‘Disgusting’: Big-name conservative rips Trump’s ‘dorkiest’ bullying attempt
A prominent conservative analyst ripped President Donald Trump's administration on Monday for its "dorkiest" attempt to bully one of its political foes.
On Monday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced that the Department of Defense was reducing Sen. Mark Kelly's (D-AZ) retirement pay as punishment for participating in a video with five other Democrats in which they told military personnel to be suspicious of orders from the Trump administration. Trump described Kelly's comments as "seditious" in a Truth Social post.
Bill Kristol, the editor at large for The Bulwark, discussed the administration's move on a new episode of "The Bulwark Podcast" on Monday.
"Just how disgusting it is what they're doing," Kristol said. "Mark Kelly is a United States Senator serving with distinction, and he happened to make a correct argument that you don't have to obey unlawful orders, and you should be wary of some of the orders coming from this administration."
Kristol also warned that there could be unintended consequences of the move against Kelly.
"It's dorky, and it's stupid, and Mark Kelly doesn't care," Kristol said. "There are a lot of retired military and ... not all of them are famous like Mark Kelly, and some of them are living off their retirement and whatever, and don't want to be publicly humiliated and knocked down a rank."
"I worry always about the intimidation effects of these things even when they're done in the dorkiest bullying way," he continued.
Trump shocks when asked who is ‘top person’ in charge after Venezuelan strongman ousted
President Donald Trump made a stunning claim Monday evening about who's in charge in Venezuela after he ordered Venezuelan strongman Nicolás Maduro to be captured in a pre‑dawn U.S. special operations raid on Caracas.
Maduro was taken into custody on Saturday and flown to New York to face narco‑terrorism and related drug charges. The mission used elite troops that leveled Venezuela’s air defenses and blacked out parts of the capital. Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were seized at a military complex after a brief firefight.
The surprise ouster left swirling questions about who would come to power in the country. Speaking to NBC News, Trump delivered a shocking response.
Kristen Welker asked Trump who will be "in charge" of Venezuela, if it was going to be Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, or White House advisor Stephen Miller.
"Are those the top three people would you say, sir?" she asked.
"Yeah, among the top people ... JD will be involved also," he added.
When asked who would be the "top person if there is one," Trump replied, "Me."
Also in the interview, Trump said he "get[s] the sense that Delcy Rodríguez, Venezuela's vice president who was sworn in as interim president on Monday, is "cooperating" with U.S. officials.
"They need help. And I get the sense that you know she loves her country and she wants her country to survive," he said.
Mike Lindell vows feeble ‘foundation’ will ‘secure welfare’ checks if he wins governorship
MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell vowed to use his feeble Lindell Foundation to secure the welfare system if he's elected governor of Minnesota.
During a Monday interview with Steve Bannon, Lindell reacted to reports that Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison (D) could run for governor now that current Gov. Tim Walz (D) had dropped his re-election campaign.
"Yeah, and Keith Ellison has been attacking me for a year ago, September, that my Lindell Recovery Network, by the way, also my foundation, which is going to have a lot to do with securing these welfare platforms in Minnesota," Lindell said. "I've been all laid out, ready to go, and Keith Ellison knows that."
According to ProPublica, the Lindell Foundation gave about $1,000 for charitable causes out of the more than $18,000 it had received in 2021 donations.
