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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."
Dems launch investigation into $15B of NASA cash being funneled into Musk company

Democrats are investigating if Elon Musk' SpaceX is benefiting from his position at DOGE.
Axios exclusively reported Monday that Reps Maxwell Alejandro Frost (D-FL) and Gerry Connolly (D-VA) wrote to NASA's Chief Legal Officer, Iris Lan, about how NASA is ensuring Musk isn't exploiting the agency to enrich himself.
The letter comes after the Washington Post reported last month that Musk and his companies received $38 Billion in government contracts, loans and subsidies, with $15 billion being paid to SpaceX by NASA.
SpaceX declined to comment to the Washington Post and Axios.
The Congress members are asking NASA to outline steps being taken to prevent Musk from accessing crucial information which could give the billionaire an advantage.
Since President Trump took office SpaceX is slated to receive $525 Million in funding — despite numerous safety violations from the Federal Aviation Authority.
‘Extraordinary twist’ revealed to explain how journalist got added to war chat: report

An internal investigation has revealed how a reporter wound up becoming looped into a group chat involving high-level Trump administration officials discussing plans for a military operation hours before it was launched.
National security adviser Mike Waltz inadvertently added The Atlantic's editor in chief Jeffrey Goldberg, who later reported on the surprise invitation that made him privy to the top-secret war plans, and three sources briefed on the matter told The Guardian how the journalist was mistakenly added to the discussion carried out on the third-party Signal messaging app.
"According to three people briefed on the internal investigation, Goldberg had emailed the campaign about a story that criticized Trump for his attitude towards wounded service members," the publication reported. "To push back against the story, the campaign enlisted the help of Waltz, their national security surrogate."
A “forensic review” conducted by the White House information technology office then found that Goldberg's email was then forwarded to Trump spokesperson Brian Hughes, who then copied and pasted the contents of the email, including the journalist's signature block with his phone number, into a text message he sent to Waltz.
"Waltz did not ultimately call Goldberg, the people said, but in an extraordinary twist, inadvertently ended up saving Goldberg’s number in his iPhone – under the contact card for Hughes, now the spokesperson for the national security council," The Guardian reported.
The White House claims the editor's number was saved by mistake during a “contact suggestion update” by Waltz’s iPhone, with one source saying his phone adds an unknown number to an existing contact it detects could be related, and Waltz himself claims Goldberg's number was somehow "sucked" into his device.
"The mistake went unnoticed until last month when Waltz sought to add Hughes to the Signal group chat – but ended up adding Goldberg’s number to the 13 March message chain named 'Houthi PC small group,' where several top U.S. officials discussed plans for strikes against the Houthis," The Guardian reported.
Waltz has survived calls for his firing over his use of Signal because the White House had authorized use of the non-secure platform, which automatically deletes messages after they've been read, because the administration, like its predecessor, had not developed an alternative platform to text in real time across multiple agencies, two sources said.
"As a temporary solution, the Trump White House told officials to use Signal as they had done during the transition instead of regular text-message chains," The Guardian reported.
The White House did not comment on the report, and sources said the investigation did not determine the extent of Waltz's relationship with Goldberg, who offered a brief comment on the topic.
“I’m not going to comment on my relationship with Mike Waltz beyond saying I do know him and have spoken to him," Goldberg said.
‘Unusual requests’ from ‘diva’ Trump appointee rattles White House

One of president Donald Trump's nominees has been stressing out his staffers with his peculiar and highly specific requests.
Interior secretary Doug Burgum has placed unusual demands on his employees, four sources familiar with his leadership told The Atlantic, and his chief of staff JoDee Hanson reflected his idiosyncratic preferences by directing political appointees in his office to regularly bake chocolate chip cookies for the boss and his guests using industrial ovens at department headquarters.
"Some of the concerns have been elevated to senior White House officials, according to the sources," the magazine reported. "One person familiar with the behavior described Burgum as 'Doug the diva.' Three people said the concerns have been widely discussed among lower-level staff at the Department of Interior. Two people said political appointees in Burgum’s office have been seen crying because of the demands placed on them."
At least once, a political appointee was told to make the cookies again because their batch was subpar three sources said, and four sources claim office leadership once instructed political appointees to act as servers for a multicourse meal and dispatched a U.S. Park Police helicopter for Burgum's personal transportation – all of which Trump administration officials vehemently denied.
“These pathetic smears are from unnamed cowards who don’t know Doug Burgum and are trying to stop President Trump’s Energy Dominance agenda,” said interior spokesperson Katie Martin. “Everyone knows secretary Burgum always leads with gratitude and is humbly working with president Trump.”
ALSO READ: 'Not much I can do': GOP senator gives up fight against Trump's tariffs
Two department officials speaking on the condition of anonymity told The Atlantic the cookies were made from premade dough bought from a store and then served to guests and staff as a show of hospitality, and they claimed the helicopter was arranged by his security detial.
“He’s not demanding cookies, he’s not demanding a helicopter,” an Interior Department official said. “It is antithetical to diva behavior.”
His chief of staff has told federal workers that the tradition of staffers baking cookies began when Burgum was governor of North Dakota, according to two sources, and a White House spokesperson waved off concerns about the issue when asked to comment.
“Only The Atlantic could spin baking warm cookies for guests as a bad thing. Cold-hearted people!” said White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly. “Secretary Burgum is doing an outstanding job leading the Department of Interior.”
Interior officials also defended two other highly precise demands he makes on staffers, such as removing labels from water bottles, supposedly to avoid branding issues for social media photos, and stacking firewood in his office's fireplace.
"At times, he has instructed his staff on the finer points of arranging logs so they won’t collapse and create noise when burning during meetings," The Atlantic reported. "An Interior Department official said many people in the department—from Burgum himself to the most junior staff — have helped make fires, and that if Burgum ever offered tips, it was not intended imperiously. Burgum, who worked as a chimney sweep in college, was likely just trying to be helpful."
‘Looked at my 401(k) and gasped’: Newsmax host shocked after tariffs hit personal wealth

