House Speaker Mike Johnson just lit the fuse on Republicans' politically explosive third rail, and a Salon columnist warned Saturday it's a sign the GOP is gearing up to gut Medicare and Social Security.

"The largest spending items, the reason we're in trouble, are because over 74 percent of federal spending is on autopilot — mandatory spending, that is, your entitlement programs like Medicare, Medicaid and things like Social Security — they have to be adjusted and fixed," Johnson told conservative radio host Moon Griffon this week. "We have a plan to do that next year."

Salon columnist Heather Digby Parton argued the remarks confirm President Donald Trump's repeated promises to defend the safety-net programs were "another lie."

Project 2025, the conservative blueprint guiding much of Trump's second term, floated raising the retirement age to 69 or 70, altering benefit schedules, cutting disability payments, and pushing toward total Medicare privatization, Parton noted.

She also pointed to Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), who has openly suggested Trump's "Trump baby bonds" could pave the way for the broader Social Security privatization push that failed under George W. Bush.

"There is no article of faith more fundamental to the American conservative creed than the premise that Social Security and Medicare are socialist programs that must be privatized or eliminated altogether," Parton wrote.

Johnson's remarks have already drawn scathing analysis — and prompted one GOP lawmaker to fake a phone call to dodge a reporter pressing him on the issue.

"There’s a certain 'boy who cried wolf' quality to the perennial alarms about the GOP’s lust to get rid of these big federal programs that go back to FDR’s New Deal (Social Security) and LBJ’s Great Society (Medicare)," wrote Digby Parton.

She also issued a grim warning.

"But make no mistake: The minute they actually get the chance to take them down, they will," she concluded.

One of Donald Trump's personal lawyers in the E. Jean Carroll case is days away from a lifetime seat on a powerful federal appeals court, and legal experts say his written confirmation responses are riddled with "disturbing" red flags that can't be ignored.

Justin D. Smith serves as the counsel of record in Trump v. Carroll, where the president has asked the Supreme Court to overturn the civil judgment that found him liable for sexual abuse and defamation of Carroll. Trump has consistently denied Carroll's allegations, calling them a "hoax" and "politically motivated." He has continued to appeal both civil verdicts.

Smith was nominated by Trump as an "America First Fighter" in February to serve as a judge for the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Louis. The Senate advanced Smith by a unanimous consent agreement on Thursday and is set to vote on Monday.

But Smith’s written responses to the Senate Judiciary Committee’s questions are “disturbing” and present “a whole host of red flags,” said Nora Demleitner, a legal scholar and former president of St. John's College in Annapolis, Maryland.

Notably, Smith continues to misrepresent details about Carroll’s case relating to a “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” episode in his responses to questions from Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL), ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

That includes misattributing to Carroll a quote from Trump’s former lawyer Joe Tacopina about an “amazing coincidence” involving a less-than-one-minute plot point from the “Law & Order” episode.

Smith's cert petition to the Supreme Court attributes the phrase "amazing coincidence" to Carroll herself — language Carroll never used.

The phrase was coined by Tacopina, Trump's lawyer at the time, during cross-examination. Carroll used "amazing" to praise the "Law & Order" writers for "keying in to the psyche of their viewers." When Tacopina rephrased her response as "amazing coincidence," Carroll pointedly substituted "astonishing" and immediately denied basing her allegation on the show.

Durbin asked Smith about how he “misrepresented” the details of a “Law & Order” episode in his written questions, which gave Smith “a chance to clear the record,” said Harold Krent, law professor and interim dean at the Chicago-Kent College of Law.

“The fact that he would have a misstatement again would be either he's very lazy, stubborn or very careless — or it's material,” Krent said.

Since Smith likely wasn’t under oath answering the Senate Judiciary questions, misstatements in the responses wouldn’t be perjury, but “it would be considered a false statement to Congress if he would ever be investigated and charged with that,” Krent said.

Lawyers can also “get punished under attorney disciplinary rules if you exaggerate too much,” Krent said.

“If you flat out lie, then it is presumably some kind of false statement to an official authority, almost never prosecuted,” Krent said.

The Trump administration “is not going to investigate [Smith], but a subsequent administration could investigate and have to decide whether that was a material misstatement or again just a careless or maddening exaggeration.”

Instead, the Trump administration announced investigations related to the case last month, looking into whether Carroll herself committed perjury, along with investigations into the nonprofit of Democratic billionaire and LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman, who helped fund Carroll’s litigation against Trump.

‘So much lying’

The “Law & Order: SVU” episode called “Theatre Tricks” discusses a consensual “roleplay” with a New York judge and a woman “that took place in the dressing room at Bergdorf’s while she was trying on lingerie,” according to the episode viewed by Raw Story.

Smith’s certiorari petition to the Supreme Court incorrectly describes the episode where “a business mogul fantasizes about raping a victim in a Bergdorf Goodman dressing room '[w]hile she was trying on lingerie.'”

Carroll accused Trump of sexually assaulting her in a dressing room at the Bergdorf Goodman department store in the 1990s. Carroll testified at trial that she had not seen the episode and did not make up the allegation based on the show.

A federal jury found Trump liable for sexual abuse and defamation in May 2023, awarding Carroll $5 million. In January 2024, a second jury found Trump liable for $83.3 million in damages for Carroll’s defamation claims.

The inaccuracies are not likely to rise to the level of stopping Smith’s confirmation, Krent and Demleitner agreed.

“We've seen so much lying — I think perjury — by officials and the administration, and this just doesn't seem to be of the same caliber,” Krent said.

Even the Supreme Court justices themselves are “not quoting accurately anymore,” Demleitner said. Justice Samuel Alito recently came under fire for citing a misleading brief in the Louisiana v. Callais decision, which gutted Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act.

“There'll be enough of an argument for a GOP senator to make to confirm him, despite those misrepresentations,” Demleitner said.

Lori A. Ringhand, a professor at the University of Georgia School of Law, has authored several books about judicial confirmations.

“Lawyers sitting before the Senate Judiciary Committee are usually pretty careful about their words and good at walking a fine line that prevents outright lying. Instead, they hedge, they add fudge words, or they answer a slightly different question than they were asked,” Ringhand told Raw Story via email.

