hannity for an interview on Monday, where the two discussed the potential impact of the upcoming midterm elections. Cruz pointed out that Democrats like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) want to pass policies that could stifle entrepreneurial growth in America. However, Cruz may have told too much of the truth in making that point, according to some analysts.

"By the way, AOC also said it is impossible for someone to earn a billion dollars," Cruz said. "Which, look, I recognize for her, given she was a bartender, that is probably true. No disrespect to bartenders. Bartenders are an honorable profession. But she went from that to being a government employee and a parasite sucking on the taxpayer."

Some political analysts and observers called out Cruz for the notable phrase he included in his answer.

"Ted Cruz just called himself a parasite sucking on the taxpayer," Hemant Mehta, a former "Jeopardy!" champion, posted on X.

"Love him calling himself a parasite," comedian Sam Weber posted on X.

"Ted Cruz seems to have forgotten what he is, and what he was," John F. Clark, professor emeritus of media studies at the University of Kentucky, posted on X. "He’s never done anything but go to school, do some lawyering, and then go to work for the government. We need more bartenders and fewer lawyers in Congress."