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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.

‘Massive cover up’ fears raised as House panel splits on clemency for Ghislaine Maxwell



Ghislaine Maxwell's condition to testify under oath — but only under the condition of clemency — has split House Oversight and Government Reform Committee members over whether President Donald Trump should grant her that pardon, Rep. James Comer (R-KY) told Politico on Wednesday.

Maxwell, Jeffrey Epstein's co-conspirator, was deposed by the committee and invoked her Fifth Amendment right to decline to answer the group's questions. Trump is the only one with the power to pardon her, something he has not yet ruled out.

Comer told Politico that he did not favor a pardon for Maxwell, a former confidant to the late financier and convicted child sex offender. When asked whether striking a deal with Maxwell could provide useful testimony, Comer did not share who on the panel supported granting her clemency.

"A lot of people do," Comer said.

"My committee’s split on that," Comer said. "I don’t speak for my committee."

"I think it looks bad," he added. "Honestly, other than Epstein, the worst person in this whole investigation is Maxwell."

Rep. Robert Garcia (D-CA) said that Democrats on the committee collectively oppose a pardon for Maxwell.

"That would be a huge step backwards, and, quite frankly, so disrespectful to the survivors," he said in an interview. "She is a known abuser. She is a known liar."

"If the DOJ or Oversight Republicans are out there trying to negotiate some sort of pardon that is... not only a huge slap in the face to this investigation, to anyone, to the American public," Garcia said. "It’s a part of a massive cover up."

‘Wah, wah, wah:’ AOC scoffs at GOP whining over gerrymandering



WASHINGTON — Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-NY, had strong words for Republicans complaining about the gerrymandering in Virginia that voters approved on Tuesday, with strong support from her party.

"Wah, wah, wah," Ocasio-Cortez told Raw Story on Wednesday, mimicking a whining baby and laughing in response to a question from reporter Matt Laslo. "Democrats have attempted and asked Republicans for 10 years to ban partisan gerrymandering, and for 10 years, Republicans have said, 'no.'"

Laslo was asking Ocasio-Cortez to respond to complaints from the GOP that it would be unconstitutional for Democrats to have a 10-1 congressional majority in Virginia, which the gerrymandering ballot measure would make possible. A Virginia circuit court judge blocked the vote-approved redistricting on Wednesday, however.

Still, Ocasio-Cortez saw no problem with Democrats supporting gerrymandering after years of opposing it when done on the Republican side. For AOC, the GOP "wanted to start this," and the Democrats are just fighting back.

"What they're mad at is they're accustomed to a Democrat Party that rolls over, doesn't fight and takes everything sitting down," Ocasio-Cortez said. "What they're mad at right now is that we are here in a new day."

She mentioned Republican gerrymandering in North Carolina and Texas, where Democrats lost seats. Trump's call for Texas Republicans to gerrymander arguably kicked off what's now seen as a redistricting arms race.

"We have been asking the Democratic Party to stand up and fight, and now they did," AOC continued. "Now the Republican Party doesn't like the fact that they are fighting against someone who actually will stand up for the American people."

Ocasio-Cortez said she would "welcome" working with the Republicans to pass a ban on partisan gerrymandering.

"We have the bill right here to end this all today," she said, smiling. "But they don't want to because they like pursuing and continuing to enact an unfair electoral landscape."

‘Starting to lose faith’: ‘Upset’ MAGA voters sour on Trump in focus groups



A longtime Republican pollster said Thursday that people who voted for Donald Trump last year are already beginning to waver in their support.

Sarah Longwell has been doing focus groups of 2024 voters of Trump, tracking how attitudes are changing and why. The one thing she said is finally starting to "set in" for those voters is "maybe Donald Trump doesn't know exactly what he's doing."

She explained that the caveat is always the "hardcore MAGA people," who will never leave Trump. But another "major slice" of the coalition of people who helped elect Trump were "people who just wanted things to cost less."