‘Truly disturbing’

Demleitner said Smith’s impending confirmation is “really troublesome” for his other written responses to Senate Judiciary questions.

When asked if Trump lost the 2020 election, Smith responded by saying President Joe Biden was certified as the winner. The topic of the election was a contentious point in Smith’s hearing last month, where he would not answer the same yes-or-no question.

“The 2020 election question should generally be a red flag to everybody. I think these nominees apparently are trying to strike a balance between staying in the good favor and graces of the person who nominated them, the president, and, on the other hand, obviously trying to get confirmed by the Senate, which is a tightrope to run for some of them,” Demleitner said.

Demleitner was also concerned about Smith’s written responses about Supreme Court precedents. In only two cases — the landmark civil rights cases Brown v. Board of Education and Loving v. Virginia — he explicitly said “Yes” that the Supreme Court correctly decided cases.

“I thought it truly disturbing to make that kind of distinction between Supreme Court cases, and also only that kind of the most iconic cases that would never be reconsidered … cases that have become a fabric of our society,” Demleitner said.

Advocacy groups have expressed concerns about Smith’s anti-abortion record, and during the confirmation hearing, Durbin questioned Smith about his involvement in political groups.

Demleitner said Smith’s advocacy to the Supreme Court makes her “worry about the claim of unbiased decision-making.”

“We should all be concerned about these types of lawyers being on the federal bench. I think we've certainly seen a number of Trump nominees turning out to be excellent lawyers [who] really weigh the facts and weigh the law and have ruled against the president as much as in favor of the president or the administration, whenever different questions arose,” she said.

“On the other hand, we have seen some, especially appellate court nominees, who do not seem to understand that they're not the advocates for the government, but instead that they are impartial judges.”

Smith did not immediately respond to Raw Story’s request for comment.

Richard Wolff, a renowned economics professor, issued a grave prediction recently that not only would the United States ultimately “lose” its war against Iran, but that the loss would bring about an end to the U.S. “global empire” that had stood unrivaled for more than six decades.

“The United States operated for the last 65, 70 years on empire, a global empire,” said Wolff, who teaches at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, in a video interview published this week.

“The U.S. dollar was the currency used everywhere in the world, the U.S. Navy protected shipping and made sure that the United States got what it wanted out of any other country in the world. People like you and me, we lived in a time when the American empire was dominant and it was growing. Here comes the hard part: that part of American history is over! It's not coming back, it's done.”

Iran appears to have emerged from the conflict with the United States as a new “major world power,” having been able to withstand the full military might of the United States and survive largely intact. As such, Wolff argued, the global perception of the United States would likely shift following the war, and to such an extent as to cause great economic damage.

“The damage to the American economy, which is already declining, will be huge. Every small country in the world has had their problems with the United States. Now they can imagine winning,” Wolff said.

“They haven't been able to imagine that for 75 years, and that's a new exciting option. When you put that together with the fact that they can turn to China to buy and sell almost everything, what do they need the United States for?”

And, as noted by Wolff, the decision to launch the U.S. war against Iran was made by President Donald Trump, who he described as “not the sharpest knife in the drawer.”

“Not a good time to be Donald Trump, even in MAGA land, they're having doubts about it,” Wolff said.

If you’re GenX or older, then you’re old enough to remember the excitement around America’s Bicentennial in 1976.

I was only seven years old, and my memories are hazy from that time, but I do recall that my family spent the celebration at a resort in upstate New York. I can’t remember which one, but it was probably one where a lot of Jewish families stayed. I don’t remember who else was there, but I know I went shopping for special outfits with my mother for the trip, probably at KMart. Everything was red, white, and blue that summer and everybody talked about their plans for the bicentennial and basically nothing else. I know my dress to “go down to dinner” on the 4th was a sleeveless red-and-white gingham sundress with frills on the shoulders.

Everyone was so happy and so loud. All of the adults were drinking and smoking, kids were running around with sparklers and, of course, there were fireworks. A proper slice of Americana, like something out of a movie.

And here we are again, on the brink of celebrating America’s 250th birthday, and it’s going to yet again be like something out of a movie.

Except that movie is called Idiocracy.

The White House is currently obscured by a giant UFC Octagon ahead of Toddler Trump’s 80th birthday party on Sunday. Of all the mortifying things Trump has done, this has brought the kind of global embarrassment that can’t be calibrated by even the most advanced of scientific instruments. Shirtless men are going to beat the crap out of each other in front of what’s supposed to be a symbol of leadership.

Now, it’s the White Trash House.

It looks like the three-ring circus it is. It breaks my heart every time I look at it. Because, despite everyone joking about it and making clever memes about it, Trump has deliberately destroyed the People’s House because he hates America.

Tara Dublin/X

But they need a ballroom to feel safe?

None of this destruction should have been allowed. He could’ve built it on his own property, and it would even be on brand for Florida. But instead, he used who-knows-whose money (not his) and turned the South Lawn into a Carny Paradise. The attendees will revel in the spectacle of shirtless men beating the crap out of each other as a birthday present for an 80-year-old criminal fraud at the center of the biggest political cover-up in American history.

We’re still learning even more about the Epstein Files cover-up, something our Founders never could have imagined when they created this non-Christian nation conceived in liberty. While Trump was fixating on turning DC into Mar-A-Lago on the Potomac, his entire staff was meeting in the Situation Room to figure out how to keep protecting him, instead of giving the victims the justice they all deserve. They’ve all known for far too long what’s in those files, and they’ve done nothing about any of it.

Also, the mere thought of them meeting in the Situation Room, where important decisions about national security are made, is just another infuriating mental image to add to all of the terrible real ones we’re subjected to every day.

Now add what it’ll cost to have a proper backyard barbecue this year, thanks to skyrocketing grocery prices, and everyone staying closer to home because a road trip like the one my family took in 1976 is out of the question, thanks to the current gas prices.

So yeah, you’d have to forgive us for not feeling all that proud to celebrate the country’s upcoming birthday.

However, I always want to inject optimism and positivity wherever I can. We have reasons to celebrate this year, I promise!

