We drove gun violence down to record lows last year — and we’re not stopping there.
From the iron pipeline to the plastic pipeline, we will keep 3D printed ghost guns off of New York streets and ensure our laws remain the strongest and safest in the nation.
President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth have been featured recently in a series of videos that have “flooded the internet” since the United States attacked Iran in late February, videos from pro-Iran groups that prominently feature the sexual assault allegations leveled against the current president and his top Defense official.
“Trump is globally known for sex crimes and, like Hegseth, charges of sex crimes – and the Iranian videos depict the two men explicitly as rapists,” reads a report published Wednesday in The New Republic.
“In one video, [a] Lego Trump has doll-like girl figures on his bed and lap, and Hegseth is shown in military garb, repeatedly committing rape. Assaults on girls are the modus vivendi of these videos’ versions of Trump and Hegseth.”
Trump has faced sexual misconduct allegations from at least two dozen women dating back to the 1970s, and was found liable for sexual abuse by a jury in civil court in 2023. Hegseth has also faced an allegation of sexual assault, though both Trump and Hegseth have denied any wrongdoing.
While not produced by the Iranian government, the video campaign – described by The New Republic as "not idle trolling" – has been heavily promoted by Tehran.
Pro-Iran groups, particularly the anonymous student activist group Explosive News, have seized on the allegations against Trump and Hegseth, depicting Trump as a sexual abuser in a series of Lego-inspired videos generated with generative artificial intelligence, videos that have gone on to be watched by millions on social media. Hegseth has also been featured prominently in the video campaign.
As to the campaign’s core message as it relates to Trump – that the president had “the ideology of the rapist” – The New Republic’s Virginia Heffernan argued it was hard to disagree.
“In Trump, the ideology of the rapist was unmistakable a decade ago, when he crowed about the joy he takes in humiliating human beings by mauling their crotches,” Heffernan wrote. “With this war, he’s trying, as usual, for highly aestheticized spectacles of humiliation, and he’s getting them – but not for Iran. For himself, and for the United States.”
Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner, running against Republican Susan Collins in Maine, called for Democrats to exercise ethics oversight of the Supreme Court and pursue impeachment of justices if they retake the Senate.
Platner argued in front of a crowed, if Supreme Court justices faced the same ethical standards as lower court judges, "there is a compelling case for the impeachment and removal of at least two," likely referencing Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito.
According to a ProPublica report, Thomas accepted undisclosed luxury gifts from GOP megadonor Harlan Crow, while Alito took luxury trips with hedge fund billionaire Paul Singer tied to entities opposing Biden's student loan forgiveness. Alito also faced scrutiny over a Christian nationalism flag displayed at his residence.
Platner additionally supports expanding the Court's size with a simple majority vote if Democrats control the White House and Senate, arguing Democrats must elect senators willing to "wield power" effectively.
Democrats are projected to retake the House of Representatives and have gained popularity in the Senate, where Platner's win could impact the Supreme Court.
Watch the video below.
