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'Words in their dead mouths': Rage mounts as Trump accused of exploiting fallen soldiers

'Words in their dead mouths': Rage mounts as Trump accused of exploiting fallen soldiers

President Donald Trump's response to the deaths of four soldiers killed in the Iran war stunned the nation Wednesday. Trump delivered his disturbing commentary on the tarmac at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland before departing to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware for the dignified transfer to honor the soldiers who lost their lives.All of them said very strongly, 'We cannot let Iran have a nuclear weapon,' Trump said. They won't have a nuclear weapon, so we're going to honor them.Outrage erupted almost immediately.Author David Simon told his 65,000 followers on Bluesky he felt Trump had disrespected the fallen troops.It's one thing to honor the sacrifice of fallen service members. And it's common rhetoric to declare that they died for a worthy cause, Simon wrote. It's the Platonic ideal of malignant narcissism to just stand there shamelessly and put words into their dead mouths.Simon was not alone in his fury at Trump's claim. Entrepreneur and former Obama administration official Brandon Friedman responded, He actually outdid himself today. This is obscene.Sanho Tree, a fellow at the Institute for Policy Studies, argued Trump was effectively using dead soldiers as sock puppets. Andrew Lawrence, deputy director of rapid response at Media Matters, responded with shock. Well this is easily the most detestable thing a president has ever said about U.S. troops he had killed, Lawrence wrote.It's one thing to honor the sacrifice of fallen service members. And it's common rhetoric to declare that they died for a worthy cause. It's the Platonic ideal of malignant narcissism to just stand there shamelessly and put words into their dead mouths.[image or embed]— David Simon (@audacityofdespair.bsky.social) July 22, 2026 at 8:10 AM

1 hour ago
'Delusional': Critics explode over Trump deal with Saudis that could set off nuclear race

'Delusional': Critics explode over Trump deal with Saudis that could set off nuclear race

President Donald Trump spurred terror and outrage Wednesday when reports surfaced that he formally approved a sweeping 30-year nuclear agreement with Saudi Arabia, worth tens of billions of dollars, that could pave the way for uranium enrichment in the Middle East. The accord, expected to be signed Wednesday by Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Saudi Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, gives American companies a central role in building Saudi Arabia's civilian nuclear infrastructure while locking out foreign competitors like Russia and China, but nonproliferation experts warn the deal could trigger a cascade of nuclear ambitions across the Middle East, reported the Wall Street Journal.Whither goes Saudi Arabia, so goes the United Arab Emirates, Turkey and Egypt, said Henry Sokolski, executive director of the Nonproliferation Policy Education Center. The idea that this will have a happy ending is delusional.A key provision would allow U.S. companies to construct a uranium-enrichment facility in Saudi Arabia if a joint two-year study determines the step is warranted, though the facility would operate under a black box arrangement designed to keep sensitive enrichment technology out of Saudi hands.Sokolski and other critics say that framework doesn't go far enough, warning that Saudi Arabia's refusal to accept the so-called gold standard — a binding commitment never to enrich uranium or reprocess spent fuel domestically — sets a dangerous precedent. Robert Einhorn, a former senior State Department nonproliferation official, echoed those concerns, saying that without adequate constraints on enrichment, the deal could increase nuclear proliferation risks in the Middle East and beyond.Adding to the alarm is Saudi Arabia's rejection of the International Atomic Energy Agency's Additional Protocol, which would have subjected the kingdom to more rigorous inspections. Critics argue the alternative monitoring arrangement negotiated by the Trump administration will be insufficient to catch suspected nuclear activity at sites not directly built by the U.S.Congressional critics have also raised objections. Rep. Brad Sherman (D-CA) said lawmakers should withhold approval unless Saudi Arabia agrees to forgo enrichment and reprocessing entirely, arguing the administration shouldn't enable proliferation risks just because U.S. companies stand to make a profit.The deal also arrives as the White House presses Iran, Saudi Arabia's regional rival, to sharply limit its own nuclear program — a juxtaposition critics call contradictory, even as Trump officials insist the Saudi program will be safeguarded.Blocking the agreement will be difficult because doing so requires a joint congressional resolution capable of overriding a presidential veto, a two-thirds majority threshold rarely cleared on foreign policy disputes. The deal is expected to reach Congress for review in the coming days.Presidents from both parties have long objected to efforts by Middle Eastern countries to enrich uranium, and some lawmakers have argued that a nuclear deal with Saudi Arabia, in particular, was such a sensitive topic that it should face an even tougher congressional standard.A bipartisan group of lawmakers – including now-Secretary of State Marco Rubio – in 2018 sponsored an act that would block nuclear cooperation with the kingdom unless Congress affirmatively voted to approve such a deal, but that measure was never brought to a vote.

