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Concern is mounting among high-ranking Republicans that the next generation of conservatives consists primarily of "rabid" "idiot" Nazis, according to a new report. GOP veterans have begun to fret that the pipeline feeding young conservative "talent" into government job has collapsed under the pressure of a Trumpist ideology that prefers sycophancy to smarts, Politico reported Saturday. “We have a generation of rabid, incompetent idiots," a senior GOP congressional staffer told Politico. "The organizations that bring young staffers to Washington, D.C. have spent the last decade prioritizing blind ideological loyalty instead of competence or intelligence." Politco argues the concerns amount to more than middle-aged griping about "kids these days." As organizations such as the Heritage Foundation have adapted their conservative beliefs to fit the MAGA mold, they've attracted a group of young people with serious problems, sources told Politico. Those sources include four senior Republican congressional staffers, think tank scholars, Heritage expats, academics and up-and-coming young Republicans."Critics fear a decline of merit and skill," Politico reported, "along with a tolerance for darker ideologies that could cripple the party’s ability to govern in the long run."The biggest problem for these conservatives are "groypers" — followers of the white nationalist holocaust denier Nick Fuentes and fellow anti-establishment right-wingers, according to the report. "Prominent conservative commentators have alleged that groyperism is spreading among younger members of the GOP, including in government — a view seemingly backed by examples like the young Trump administration lawyer who admitted to a 'Nazi streak' in text messages revealed by POLITICO," the report stated. "Others point to social-media posts from official government accounts that echo the language or memes of the online far right."Meanwhile young Republicans argue their elders are using groyperism complaints to dismiss their frustrations with the party's relationship with Israel. Marty Bertao, a Berkeley senior and president of the College Republicans of America, told Politico, "there is not this mass groyper issue." Rachel Bovard, the VP of programs at the Conservative Partnership Institute, added, "They’re counting as ‘groyper’ anyone who’s remotely anti-Israel.”E.J. Fagan, an associate professor at the University of Illinois Chicago, fears the problem isn't specifically groypers but social media — and pointed to E.J. Antoni, a Heritage economist, as proof.President Donald Trump nominated Antoni to lead the Bureau of Labor Statistics, but later rescinded after reports surfaced that Antoni ran a deleted X account that hurled sexual insults at former Vice President Kamala Harris.Another source argued the problem is, as Politico described it, "a generation hooked on the conspiratorial musings of Tucker Carlson and Candace Owens." “Five, eight years from now," the source said, "if we’re reliant on people with this view of the world, we’re in serious trouble.”

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is being pressured to backtrack after an airstrike gone wrong, according to The Atlantic.The Pentagon is moving towards restoring as many as half of the roles that Hegseth cut during a "pugnacious" purge at the Department of Defense, according to reporting by The Atlantic. Hegseth's downsizing included the firing or reassignment of staff dedicated to avoiding civilian casualties in war, the reporting noted."The potential reversal, which hasn't previously been reported, now awaits Hegseth's signature," according to The Atlantic. The Pentagon is considering bringing back staff as it deals with the fallout of an airstrike that killed almost 170 people, most of them children, at a school in southern Iran, The Atlantic reported.The Atlantic also noted that Hegseth said early in the conflict that the U.S. would fight with "no stupid rules of engagement" and "no politically correct wars."An anonymous Pentagon official confirmed to The Atlantic that the DoD is "currently undergoing a strategic reassessment to inform its future reorganization."A Pentagon inspector general report this spring determined that the DoD's cuts to civilian-harm protections may have violated laws designed to protect noncombatants, The Atlantic reported. Leaders of the Pentagon's combatant commands also support the restoration of personnel who can safeguard against civilian casualties, a U.S. official told The Atlantic."Over the last year, we have seen a total disconnect between the willingness to wage wars all over the world, at an unprecedented pace and scale, while at the same time all but abandoning their leading role in setting up the systems and approaches needed to better protect civilians," Emily Tripp, the head of Airwars, an independent UK-based watchdog, told The Atlantic.

A former Republican strategist on Friday argued that a major development in President Donald Trump's Iran war has gone under the radar and will change the outcome of elections in November.In an interview on his podcast, The Warning, Steve Schmidt discussed the disastrous fallout over the war in a conversation with Democratic Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear. The two talked about how Americans will rebuke Trump and his administration in the midterms this fall and how the latest incident has changed the shape of the conflict."There is a momentous event that occurred this week that I think is underreported and commented on, which is that a Ukrainian drone struck an Iranian ship in the Caspian Sea, combining these two theaters of war," Schmidt said. "What should the American people know about this moment in time and the danger we're facing?""The American people should know that Donald Trump and his foreign policy are absolute failures," Beshear said. "He got us into a war of choice that has only made the country that we went to war with more powerful. Iran is more powerful today based on their control of the Strait of Hormuz than they were before this war started."Beshear criticized Trump for starting a war without a realistic goal that could be achieved. And in the process, putting Americans at risk as the national deficit and debt rise."This is not just bungling international. It is really damaging at home," Beshear added. "And he doesn't have a way out of it. And part of it is look at who he sent to negotiate. We have amazing people in the Foreign Service that spend decades understanding every nuance of every word that an Iranian negotiator would say at the table to put us in the best position to get a peace deal that prevents a nuclear weapon. But we don't send them." He called Trump out for sending developer and Special Envoy Steve Witkoff with his son-in-law Jared Kushner, along with JD Vance, "a vice president who is way out of his league just being vice president, much less trying to negotiate and failing to negotiate any lasting peace.""It is bananas that foreign policy would be conducted this way and that the Senate and the House haven't stopped it and are allowing a president to just go to war and make decisions on his gut," Beshear added. "When we know our munitions are low, when we know our sailors have been on some of the longest deployments ever. It is the worst that you could ever potentially run a foreign conflict."

