6/22: The Takeout with Major Garrett

Detroit Lions in the crosshairs for skipping Juneteenth — but an entire major sports league did too

The day that honors the end of slavery was celebrated unanimously across most sports leagues, with some notable exceptions.One was the Detroit Lions, who confused fans with their decision not to post any materials in support of Juneteenth.'It must have been an accident.'Given that Juneteenth was first recognized as a holiday in 2021 by President Joe Biden, it is not unusual for the day to be overlooked by the common sports fan. For most pro sports teams though, every possible iteration of race or cultural politics typically gets marked down on the calendar.This was why football fans were confused when the Lions opted not to post anything for Juneteenth, with one Lions supporter assuming "it must have been an accident.""Just go look at the Lions profile picture," the fan noted; the Lions' X photo features transgender and gay pride colors.There was no mention of the new holiday from the National Hockey League either, Fox News reported. The league is only a week removed from the last game of the Stanley Cup Finals, so it is possible employees are on hiatus. However, the NHL has been deeply involved in diversity efforts for years — especially since the Black Lives Matter era — making this a strange move for the league as well.RELATED: SF Giants commentator compares gays to black people as 'oppressed' minority following Christian protest Diamond Images/Getty Images Some players in the league previously complained the NHL wasn't doing enough to support diversity, even after the hiring of a woman named Kim Davis to serve as the executive vice president of social impact, growth initiatives, and legislative affairs.With a goal to bring diversity to the league and its C-suite, Davis described hockey as a "tribe" that needs to "feel more welcoming."This eventually led to the NHL Player Inclusion Coalition, which has since wreaked havoc on the league with its initiatives.Blaze News previously reported on the league-wide controversies surrounding Pride jerseys, Pride tape, and player backlash.RELATED: Juneteenth only makes sense if natural law is real Carmen Mandato/Getty Images Still, NFL fans seemed split on the latest issue online, either dragging the Lions organization for not supporting Juneteenth or being puzzled as to why they support other progressive celebrations if they are able to avoid this one."I just find it wild that they can support LGBTQ but not black people especially since most of their team is Black," an X user wrote.Another reaction from the story had one fan saying they had grown to hate the "weird idea of social media telling teams what to do." With the Lions as the lone standout in the NFL, they join the Texas Rangers of the MLB who similarly are the only team in their league not to celebrate gay pride with a dedicated night.The Lions and the NHLPA, which runs the Player Inclusion Coalition along with the NHL, did not respond to a request for comment from Blaze News.Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Trump snaps when asked for proof of major new Reflecting Pool claim: 'There's no evidence'

President Donald Trump snapped at a CBS reporter on Monday after he claimed someone took a knife to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.Ed O'Keefe, CBS News' senior White House and political correspondent, asked Trump during an Oval Office press conference if he would share a photo or proof that the incident had happened. Trump responded with frustration."When you have a 350-foot slit, do you think that's proof?" Trump asked.O'Keefe pushed back."Reporters have been down there today looking for that slit you mentioned. There's no evidence," O'Keefe said.Trump suggested the parks department would have proof."But I saw it. They cut it, they cut it very violently," Trump argued."You write fake news," Trump told O'Keefe.Trump had ordered National Guard troops to the location and ramped up patrols at the National Mall after reports of damage and algae blooms turned the blue reflecting pool green after the multi-million dollar remodeling project. Reports at the scene indicated the new paint had peeled off the bottom of the large-scale fountain.Early Monday, Trump had threatened that anyone who vandalizes his vanity projects, including the reflecting pool, would face 10 years behind bars. He told reporters that five people were currently under investigation.TRUMP: When you have a 350 foot slit, do you think that's proof?O'KEEFE: Reporters have been down there today looking for that slit you mentioned. There's no evidenceTRUMP: All you have to do is see the parks department. They'll show it to you. pic.twitter.com/ZMzO76CpDY— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) June 22, 2026

Nobel Prize winner issues major prediction about impacts of Trump's 'screwups'

Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman warned the damage from President Trump's failed war in Iran — and his broader approach to governing — will outlast his presidency, leaving the U.S. diminished on the world stage for years to come.In an interview with The New Republic's Greg Sargent on his "Daily Blast" podcast, Krugman dismissed Trump's claims of victory in Iran as detached from reality."Iran won," Krugman said. "Iran is in a much stronger position and the U.S. in a much weaker position than before the war started."Krugman called the resulting ceasefire deal "vastly inferior" to the Obama-era nuclear agreement Trump abandoned during his first term, adding that the conflict cost lives, depleted weapons stockpiles, and exposed the limits of American power."He could have just done nothing — that would have been better," he said.The conversation centered on a series of early-morning social media posts in which Trump demanded credit for the outcome and touted economic gains. Krugman pushed back point by point, noting that job growth has actually been slower than in the last two years under Biden, with unemployment essentially flat and real wages lower due to inflation accumulated since Trump took office, and he argued stock market gains reflect a global rally rather than anything specific to Trump's policies."The stock market is up, no question about that," Krugman said. "Although the stock market rose a lot under Joe Biden, too, Trump would like you to put that down the memory hole. Stocks are up, by the way, around the world. There’s a stock market boom. I haven’t checked the numbers lately, but I believe that they’re up substantially more outside the United States than inside the United States."Krugman framed Trump's behavior as part of a broader pattern of decline, arguing the war revealed that the U.S. could not impose its will on a "third-rate military power" and that American allies increasingly understand they don't need Washington — citing Ukraine's continued resistance despite a U.S. cutoff of arms and funding. He warned this erosion of credibility is not easily reversible."There’s a lot that has obviously been made much worse by Trump screwups," Krugman said. "What the world now has to suspect, even when Trump is gone from the stage, is who’s the next guy? How do we know that we won’t have another Trump-like figure? Does an agreement with America mean anything, since we’ve just seen an American president rip up every agreement that we had?""We don’t get that back," he added. "It took generations to build the reputation of America. You don’t get that back unless you give us three generations of good governance from here on in."Krugman was equally blunt about Trump personally, describing him as someone living through a kind of public unraveling."If you look at some of those late-night tweets, the tweets we’re talking about here, you kind of get hit by a real dose of somebody in very steep mental decline," he said. "It’s sort of two-layered. On the one hand, it’s the sheer nakedness of the demand for adulation, which is just completely crazy. Somebody who’s sunsetting very plainly in plain sight, who knows he’s on his way out and is desperate to have something that he can call a legacy. That’s what we see there.""But at the same time, you also see him completely detached from the reality of what he’s actually done to us," Krugman added. "What he’s done to you and me, to liberal America, to blue America, even to red America, even to MAGA country."Krugman highlighted the administration's renovation of the National Mall's Reflecting Pool — drained, repainted and resealed, only to be overtaken again by algae — as an almost literary metaphor. "Everything Trump touches turns to crud," he said.

Poll: Vast Majority Of Americans Want Iran War To End Now

This poll comes as the Trump Administration is actively involved in peace efforts with Iran, with Vice President JD Vance at the forefront of the negotiations.

Majority of Republicans think Trump failed with his latest attempt to save face: data guru

A majority of Americans – including Republicans – believe that President Donald Trump was desperate to end his war in Iran regardless of whether his goals were accomplished.The president signed a memorandum of understanding last week to negotiate an end to the war he launched Feb. 28, and CNN's Harry Enten presented polling data that showed public opinion had remained solidly against Trump all along."You know, they disapproved of him a month ago, they disapproved of him two months ago, and they still disapprove of him," Enten said. "I mean, the polling is quite steady."Enten encountered some technical difficulties that prevented him from displaying the polling data onscreen, but he pressed on and recited the numbers from memory."Look, people disapproved of Trump two months ago," he said. "His disapproval rating was 64 percent, last month it was 66 percent, and this month it is the same – 64 percent. So what we're talking about is that Americans, you can pay attention to me here. Americans still disapprove of the job that Donald Trump is doing on Iran, and 75 percent of independents disapprove of the job that Donald Trump is doing on Iran. So regardless of any deal that was made, the American people still disapprove of the job that Donald Trump is doing on Iran, despite whatever he's doing.""The bottom line is this," he added. "No matter what deal has been made, the clear majority, two-thirds of Americans, still disapprove of the job that Donald Trump is doing when it comes to that conflict."Enten found similar support for the president's agreement to end the war."So why did Trump agree to the deal?" Enten said. "Well, it's simply this: Why Trump agreed to the Iran deal, wants the war to end or think the U.S. met its war goals. Look at this, 66 percent of Americans simply think he wanted to end the war, and even among Republicans, his own party, don't think that, in fact, the Trump administration met its war goals. In fact, they think he wants to just end the war.""So this idea, hey, we won, we won, everyone, we won – the American people don't think that is exactly what happened," he added. "What they think happened was Iran was fighting back, America looked at the chance of victory in terms of what Trump initially laid out as the chance of victory. They did not think that that was possibly going to be accomplished. We're talking about two-thirds of Americans and even a majority of Republicans did." - YouTube youtu.be

Vance reports major progress in Iran talks

Vice President Vance hailed what he said was a major progress during direct negotiations between Trump administration officials and their Iranian counterparts at the Burgenstock ski resort in Switzerland on Sunday. “Yesterday was a very, very good day. We made a lot of good progress. We did exactly what we wanted to do,” Vance said…

Iran Cites ‘Major Progress’ After All-Night Talks With US

Iran said there had been “major progress” in all-night discussions with the US, as the warring sides try to reach a peace deal within two months.

Major New Transparency Win: Biden Ghostwriter Audio Tapes Coming Out