1 hour ago
Trump taunted by former official after 'latest corrupt feat' hands Dems powerful 'gift'

Trump taunted by former official after 'latest corrupt feat' hands Dems powerful 'gift'

President Donald Trump was taunted Wednesday by a former senior official from his own administration for unwittingly handing Democrats a powerful gift through his latest corrupt feat.That former official is former Homeland Security Chief of Staff Miles Taylor, and Trump’s “latest corrupt feat,” as alleged by Taylor, was the president’s unprecedented use of his pardon authority, which historically has been used to pardon individuals but has since been utilized for entire corporations.“Trump has extended clemency to nine companies and counting,” Taylor wrote Wednesday in an analysis published on his Substack. “As Bloomberg reports, the president has been wielding the pardon power in ways akin to a king granting favors to feudal landowners.”Taylor pointed to a corporation pardoned earlier this month after Trump “erased a 750,000 penalty.” Trump granted clemency to Diesel Freak LLC, a Michigan diesel shop owned by a man who, Taylor wrote, “became a cause célèbre in MAGA world for being a purported victim of Biden-era overreach.”The idea of pardoning entire corporations was inspired in part by “King Charles II pardoning a company more than 300 years ago,” according to an insider who spoke with Bloomberg on the condition of anonymity.Taylor's warning that the new precedent carried “staggering” implications for criminal liability also carried with it a silver lining.“The only solace I have about the president granting what amounts to ‘super pardons’ is that he’s given us a gift,” Taylor wrote. “When power changes hands, he’s telling us exactly what to investigate. And he’s left much of it in the public records. Cheers, Mr. President.”Republicans face an uphill battle in the upcoming midterms as Trump’s favorability craters to record lows, with analysts now favoring Democrats to retake control of the House.

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'Fight they wanted to fight': Federal judges mount major campaign to check Trump power

'Fight they wanted to fight': Federal judges mount major campaign to check Trump power

A group of federal judges in Seattle are going on offense against President Donald Trump and the Department of Justice's efforts to circumvent the Senate, according to a new report.The judges have orchestrated a legal confrontation designed to test the limits of Trump's power over federal law enforcement, and they appear to have deliberately selected a candidate willing to fight, Talking Points Memo analyst David Kurtz wrote Wednesday.The federal judges in Seattle appear to have decided this is a fight they wanted to fight, he wrote. The plan centers on Trump's strategy for circumventing Senate oversight has been brazen by deploying various workarounds to install loyalists in key positions, Kurtz argued. Some of these maneuvers violate federal law governing interim appointments. Others sidestep constitutional requirements for Senate confirmation.When district judges appoint interim U.S. attorneys, Trump simply fires them. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche has made clear: future judge-appointed U.S. attorneys will be terminated unless the administration approves them first.Now the Seattle judges are forcing a confrontation they appear to relish.They appointed attorney Roger Rogoff as interim U.S. attorney, and Trump fired him within an hour. But Rogoff, forewarned and willing, immediately filed suit challenging the termination.They asked applicants for the interim position whether they would contest their anticipated firing by the president, Kurtz wrote. Rogoff indicated he would, and they named him to the position.According to the report, Rogoff's complaint points to three other jurisdictions—California's Central District, New Mexico, and Nevada—where Trump's workarounds violated law but judges haven't yet intervened. The implication is clear, Kurtz argued: this case will determine whether judges nationwide can check presidential overreach.Kurtz observed, The speed with which Rogoff filed his lawsuit and motion for preliminary injunction, the quality of the complaint, and the caliber of the lawyers representing him all suggests this is going to be a hard fought, fully engaged case that ends up before the 9th Circuit and perhaps the Supreme Court.

