"Bias": Venezuela Says It Will Withdraw From International Criminal Court

07/25/26 4:45 AM

Venezuela will withdraw from the International Criminal Court over the tribunal's perceived bias, the nation's foreign minister said Friday.

"Third Time Is Better": Donald Trump Wears "2028" At Press Gala Rerun

07/25/26 9:24 AM

Donald Trump addressed the rescheduled White House correspondents dinner, three months after the event was disrupted by an assassination attempt.

'A little bit of a warning': CNN anchor surprised by expert's ominous remarks on Trump

07/24/26 10:31 PM

A military expert's comments about President Donald Trump's next steps on the Iran war stunned a CNN anchor on Friday.Host Kasie Hunt spoke to retired Navy Admiral James Stavridis after Trump addressed the military strategy in the region to get more insights about what the president was suggesting. Stavridis said the president's comments about making it a "heavier dose" against Iran with American military strikes could signal increased and larger-scale attacks."Going big, sending B-1 bombers in, putting up all those new air tanker aircraft that Kristen [Holmes] mentioned coming out of Europe gives you the ability to recycle your strikes," Stavridis said. "I think also going to the Israelis and putting them into the mix, and also talking to the Arab nations. Increasingly, I'm seeing reporting that the Saudis, the Emiratis, lately I've seen the Bahrainis, the Kuwaitis, have potentially participated. So I think what you're hearing is somebody considering going very, very big in order to push things along."Stavridis also noted something else."By the way, on a human level, the president just looks tired to me," Stavridis added. "He looks like he's a man under significant stress. And frankly, I don't envy him the decisions ahead.""A little bit of a warning in your words," Hunt said, surprised by the comment.

'Conspiracy of silence' critics urge CIA director to 'stand up to Trump' or 'resign'

07/23/26 12:34 PM

President Donald Trump's election theft speech put his CIA director in the spotlight — and now calls are mounting for him to push back, according to a new report. Questions are being raised about Director John Ratcliffe's conduct during the initial investigation into foreign election tampering and his silence now as the president fires off "Looney Tunes" accusations, MS NOW's David Rohde reported Thursday. Ratcliffe's complicity—or silence—has become impossible to ignore, according to Rohde.As Trump's current CIA director, Ratcliffe served as Director of National Intelligence from May 2020 through January 2021, controlling what intelligence reached the president's desk and what remained hidden.The timing, Rohde argued, is damning.Trump claimed in his recent speech that U.S. intelligence agencies discovered Chinese interference in the 2020 election but deliberately concealed it from him.Yet Ratcliffe was the gatekeeper deciding what Trump saw and didn't see during that exact period, Rohde noted.Trump's declassified documents, released to support his election fraud narrative, claim U.S. intelligence learned in 2020 that China had "bought, stolen or hacked" tens of millions of Americans' voting records. According to Trump, spy agencies kept this bombshell secret.But Ratcliffe was one of the officials who decided what warranted inclusion in Trump's daily briefings, Rohde wrote. He argued if the intelligence existed as Trump claims, then Ratcliffe bore responsibility for either including or excluding it."Critics say that Ratcliffe should stand up to Trump and threaten to resign — or actually resign — as cabinet members did in his first term, including former Defense Secretary Gen. Jim Mattis, former Attorney General Bill Barr, and former CIA director Gina Haspel," Rohde wrote.Instead, Ratcliffe has maintained silence—enabling what former CIA analyst Julia Curlee describes as a "conspiracy of silence" enveloping Washington.Curlee, who recently resigned after 20 years of service, told MS NOW, "To me, it was crossing a Rubicon where the institution itself was being conscripted into the creation of a product to reinforce the president's messaging. I never thought that I would see the CIA participating in a presidential effort to delegitimize elections in the eyes of Americans."Former senior CIA official Marc Polymeropoulos acknowledged Ratcliffe's impossible position: protecting both his job and the CIA's institutional integrity while serving a president hostile to both."Ratcliffe certainly does need to play it both ways in some respects, as he's got a workforce at CIA that will not react well to sources and methods being compromised based on cherry-picked intelligence to promote Looney Tunes conspiracy theories," Polymeropoulos, an MS NOW contributor added. "But at the same time, he's gotta protect his job from the mercurial Trump. So far, he's managed to successfully dance through the raindrops on this issue."