Newsmax host Jon Glasgow said he was shocked after the stock market's reaction to President Donald Trump's tariffs took a toll on his personal wealth.
"I looked at my 401k and gasped," Glasgow told former Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA) on Sunday. "I mean, do you think that a lot of Americans are gonna give the Trump administration this grace period here while they trust in his plan?"
"Well, all due respect, John, you looked at your 401(k), and you're in your 30s or maybe 40s, and your — your portfolio looks a lot different than someone who's gonna retire this year," Santorum replied. "Certainly younger folks and even folks maybe five or 10 years away from retirement have seen a dramatic hit."
"And it's going to be — it's a problem," Santorum continued. "Look, there's — there's no question Donald Trump is facing a huge problem with what's happened to the market."
ALSO READ: 'Came as a surprise to me': Senators 'troubled' by one aspect of government funding bill
"And he's got to do some things here in the very short term to reassure the markets that this trade — this tariff policy is a policy that I would even argue that — that he's a free trader," Santorum added.
Santorum predicted the markets would "react positively" if Trump painted himself as a free trade president.
Glasgow ended the segment by calling Trump's tariff policy "the most bold move a president has ever made in the history of the United States."
Watch the video below from Newsmax.
Florida to host 45 protests against Trump in single day as he plays golf in the state

Activists were expected to gather for at least 45 protests against President Donald Trump and DOGE administrator Elon Musk while the commander-in-chief visited three of his golf courses in the state.
The 45 protests were just some of the 1,000 nationwide demonstrations planned for Saturday against the Trump administration as a part of the "Hands Off!" movement, according to USA Today. The protests will come just days after Trump's so-called Liberation Day, when he announced tariffs on dozens of countries.
Trump was scheduled to travel to Florida on Thursday, where he will visit three golf courses he owns before returning to Washington, D.C., next week.
"Donald Trump and Elon Musk think this country belongs to them. We are fighting back! They're taking everything they can get their hands on — our health care, our data, our jobs, our services — and daring the world to stop them. This is a crisis, and the time to act is now. On Saturday, April 5th, we're taking to the streets to fight back with a clear message: Hands off!" a statement from organizers said.
ALSO READ: 'I miss lynch mobs': The secretary of retribution's followers are getting impatient
"This mass mobilization day is our message to the world that we do not consent to the destruction of our government and our economy for the benefit of Trump and his billionaire allies. Alongside Americans across the country, we are marching, rallying, and protesting to demand a stop the chaos and build an opposition movement against the looting of our country."
Protesters expressed a "commitment to nonviolent action."
"We expect all participants to seek to de-escalate any potential confrontation with those who disagree with our values," the organizers insisted.
Trump can expect to see protestors near his Mar-a-Lago resort between 3 pm and 5 pm on Saturday.
More information was available at handsoff2025.com.
‘We are not kidding’: CNN’s Dana Bash needles Trump over penguins embroiled in trade war

CNN's Dana Bash on Thursday mocked President Donald Trump for leveling tariffs against an island that are inhabited solely by penguins.
"No one is safe from President Trump's new tariffs, not even penguins," she said. "A remote island near Antarctica that is home to mainly penguins, no humans, is now subject to a 10 percent American tariff. This is not a joke. We are not kidding. These penguins, who do not trade goods or services with the United States as far as we know, are on the receiving end of a new tax."
Bash said that there were serious questions, however, raised by Trump's decision to launch a trade war against a penguin island.
"In addition to it just being ridiculous, there is the question of how did this even happen?" she wondered.
Trump's tariffs actually included two places, Heard Island and McDonald Islands, that are Australian territories near Antarctica and have no human inhabitants.
ALSO READ: 'For what purpose?' Ex-officials question DOGE staffer accessing children's private data
NPR White House correspondent Tamara Keith said that the inclusion of the penguin island in the tariff package was an indication that "essentially, this was put together very quickly even though Donald Trump has been talking about this very thing for years."
Conservative panelist Jonah Goldberg argued that the slapdash nature of the tariff rollout would spell big political trouble for Trump going forward.
"We heard [Commerce Secretary] Howard Lutnick, just before the show, came on saying... 'Trust Donald Trump to run the global economy,'" he said. "And there are lots of people, small businesses. they're going to go out of business. There are small businesses that are going to suffer. There are lots of consumers who are going to have to pay more at the grocery store. And we're supposed to trust them to run the global economy, and they're taxing penguins. And it goes to the credibility of the administration."
Watch the video below or at this link.
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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."