1 hour ago
Sudden shift shows 'Hotlanta' contingent could dismantle MAGA machine: CNN data analyst

Sudden shift shows 'Hotlanta' contingent could dismantle MAGA machine: CNN data analyst

Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA) is suddenly surging in early 2028 Democratic presidential prediction markets — and that means he could have what it takes to reclaim the White House from the MAGA right, according to a CNN's chief data analyst Harry Enten.California Gov. Gavin Newsom entered the year as the clear frontrunner for the 2028 Democratic nomination, with a 35 percent chance, according to the Kalshi prediction market, while Ossoff sat at just 5 percent and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) stood at 10 percent. Since then, Enten said the field has shifted dramatically.Why is this 'Ossoff America?' Enten said. That is because Jon Ossoff is 'Hotlanta,' that's what we're talking about.Newsom's odds have fallen to 18 percent, keeping him the nominal leader, Enten said, but Ossoff has more than tripled his standing to 16 percent, with Ocasio-Cortez close behind at 15 percent.Enten pointed to surging public interest as one driver of Ossoff's rise. Google searches for the Georgia senator are up 300 percent compared to last July — the highest search volume he's recorded in that month, according to the data. While some of that attention is tied to his ongoing re-election campaign, Enten noted the interest extends well beyond Georgia, reflecting growing national attention on Ossoff.That re-election bid, Enten suggested, could serve as a launching pad for a national campaign. He compared Ossoff's current polling position to historical Democratic Senate performances in Georgia this century, noting that Sen. Raphael Warnock's 2022 win — the strongest Democratic Senate victory in the state so far this cycle — came by 3 points. A recent Fox News poll showed Ossoff leading by 13 points, a significantly wider margin.Enten argued that a strong Georgia win would bolster Ossoff's viability on a national electoral map, demonstrating his ability to carry a key swing state — a case that has also fueled his growing social media presence and searches.If you're a Democratic candidate running for United States Senate, you show you can win in a swing state, and then, of course, you give those spiels that have been going all over social media, which is one of the reasons why, as Google searches are so high, you say, 'Hey, this is a coalition that might actually work,' Enten said.Fundraising numbers add to the momentum. Ossoff has raised 77 million this cycle, making him the top Senate fundraiser this century, according to the analysis. Enten emphasized that fundraising strength is often a critical indicator of viability for a future presidential run, since building a national campaign requires substantial financial resources.Money is what makes a presidential bid go, Enten said, and he's shown an ability to raise a lot of at the top fundraiser this cycle. - YouTube youtu.be

2 hours ago
'Bizarre': Trump admin's 'laughable' excuse exposed as 'stunning failure' in new report

'Bizarre': Trump admin's 'laughable' excuse exposed as 'stunning failure' in new report

A key claim used by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to defend immigration enforcement agent-involved shootings was exposed as a “stunning failure” Wednesday following an exhaustive investigation from The Guardian.On at least a dozen occasions, DHS has defended shootings perpetrated by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) or Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers by claiming a vehicle had been “weaponized” against them. However, an exhaustive investigation published by The Guardian found that DHS and prosecutors had suffered a stunning failure in their attempts to prove those claims accurate.In its report, The Guardian identified 26 individuals that had been accused of using their vehicles to “threaten, assault or injure immigration officers,” five of whom were shot by agents, one fatally. Of those 26, 15 never faced federal charges, and of the 11 that did face federal charges, eight had their charges dismissed.Furthermore, even after cases against individuals accused by DHS of weaponizing their vehicle against immigration agents had fallen apart, DHS “repeatedly continued to promote people’s cases as evidence of violence,” The Guardian found.“This whole narrative that all of these people were trying to run over officers with their cars is frankly bizarre and laughable,” said Margaret Hellerstein, a lawyer with The Jurado Firm in Long Beach, California, speaking with The Guardian. “It’s just brazen to tell the same story over and over when it’s been disproven over and over. They believe they have ultimate power and they’re phoning in their explanations.”A leaked DHS memo that circulated internally last November explicitly warned ICE agents about stepping in front of vehicles, with immigration enforcement agents having a well-documented history of “intentionally” stepping in front of vehicles to “justify using deadly force.”“The review of cases also reveals a pattern of DHS blasting statements to the press and on social media, painting the subjects of their traffic stops as violent assailants without evidence and then failing to correct the record when those claims collapse under basic scrutiny,” The Guardian’s report reads.