As I write this, workers are removing Trump’s name from the Kennedy Center, an actual victory for America instead of the pyrrhic ones we’ve been forced to endure thanks to that dozy bulldozing ingrate. People held watch parties across the country to see it happen in real time, just like people had Knicks watch parties all over Manhattan to resolutely boo the most unpopular person to ever fall asleep behind the Resolute Desk.

There’s been terrible weather in Washington all week, with thunderstorms predicted on Sunday to make Trump’s party a literal washout. You can almost believe in divine intervention when the weather seems this targeted.

You love to see it! Too bad they can’t move the event inside to the incomplete Epstein Bunker, huh?

If you’re lucky enough to live somewhere with great weather on Sunday, No Kings protest marches are scheduled all across the country to make sure Trump has the most miserable birthday of his entire life. It’s going to be 92 degrees here in Portland, and along with the main march downtown, there’s going to be a more family-friendly carnival-type thing in a park with A LOT of trees providing shade. I think I might opt in for that instead of baking in the streets and feeling mad.

Speaking of Portland, I’m extra proud to be an Oregonian after learning that our state was the first to drop out of Trump’s dumb “America 250” State Fair. I’m sure Oregon won’t be the last Blue state to drop out. It’ll be just like when all of the artists dropped out of Trump’s dumb “America 250” concert, which is now just him and Vanilla Ice. The “State Fair” will probably just be Alabama by the time July 4th rolls around.

One last bit of good news: Democrats now have an 82% chance of taking back the House in November! And those odds might even increase now that we have a new catchphrase to use against Trump in every campaign ad for the next five months.

Ohio Republican gubernatorial nominee Vivek Ramaswamy may have an unexpected problem: his own campaign captain doesn't fully buy his pitch.

At a recent county GOP Lincoln Day dinner in Piketon, Ohio, Ramaswamy delivered his now-trademark riff on opportunity in America.

"We call it the American dream for a reason, because there is no Canadian dream, there is no British dream, there is no Chinese dream. I understand why many are skeptical, but what I’m talking about tonight is how we are going to turn Ohio into the cradle of the American dream once again," he told the crowd, Politico reported Saturday.

But Setys Kelly, the Ramaswamy campaign's captain in nearby Clark County, wasn't sold on his pitch that anyone can come to the United States and achieve that dream.

She shook her head as he shared his version of the American dream.

"I'm going to be a hard no on that. You need to be an American to do the American dream," Kelly, who is white, told the outlet. "I come from Springfield, land of the Haitians. … I just don't want any more of that kind of immigration where they just dump them on you."

The public break underscores the strain running through Ramaswamy's campaign.

Indian American and Hindu, Ramaswamy has been the target of escalating racist attacks from elements of the online right, including a far-right Christian nationalist pastor who said the candidate must be "demolished."

Ramaswamy has pushed back publicly on the racist attacks, writing in December: "Americanness isn't a scalar quality that varies based on your ancestry. It's binary: Either you're an American or you're not."

Politico interviewed more than 20 voters and strategists across Ohio, which is 80 percent white and two-thirds Christian, and found that Ramaswamy's background was viewed as a real political hurdle. Few admitted their own uneasiness with Ramaswamy's race, but several said they knew a neighbor who won't vote for him because he is nonwhite. None said they would reject him because of his religion, but several said they know people at church who will.

"Most of us, the only time we've ever been in a room with someone of color like him was when you went to see your doctor," Denny Malloy, a white Trumbull County GOP chair who supports Ramaswamy, told Politico. "When you get to eastern Ohio, they look at him like they don't know how to accept him."

He'll face Democrat Amy Acton in November.

Marco Rubio's comparison that President Donald Trump's White House UFC bash is akin to the Apollo moon landing left an MS NOW panel stunned.

The Secretary of State defended the controversial mixed martial arts event during a Thursday appearance, casting UFC Freedom 250 as a quintessentially American feat on par with one of the nation's greatest achievements.

"You just gotta hear this bizarre comparison he made," quipped host Jonathan Capehart.

"When President Kennedy announced that we were going to put a man on the moon and return him safely to the Earth, no one thought that was possible. And we did it," Rubio said in the clip. "We are a nation founded on doing what no one else dared to do, and no one else aspired to do. And at some level, that's what this whole company, what UFC has been."

MS NOW panelists burst into laughter off camera, as Capehart tried to hold back a chuckle and added, "I'm just gonna leave that alone."

Scrutiny has grown over the spectacle.

Court filings show the $60 million UFC event is being supported by at least seven federal agencies, while D.C. taxpayers will foot an estimated $10 to $12 million in supplemental security costs, per ESPN.

Reuters/Ipsos polling shows just 16 percent of Americans support holding the fights at the White House. Critics — including the Public Integrity Project, which has called the event a "volcano of corruption" — argue the bash is a thinly veiled birthday celebration for Trump, who bought UFC parent company stock before announcing the event.

Laura Barron-Lopez wrote for MS NOW about a $1 million per plate fundraiser for Trump's top super PAC the night before the brawl.

"And Trump 'officially designed' a line of 'Trump x UFC Freedom 250' medallions, which are selling for $250 to $12,000," she wrote.

Sharing an excerpt from her piece, Capehart was left aghast.

"What in the grift is this?" he questioned.

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif revealed Saturday that a peace deal between the United States and Iran was imminent, and that mediators were already preparing to electronically certify the agreement between the two nations.

“We are closer to a peace deal than ever before,” Sharif said in a statement published on social media. “With finalisation likely expected in the next 24 hours, Pakistan is preparing for the electronic signing of the peace deal immediately after, followed by technical level talks next week.”

The U.S. war against Iran has been waged for more than 100 days as of last Sunday, despite President Donald Trump having insisted the war would end by early April. The conflict has proven to be deeply unpopular among Americans, with 13 U.S. service members killed and 381 injured. The U.S. and Israeli militaries together have killed 3,468 Iranians and injured 26,500 as of June 10.

“We would like to thank United States of America and Islamic Republic of Iran for their ongoing commitment during the negotiations, and we extend our sincere appreciation to our brothers in the region for their support,” Sharif continued. “We are confident that this historic peace deal will form a strong foundation for lasting peace.”

Donald Trump's top media regulator just declared "open season" on ABC and a former Federal Communications Commission counselor warned the consequences could be devastating.