'Demented old man at the helm': Trump skewered for Truth Social diplomacy 'failure'

07/23/26 5:13 PM

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed on Thursday that President Donald Trump has used Truth Social to announce changes to the Saudi nuclear deal, sparking backlash online.Leavitt told reporters during a White House press conference that Trump had made the public comments despite the fact that he had not consulted them this time."As you know, the president just put this statement out a few hours ago," Leavitt said. "I don't believe he's had a call with MBS in the hours since. However, this is something that he has raised in previous conversations and has also said many times in the past."Social media users responded to the change.Journalist Aaron Rupar shared a clip from the press conference and noted the significant shift. "Leavitt confirms that Trump is unilaterally changing the terms of the Saudi nuclear deal via Truth Social posts without even contacting any Saudi officials," Rupar wrote on X.Others were quick to point out the president's move."This is why Trump is a failure on the world stage," Vince Wilson, a YouTube creator and liberal political commentator, wrote on X. "It’s all theatrics."U.S. politics and culture historian Joanne Freeman suggested Trump's post represented a repeating pattern."He will never stick with any deal," Freeman wrote. "He will never accept that he has lost…anything. He sees nothing but himself. Pretty clear by this point."Oeishik a political commentator, with more than 11,000 followers, openly mocked Trump's tactic."That's one way to do diplomacy, I guess. In this upside-down world," Oeishik wrote.Denison Barb, a progressive commentator with more than 19,000 followers, responded on X, When you have a demented old man at the helm no one knows what's going on."Leavitt confirms that Trump is unilaterally changing the terms of the Saudi nuclear deal via Truth Social posts without even contacting any Saudi officials pic.twitter.com/DjcRBANhvj— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) July 23, 2026

'Don't Think They'd Disappoint Me': Trump Warns Putin, Xi Against Arms Sale To Iran

07/25/26 9:34 AM

Trump's comment on Truth Social comes amid reports that Washington is investigating whether Moscow and Beijing are giving Iran targeting information, following a series of strikes on US bases.

'It's stunning!' CNN's Erin Burnett floored as Trump 'raking it in' with Saudi deal

07/24/26 12:54 AM

The details of President Donald Trump's nuclear deal with Saudi Arabia caused alarm bells to ring out on CNN on Thursday. CNN's Erin Burnett and Rep. James Walkinshaw (D-VA) discussed a new report during a segment on "OutFront" that the Trump company has been awarded a $63 billion development opportunity in Saudi Arabia, and that award happened around the same time that the Trump administration was negotiating with the Saudis in a deal that allows the country to enrich nuclear energy for civilian purposes. The company that awarded the development agreement is also linked to Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed Bin-Salman, who has also invested in Jared Kushner's $2 billion hedge fund during the first Trump administration. It also noted that Trump gets to keep 80% ownership in the development deal himself, while his family gets the remaining 20%. Burnett was taken aback by the report. "It's stunning," Burnett said about the report. "Congressman, the White House [told] Forbes there are no conflicts of interest. What do you say?"Walkinshaw did not mince words in his reaction. "Clearly, we have a president of the United States, Donald Trump, who has been bought and paid for by MBS and the Saudi royal family," Walkinshaw said. "As the American people struggle to make ends meet, Donald Trump is raking it in. And it appears, at least initially, [he's] giving them in return a much sweeter nuclear deal, quite frankly, than was on the table in the Biden administration with much weaker inspections, at least initially without a commitment to join the Abraham Accords. The Saudis must have been feeling like they were getting what they paid for."

'No enrichment!': Saudi deal reportedly threatened by Trump's sudden Truth Social demand

07/23/26 1:49 PM

President Donald Trump's controversial nuclear deal with the leadership of Saudi Arabia is now in doubt after the president threw the Middle Eastern nation a curve on Thursday morning.Trump abruptly inserted a bombshell condition into a nuclear agreement that was supposedly finalized just 24 hours earlier: Saudi Arabia must normalize relations with Israel to receive U.S. nuclear technology, The Washington Post is reporting.The move has thrown the entire agreement into chaos, according to the report. Trump announced via Truth Social that the civil nuclear deal—which would allow Saudi Arabia to develop nuclear power plants and pursue enrichment programs—is "totally subject" to Saudi Arabia joining the Abraham Accords, the initiative from his first term designed to normalize Israeli-Arab relations.“The Civil Nuclear Deal (There will be no enrichment of material!) being made between the United States Department of Energy and Saudi Arabia, which pertains only to non-military use such as the ones that Iran and UAE (and others) already have, will be approved,” Trump wrote on Truth Social Thursday. “But is totally subject to Saudi Arabia joining the very respected and successful Abraham Accords.”The problem is monumental: Saudi Arabia has consistently refused to join the Abraham Accords and shows no signs of capitulating now.According to the Post, "That attaches a major string to the deal. Saudi leaders were nearing a normalization agreement with Israel in 2023, just before the Hamas attack on Israel on Oct. 7 of that year. Since then, however, talks have been paused. Saudi leaders have said they would want guarantees of an eventual Palestinian state, and Saudi public opinion has soured toward Israel because of its handling of Gaza. Any nuclear deal tied to Saudi-Israel diplomatic breakthroughs has seemed remote."The nuclear technology deal itself has generated controversy in Congress. Lawmakers worry that expanding enrichment programs across multiple nations increases proliferation risks and could eventually result in more countries possessing nuclear weapons capabilities.Trump's sudden new condition transforms an already contentious agreement into a political landmine—potentially derailing both the nuclear deal and his broader Middle East diplomatic agenda.