Those voters, she said, were "upset about inflation" and "the cost of housing." So, they heard Donald Trump "promise to lower the price of groceries, and that he was going to lower the cost of everything. It was going to be so easy and so fast. And when you listen to voters in focus groups, they say not only are things not getting better, but it feels like they're getting worse."

ALSO READ: 'We’ve made a mistake': Trump’s trade war sends GOP into frenzy

She added they feel uncertain about the economy.

"You get other people, especially people who are cost-constrained, who are at the lower end of the income spectrum, and those people notice every dollar and the way any price that goes up," said Longwell. "And, so, from those voters who heard the promise that Trump was going to lower costs, who thought he was a businessman, who knew what he was doing, and is now watching this chaos and not seeing their prices go down. They are starting to lose faith that he's going to be able to keep the promises that he made to them."

See her comments below or at the link here.

- YouTube www.youtube.com

‘Yuck’: Columnist conjures ‘skeevy’ image to deflate Musk theory



A Washington Post opinion editor cited Elon Musk's "skeevy approach to parenthood" to argue that the tech entrepreneur and father of 14 is not all that good with numbers.

David Von Drehle recounted a "copiously documented report in the Wall Street Journal" about Musk's desire to populate the planet that led to his lightbulb moment.

Musk's "growing concern that only an army of paid surrogates can produce enough of his babies to populate the 'legion' required to stave off the 'apocalypse" was one big red flag, according to Von Drehle.

"To think that one dumpy 53-year-old nerd is called by fate to stem the demographic tide of humankind is … bad math, to say the least," Von Drehle wrote. "Suppose Musk and his fantasy army of surrogates begin producing 10 children per day, every day, until he’s 80, 26 years from now."

ALSO READ: 'Alarming': Small colleges bullied into silence as Trump poses 'existential threat'

Von Drehle added, "Yuck — sorry to paint that picture. But also: Those efforts would produce fewer babies, total (almost 95,000), than will be born between midnight tonight and tomorrow at 7 a.m. (about 105,000)."

In addition, "Others who have followed Musk’s obsession with travel to Mars are already aware of his trouble with concepts such as distance and time," Von Drehle wrote.

"The innumeracy of Elon Musk would be a matter between him, his investors, his breeding partners and their offspring — but for his involvement in the so-called Department of Government Efficiency, which has sown chaos across the federal government in pursuit of savings he seems unable to count," Von Drehle wrote. "His initial promise of $2 trillion in cuts has already deflated to $150 billion, meaning he was off by a factor of 13-plus in the space of a few months."

Von Drehle concluded that Musk is no math genius, and doesn't understand "that what he is saying just doesn’t add up."

Read The Washington Post opinion column here.

Trump’s opened door for Democrats to steal deep red state’s governorship: report



A surprise decision by Gov. Kim Reynolds (R-IA) to not seek re-election in 2026 has given Democrats in the state hope that they can snag the seat in what is expected to be a midterm referendum on Donald Trump's return to the Oval Office.

According to a report from the Washington Post, Donald Trump's decision to enact tariffs that have severely impacted American farmers will likely not be forgotten when election time comes around in a state where agricultural policy is always at the top of the ticket no matter who the nominee is.

As Iowa Democratic Party Chairwoman Rita Hart put it, "There are a lot of people who are seeing this as an opportunity," before adding that Trump's tariffs will be front and center in the campaign.

ALSO READ:'We’ve made a mistake': Trump’s trade war sends GOP into frenzy

According to the Post's Patrick Svitek, "In Iowa — the second biggest agricultural exporting state in the country — not all Republicans have been fully onboard with Trump’s sweeping — and ever-changing — tariffs, which, at a minimum, have created deep uncertainty for farmers who make a living selling their crops to other countries."

Sam Newton, a spokesperson for the Democratic Governors Association, claimed, “It’s definitely a race we’re keeping our eye on. We believe that there’s a real opportunity for a competitive race with a strong candidate who fits the state well.”

There hasn't been a Democrat governor in Iowa since 2010.