The FCC's late-April decision forcing ABC to apply early to renew the licenses for its eight owned local TV stations has now opened a public pleading window where anyone in the country can petition to deny those renewals through June 29, The Guardian reported Saturday.

"Is this open season on ABC? Without a doubt," Gigi Sohn, who served as counselor to former FCC chair Tom Wheeler during the Obama administration, told the outlet.

The early-renewal order came a day after President Donald Trump and his wife, Melania, lobbied for ABC to cancel late-night host Jimmy Kimmel over a joke about the first lady, according to the report. FCC Chair Brendan Carr has denied that the decision was politically motivated, insisting it stemmed from an ongoing investigation into Disney's diversity, equity, and inclusion practices.

ABC argued in an 18-page memo in May that the DEI probe was a pretext for retaliating against a disfavored broadcaster and chilling protected speech.

Meanwhile, the FCC is running a parallel enforcement action against ABC's daytime talk show "The View," investigating a potential violation of equal-time rules. Comments on that probe close June 22.

ABC has hired Supreme Court litigator Paul Clement to defend the network. The full process could take up to three years.

Sohn speculated that any license revocation would be swiftly overturned.

“This is entirely about attacking ABC,” she said. “Is it about taking away their licenses? Brendan Carr is not a dummy. He knows that if he tried to take away ABC’s licenses that he would lose so badly in court. I mean, he would get spanked by a court, but it doesn’t need to get that far to make things very, very painful for ABC.”

After defending President Donald Trump’s deeply unpopular war against Iran, Former White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer was pressed Friday evening on why he wasn’t “on the front lines in Iran,” a question that sent the ex-Trump official into a rage.

Spicer appeared on “Piers Morgan Uncensored" alongside several guests to discuss the ongoing U.S. war against Iran, which Spicer claimed Trump had launched “because it was the right thing to do.”

Harry Sisson, a liberal influencer and political commentator, immediately pressed Spicer on why he wasn’t currently deployed to the Middle East to support the war effort.

“I don’t know why Sean hasn’t signed up to serve, you should go over there, Sean! Go serve in Iran right now, Sean!” Sisson said. “You keep talking about this great war, ‘we’ve got to do it’ – I’d love to see you on the front lines out in Iran.”

Spicer, who joined the Navy Reserve in 1999 as a public affairs officer, didn’t take well to Sisson’s remarks.

“Why don’t you read my bio, take a time out for a second before you say stupid things like that,” Spicer said. “Get your head out of your a--! I am in the military, you dumba--!”

Sisson quipped back, “Okay, great, go suggest yourself to serve, call them up and say ‘I want to go to Iran!’”

Spicer refused to directly address Sisson’s suggestion, and instead hurled another insult at the liberal commentator.

“I wish your smug little a-- understood anything about how this works,” Spicer said.

Sisson responded, “Sean, cry more. You’re one of these wealthy Republicans who sits in your wealthy home and tells other people to go serve while you’re sitting there making a bunch of money, advocating for Donald Trump. Go serve!”

“I’m not crying!” Spicer insisted.

HOUSTON — Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick on Friday said Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate Rep. James Talarico will “go to hell” for his interpretations of the Bible, as Talarico has made his Christian faith a cornerstone of his campaign.

Speaking at the Republican Party of Texas’ convention in Houston, Patrick accused Talarico, an Austin state representative, of introducing faith into the contentious Senate race, expected to be expensive and brutal as Democrats seek to capitalize on anti-Trump sentiment to claim the minority party’s first statewide victory in more than three decades.

"It's James Talarico who decided to bring the Bible into this election. And let me tell you, that's not a Bible I've ever read. I've never seen so much blasphemy from anyone running for office,” Patrick said to an uproar of applause. “Let me tell you what, I'm going to pray for that guy, because when he loses the Senate race, if he campaigns against God as he's been doing, he's going to Hell, for sure. That's what we're up against. That's the darkness. That's the light. That's why we must be one."

In a statement Friday evening, Talarico responded saying that Patrick had "sold out the poor, the sick, and the vulnerable to enrich his donors" for decades.

"Love feels like blasphemy when you worship power," Talarico wrote in a social media post.

Attorney General Ken Paxton, Talarico's general election opponent, also spoke at the convention.

A GOP leader, Patrick has also been a staunch advocate for Christian values — often championing proposed legislation as the presiding officer of the Texas Senate that historically failed in the Texas House until recent victories, like requiring the display of Ten Commandments in public schools.

President Trump also tapped Patrick, a close ally, to lead the Presidential Religious Liberty Commission tasked with drafting policy proposals regarding religious freedom.

This article first appeared on The Texas Tribune.

My 62nd birthday was this past Friday.

I celebrated by running nine miles with a guy from my gym who is 32 years younger than me and has the most insane 90-minute workout regimen you’ve ever witnessed. I’m proud to be 62. But after June 12, it all goes downhill.

That’s because two days after my birthday, Donald Trump turns 80.

He doesn’t seem nearly as proud of getting older as I do.

Watch the man for five minutes and you’ll understand why. The bad paint job on his face. The mangled wire of cheaply dyed blonde hair sitting on top of his head. The foundation he cakes on before he goes on camera. He’s phoney like baloney.

Everything about Donald Trump’s public presentation is designed to make you forget that he is, by any measure, an old man. He’s an octogenarian. A person who, if he were anyone else, might be spending his weekends at a great-grandchild’s soccer game rather than posting unhinged memes at 2 a.m. on a Sunday morning.

But Trump isn’t aging gracefully — at all — and the fakery of his facade is starting to bust out like his cankles.

When he was on his way back to Washington after attending the Knicks vs. Spurs NBA Finals on Monday night (I believe the Knicks lost because he was there), he stepped off Marine One, and lit up social media. Trump serpentined across the tarmac like a senile old man who forgot the difference between left, right and center.

He clutches railings going up and down the steps of Air Force One, wobbling gingerly and slowly. It is only a matter of time until, like Joe Biden before him, he gets quietly rerouted to the smaller, lower stairs tucked underneath the plane.

The ones reserved for men in their 80s, said with all due respect to President Biden.

For his 80th birthday, Trump is planning a blood-and-gore celebration UFC match on the White House lawn. What better way to mark eight decades of life than watching people getting punched in the mouth — which, even on a good day, should happen to Trump.

