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Trump issues cryptic early-morning threat hinting at new ally 'pressure'
Donald Trump kicked off his Thursday morning with a cryptic Truth Social post aimed at NATO that will have people scratching their heads at what is to come.The president has long been critical of the military alliance formed in 1949 as a bulwark against Russia, arguing over funding and now complaining that NATO countries won’t help him with his war on Iran.On Wednesday, the president ranted on Truth Social, "NATO WASN'T THERE WHEN WE NEEDED THEM, AND THEY WON'T BE THERE IF WE NEED THEM AGAIN."On Thursday morning, he then ramped that up by hinting at a possible “pressure” campaign to come.On Truth Social, he wrote, “None of these people, including our own, very disappointing, NATO, understood anything unless they have pressure placed upon them!!!”The president did not elaborate on who “our own” are, leaving that also open to questions.
White House called on the carpet for risky war on Pope Leo: 'This is preposterous'
A report that Donald Trump’s administration menaced the first American-born pope led the entire panel on MS NOW’s "Morning Joe” to wonder what they could possibly be thinking as they risk alienating millions of Catholics.According to a report from The Free Press, after Pope Leo XIV delivered his State of the World speech where he criticized the Trump administration, Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Elbridge Colby demanded an audience with Cardinal Christophe Pierre, the Vatican’s U.S. representative, and then issued a threat, reportedly telling the pope’s representative, “The United States has the military power to do whatever it wants in the world. The Catholic Church had better take its side.”After MS NOW host Willie Geist reported on the exchange, contributor Mike Barnicle, a lifelong Catholic, made a compelling case that the president and his underlings created a massive and enduring problem for themselves.“What do you make of what you're hearing here?” Geist prompted his guest. “I make that they are once again clowning the atmosphere up, the Trump administration, the idea that they would try to intimidate Pope Leo, the first American-born pope, is just absurd," the incensed Barnicle replied. “The idea that they would have anything to say critical of the Catholic church or the pope itself, the pope himself is absurd, especially given the Easter morning tweet from the president of the United States, which was so deeply offensive to any breathing, thinking human being that it's outrageous for the Trump administration to pose any problems they allege they have with the Vatican.”“I went to parochial school for eight consecutive years, and I got thrown out nearly every year by the nuns. You know, every grade — you deserve early stuff like that,” he recalled. But the one thing that you get to, to hold on to when you're raised Catholic, born Catholic, raised Catholic, especially by my mother, we used to call her 'my mother, the nun.' The one thing you retain, I would think, is that the theory of the Catholic church is rooted in a simple phrase: the least among us.” “So if you look at the Trump administration's behavior toward the least among us, it is almost criminal,” he accused. “It is certainly a sin because they don't care for the least among us, and that we should all care for the least among us. Because when we care for them, we care for ourselves.”Normally unflappable former diplomat Richard Haass was incredulous at the breach of protocol.“I mean, of all of all the fights to pick,” he exclaimed. “So we give Russia a free pass. We let Iran enhance half the stuff it's doing. We attack Europe and so forth –– I go around the world –– we give China a free pass, and who do we go after? We go after our democratic allies, and then we go after the Catholic church.”“That's our priorities for who we want to pick fights with,” he noted. “This is, this is, Mike used the word ‘absurd.’ This is preposterous that we are doing. And again, we're forfeiting the high ground. There's actually a serious part of this; we are forfeiting the high ground. Why aren't we trying to build support around the world? The idea that you can do everything with bullets and bombs, you can do some things, but this war should have taught us that you can’t do it all.” - YouTube youtu.be
Pete Hegseth's future at risk after 'humiliating' Trump at press conference: MS NOW host
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s continuing over-the-top press conferences about the Iran war are not doing Donald Trump any favors due to his childish behavior, leading MS NOW’s Joe Scarborough to suggest the president may want to put an end to Hegseth's "humiliating" antics.Reacting to the Wednesday Pentagon press conference, where the former Fox News personality boasted about the president’s ceasefire agreement that was already in the process of falling apart, the “Morning Joe” host compared Hegseth repeatedly to a grossly immature elementary school student.Speaking with co-hosts Willie Geist and Mika Brzezinski, Scarborough exclaimed, “To see [Joint Chiefs of Staff, Air Force General] Kaine have to stand there while Pete Hegseth is doing all of this, like third-grade chest thumping, like he's out on the back on the playground –– and then General Kaine having to say, ‘Well, you know, we're still still basically at war and Americans could still die here,’ it's just, again, I just, I'm just shocked.”“I really am, that Donald Trump, at this late stage with Pete Hegseth humiliating him and the administration every day with his stupid routine,” he added. “Third-grade routine; I'm just shocked he's still allowed to go out there in front of a microphone because he just embarrasses himself and he sets Donald Trump and this administration and this country up for continued humiliation at the hands of the Iranians.”“Yeah, I mean, he's talking yesterday, and we carried it live, about a great military victory, effectively suggesting the war is all but won,” Geist pointed out. “And because of this great military victory he's describing, it forced Iran to the negotiating table, which is not quite how it played out, as we explained yesterday.” - YouTube youtu.be
