The New Republic

Trump Lost It at Charlie Kirk Over Epstein Files

2 hours agoLeft

Charlie Kirk was increasingly at odds with the president in the final months of his life.Donald Trump had strong words for the GOP’s youth connection last July, two months before Kirk was shockingly assassinated at a Turning Point USA event at Utah Valley University. At the time, Trump reportedly berated Kirk for allowing one of his college rallies to turn into a grieving session over the Epstein files, according to details of an upcoming book by Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan published in The New York Times magazine Wednesday.“Trump had called Kirk and scolded him” for providing a venue for young people to slam former Attorney General Pam Bondi and the larger Trump administration for failing to release the files, reported the Times.Kirk, by virtue of his position leading the youth Republican movement, could see that the Epstein files had become a divisive issue for young voters. He urged the White House to change course on the matter, but they would not relent.Trump was not shy in expressing his frustration with his aides. He reportedly told them that he was “very unhappy” with his famed supporters, raging against the likes of Kirk as well as former Fox News hosts Tucker Carlson and Megyn Kelly, all of whom had demanded the admin “come clean” about Jeffrey Epstein.Eventually Donald Trump Jr. and Vice President JD Vance joined the choir, urging the White House to change its position and pressure the Justice Department to release more files, reported the Times.The Epstein Files Transparency Act was signed into law on November 19, legally requiring the unmitigated release of all documentation related to the child sex trafficking investigation. It has been nearly seven months since then, and the federal government still has not released everything it has on Epstein. No one has been arrested in connection to the crimes, either—beyond Epstein’s longtime criminal associate Ghislaine Maxwell, who was arrested in 2020.

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Trump official scolded by GOP chair after losing it at hearing: 'Watch your language!'

Raw Story

12 minutes ago

Trump official scolded by GOP chair after losing it at hearing: 'Watch your language!'

Energy Secretary Chris Wright dropped an expletive at a House hearing Wednesday — and got scolded for it by the Republican running the room.The meltdown came after Rep. Gabe Amo (D-RI) confronted Wright over President Donald Trump's broken pledge to slash energy prices by 50% and the Department of Energy's cancellation of hundreds of clean energy grants in blue states."Has Donald Trump fulfilled his promise?" Amo asked."He sets ambitious targets, and he is all in on driving in that direction," Wright hedged."So my answer is no!" Amo noted."Not yet!" Wright fired back.Amo then charged that Wright had canceled more than 300 projects in Democratic-leaning states — including $14 million for three Rhode Island grants — and that a court found the DOE violated the Constitution. He then quoted from litigation in which the DOE's own attorneys wrote that "a primary reason for the selection of which DOE grant termination decisions were included in the October 2025 notice tranche was whether the grantee was located in a blue state.""We did not involve politics in the decisions!" Wright said, denying the charge."What about the outcomes, Mr. Secretary?" Amo pressed.Wright snapped: "So it's bulls—! We're gonna say it a million times! Not true!"That prompted Amo to call a point of parliamentary procedure. "Are we promoting language like that from witnesses?"House Science, Space, and Technology Committee Chair Brian Babin (R-TX) stepped in. "Watch your language there, Mr. Secretary," he said, before trying to move on."We'll do [that], sir!" Wright promised.Amo accused Wright of performing for "your audience of one" — President Trump — and pressed him again on whether he would restore the canceled grants."We've gone overboard for New England, for California, for blue states!" Wright dodged."That's not an answer!" Amo shot back, reclaiming his time. He closed with a final question: "Do you believe federal grant decisions should be based in any way on how a state's voters cast their ballots in a presidential election?""They shouldn't, and they weren't!" Wright said.Amo had the last word: "Mr. Secretary, this hearing started with Trump's promise to lower energy costs. Instead, you've bloviated."

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Vance and Trump inner circle butted heads over potential Tucker Carlson interview during Epstein fallout: Book excerpt

Washington Examiner

34 minutes ago

Vance and Trump inner circle butted heads over potential Tucker Carlson interview during Epstein fallout: Book excerpt

Vice President JD Vance and President Donald Trump’s core team had deep disagreements over how to handle fallout from the Jeffrey Epstein case last year, according to a new book. Vance wanted “maximum transparency” regarding releasing a multitude of government files related to the deceased convicted sex offender when the case blew up in the […]

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Jilted MAGA see Trump's new merch as tokens of his disdain for them: Analyst

Raw Story

50 minutes ago

Jilted MAGA see Trump's new merch as tokens of his disdain for them: Analyst

A number of Trump supporters are finally starting to grow tired of his act and see him as only out for himself, Bulwark policy editor Ashley Parker told MS NOW's Katy Tur on Wednesday — and this is exemplified by his release of commemorative $12,000 gold coins for the UFC fight planned for the White House lawn. "Is this a contradiction Trump is not getting in enriching himself while Americans are struggling?" asked Tur. "I mean, does he not see the sort of side-by-side?""The grifting, corruption is nothing particularly new for this president or for American voters to experience for this president," said Parker, adding that he has been merchandising and cutting deals off the presidency to make himself money ever since his first term. The difference now, she said, is that "voters ... including some who were part of that broad and impressive coalition that got him back into the White House in 2024, they are less willing to give him grace on things like this."These voters, she said, "know how much gas costs, they know how much money they have in their checking accounts at the end of the month, or how much they don't have. They know what prices are, they know where their wages are, and they're struggling."So when these voters see something like a five-figure gold coin for sale to commemorate a Trump event, Parker continued, "it now becomes almost a physical golden token of the way that they feel. He does not care about them and only cares about himself."This sort of thing, she said, is also why Trump's White House ballroom project has been so resonant and controversial. "These things like the White House ballroom, like the UFC fight, like these rather expensive coins, frankly, are such a political problem for him right now."All of this comes as local activists in D.C. file legal action to try to stop Trump's UFC event from taking place altogether. - YouTube youtu.be