But while Trump parties, the rest of America will be celebrating his birthday differently, by paying for it due to his ineptitude and mistakes.

This week, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics revealed that annual headline inflation accelerated to 4.2%, the highest level in three years.

Inflation is surging. Grocery bills are climbing. Gas prices are up. Electric bills, car prices, flights, vacations, the basic architecture of a decent American life is getting more expensive by the day.

Trump is so happy that you are paying more for everything. On Wednesday, in what may be the most honest — and stupidest — thing he’s said in months, Trump told the country, “I love the inflation.” That’s your birthday message from the White House.

Happy Trump’s birthday, America. You'd better live it up, while you can still afford to.

Meanwhile, Americans are watching what was once described as a two-week “excursion” into Iran stretch into its fourth month, with no end in sight and no deal materializing despite Trump’s near-daily promises that one is just around the corner.

On Thursday, he went from “taking total control” of Iran’s oil industry with military action, to canceling military strikes. Why? You guessed it. Because a deal is near — BREAKING NEWS!

And here’s another thing you didn’t ask for, but you’re getting from Trump for his birthday. A new ballroom. At your expense — trust me, we’ll pay for this somehow. Trump is tearing down the East Wing of the White House to build us all a ballroom.

Oh, wait a minute. It’s his ballroom. A ballroom, he has assured us, “the finest ballroom anywhere in the world.” He will celebrate in it. His donors will celebrate in it. You will never set foot in it.

But perhaps you’ll feel better about the inflation and the war and the ballroom knowing that at the White House, there is another very beautiful room that you are not allowed to enter — a new gold-plated luxury bathroom in the Lincoln bedroom where you will never lodge.

In April, in a speech (or diatribe) at The Villages in Florida, surrounded by senior citizens, Trump mocked the very demographic he belongs to. He stood before a crowd of older Americans and sneered at them, “Look at you old guys.” The proverbial pot calling the kettle black.

At himself, though he’d never see it that way. The man has no capacity for self-awareness, and apparently no capacity for shame, and no capacity for realizing that those “old guys” in front of him were probably in better shape than he is.

Trump wears his age the way he wears everything, as a lie and a con job, masking the truth with unadulterated B.S. Trump’s age is a thing to be managed and obscured. He is declining in plain sight, and the country is watching a man who cannot admit weakness preside over a government that is increasingly cracking apart because of it.

And because the damage being done in his name, to real people, in real time, is nothing to celebrate. And because a man who sneers at the elderly, denies his own frailty, and tells Americans he loves inflation while they struggle to buy groceries has earned nothing in the way of goodwill or good wishes.

So, maybe you will go to the grocery store this Sunday, and be horrified at the number that appears on the cash register as you check out. If so, then think of that as Trump’s costly birthday present to you.

President Donald Trump threatened Thursday to take over Washington, D.C., on a federal basis if democratic socialist Janeese Lewis George wins next week's Democratic primary for mayor.

Trump told Oval Office reporters he wouldn't like it if Lewis George prevails, reported The Washington Post. Currently, Lewis Georg is leading the polls.

“We are not going to get ICE off our streets by fearing this president. We are not going to protect our rights or Home Rule by obeying in advance. Threatening Home Rule because you do not like how residents vote is an attack on democracy itself. The people of DC elect the mayor of DC. And they want someone who will stand up to Donald Trump,” Lewis George responded.

While Trump has the authority to temporarily seize control of the city's police department and deploy the D.C. National Guard — like he did last year — he is legally barred from unilaterally revoking the city's right to self-government without congressional approval, The Washington Post reported.

Trump has not explained his opposition to Lewis George beyond her association with democratic socialist policies.

Watch the video below.

Trump's lawyers urged a federal judge to reject an effort to reopen the dismissed lawsuit that led to the $1.8 billion anti-weaponization fund, according to a new court filing.

Attorneys for Trump, his sons, and the Trump Organization argued in the Southern District of Florida filing that a group of 35 former federal judges have "no standing" to challenge the settlement that ended the case and created the anti-weaponization fund.

Trump sued the IRS for $10 billion after a contractor leaked his tax returns, which led to the settlement with an agency he oversees as president. However, the judges' theory that the settlement was collusive "is not a legal standard," the filing added.

"It is a policy objection dressed as a fraud claim," the filing described the judges' case. "It does not warrant the extraordinary remedy of reopening a closed case."

The defense of the fund comes shortly after Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche told a House Appropriations subcommittee that the Department of Justice would not move ahead with it. Blanche declined to put that in writing, however.

The White House quietly elevated Chris Klomp to chief of the Department of Health and Human Services, or HHS, counselor in February, effectively installing him as Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s handler to prevent the vaccine-skeptic from derailing GOP midterm prospects.

Democratic senators suspect Klomp was promoted to babysit RFK because the White House doesn't trust him, sources told Politico, given Kennedy's unpopular vaccine policies and unorthodox beliefs.

Klomp has wielded significant power, including selecting a pro-vaccination Centers for Disease Control and Prevention director over Kennedy's anti-vaccine preference and negotiating 17 drug-pricing deals.

Kennedy allies characterize the HHS secretary as more of a figurehead, while Klomp functions as the real chief operating officer.

A former senior HHS official alleged Klomp is out of control, trying to fire people without Kennedy's knowledge.

Trump praised Klomp, describing him as a real star, while Chief of Staff Susie Wiles is reportedly mesmerized by him.

HHS disputed the figurehead characterization, insisting Kennedy is actively engaged in departmental decisions.

Watch the video below.

A GOP group failed to prove a university violated its First Amendment rights by banning it for alleged antisemitism, the New York Times reported.

The University of Florida College Republicans were banned by the school from its Gainesville campus in March after a photo circulated showing two people giving a Nazi salute, the Times reported.

Members denied involvement with the photo, but the group was already accused of antisemitic and racist behavior, according to the Times. The University of Florida argued that it booted the group because a statewide campus Republican organization withdrew its charter, and the Gainesville branch no longer had any official affiliation, the Times reported.

Federal judge Mark Walker, from the U.S. District Court in Tallahassee, tossed a lawsuit brought by the group after finding that they didn't have enough evidence to show the University of Florida violated its free speech rights, according to the Times.