Morning Joe co-host pounces on JD Vance's comment about his wife: 'So messed up'
Vice President JD Vance’s use of his relationship with his wife Usha to explain differing opinions about Donald Trump’s ceasefire chaos set off a tirade by MS NOW host Mika Brzezinski on Thursday morning as she could not contain her disgust.Speaking with reporters at the end of his overseas trip, Vance was asked about Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf of the Iranian Parliament who stated that his country’s 10-point proposal to end the war included “Iran’s right to enrichment.”Standing on the airport tarmac, Vance glibly replied, “I thought to myself, you know what? My wife has the right to skydive, but she doesn’t jump out of an airplane because she and I have an agreement that she’s not going to do that because I don’t want my wife jumping out of an airplane.”After watching the clip, Brzezinski blurted, “I'm just –– I really don't want to hear about women's rights, and rights and women from JD Vance.” “If that's your takeaway,” Joe Scarborough dryly joked.“Don't start the morning that way,” his “Morning Joe” co-host shot back before adding, “So messed up.”“That was such a confusing analogy, my teeth hurt right now. I'm still trying to figure it out,” Scarborough offered.“Yeah,” co-host Willie Geist interjected. “I also didn't know you were allowed to give your wife rules of things she can't do. I need to write a few down now how we operate.”“Women across America have rules that I never grew up with that kill them, so that's where we are,” the fuming Brzezinski bitterly stated. - YouTube youtu.be
A day in the life of a 19-year-old in ICE detention: ‘I feel that this nightmare is not going to end’
Olivia has been detained for months at the sprawling Dilley center in Texas. She has lost 20lb, and wakes up every day with a headacheEach day in detention feels like 48 hours for Olivia.The 19-year-old asylum seeker from the Democratic Republic of the Congo has been at the Dilley Immigration processing center in Texas for more than four months. Continue reading...
4 dead, 38 rescued during attempted channel crossing from France to UK
French authorities say at least four people died while trying to board an inflatable boat for a dangerous sea crossing from northern France to the U.K. The prefect of the Pas-de-Calais region said Thursday that 38 others were rescued, including one in ...
'Insulting!' Karoline Leavitt snaps as Trump's 'civilization' threat questioned
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt pushed back after a reporter wondered how the U.S. could claim the moral high ground after President Donald Trump threatened to eliminate Iran's entire civilization."So, regarding the President's rhetoric, when the U.S. invaded Iraq in 2003, George W. Bush said in a message to the Iraqi people that the military campaign was directed, quote, against the lawless men who rule your country and not against you," the reporter noted during Wednesday's White House press briefing. "Yesterday, the President threatened to destroy Iran's civilization, the entire civilization, not the Iranian government, but the Iranian civilization, the Iranian people.""The U.S. has been a moral leader for most of its history by fighting wars against other governments, not against civilizations," he continued. "How can the president claim that America can ever have the moral high ground if he's threatening to destroy civilizations and not casting wars as fights against other governments?""I think you should take a look at the actions of this president," Leavitt replied without addressing Trump's threat. "A rogue Islamic regime that has chanted death to America for 47 years, that has killed and maimed thousands of American soldiers over the course of the last five decades.""The president absolutely has the moral high ground over the Iranian terrorist regime," she added. "And for you to even suggest otherwise is frankly insulting."With that, Leavitt cut the reporter off and moved on to the next question.
Megyn Kelly rips Trump's Iran threat after gushing over him using nukes: 'Disgusting'
Conservative podcaster Megyn Kelly blasted President Donald Trump for threatening to end Iran's civilization despite saying she would vote for Republicans even if he dropped a nuclear bomb."I am sick of this," Kelly said a day after Trump threatened Iran's civilian population. "Can he just behave like a normal human? I mean, honestly, like the president, 3D chess! Just shut up... shut up about that... You don't threaten to wipe out an entire civilization. We're talking about civilians just casually in a social media post."Kelly said she had "learned the hard way" not to put too much stock in Trump's social media posts."But this is completely irresponsible and disgusting," she insisted. "This is wrong. It's wrong. He should not be doing it. I don't care that it's a negotiation. His negotiation tactic is to kill an entire country full of civilians, men, women, and children."A day earlier, Kelly suggested she would support the Republican Party even if Trump used a nuclear weapon."All I think about when I think about the Democrats is those very unattractive people in Minneapolis," she asserted in an earlier podcast. "That to me, I could never vote for, never." "I mean, honestly, Trump could drop a nuke, and I'd still vote Republican over those people," she added.
