National News

Fans of President Donald Trump's Make America Great Again movement melted down on Sunday after reality TV personality Spencer Pratt fell out of his second-place spot in Los Angeles's mayoral primary race.

Pratt, who ran as a Republican, had held a strong lead against Los Angeles City Councilmember Nithya Raman, a Democrat, in the primary race until Sunday. The Los Angeles Times reported that mail-in ballots were the key reason why Raman was able to make such a large comeback, and the trend seems likely to continue as the state allows mail-in ballots to be counted for several days following an election.

MAGA fans weren't happy to see their favorite candidate lose his lead and shared their reactions on social media.

"Spencer Pratt was robbed. This is egregious," MAGA influencer Laura Loomer posted on X.

"A woman with absolutely zero following, no groundswell of support, and no name ID absolutely killed it in mail-in voting in Los Angeles. It's just the way this state counts ballots, guys!!" Andrew Kolvet, a spokesperson for Turning Point USA, posted on X. "Free PSA: If you don't want us to assume cheating, maybe make it a little less obvious."

"Stolen election in broad daylight," Dana Loesch, a MAGA radio host, posted on X.

"Total. F------. Fraud," Mike Davis, a lawyer for the Article III project, posted on X.

"I feel genuinely terrible for all my Southern California friends who worked so hard. It was always going to go this way because that’s how communism works. Once you vote it in, you can’t vote it out," MAGA pundit Jesse Kelly posted on X.

A Democratic strategist was floored on Sunday after hearing a former Make America Great Again podcaster's blistering rebuke of President Donald Trump.

Tim Dillon, a popular comedian who boosted Trump on his podcast during the 2024 general election, claimed during a recent episode of his podcast that Trump's schtick is "not cute anymore" as Americans struggle to afford basic necessities and the Trump administration "sells the government for parts."

Mike Nellis, a Democratic strategist, seemed taken aback by Dillon's comments because they reflect the growing frustration among some Republicans.

"The problem is that a carnival barker now is President of the United States at maybe the worst possible time that we could tolerate a president like this because he has decimated the global economy across the world, but certainly here at home and the economy was already not great for a lot of people because wage growth has been depressed because of the inflationary crisis, because of the job market with AI and robotics," Nellis said.

"And we need a president that has a forward-looking vision for how to deal with the dramatic changes that are occurring in our economy right now," he added. "We need a president that's willing to take on the billionaire class of people who are stripping us of our dignity and making it harder for you to be able to pay your bills, take care of your family, take a vacation, have a hobby, stuff like that. It's disgusting, but he was entertaining."

Dillon has recently criticized Trump for "betraying MAGA" by waging war in Iran. The war has dramatically increased global energy prices, which have been a leading cause of stubborn inflation in grocery prices and other goods.

President Donald Trump is planting a bomb that is sure to explode in Republicans' faces during the midterms as he seeks to get Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche confirmed for the full AG role, according to one long-time GOP pollster.

Sarah Longwell, publisher of The Bulwark, argued during a new episode of her podcast, "Illegal News with Sarah Longwell," that confirming Blanche as Attorney General could be difficult because of the Republicans' narrow majority in the Senate. She added that Blanche's confirmation may spark a bitter intra-party fight among Republicans over some of the baggage Blanche is bringing.

"The Blanche thing is so egregious," Longwell said. "It would not surprise me at all if Blanche gets blocked by the Senate confirmation."

Longwell noted that Republicans can only afford to have four of their own party members vote against Blanche in the confirmation battle. However, there seem to be at least five — and possibly many more — who are willing to vote against Blanche to spite the president.

Longwell added that Sens. Susan Collins (R-ME), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Thom Tillis (R-NC), John Cornyn (R-TX), and Bill Cassidy (R-LA) seem likely to vote against Blanche because of how the president has treated them.

She also said that there are other Republicans who are vulnerable enough politically that they may be willing to vote against Blanche with just a little pressure.

"The obvious thing to do is to start running ads in these guys' states, people who are not completely out of their minds or who are vulnerable, because this is the kind of thing Republicans will attack other Republicans over," Longwell said, noting that the ads would focus on why Blanche was willing to give convicted sex criminal Ghislaine Maxwell a sweetheart deal to move to a low-security facility.