Walker also determined that the university had cause because the Republican Party of Florida or its campus affiliates never gave the group permission to use the term "Republican," per the Times, which couldn't immediately reach the lawyer for the college Republican organization for comment. The University of Florida declined to comment for the Times.

Insider editor Michael Weiss cautioned that any Iran deal President Donald Trump signs based on leaked details would constitute a "major humiliation" for the president.

According to Iran's Mehr News Agency, the proposed agreement grants Iran $300 billion in reconstruction money and $24 billion in cash — half before negotiations begin — while addressing only a ceasefire extension with no substantive progress on missile programs, financing, or terrorist proxy support.

Weiss described the deal as merely an agreement to keep talking, not an actual resolution. He suggested Trump has developed buyer's remorse, realizing he was duped into the whole endeavor after regime-change plans collapsed.

“I mean, this would be an utter humiliation. I could see why Trump would want JD Vance to go to a signing ceremony instead of Donald Trump,” Weiss laughed.

He characterized Trump as wanting "out of" the conflict entirely, having already shifted focus to Cuba.

Watch the video below.

Conservative CNN pundit Scott Jennings embarrassingly lost his attempt to defend Trump as his name came off the Kennedy Center.

"Are we upset that the president of the United States took an interest in the Kennedy Center?" Jennings asked while on a CNN roundtable.

"A lot of people are upset about that, yes," CNN host Abby Phillip responded.

"Why?" Jennings followed up before taking a shot at Trump opponents. "They've never been able to stand the fact that Donald Trump won the White House the first time, and especially the second time."

Phillip quickly countered Jennings' argument by pointing out why people are really upset about Trump's attempted renaming.

"How about Congress established the Kennedy Center as a memorial for John F. Kennedy, and that it is illegal for him to slap his name on it?" Phillip said. "That is why people are upset about it."

Jennings tried to hold up his argument, though.

"But here's the deal, he took an interest in this," Jennings said, referring to Trump.

"What about the laws, Scott?" Phillip asked.

"What about it?" Jennings shot back.

Phillip laughed as soon as Jennings said that, but he kept on going.

"Who cares?" he insisted. "These haters stand out on the street screeching about a name."

"Wow, haters," journalist Cari Champion reacted. "Unbelievable."

Trump's announcement of killing the leader of a Venezuelan gang carries a "chilling" detail, according to a legal expert.

According to Trump, the U.S. military launched a "swift and lethal" strike against the leader of Tren de Aragua, a Venezuelan gang that was a hot topic during the 2024 presidential election. Ryan Goodman, a chaired professor at NYU and editor-in-chief of Just Security, called out the details in Trump's Truth Social post announcing the strike.

Goodman was alarmed in particular by a line of Trump's post calling the gang a "foreign army."

"If they're this 'army,' what's the limiting principle for stopping that use of state lethal force?" Goodman asked. "More significant and chilling is how far you have to read down this Trump post to learn the individual was not extrajudicially killed inside the U.S."

Additionally, he said the Justice Department's position on the Alien Enemies Act seemed to "fall completely apart," when the president said the strike was coordinated "closely with our friends in Venezuela, with whom we are working very well."

Trump invoked the 1798 Alien Enemies Act against Tren de Aragua in March 2025, claiming the gang acts as an arm of the Nicolás Maduro government. The designation, his administration claimed, allowed him to deport Venezuelan migrants without ordinary due process. A declassified U.S. intelligence assessment contradicted Trump's claim that Tren de Aragua operates under Maduro's control.

"DOJ position - and statute - requires TdA to be acting on behalf of Venezuelan government," Goodman noted.

The Texas Republican Party created a viral moment in all the wrong ways at their convention when they brought a live elephant out to promote Gov. Greg Abbott's re-election campaign — and it began to urinate loudly and dramatically on the floor.

The incident prompted a predictable round of mockery from commenters on social media.

"Governor Abbott closed out his speech at the Texas GOP convention with a live elephant. It then peed on the floor as it left the room. The perfect metaphor for the Texas Republican Party," posted the official account for the Texas Democratic Party.

"The elephant turned the entire convention into a gender neutral Bathroom," wrote the "Organizermemes" account.

"Elephants are smart. Not sure what to tell you," wrote conservative commentator Stephen L. Miller.

Not everyone had a witty quip to offer, though. Many others, including some conservatives, were angry about the way the GOP was mistreating the elephant.

"Good for the elephant. It’s probably overwhelmed and anxious," wrote former Robert F. Kennedy Jr. staffer Link Lauren. "Leave animals out of this stuff. I love my people in the Texas GOP. My home state. But this is a bad look. Not necessary."

"Fascist republicans were parading around an elephant at the Texas GOP convention and it urinated all over the floor after racist murderous scumbag Greg Abbott’s propaganda speech," wrote singer-songwriter Ricky Davila. "Hurray for the Elephant and (expletive) you to the evil bastards who used that majestic animal as a prop."

Perhaps the most furious response came from HuffPost's Yashar Ali.

"Putting an elephant into a convention hall like this is torturing it beyond the full comprehension of any human being, because we do not possess the sensory capabilities elephants do," wrote Ali. "Elephants have the strongest sense of smell in the animal kingdom. They can smell WATER from many miles away. Now imagine putting this poor elephant into an enclosed space with thousands of people, perfume, food, sweat, cleaning products, flooring, and equipment. This elephant was hit with a massive wall of biological information and sensory overload that we cannot begin to understand."

"Elephants also sense sound and vibration through their FEET, not just their ears," he added. "In the wild, they can communicate with each other from miles away just by sensing communication through their feet. Now imagine what that elephant is experiencing in a convention hall: thousands of human footsteps, sound systems, equipment, metal clanging, concrete, and more. A confusing hell. Finally, hard artificial surfaces, in this case the convention hall floor, are terrible for elephants."

Annette Dombrowski and Chris Tackett, three-time Trump voters from Ohio, expressed deep disappointment with the president during interviews with MS NOW’s Alex Tabet on Friday, citing economic struggles and unfulfilled campaign promises.

