Dem NJ Sen. Cory Booker trashes own party: ‘Desperately needs new leadership’
"I am tired of all this machination about party politics."

With the signing of the Declaration of Independence 250 years ago, America's founders accomplished something new under the sun: They brought into existence a nation rooted in the belief that individuals are by nature free and equal.
"I am tired of all this machination about party politics."
Negotiations are "in a very good place," a senior Trump official said, but, a deal to end the Iran war likely will not be signed this weekend.
President Trump on Sunday said negotiations with Iran were proceeding in “an orderly and constructive” manner, and that he had told U.S. officials “not to rush into a deal.” The remarks follow intense criticism of reports on an emerging deal from several conservative Republican senators, including Trump ally and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.). It was…
A senior House Democrat predicted this weekend that Republican members of Congress will increasingly distance themselves from Donald Trump once they return home during recess and face their constituents — and he says the signs are already there."I think that as Republicans come back home after this recess and hear from their constituents, and as they get past their primaries, more and more will start to break away from Trump and some of his draconian and criminal behavior," Rep. Greg Meeks (D-NY), the ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, told MS NOW on Saturday.Meeks pointed to the growing revolt in the Senate over Trump's $1.8 billion slush fund — money that could flow to supporters convicted in connection with the January 6th Capitol attack — as an early sign of the fractures to come. Republican senators, he said, were "absolutely right" to call it a nonstarter."You heard these Republican senators and they were absolutely right — this is ridiculous, this is terrible," Meeks said. "Some are retiring and don't have to pay homage to him, others who he has double crossed. And so they seem to be wanting to stand up for what they know is disastrous."Meeks drew a sharp distinction between the Senate and the House, where he sees far less independence. "I can't depend upon the House, because the members of the House — they will do whatever Trump says." But he suggested even that could change as political conditions shift.As evidence that the Republican base is not as monolithic as Trump's primary victories suggest, Meeks argued that Trump's hold is essentially on about 30 percent of the electorate — primary voters — not the broader public that will decide general elections."That's 30% of the individuals," he said. "These are not the individuals that would be able to vote in a general election."The congressman said the pattern — of Republican members privately opposing Trump while leadership runs interference — will become harder to sustain as midterms approach and members face voters directly."It's time for some of the Republicans to stand up and do the right thing by the American people," Meeks said, citing $5 gas prices, rising grocery costs, and health care as the kitchen-table issues driving discontent in districts across the country.
Murder is down, but assault is up—a dangerous sign.
"Unblock me," a longtime Trump confidant said to someone dubbed "Trump Whisperer" as the two fought publicly.A bitter feud has broken out between two prominent Trump allies, with longtime Republican operative Roger Stone unleashing a torrent of vulgar attacks at right-wing influencer Laura Loomer over the departure of Tulsi Gabbard from the Trump administration.The dispute, which played out publicly on X this weekend, has produced some of the ugliest language yet between members of Donald Trump's inner orbit, with Stone hurling explicit slurs and Loomer firing back with demands for evidence.Stone, a longtime Trump confidant who was convicted of lying to Congress and obstruction before receiving a presidential pardon, accused Loomer of being a paid operative and questioned her loyalty to Trump. In a series of posts, he called her a "petulant childish imbecile" with a "botox inflamed mouth.""Laura Loomer posts bulls--- for money," Stone wrote. "Every single word from her botox inflamed mouth is paid for. She's the queen of pay to play."He didn't stop there. In a subsequent post, Stone used a vulgar slur for women that Raw Story will not reproduce in full."If you have any doubt whatsoever, what a total narcissistic [expletive] Laura Loomer is it's all here," Stone wrote.Stone went so far as to demand Loomer lift her block on his account. "Unblock me, Laura because you know you can never win an argument with me," the Republican wrote.Stone also issued