Trump warned by conservative editor he surrendered to an 'ayatollah's wish list'
Donald Trump claims to have reached a successful but still evolving ceasefire agreement with Iran, but National Review editor Jim Geraghty has a different assessment: the president has been completely outmaneuvered and is poised to capitulate on nearly every significant demand.According to Geraghty's scathing analysis, Trump and Iran are describing fundamentally different agreements. The Iranian proposal includes concessions that represent a catastrophic setback for American national security interests.The Iranian demands include: "Iran's continued control of the Strait of Hormuz," "Iran's uranium enrichment right should be accepted," and "Payment of compensation for damages inflicted on Iran."Trump celebrated the deal, writing: "We received a 10 point proposal from Iran, and believe it is a workable basis on which to negotiate. Almost all of the various points of past contention have been agreed to between the United States and Iran, but a two week period will allow the Agreement to be finalized and consummated."Geraghty was not impressed. "The first things that jumps out about President Trump and the Iranian government's statements is that the two sides seem to have a dramatically different sense of what they just agreed upon."His verdict on Iran's demands was withering: "Your mileage may vary, but my answers to this list of demands would be 'depends upon how you define 'non-aggression'; no; no; heck no; hell no; [bad word] no; [even worse word] no; no [bad word]-ing way; absolutely no [bad word]-ing way; and you can stick this where the sun doesn't shine.'""These are nine-and-a-half unreasonable and unrealistic demands, and a U.S. concession to just about any of them would represent a dreadful setback to American national security interests. This is an ayatollah's wish list," Geraghty wrote.The ceasefire is already unraveling, he noted with reporting that Bahrain claimed Iranian drones damaged homes after the announcement. The United Arab Emirates military said air defenses are "actively engaging" incoming Iranian missiles and drones. Israel declared its agreement to cease attacks on Iran doesn't include stopping strikes on targets in Lebanon. So far, this is a ceasefire in name only — a violent catastrophe dressed up as diplomacy, he suggested.
Iran closes Strait of Hormuz again despite Trump's ceasefire deal
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said it had closed the Strait of Hormuz after U.S. President Donald Trump agreed to a ceasefire that required the waterway to remain open.Iran had threatened to close the strait again on Wednesday morning due to Israeli strikes in Lebanon. For his part, Trump insisted that Lebanon had never been part of the ceasefire deal."Chief international correspondent Lyse Doucet says that despite Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announcing a ceasefire on all fronts, attacks in Lebanon have continued - and in some ways intensified," BBC reported.Within hours, the IRGC said that traffic through the strait had been stopped. The Associated Press also confirmed the report."Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)-affiliated news agency Fars has reported that while two oil tankers were able to pass through the strait with permission from Iran this morning, the passage of oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz has been stopped," according to the BBC report. "The Islamic Republic News Agency is also reporting ships have been halted, with both outlets referencing Israel's continued strikes on Lebanon."Ship-broker SSY confirmed that vessels in the Gulf had been notified of the situation."Attention all vessels," an IRGC announcement said. "Attention all vessels. Attention all vessels in Persian Gulf and Oman Sea. This is the IRGC Navy Station. Transiting the Strait of Hormuz remains closed and you need permission from the IRGC before sailing through the strait. Any vessel trying to travel into the sea will be targeted and destroyed."
Lawmaker drops blistering impeachment warning for Trump and 'spineless' Republicans
A Democratic lawmaker sounded the alarm on Wednesday that it was time for Democrats to proceed ahead with impeachment articles against President Donald Trump. Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA) explained to CNN anchor Pamela Brown why he has called for Trump to be removed from office for threatening war crimes against Iran — criticizing his Republican colleagues for their silence amid the ongoing war and negotiations. "What Trump and Hegseth were planning was a war crime," Markey said. "They were planning an actual genocide — an actual destruction of a civilization. That's why Trump should be impeached. That's why Democrats should file impeachment articles against Trump. That's why the 25th Amendment to remove him should be invoked.""We need to work as hard as we can to put the Republican party — which is morally bankrupt, which is spineless, which wants to be in a witness protection program — even as moral atrocities are being planned in their name," Markey added. "We must proceed towards the goal of removing Donald Trump from office. And we must do this now. And that has to be the Democratic agenda."
Trump panics as media scrutinizes ceasefire deal: 'Total fraudsters, charlatans and worse'
President Donald Trump lashed out Wednesday at media outlets over their coverage of the two-week ceasefire agreement his administration reached with Iran, which has been heavily scrutinized for the concessions the United States would make to the Middle East nation.On Tuesday, Trump announced that “authorities” were investigating CNN for having published a “false” statement from the Iranian government, a statement in which Iran claimed to have achieved a “great victory” in the conflict. Other media outlets have also published stories that include statements, letters and documents from the Iranian government.“Numerous Agreements, Lists, and Letters are being sent out by people that have absolutely nothing to do with the U.S.A. / Iran Negotiation, in many cases, they are total Fraudsters, Charlatans, and WORSE,” Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social. “They will be rapidly exposed after our Federal Investigation is completed. There is only one group of meaningful ‘POINTS’ that are acceptable to the United States, and we will be discussing them behind closed doors during these Negotiations. These are the POINTS that are the basis on which we agreed to a CEASEFIRE. It is something that is reasonable, and can easily be dispensed with.”The Trump administration tentatively agreed to a ten-point peace plan proposed by Tehran on Tuesday that Iranian officials have repeatedly claimed to be a “great victory,” with provisions that would allow Iran to maintain control of a critical shipping waterway, and require the lifting of U.S. sanctions.