The interviews came as a Conn-Selmer manufacturing plant in Eastlake, Ohio, announced closure, with Trump ally John Paulson sending jobs to China, according to reports by “Morning Joe," co-host Jonathan Lemire.

Dombrowski, a plant worker, reported experiencing panic attacks over job losses.

“I've had a couple this past week and I get very emotional over it," she said, "I don't want to work anymore, but I can't afford to retire.”

Dombrowski doesn't think Trump understands her situation because he has not lived it. She criticized his failure to lower grocery prices, noting weekly increases despite his campaign pledges.

Truck driver Chris Tackett, also a three-time Trump voter, said, “He's literally backtracked on every single pitch point he had during his election. All we heard was ‘drill, drill, drill’ during the election. And now all we're getting is drilled into the dirt with these prices. So, I'm not a fan of him.”

Tackett directly addressed Trump: "You've had a year to make it better at this point. Make it better."

Watch the video below.

The U.S. launched a military strike against the leader of a Venezuelan prison gang, Trump announced in a Truth Social post.

"At my direction, the United States Southern Command delivered a swift and lethal kinetic strike to successfully execute Niño Guerrero, the infamous leader of Tren de Aragua," Trump wrote.

Tren de Aragua was at the center of unfounded claims that Venezuelan gangs took over a Colorado city amid the 2024 presidential race.

"Joe Biden opened our Southern Border to millions of Illegal Criminals," Trump wrote, adding that the strike was "coordinated closely with our friends in Venezuela...Tren de Aragua terrorists no longer have safe haven in Venezuela."

World Cup audiences showed their anger with the United States by booing renditions of the Star-Spangled Banner.

Canadian spectators at a watch party jeered nonstop during the U.S. National Anthem at the opening of the U.S. versus Paraguay match in Los Angeles, according to a social media video.

Those boos followed heckling and hissing as the U.S. flag came out during the opening ceremony of the Canada versus Bosnia match in Toronto earlier in the day, per more video.

Trump was notably booed during his appearance at Madison Square Garden when the Knicks played the Spurs during Game 3 of the NBA Finals.

Ben Domenech, the husband of Meghan McCain and opinion editor at the right-wing Daily Wire, told The New York Times' John Guida in an interview published Friday that the GOP should be a lot more concerned about losing Senate races, and particularly that they are too quick to take the Maine race for granted.

This comes after progressive oysterman and harbormaster Graham Platner sailed to an easy win for the Democratic nomination to take on longtime Republican Sen. Susan Collins, overcoming a long series of stories about drama in his life and his unsavory past relationships with women, which the GOP hopes will damage him in the general election.

"The interesting thing about this whole focus on Maine is that if you talk to Senate Republican staff and consultants, they’re actually less worried about it than other states," said Domenech. "This is partially because of Platner’s shall we say unique collection of scandals and challenges, but it’s also because of enormous faith in Collins as a survivor."

This may be a little premature, Domenech warned.

"Top Republicans should actually be more concerned," he said. "Platner clearly has energy behind him. He speaks to a desire on the left for a strong message, and he’s shown no signs of bowing to pressure to get out for a more centrist-coded candidate." No one should count Collins out, Domenech continued, but everyone is way too quick to assume this will play out the same as in 2020, "when she came back from what seemed like a deep hole by keeping her campaign hyperlocal."

Domenech went on to add later in the conversation that the GOP thinks it's found the formula to survive the cycle — but he's not so sure.

"Parties that lose midterms tend to learn lessons about this sort of thing," said Domenech. "But Republicans still seem to think that, thanks to redistricting and their advantages in fund-raising, they could buck historical trends and hold on, perhaps even in the House. They’re just scared about gas prices. Personally, I’m skeptical."

A furious GOP Senate aide fired off at Trump for ignoring the issues that matter ahead of the midterms, the conservative Daily Mail reported Friday.

"People are p— the f— off that prices are too high and things are too expensive," a senior GOP aide told the Mail. "I'm just not sure the president really cares or if he's really in tune with what's going on on Capitol Hill."

The aide's concerns came as the November midterms approach, which could cost the GOP Senate its majority. The Daily Mail noted recent controversial moves by Trump, like the appointment of Bill Pulte as acting Director of National Intelligence, his UFC cage match on the White House lawn, and the creation of his anti-weaponization fund.

"Between the Pulte nominations and anti-weaponization fund, the White House has definitely gone rogue and instead pushed priorities without talking to Congressional leadership," another senior GOP aide told The Daily Mail, bringing up that Trump hasn't even seemed to consult Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD).

"We're begging the White House to focus on issues to help Republicans in the midterms," the second aide continued. "But it feels like it's falling on deaf ears."

A third senior GOP congressional aide agreed, saying, "The president's fiery public demands of Congress often seem disconnected from his staff's more deferential posture when dealing with GOP leadership and moderates," The Mail reported.

The congressional aide also complained about "wild swings in who gets thrown under the bus week by week," according to the Mail.

A senior GOP House aide put some of the blame on Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) for hurting House Republicans by defending Trump.

"Speaker Johnson has relied so heavily on Trump to lead the conference and clean up his messes that it's no wonder Trump has taken more of an active role in dictating what he wants to see from Congress," the House aide told The Mail. "Is it good for the institution? Not really, but Speaker Johnson is the one to blame for weakening the speakership."

A fourth Senate GOP aide concluded, "If our coalition falls apart, we will not be able to advance the president's priorities."

Mark Zuckerberg's $14 billion AI gamble hit a wall, and his own employees are losing it on internal calls.

One Meta worker interrupted a livestreamed presentation to thousands of colleagues this week, blasting the company over an open mic and demanding the call's leaders pass along a personal message to a Meta AI executive: "Tell him that he's a piece of s---," according to a recording reviewed by Wired.

A presenter buried their face in their hands, witnesses said. Other employees commented on the "spicy" opening before the meeting was muted.

The outburst was just one symptom of what the outelt described as record-low morale across Meta following CEO Mark Zuckerberg's AI restructuring — which included roughly 8,000 layoffs and the forced reassignment of about 6,500 engineers and product managers to a new unit called Applied AI.

"It's literally the gulag," a current employee told Wired. Another said the menial work is "soul-crushing." Engineers say they have no choice but to join or leave the company entirely, and some have begun referring to themselves as "draftees."