'Off the charts': Trump admin slammed for 'despicable' deletion of fallen heroes' names

07/24/26 11:28 AM

A decision by President Donald Trump’s administration to delete the names of four US service members from the Iran war dead was slammed Friday on MS NOW as “among the more offensive moves that the administration has made."The panel was responding to a New York Times report that the number of dead listed by the Pentagon mysteriously dropped from 18 to 14, ostensibly “because their deaths occurred after President Trump declared a cease-fire in the war in April.” The “Morning Joe" panel said they didn't buy it, calling the move both “outrageous” and “despicable,” with co-host Jonathan Lemire reminding viewers of the president’s low opinion of American service members who die in wars.“I mean, this wouldn't be the first time that the government, that the Trump administration has tried to doctor things to make the president look better,” Lemire stated. "It is a nonsensical argument that these four lives would matter less because they happened after a ceasefire was declared, when obviously the ceasefire is over; there are major strikes happening in the region now for well more than a week. To me, this was particularly outrageous and disgraceful.”MS NOW contributor Sam Stein offered, “Well, to me too. It's both not shocking that the Trump administration would do this, and it's shocking that it happened. What is the actual goal of doing something like this is to try to limit your political exposure for the war.”“It's despicable, honestly,” he added. "It's failing to own the consequences of their actions, or at least trying to avoid the consequences of their actions. And honestly, it's insulting to the people who sacrificed to say, ‘Hey, this was not actually a war casualty.’ It was what a casualty of a — what's the word he uses? — skirmish. I found this to be among the more offensive moves that the administration has made politically, but it obviously reflects a larger thinking that they have internally, which is that this is politically problematic.”“The callousness here is off the charts,” Lemire agreed. “And but perhaps not surprising. I agree with you, Sam. Remember, President Trump and his first term called those who were reportedly killed in combat ‘suckers and losers.’” - YouTube youtu.be

'Pathetic' Trump blasted for just 'staring off into the abyss' at dignified transfer

07/23/26 6:39 PM

A Democratic lawmaker and veteran called out President Donald Trump on Thursday, dubbing him and his team "an absolute clown car" as Americans' frustration over the Iran war mounts.Rep. Pat Ryan (D-NY) told MeidasTouch that as the Middle East conflict grows, it appears increasingly clear that Trump and his administration do not have a strategy for the war — and it's costing more lives as a result. House lawmakers on Thursday voted to pass a war powers resolution, rebuking Trump's war. Ryan described his annoyance over the conflict, arguing that lawmakers do not want to send the "next generation" to another military conflict in the region. He also described his anger over Trump's behavior at Dover Air Force Base on Wednesday during the dignified transfer of four fallen military service members who died in recent days following strikes. "You see there's a photo with every leader with their head down, bowed, and he’s just staring off into the abyss. It’s just pathetic," Ryan said."What do you expect from a five-time draft dodger who has no clue what this is? The American people see this," he added."This is a guy that has never served a single day in uniform but is willing to send other people’s kids to fight in his wars while his own sons are profiting off all these defense companies’ stocks that they own," Ryan said. "It’s absolutely disgusting. It's absolutely un-American and every Republican needs to vote yes on this war powers resolution or else their name is on this. I think increasingly, the blood of our fallen is certainly on Hegseth's hands and Trump's hands, and every Republican who continues this war and doesn't stop it today — they're accountable for that."Ryan: You see there’s a photo with everyone’s heads bowed, and he’s just staring off into the abyss. It’s just pathetic. What do you expect from a five-time draft dodger? This is a guy who has never served a single day in uniform and is willing to send other people’s kids to… pic.twitter.com/9EFdFb35Ik— Acyn (@Acyn) July 23, 2026