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Trump claims 100 million oil barrels secretly moved through Strait of Hormuz

The Hill News

1 hour ago

Trump claims 100 million oil barrels secretly moved through Strait of Hormuz

President Trump claimed Wednesday that the U.S. secretly moved over 100 million barrels of oil through the Strait of Hormuz. Trump in a Truth Social post said he “directed” the military to “execute a secret mission to support Oil Tankers and other Commercial Ships” through the strait. “I am pleased to announce that this effort…

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JD Vance's attempt to cover up the DOJ's denial of Epstein's client list backfired

Raw Story

1 hour ago

JD Vance's attempt to cover up the DOJ's denial of Epstein's client list backfired

Vice President JD Vance held an urgent Situation Room meeting with top White House officials after a Justice Department memo denying a Jeffrey Epstein client list sparked backlash within the MAGA base. According to an upcoming book by Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan, Vance appeared panicked, telling the assembled officials, "This is a huge problem." Vance proposed releasing all Epstein files immediately, arguing Congress would eventually force disclosure anyway and voluntary release would demonstrate transparency. He also suggested enlisting Tucker Carlson to interview Epstein's longtime girlfriend and co-conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell in prison. According to Haberman and Swan's reports, if Maxwell agreed to state President Donald Trump had no involvement in Epstein's wrongdoing, the optics could prove valuable to the president."They were going to surface regardless, and if the administration published them first, it would demonstrate good faith and take the oxygen out of the conspiracy theories," Vance reportedly said.Officials were skeptical about his arguments, though some supported holding a news conference to explain the administration's position regarding Epstein.Watch the video below. Your browser does not support the video tag.

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Trump Asks for Spy Law Extension as Pulte Pick Stokes Unease

Bloomberg Politics

1 hour ago

Trump Asks for Spy Law Extension as Pulte Pick Stokes Unease

President Donald Trump has called on Congress to temporarily extend expiring electronic surveillance powers as he weighs his choice for a permanent National Intelligence director, signaling his controversial decision to appoint Bill Pulte acting chief will be short-lived.

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Trump’s new post office directive reveals stunning threat to voters

Alternet.org

1 hour ago

Trump’s new post office directive reveals stunning threat to voters

President Donald Trump's administration has spent months trying to get voter lists, particularly from blue states. Now, Trump is threatening to deny mailing ballots through the USPS if those states don't turn over the lists. "That dilemma stems from newly proposed USPS rules that seek to comply with an executive order President Donald Trump signed this spring to crack down on mail-in voting," reported CNN. "If courts let the order stand, it would give the federal government an unprecedented role in elections — and could put even more voter data in the hands of Trump officials searching for supposed election fraud."Trump's rules lay out new demands for mail-in ballots that states must meet if they intend to conduct an election by mail. Some states, like Colorado and seven others, with the District of Columbia, have all-mail elections. Twenty-three states and D.C. have decided to sue over the threat.The Justice Department cleared a legal hurdle in May when a federal judge in Washington refused to block Trump’s executive order, allowing the Postal Service to begin enforcing it. Democratic groups are seeking an appeal and warn voters will be disenfranchised in November if mailed-in ballots are banned. Democratic Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, whose state is part of the coalition challenging the order in Boston, told CNN in an interview that if courts rule in favor of the Trump administration, it would be “a virtual elimination of mail-in voting, unless the states supply voter lists to the federal government.”“If proper postage is paid on a mail piece, the USPS should deliver it,” former USPS Board of Governors Vice Chair Anton Hajjar said, speaking to CNN. “The proposed rule says it’s not regulating elections but that’s what, in effect, it’s doing.”“This would deny eligible people the right to vote. Full stop,” said Oregon Secretary of State Tobias Read, who is also suing the Trump over the matter.“This is not in the president’s power,” Read said. “It’s absolutely clear in the Constitution – states run elections.”“The Administration remains confident that the Executive Order will be implemented by the November election, which was always the intent when it was signed,” claimed White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson.

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Trump's claim that he 'loves' inflation is bad news for average Americans: economist

Raw Story

1 hour ago

Trump's claim that he 'loves' inflation is bad news for average Americans: economist

President Donald Trump's claim that he loves the inflation associated with his war in Iran is bad news for the average American's pocketbook, an economist said during a new CNN interview on Wednesday. Henrietta Treyz, an economist at Veda Partners, told CNN's Boris Sanchez that there's "nothing to like" about the 4.2% inflation reading that was captured in the latest economic data released on Wednesday. That's despite Trump saying in the Oval Office that he "loves the numbers" and that inflation will "drop like a rock" once the war in Iran ends. "The best I can say is that inflation everywhere else didn't also rise more than expected. That is not good news," Treyz said. "We're on day 104 of the war, if I'm not mistaken. We've spent $100 billion, and a lot of that is being borne by regular Americans." Trump's war in Iran has sent global energy prices skyrocketing because of the impacts to the Strait of Hormuz, a global waterway that accounts for 20% of all energy trade. The rising cost of energy has also driven up the prices of many goods, especially gasoline and groceries. Treyz noted that the average American household is paying about $460 more per year for gas now than it did when the war began. "It doesn't include the groceries that are more expensive. The surcharges on all your Amazon shipments, the additional 8% cost of just shipping mail around the country. This is a massive blow," she said. "And 4.2% inflation means that inflation is moving faster than our wages are keeping up. That's the problem for the president with this war."

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