2 hours ago
Noose found in federal facility before Juneteenth spurs oversight demands: report

Noose found in federal facility before Juneteenth spurs oversight demands: report

Allegations that an employee hung a noose in a Treasury Department building in Texas have spurred a union representing 150,000 federal workers to demand congressional oversight, the Washington Post reported Wednesday. The noose was reportedly found at the U.S. Bureau of Engraving and Printing's Western Currency Facility in Fort Worth just days before Juneteenth, the June 19 holiday commemorating the end of slavery, reported the Washington Post. The National Treasury Employees Union detailed the allegation in a July 16 letter to congressional leaders, according to the Post. A BEP spokesman said the employee accused of hanging the noose was placed on administrative leave and that an investigation was launched. He said the bureau maintains zero tolerance for hatred, discrimination, or misconduct and that management addressed staff to reinforce its commitment to a respectful workplace. BEP leadership also notified the Treasury Department's inspector general.But NTEU President Doreen Greenwald alleged that neither Treasury nor BEP leadership has taken meaningful action to change workplace culture through policy or training, and she requested formal congressional oversight to ensure a thorough investigation.The episode adds to recent scrutiny of BEP's leadership, which faced criticism earlier this year after political appointees pushed staff to produce a 250 bill featuring President Donald Trump's image — a move that prompted Senate Democrats to press for a separate watchdog investigation.

2 hours ago
Trump hedges midterms on 'total abstraction' that’s 'certain to fail': columnist

Trump hedges midterms on 'total abstraction' that’s 'certain to fail': columnist

As his favorability among Americans continues to plummet to historic lows, President Donald Trump has recently pivoted to a new messaging strategy – a strategy he’s become “obsessed” with, argued columnist Jamelle Bouie on Wednesday, though one that’s “certain to fail.”Following the recent electoral victories of several progressive candidates in Democratic primary elections, Trump has increasingly spoken out against “communism,” and to such an extent that analysts suspect it to be a “desperate” attempt to shift the odds in Republicans’ favor ahead of the midterms.The problem, Bouie argued, is that Trump’s attempt to resurrect the fear” of communism that reached its height in the United States during the Cold War was a “total abstraction” to today’s voters.“Americans are neither as hostile to socialism as they once were nor as positive toward capitalism as they have been in the past. More important than polling, however, is the fact that for many Americans the ‘communist threat’ is a total abstraction,” Bouie wrote in an op-ed published Wednesday. “There are tens of millions of voters (this columnist included) who were young children when the Soviet Union fell. There are millions more who weren’t yet born. For these Americans, ‘communism’ is as much a concern as ‘the missile gap’ or the Contras. It is completely unresponsive to the circumstances of their lives — to their struggles with housing, health care and the overall cost of living.”Moreover, threats of “communism” taking hold in the United States were “out of touch with reality,” Bouie argued, and were actually “more likely to drive voters away from Trump and the Republican Party.”“The president’s attempt to drum up a third Red Scare is certain to fail,” Bouie wrote. “If it matters – if it is interesting – it is only because it gives us a glimpse into the stunted imagination of a man who seems to value only the worst this country has to offer.”