a cryptic warning to Loomer."You're disloyalty to President Trump is a disgrace. It will not end well for you," Stone wrote, appearing to mistake "your" for "you're."In another post, Stone went even further, framing Loomer as a threat to American interests."Laura Loomer doesn't have the slightest idea what she's talking about. She prefers the intelligence of the Mossad to that of our own," Stone wrote. "She's a menace and a neocon. It won't work out well for her."Loomer was not having it. She fired back with a direct demand for proof."Roger, Post evidence that I work for Israel and Mossad or shut up," Loomer wrote. "You lie everyday and post bulls--- and zero receipts. I actually post receipts."She added that if Stone could actually back up his claim, she would be owed significant compensation."When someone proves I work for Israel, tell them they owe me a lot of money and back pay for security since I have to deal with deranged Muslims and Neo Nazis plotting to murder me thanks to lies online that I’m an Israeli agent," she wrote on Saturday.Loomer added, "It’s so obvious you are expecting a major payout by working with Tulsi. Just be honest instead of being a lying lunatic online. You spent over 10 years praising me as the best person you know. My views have always been the same. Unlike you, money doesn’t control my loyalty. Prove it or shut up. I know you see your career coming to an end so you’re trying to be Grandpa Groyper, but there’s more respectable ways of making money online."The fight appears to have been triggered by Loomer's criticism Tulsi Gabbard, the former Democratic congresswoman who served as Trump's director of national intelligence before resigning. Stone defended Gabbard in his posts, calling her "the one political appointee who proved once and for all that the Russia collusion matter was a hoax as were the two impeachments."
Donald Trump's Truth Social post praising negotiations with Iran as "productive and professional" triggered an immediate backlash Sunday — not from Democrats, but from his own most fervent supporters, who accused him of repeating Barack Obama's mistakes and demanded military destruction of the Iranian regime instead."You cannot trust anything that Iran signs — it doesn't matter whether it is a good deal on paper or not," wrote one supporter in a reply that gained traction on the platform. "Neville Chamberlain had a great deal with Hitler, how did that turn out? I understand that the spin will begin on trying to convince people that you didn't pull an Obama, but you can't fool your base. They trusted you and you have now alienated your most vocal and rabid supporters."The same commenter, identified as "Patriot and Retired Air Force," added a stinging verdict: "You are off the pedestal and merely a better alternative than them. Sad!" — deliberately echoing Trump's own signature putdown back at him.The replies were thick with calls for military action rather than diplomacy. "Level them, they can't be trusted," wrote one MAGA user. "Anything they sign won't be worth the paper it's written on. Take them out now!" Another demanded "unconditional surrender" as "the only option," arguing that "leaving the current Radical Islamic Regime in power is a LOSS for the U.S."Others drew the Obama comparison directly. "Lifting sanctions is as bad as Obama," wrote one commenter. Another called for the elimination of the IRGC entirely rather than any negotiated settlement.An Iranian-American commenter cut to the heart of the base's frustration: "Any agreement with this criminal regime makes you no different from Barack Obama. Anyone who shakes hands with criminals is no different from Barack Obama — finish your job via military, not a deal with criminals."The revolt on Truth Social mirrors a broader rupture that has been building in conservative circles over Trump's Iran diplomacy. Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo — Trump's own top diplomat in his first term — warned Saturday that the deal being floated "seems straight out of the Wendy Sherman-Robert Malley-Ben Rhodes playbook," a reference to the architects of Obama's 2015 nuclear agreement. White House communications director Steven Cheung responded by telling Pompeo to "shut his stupid mouth."Trump's post insisted his deal is "THE EXACT OPPOSITE" of Obama's approach and vowed the blockade of Iran would remain "in full force and effect" until any agreement is "reached, certified, and signed." But for a slice of his base that spent years calling for regime change, the optics of any deal, on any terms, appear to be a bridge too far.
The deal under discussion would involve a 60-day ceasefire extension during which the Strait of Hormuz would be reopened, according to US media.