The discontent comes weeks after more than 1,600 Meta employees signed a petition demanding the company halt its program monitoring U.S. workers' clicks and keystrokes to generate AI training data. The new Applied AI unit is part of Zuckerberg's sprawling, multibillion-dollar push to compete with rival AI firms.

Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) fired back at President Donald Trump after losing her South Carolina gubernatorial primary race, vowing revenge by leaving office in January 2027.

Mace lost to Trump-backed Lt. Gov. Pam Evette, reported The Hill.

Mace posted on X, "People keep asking me: 'Will you get revenge on Trump for ending your political career?' The answer is yes. I'll be adding to the unemployment number in January."

Mace believes she lost Trump's endorsement to Evette after calling for the release of the Epstein Files.

Actor Rob Schneider, a Trump supporter, unexpectedly voiced support for Mace on X, to which Mace responded, "Never thought I'd get my Congressional send-off from Deuce Bigalow."

"Don't worry sir, I promise to be more of a menace than ever. There is nothing to hold me back." she posted on X.

Evette and Attorney General Alan Wilson will face off in a June 23 runoff.

Watch the video below.

A federal judge in Massachusetts scorched President Donald Trump's Interior Department on Friday for orders to remove all exhibits pertaining to race, sexuality, and climate from national parks — and issued an order to reverse all of it.

U.S. District Judge Angel Kelley, an appointee of former President Joe Biden, went into painstaking detail about the significance of the exhibits being torn down under the so-called "Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History" order by Interior Secretary Doug Burgum.

"The National Park system ... serves as a cornerstone of public learning, providing rich and informative signs, exhibits, and interpretive waysides on topics ranging from civil rights to environmentalism," wrote Kelley, citing "the echoes of abolition in John Brown’s Fort in Harpers Ferry ... the genesis of the modern LGBTQ+ civil rights movement at the Stonewall National Monument ... [and] the retreating ice of Glacier National Park."

The park system, she continued, is sometimes called “America’s largest classroom,” and to that end, "the Government’s stewardship of these park sites ... carries a responsibility to present history in full rather than in favored fragments."

Unfortunately, she continued, "Under the guise of promoting American dignity, this Administration seeks to share a limited history by ordering the removal of all signs, displays, and interpretive exhibits at National Parks that do not align with its preferred narrative, thereby telling half-truths."

Similar policies have led to the Trump administration's removal of slavery exhibits from the original Presidents House in Philadelphia, which was also ordered illegal by a court.

All of these removals, Kelley wrote in her opinion, add up to "government-sanctioned erasure and rejection of their histories. It strips the sites of the context that gives them meaning. It degrades the public’s trust in the government, as the Executive Order ignores congressional directives and carelessly razes decades of efforts in the pursuit of its unilateral agenda. These harms are, in all senses of the word, irreparable."

Trump lost his last-minute effort to stop the removal of his name from the Kennedy Center, according to CNN.

The DC Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the Trump administration's emergency stay request to delay the removal, CNN reported. The decision came as crews were already removing the lettering on the Kennedy Center.

According to CNN, the appeals court didn't explain its reasoning for turning down the Trump administration's request.

A long-simmering rift inside Florida's Republican Party erupted into open warfare on Friday, as far-right activist Laura Loomer unleashed a barrage of social media posts accusing Gov. Ron DeSantis of recruiting a fringe candidate to sabotage Trump-endorsed Rep. Byron Donalds.

In a series of posts on X, Loomer trained her fire on James Fishback, a 30-year-old investor running in the GOP gubernatorial primary, and on former DeSantis press secretary Christina Pushaw. She accused the governor's team of working with figures she labeled "Neo Nazis and the Muslim Brotherhood" to undermine the race.

"Ron DeSantis recruited James Fishback to run for Governor of Florida after Donald Trump refused to endorse DeSantis's wife," Loomer wrote, claiming the governor is "allergic to getting a real job and wants to have a taxpayer funded salary for the rest of his life."

Trump endorsed Donalds last year and reaffirmed that backing last month. DeSantis has pointedly declined to get behind Donalds and has floated his wife, Casey DeSantis, as a possible successor.

Loomer also alleged in a separate post that Pushaw, whom she described as Fishback's former girlfriend, helped engineer the candidacy at DeSantis's direction. Pushaw told NBC News last month that she is not working for Fishback's campaign, calling the reporting "simply not accurate."

The broadside came hours after DeSantis publicly criticized the Florida GOP for keeping Fishback off the stage at a June 27 sanctioned debate. Only Donalds met the party's polling and fundraising thresholds.

"It's counterproductive when you try to engineer an outcome," the governor said.

Loomer pounced on the line, noting that DeSantis himself signed legislation in 2023 tweaking Florida's "Resign to Run" law to clear the way for his own failed presidential bid against Trump.

"Ron DeSantis is the biggest piece of s--- in Florida," Loomer raged.

Fishback, who has called Donalds a "slave" to his donors and praised followers of white nationalist Nick Fuentes as "impressive," trails Donalds badly in polling. A Republican Party of Florida survey this month put Donalds at 38.8% and Fishback at 4.1%.

Conservative political commentator Tucker Carlson alleged Thursday that President Donald Trump ordered the FBI to shut down its investigation into Thomas Crooks, the man accused of attempting to assassinate the president in 2024.

In his Thursday interview with Mario Nawal, a Lebanese-Australian entrepreneur and prominent podcast host, Carlson claimed former FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino told him in December that Trump halted the probe.

Carlson explained he pressed Bongino about Crooks' online presence, which he alleges the FBI misrepresented as nonexistent, according to Newsweek. But Bongino allegedly became hysterical and eventually told him, "Take it up with Trump, he's the one who shut down the investigation."

Carlson said he found no legitimate explanation for Trump shutting down an investigation into his own attempted murder.

The claim comes as fresh scrutiny surrounds the assassination attempt, including newly obtained emails between Crooks and a Butler County Sheriff's deputy, in addition to omissions in toxicology reports.

Bongino vehemently denied Carlson's account Friday, calling him a lying "nepo baby" on X.

“He’s like Teddy Ruxpin, you put a coin in his back and he tells you a story,” he added.

Watch the video below.