Israel and Iran Renew Direct Hostilities, Testing Trump Claim That U.S. ‘Calls the Shots’

Trump expected to be 'showered with boos' at Madison Square Garden

This Monday night, June 8, President Donald Trump is planning to attend an NBA Finals game at New York City's Madison Square Garden. But the Queens native is unpopular in his home town, which is predominantly Democratic. And according to the Washington Post reporter Dan Diamond, Trump is "widely expected to be showered with boos" at the NBA (National Basketball Association) game — where the New York Knicks will be competing with the San Antonio Spurs.Trump, Diamond reports, was invited by Knicks owner James Dolan."Some sports fans and analysts have urged Trump not to attend the game — commentator Stephen A. Smith said it would create an unnecessary spectacle — or pledged to jeer the president," Barrett explains in the Post. "Online betting services also predict Trump will be booed in his visit to deep-blue New York City and the Knicks' arena, Madison Square Garden. The team's fans are famously unforgiving — quick to taunt rival players, the team's own stars and recent New York mayor Eric Adams just days after his inauguration."Barrett continues, "As an added frustration, Trump's presence will create logistical hurdles for the roughly 20,000 other attendees, who have been told to arrive at least two hours before tip-off because of the enhanced security measures that follow the president."Dan Pfeiffer, who served as an adviser to former President Barack Obama, suggested that the high price of NBA Finals tickets could make Trump less likely to be booed at Madison Square Garden.Pfeiffer told the Post, "(A) typical Madison Square Garden crowd would boo the daylights out of Trump, but he might benefit from a crowd willing to spend $10,000 to sit in the rafters."Harrison Fields, a former White House deputy press secretary, told the Post, " New York City and an NBA audience might be considered hostile territory, but when has that ever stopped the president?"In a June 5 post on X, sportswriter Shea Serrano encouraged NBA Finals attendees at Madison Square Garden to "boo this m– – so thunderously when they show him on the jumbotron that my TV vibrates off the wall."Serrano told the Post, "His decision to attend Game 3 of the NBA Finals will do for the game what his participation in seemingly everything does: make it actively worse, in one way or another, for everyone else involved."Progressive New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, an ally of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-New York) is also expected to attend the game and, according to Barrett, "has been embraced by some fans for his willingness to join them in the rafters."

New Poll: Americans United Against Iran Threat, Nuclear Dangers

New York Knicks fans tell Trump to 'stay home' ahead of NBA Finals appearance: report

Fans of the New York Knicks are telling President Donald Trump, who once called New York his home, to "stay home" instead of attending Game 3 of the NBA Finals against the San Antonio Spurs on Monday night, according to a new report. MS NOW's Laura Haefeli spoke with several Knicks fans in New York on Sunday after it was announced that the team's watch party was canceled because of Trump's attendance at the game. The Knicks, in conjunction with the New York Police Department and the Secret Service, decided to cancel the event, which was scheduled to be held near Madison Square Garden. Instead, the parties will be held in Central Park and in Brooklyn, miles away from the arena. Knicks fans who spoke with Haefeli expressed frustration and consternation over the decision to cancel the watch parties near MSG. "Please, Mr. Trump, stay home," one Knicks fan said. "Do not jinx my Knicks because no McDonagh in the next 100 years will vote Republican. Just like we haven't voted Republican since the 1950s.""Enjoy being in New York. Enjoy the stadium. Don't be too much of a distraction, and let's keep everything about what's important, and that's Knicks basketball," another fan said. "It's going to be impossible to get on this block," another fan told Haefeli outside of MSG. "It's going to be a long walk in for a lot of these fans. It's going to be hard for them to get in. But you know what? That's what's going to need to happen to keep everybody in there safe. You know, I get it. It's going to be a pain for a lot of people to get in there."The Knicks lead the series against the Spurs 2-0. Game 3 will tip off on Monday at 8:30 p.m. ET.

Trump rushes to emergency rally to save Lindsey Graham in heated primary

With his grip on the South Carolina Republican primary suddenly less certain than anyone anticipated, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) is calling in the biggest favor he has — President Donald Trump.Graham announced Monday that Trump has agreed to join a last-minute tele-rally Monday evening ahead of Tuesday's GOP primary, urging supporters to dial in at 5:30 p.m. "I'm proud to be endorsed by President Trump, and I'd be honored to have you join us for a Tele-Rally TONIGHT at 5:30 PM," Graham wrote on X.The move underscores an uncomfortable reality for the four-term incumbent: heading into Tuesday's vote, Graham cannot be certain he will clear the 50% threshold South Carolina requires to avoid a June 23 runoff.The most recent polling tells a mixed story. A late-May Citadel Poll of likely Republican primary voters had Graham at just 46% — four points short of the runoff barrier — with challenger Mark Lynch at 36%. A Trafalgar Group survey conducted around the same time showed a more comfortable 52%-28% edge, and a poll released Saturday by The Public Sentiment Institute put Graham at 51% to Lynch's 26%.The wild card is Graham's hawkish support for the U.S.-Israel war against Iran. Lynch has made it the centerpiece of his challenge, arguing Graham is focused on prolonging a conflict South Carolinians are growing tired of. "People are tired of him getting [the United States] into endless, needless wars," Lynch told the Christian Science Monitor in a piece published Monday.The TPSI poll found that among voters who believe Israel has too much influence in American politics — roughly 36% of the Republican electorate — Lynch actually led Graham, 37% to 33%.Graham has shown no sign of backing down. "If you're scared of losing your job, you cannot be a very good senator," he told the Post and Courier, according to the Christian Science Monitor.Trump formally endorsed Graham on June 4, urging South Carolina Republicans to vote for him, and Graham has leaned hard into that alliance. But with Lynch self-funding his campaign to the tune of $5 million and anti-establishment energy running high, Trump's voice on a phone line may be the deciding factor between a clean win and two more weeks of political headaches for the Palmetto State's senior senator.

Israel-Iran strikes threaten truce. And, Ebola is spreading at an unprecedented rate

Israel and Iran's recent exchange of fire is threatening the truce in the Middle East. And, the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo is spreading at an unprecedented rate, officials say.

Iran and Israel trade attacks as Trump’s war passes 100 days

LIVE FIRE CEASEFIRE: Iran attempted to use its leverage with President Donald Trump — who is anxious to seal a nuclear deal with Tehran — to protect its proxy forces in Lebanon from Israeli retaliation, after Iran struck Israel with a wave of missile attacks over the weekend. Trump told Axios he would call Israeli […]

An Iran deal without Arab action is no deal at all

President Donald Trump recently declared that a deal with Iran is “largely negotiated.” As a liberal Muslim scholar from the Middle East who was forced to flee Egypt after defending Israel following Oct. 7, 2023, I know exactly what that declaration is worth without the Arab world’s full commitment behind it: very little. There is […]

Trump says Israel and Iran are discussing ‘immediate ceasefire’ after renewed fighting

President Donald Trump said that Israel and Iran are once again negotiating a ceasefire as violence in the Middle East escalated over the weekend. Iran launched a missile strike against Israel Sunday morning in retaliation for Israel’s attacks against Hezbollah targets in Lebanon earlier in the weekend. Israel responded Monday morning with a strike against […]