Despite a last-ditch legal bid to block the event, the White House spent the night as a marketing department for the private fighting companyA warm Sunday night on the South Lawn – with bright lights, fireworks, a fighter plane flyover, thousands of spectators, and the first major professional sporting event ever staged at the White House – produced many memorable scenes. One might linger more than most.Justin Gaethje, the American interim lightweight champion, stood alone in the Oval Office in his fight shorts, draped in an American flag, studying a framed Declaration of Independence before he turned to walk out to the cage. Continue reading...
Celebrities including Bette Midler and Robert De Niro faced widespread online mockery for their anti-Trump concert meant to counter-program his UFC event.
President Donald Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron avoided any public tussles over foreign policy at the opening events of the G7 summit in Evian, France, on Monday. The two leaders have had a complicated relationship during Trump’s second term as the United States imposed “Liberation Day” tariffs on most trade partners, pressured the NATO […]
Washington Examiner White House reporter Christian Datoc described the various political, military, and diplomatic pressures on President Donald Trump as the United States nears a peace deal with Iran. “Ultimately, President Trump has a mountain to climb, not only because of ending the war itself, but kind of countering growing public dissatisfaction with the way […]
On Monday, a new Supreme Court announcement complicated the fate of a settlement paid by the Department of Justice to an ally of President Donald Trump, turning down a request by Trump 2016 advisor Carter Page to revive a lawsuit filed against former FBI director James Comey and others. The Trump administration had previously paid Page a $1.25 million settlement tied to the lawsuit, but now the top court’s decision means that the case prompting the payout had no legal merit. The matter dates back to the FBI’s investigation into Russian interference during the 2016 election, during which Page was targeted with a FISA wiretap due to allegations surrounding his travel to Russia, which fueled rumors about Trump’s ties to the Kremlin. While Page was never charged with a crime, a DOJ investigation during Trump’s first term turned up errors and omissions that made Page appear more suspicious than he was in order to justify the surveillance. As the New York Times notes, “Although the wiretapping was just a part of a much larger investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 campaign, Mr. Trump and his allies used it to try to broadly discredit the inquiry.”Page filed suit against Comey and seven others in 2020, claiming that the public revelations of his surveillance had harmed his reputation and business. While lower courts dismissed his claims, saying that he had taken too long to file them, he appealed to the Supreme Court. Then in April, while waiting on the Court’s decision, the Trump administration abruptly agreed to the $1.25 million settlement, paying Page even though an inspector general — and appointee of George H.W. Bush — said he could find no evidence that the case against Page had been motivated by political bias. Though the settlement was reached, his appeal to the Supreme Court continued. Now the Court has declined to revive the suit, including the decision among a list of others it has elected to decline or accept without further explanation. While this ends the lawsuit, it also likely raises new questions about the legality of the settlement, as the case it was based upon has essentially been deemed invalid. The settlement is among several similar recent payments or efforts that have raised controversy. The Trump administration also paid $1.2 million to former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn, who faced allegations of misconduct in the Russia investigation. More recently, the Trump administration drew bipartisan outrage by announcing the creation of a $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization fund” for the benefit of those “harmed” by the Biden administration. The fund, which was widely decried as a “slush fund” for Trump’s allies, has been stymied by the courts as well as lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, though the president has persisted in pursuing it.
Shane Gillis made it clear that he wasn't a fan of UFC fighter Josh Hokit insulting former First lady Michelle Obama while President Donald Trump had a different reaction.The right-leaning comedian was leaving the UFC Freedom 250 event at the White House Sunday night when TMZ asked him what he thought about the false and offensive remark from the 28-year-old mixed martial arts athlete. "Michelle Obama is a man! Am I right, America?” Hokit said inside the Octogon during an interview with Joe Rogan. The crowd booed and cheered — Trump apparently smiled while he sat ringside, CNN reported. Gillis told TMZ he didn't agree."I didn't love that," Gillis said. Charlie Cotton, co-managing editor of TMZ DC, asked him in response: "How come?" "Why do you think?" Gillis responded.Trump reportedly praised Hokit on Air Force One on Monday, reported David Gardner for The Swamp, The Daily Beast's Substack."As he flew off to meet world leaders in France today for the G-7 summit, Donald Trump made a point of congratulating by name the UFC fighters who starred in his tawdry cage fight on the White House lawn on Sunday night," Gardner wrote."Among them was Josh Hokit, the repugnant thug who made a vile slur against former First Lady Michelle Obama in an interview with Joe Rogan after he won his bout," Gardner explained.Trump has said in the past that Hokit was his favorite UFC fighter and that he had specifically requested for him to be on the bill for his 80th birthday bash."And it’s not the first time the fighter has tried to spread the baseless conspiracy theory that Obama is a man. He has said it in previous ring interviews," Gardner added.Shane Gillis tells @hicharliecotton he didn't love Josh Hokit calling Michelle Obama a "man" pic.twitter.com/ehiFuQY3wP— TMZ (@TMZ) June 15, 2026
Hours before heading off to meet world leaders at the Group of Seven Summit, President Donald Trump warned France about imposing a 100% tariff on its wines. […]
The president has asked the Justice Department to investigate more than four dozen enemies, leading to a spate of prosecutions.
President Donald Trump did not appear willing to extend his current trip to Evian, France, for the G7 summit to attend the official signing of the memorandum of understanding with Iran on Friday in Geneva, Switzerland. “Well, it depends,” Trump told reporters during a bilateral meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday. “JD is […]