President Donald Trump's remarks questioning whether Iran had hacked water systems in Minnesota sparked anger online Friday.Trump pushed back on the U.S. and state officials' reports about Iran hacking in Minnesota and several other states during a cabinet meeting at Camp David in Thurmont, Maryland."We heard in Minnesota there was a cyberattack and they blame it on Iran. I don't think so. I blame it on Minnesota because they're grossly incompetent."Nearly three dozen water plants were attacked in the state this week, according to reports. But Trump blamed Gov. Tim Walz instead, despite evidence from U.S. intelligence officials saying it was likely to have been Iranian hackers, MS NOW reported."Iran's got bigger problems than worrying about Minnesota," Trump said.Political experts and commentators pushed back on Trump's claims, suggesting that there could be more to the cyberattacks."Remember a few months ago when it was reported that Iran was psychologically profiling Trump to decode his behavior? One has to wonder if Iran targeted Minnesota specifically because they knew Trump would let them get away with it because of his deranged hatred of Minnesota," wrote behavioral scientist Caroline Orr Bueno, Ph.D, who has more than 377,000 followers on X."Let's be clear: Trump sees Minnesota as much as Iran (or maybe even more so) as constituting an enemy country," Greg Sargent, staff writer at The New Republic, wrote on X."At Helsinki, Trump undermined America’s intelligence community. At Camp David, he just did it again," Jessica Tarlov, Democratic strategist and co-host of Fox News show "The Five," wrote on X."Sure, sure, let’s just downplay an attack by a hostile foreign actor. Iran has some of the most persistent — and effective — hackers on the planet. This is irresponsible as hell from Trump," X political commentary account Angry Staffer, which has more than 565,000 followers, wrote."His own FBI assessed it was Iran. They also said they attacked multiple states," Sawyer Hackett, political strategist and content creator, wrote on X."The President of the United States is siding with Iran over Minnesota!" Political commentator Covie, who has more than 182,000 followers, wrote on X."Just like he did with Putin in the past, he takes the side of an enemy over his own country," anti-Trump group The Lincoln Project posted on X.Remember a few months ago when it was reported that Iran was psychologically profiling Trump to decode his behavior? One has to wonder if Iran targeted Minnesota specifically because they knew Trump would let them get away with it because of his deranged hatred of Minnesota. https://t.co/ECkw97aSQh— Caroline Orr Bueno, Ph.D (@RVAwonk) July 31, 2026

Critics were mocking President Donald Trump on Tuesday after he dodged questions on Fox News over who exactly he was negotiating with in Iran and boasted about his tariff policy.Iran’s foreign ministry has pushed back on Trump's claims about the discussions. And during an interview on Tuesday, "Fox & Friends" host Brian Kilmeade pressed Trump during a phone interview for specifics."We hear that you’re talking right now with leaders on Iran,” Kilmeade said. "But Iran has come out publicly and said ‘we’re not talking to the U.S.—'"Trump interrupted the conservative outlet's anchor."Well, they just came out and said ‘we are talking’ a little while ago," Trump said."So could you tell me who you’re talking to, Mr. President?" Kilmeade asked.But Trump didn't give a direct answer — and the internet noticed. The conversation then shifted into talk about late Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), tariffs and the economy."Trump's dementia talking again. The old jerk has quite an imagination," Dean Baker, senior economist at the Center for Economic and Policy Research, wrote on X."THE IRANIAN LEADER I'M TALKING TO LIVES IN CANADA YOU WOULDN'T KNOW HIM," S.V. Dáte, White House correspondent at HuffPost, wrote on X."Trump: 'I stopped 8 wars, I would say 5 of them because of tariffs,'" X account Republicans Against Trump, which has more than 1 million followers, wrote."That is exactly the reason why they are hurting the economy, as well as reciprical [sic] tariffs on US companies," Meidas Touch editor-in-chief Ron Filipkowski wrote on X."This is a test for Fox News viewers: After all these lies, are you still willing to believe him?" Conservative anti-Trump attorney George Conway wrote on Bluesky.Trump's dementia talking again. The old jerk has quite an imagination. https://t.co/8eBRpSgbrG— Dean Baker (@DeanBaker13) July 28, 2026