2 hours ago
Trump's bluster backfires as embarrassing book roars off shelves

Trump's bluster backfires as embarrassing book roars off shelves

A tell-all book chronicling Donald Trump's second term is on pace to become 2026's bestselling nonfiction title, despite — or perhaps because of — the president's public efforts to discredit it.Regime Change: Inside the Imperial Presidency of Donald Trump, written by New York Times reporters Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan, has sold more than 500,000 copies across hardcover, audio and e-book formats since its June 23 release, Axios reported.The book has topped the New York Times nonfiction bestseller list for three straight weeks. Simon Schuster has since ordered a seventh printing, bringing total hardcovers in print to 460,000, after already adding 150,000 copies on publication day to meet demand.The sales surge follows a late-night Truth Social outburst from the 80-year-old Trump, who called the book mostly made up, Fake News, largely fiction and dismissed Haberman — using the derisive nickname Magot Haberman — as a third rate writer and intellect, notably leaving Swan unmentioned.Haberman's literary agent, Keith Urbahn of Javelin, called the book a unicorn of publishing, noting it draws on more than 1,000 interviews with people close to Trump and has resonated well beyond political circles. He pointed out that even Trump's own team hasn't disputed the book's underlying facts.Among the book's most-discussed details: Trump's late-night snacking habits, erratic sleep patterns, hearing difficulties and separate bedroom from First Lady Melania Trump. The authors also describe him as an inveterate hoarder, having converted Jared Kushner's former West Wing office into a storage room for memorabilia, and detail an October 2025 dinner in which Trump pitted JD Vance against Marco Rubio in an informal 2028 popularity contest with Rupert Murdoch.Trump was reportedly infuriated by the book's revelation that he prefers having a carpeted bathroom, which reportedly sparked concerns from staffers about mold, and a senior appointee told Zeteo the president was angry about the detail's inclusion because it makes him look so f------ gross.The book further reports that aides privately noted Trump seemed old, citing afternoon drowsiness and hand bruising he attributed to a heavy aspirin regimen.Responding to Trump's dismissal of the book as boring and 90 fake news, Swan wrote on X that the president was welcome to sit for an on-camera interview any time he wants.

3 hours ago
'Unthinkable': GOP panic-stricken at Trump move 'ruining' midterms

'Unthinkable': GOP panic-stricken at Trump move 'ruining' midterms

Republican campaign operatives are bracing for catastrophe, warning that President Donald Trump's next move could cost the party its congressional majorities and ruin his second term, reports show. Trump has only promised more war after his ceasefire with Iran collapsed, and U.S. deaths have continued to mount — 18 service members killed since the fighting began in February, the Washington Post reported.Republicans are now bracing for the unthinkable scenario that Trump could trigger a full-scale war that will still be raging when voters go to the polls in November, Politico's Dasha Burns reported Wednesday.With 104 days until the midterms, contests in Iowa, Alaska and Ohio — along with House districts Trump carried by double digits — are now firmly in play, according to Politico.We're preparing for the bottom to fall out, a GOP operative working on midterm races told Politico.Republicans are running out of runway here to improve their political fortunes before November, the operative added.In Iowa, now a new battleground for the GOP, Democratic Senate candidate state Rep. Josh Turek (D-Iowa) told Politico that voters are connecting the war directly to their wallets.Everywhere I'm going — it doesn't matter, urban or rural areas — people are telling me they're struggling just to keep food on the table, a roof above their head, and now with this unnecessary war in Iran, we're looking at being able to afford gas, Turek said.Inside Trump's own orbit, a person close to the White House told Politico the administration has no strategy for ending the conflict.They don't have a plan here, the source said, warning that a ground invasion could produce a 15-year war and runs the risk of ruining his second term. This is a classic escalation trap.A new Politico poll conducted by Public First found that just 37 percent of Trump's MAGA base now says the war is worth its economic costs — down 13 points since May.A second Republican operative told Politico the administration's conflicting messages on the war have left candidates without a coherent argument to make to voters.The messaging alone coming out of the administration has handcuffed candidates heading into the midterms, the operative said. It's all over the place — they don't know whether to lean into saying Iran has been obliterated or that we're heading toward peace.Republicans are marking September as their last off-ramp — the point where hope gives way to full-blown political triage, Politico reported.It's never great for the party in power when the commander in chief is going to Dover to accept bodies of American soldiers, the first operative said.

3 hours ago
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