The report also notes the election could be a harbinger on how strong Trump's pull will extend when he is not on the ballot.

You can read more here.

‘Trump 2028’ hats launched for sale on president’s official website



President Donald Trump's official store has started selling "Trump 2028" hats years before the next presidential election.

The new hats showed up on the official "Trump Store" website on Thursday for $50 each. Eric Trump was seen wearing the hat in an image circulating on social media. "Gulf of America" hats were also available.

According to the store, the hats were made in America.

"Due to high demand, please allow 5-10 business days to process prior to shipping," a notice on the website stated.

ALSO READ: Violent J6er who broke into Capitol announces run for Congress in East Texas

Trump recently told NBC that he was "not joking" about seeking a third term.

"A lot of people want me to do it," the president said. "There are methods which you could do it."

The U.S. Constitution limits presidents to two terms in office.

‘He’s making us weak’: Governor has ‘heartbreaking’ realization about Trump helping China



In an MSNBC appearance, Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey slammed several of President Donald Trump’s policies because of the negative impact they are having on scientific research.

“First, let's talk about Harvard. You actually have this post that you put up, Donald Trump's cuts to universities and hospitals mean scientists are being laid off, and shutting down life-saving research. It's bad for patients, bad for science, and bad for our economy. Give me a sense of your reaction to what is happening at not just Harvard, but beyond,” Host Mika Brzezinski asked.

“Well, this is bigger than Harvard, and I stand with Harvard,” Governor Healey said. “I support what they are doing it is very, very important that Harvard filed that suit and stand up to the bully that Trump is.”

ALSO READ: 'Dictatorship, not a town hall': Families 'distraught' as MTG disruptors tased and jailed

The Governor claimed the consequences of removing funding from certain colleges, NIH, and other outlets is large. “[UMass Medical] had to lay off 200 faculty members. They've had to rescind offers to 80 graduate students. Mika these are scientists, okay? These are people who are discovering and working on life-saving cures for cancer, Alzheimer's, ALS, you name it, and all of that is being shut down.”

“Here's what also is happening, which Americans need to know. The ones benefiting from Donald Trump's misguided attacks on our universities and on research are benefiting China,” Healey said. “China is recruiting right now on our campuses all those scientists and faculty members, and students who've been laid off or had their offers rescinded and say, Come to China, we'll build you that lab. We'll give you staff. So, for a President who is about America first, he's making America last. He's making us weaker. He's making us less competitive, and it breaks my heart. It breaks my heart to know that patients will suffer [and] they're already suffering.”

She also believes, “[Trump] is driving everyone, including American students and faculty members, out of this country because they want to be able to do their research somewhere. So this is a very dangerous situation. Totally destabilizing and it's really pointing America in the wrong direction.”

The pair went on to speak about what the Bay State is doing to help small businesses dealing with tariff issues.

Watch below or click here.

- YouTube youtu.be

‘Lots of blinking!’ MSNBC’s Sorkin dunks on ‘strongman’ Trump for taking ‘180-degree turn’



MSNBC's Andrew Ross Sorkin mocked President Donald Trump for "blinking" under pressure and perpetuating the economic whiplash that continues to rile the markets.

Morning Joe host Mika Brzezinski introduced Sorkin Wednesday, asking, "We have Trump blinking? Or, how would you describe it?"

"Oh! I think it's full blinking, lots of blinking!" Sorkin quipped while fluttering his eyelids.

He continued, "Actually, the market's up this morning. I think a lot of folks actually think that he's blinking. Whether he really will blink, we don't know. But it is a 180-degree turn, both in terms of what he's suggesting about how he's going to negotiate with China. For the last several weeks, he's been playing the role of strongman. Now, he says he wants to be nice and wants to find a compromise, which is going to be interesting to see how the Chinese react to that and will have either leverage over him or he'll have leverage over them. "

ALSO READ: 'Retribution or bust’: 'Secretary of Retribution' joins J6 leaders to demand mass arrests

Sorkin also mentioned Trump's "180" on Fed Chairman Jerome Powell.