President Donald Trump's negotiations with Iran have even stumped Fox News, The New Republic reported.Fox News host Brian Kilmeade grilled Trump during an interview Tuesday after the president had claimed talks were underway "right now," despite Iran’s foreign ministry saying the country has no interest in direct talks."We hear that you’re talking right now with leaders on Iran,” Kilmeade told Trump. “But Iran has come out publicly and said ‘we’re not talking to the U.S.—""Well, they just came out and said ‘we are talking’ a little while ago," Trump said, interjecting Kilmeade's comment. "So could you tell me who you’re talking to, Mr. President?" Kilmeade asked.Trump avoided directly answering the question."For some reason, we can be in the midst of a beautiful discussion, and they’ll come out and say 'we’re not talking' or 'we didn’t discuss nuclear,'" Trump said. "Well, that’s all we discussed, because they’ll never have a nuclear weapon, they understand that. We’ve had some very good talks."Trump then shifted the conversation to the late Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC). "It does not inspire confidence when the president can’t confidently say who he has been in contact with while supposedly trying to negotiate an end to his increasingly unpopular and expensive war," The New Republic reported. "This conversation came after a recent pause in violence in the region, and ahead of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit to the White House on Tuesday—in which he most likely lobbied Trump to start bombing Iran again."KILMEADE: We hear that you're talking with leaders from Iran. But Iran has come out publicly and said 'we're not talking to the US'TRUMP: Well, they just came out and said we are talkingKILMEADE: So could you tell me who you're talking to?TRUMP: We've had some very good… pic.twitter.com/bAqKISTbjU— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) July 28, 2026

President Donald Trump’s proposal to ask Vladimir Putin to come clean on Russian involvement in Iran drew a smirk and an incredulous reaction from the former US Ambassador to Russia.Appearing on MS NOW with host Stephanie Ruhle to discuss Trump’s meeting with Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Tuesday, the “Money Power Politics” host Michael McFaul asked why Trump continues to turn to Putin for news and advice. Referring to reports that Russia may be giving backdoor help to Iran after Trump attacked the Middle Eastern country, McFaul remarked, “Well, first, Russia and Iran are allies; they coordinate, they sell weapons together. There's — I can't imagine that there's not intelligence sharing. I don't have privy to secret information anymore. That's first.” “Number two: What is he saying?” he asked rhetorically. “ We'll find out. How come he doesn't know? You know, maybe we should be increasing our intelligence community and strengthening it, rather than gutting it in some kind of purge that's going on now.”“And then third, ‘I'm going to ask Putin’ — seriously?” he exclaimed. “Putin's never going to tell him the truth on that. And the very notion that he sets it up, that that's how he's going to find out whether it's truth or not, it's just shocking to me that he continues to say things like that.”“And I think it's embarrassing for him,” he pointed out. “I think it's such a weak look that he says things like that. I don't understand why his team doesn't explain to him: Mr. President, you look weak when you make statements like that.” - YouTube youtu.be

A crucial meeting in the Oval Office on Tuesday has allies of President Donald Trump on edge that it could lead to an expansion of the unpopular war in Iran.Benjamin Netanyahu is coming to the White House with a singular objective: convince Trump to escalate military operations against Iran, reports Politico. The Israeli Prime Minister, who reportedly helped incite the initial February attack along with the late Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), is once again maneuvering to push the president toward a more aggressive and durable conflict.Trump's anti-interventionist America First base is bracing for impact after the "pivotal" meeting. Steve Bannon expressed their collective alarm: "Netanyahu has had twice as many visits to the White House in 18 months as Churchill had in all of World War II — with every one of them a disaster for America First."The Iran war has already dragged on for five months with no resolution in sight, the report notes. The U.S. and Iran briefly suspended tit-for-tat strikes over the weekend amid cautious hopes for a ceasefire. But Trump continues threatening "massive attacks," keeping the door wide open for renewed escalation.Netanyahu's seventh visit to the White House since Trump took office signals his desperation to lock in permanent war. America First allies fear this meeting could transform a temporary conflict into a years-long Middle East quagmire.According to the report, "The meeting comes as new polling shows that a growing share of the president’s base no longer believes the war is worth its economic costs. And Republicans are increasingly resigned to the fact that the war will likely still be hanging over voters in some form when they head to the polls in November."That led Curt Mills, executive director of American Conservative magazine, to describe the meeting as "DEFCON 1.""Netanyahu is going to argue for the essential logic of escalation," Mills explained. "If Trump is not willing to give the memorandum of understanding a chance and if Trump is not willing to walk away from the conflict entirely without a resolution—then I think we probably will escalate, and that's what we've been seeing these last couple of weeks."Trump's own allies acknowledge Netanyahu wouldn't be doing his job if he didn't push for military expansion. But that's precisely what terrifies them: Netanyahu will succeed, dragging Trump deeper into a conflict that's already hemorrhaging support within his base.