"[Trump] had been both, you know, on Truth Social and other places, saying that he thought that the federal reserve chair should effectively get fired, was too late, should have lowered interest rates. And now he's saying, 'I'm not firing him.' And I think he suggested basically that he was never planning to fire him, which is not what he said originally."

Sorkin said investors may be regaining some confidence because they see Trump course-correcting after "realizing he can't do all the things that he wanted to."

Sorkin concluded by pointing out the unpredictability of how the Trump administration has been reacting on any given day.

"What looks like a blink today could be very different tomorrow," Sorkin said.

Watch the clip below via MSNBC or click here.

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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.

‘Massive cover up’ fears raised as House panel splits on clemency for Ghislaine Maxwell



Ghislaine Maxwell's condition to testify under oath — but only under the condition of clemency — has split House Oversight and Government Reform Committee members over whether President Donald Trump should grant her that pardon, Rep. James Comer (R-KY) told Politico on Wednesday.

Maxwell, Jeffrey Epstein's co-conspirator, was deposed by the committee and invoked her Fifth Amendment right to decline to answer the group's questions. Trump is the only one with the power to pardon her, something he has not yet ruled out.

Comer told Politico that he did not favor a pardon for Maxwell, a former confidant to the late financier and convicted child sex offender. When asked whether striking a deal with Maxwell could provide useful testimony, Comer did not share who on the panel supported granting her clemency.

"A lot of people do," Comer said.

"My committee’s split on that," Comer said. "I don’t speak for my committee."

"I think it looks bad," he added. "Honestly, other than Epstein, the worst person in this whole investigation is Maxwell."

Rep. Robert Garcia (D-CA) said that Democrats on the committee collectively oppose a pardon for Maxwell.

"That would be a huge step backwards, and, quite frankly, so disrespectful to the survivors," he said in an interview. "She is a known abuser. She is a known liar."

"If the DOJ or Oversight Republicans are out there trying to negotiate some sort of pardon that is... not only a huge slap in the face to this investigation, to anyone, to the American public," Garcia said. "It’s a part of a massive cover up."

‘Wah, wah, wah:’ AOC scoffs at GOP whining over gerrymandering



WASHINGTON — Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-NY, had strong words for Republicans complaining about the gerrymandering in Virginia that voters approved on Tuesday, with strong support from her party.

"Wah, wah, wah," Ocasio-Cortez told Raw Story on Wednesday, mimicking a whining baby and laughing in response to a question from reporter Matt Laslo. "Democrats have attempted and asked Republicans for 10 years to ban partisan gerrymandering, and for 10 years, Republicans have said, 'no.'"

Laslo was asking Ocasio-Cortez to respond to complaints from the GOP that it would be unconstitutional for Democrats to have a 10-1 congressional majority in Virginia, which the gerrymandering ballot measure would make possible. A Virginia circuit court judge blocked the vote-approved redistricting on Wednesday, however.

Still, Ocasio-Cortez saw no problem with Democrats supporting gerrymandering after years of opposing it when done on the Republican side. For AOC, the GOP "wanted to start this," and the Democrats are just fighting back.

"What they're mad at is they're accustomed to a Democrat Party that rolls over, doesn't fight and takes everything sitting down," Ocasio-Cortez said. "What they're mad at right now is that we are here in a new day."

She mentioned Republican gerrymandering in North Carolina and Texas, where Democrats lost seats. Trump's call for Texas Republicans to gerrymander arguably kicked off what's now seen as a redistricting arms race.

"We have been asking the Democratic Party to stand up and fight, and now they did," AOC continued. "Now the Republican Party doesn't like the fact that they are fighting against someone who actually will stand up for the American people."

Ocasio-Cortez said she would "welcome" working with the Republicans to pass a ban on partisan gerrymandering.

"We have the bill right here to end this all today," she said, smiling. "But they don't want to because they like pursuing and continuing to enact an unfair electoral landscape."

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