6 universities reject White House funding deal with attached demands. Multiple other schools have yet to respond | CNN
The battle for academic freedom and institutional sovereignty in higher education continues to play out as another university has rejected a White House offer for expanded access to federal funding in return for agreeing to a series of demands.
President Trump signed an executive order for the 2028 Olympics Task Force several weeks ago in August. During Q&A with the press, a reporter told Trump about India calling out the U.S. for criticizing their energy imports from Russia despite the U.S. also importing Russian uranium and fertilizers. “I don’t know anything about it,” Trump responded.
‘I Don’t Know Anything About It’: Trump Acts Clueless When Called Out On His Hypocrisy During Executive Order Signing Event
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker also speculated about the president’s neurological health during a separate conversation.
President Donald Trump and California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) traded barbs on social media on Tuesday, with plenty of name-calling.
Trump trashed Newsom as “Newscum” ― a name he often uses for the governor ― while Newsom’s press office accused the president of suffering from dementia.
At least one other Democratic governor, Illinois’ JB Pritzker, also suggested the president may have “some” dementia during an unrelated discussion on Tuesday.
Trump lashed out at Newsom in a lengthy post on Truth Social, claiming the governor is “is in final stages of approval” for low-income housing in the “super luxury” Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles after the devastating fires earlier this year.
He also claimed Newsom “allowed their houses to burn” by “not accepting” water from the Pacific Northwest.
Gavin Newsom has once again gotten under the skin of conservatives, this time by selling signed copies of Bibles on his merchandise site, Knewz.com can reveal. The California governor’s team has been mimicking Donald Trump for weeks, leaving his supporters raging and failing to see the irony of it all.
This time, Newsom and his handlers took it up a notch by listing Bibles for sale on his website. (The Bibles were marked as sold out.) The site also includes several other items mocking Trump slogans like a “Newsom Was Right About Everything” cap, a “Trump Is Not Hot” tank top and a T-shirt labeled “The Chosen One” featuring an image of Kid Rock, Tucker Carlson and the late Hulk Hogan with a halo looking over Newsom. There’s at least one person who will not be purchasing any of these items: Fox News personality Will Cain. On an episode of The Will Cain Show, the host went off on Newsom for purportedly selling Bibles. “He seems to have found ground, legs with the left by mocking President Trump,” Cain cried on TV. “Like the ChatGPT personality, he’s just borrowing now from President Trump, copying his style with X posts, now he’s even going for his own MAGA style merch.”
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Newsom’s antics have already reached the White House, as earlier this month, Trump took to Truth Social to call out his fellow politician. He raged, “Gavin Newscum is way down in the polls. He is viewed as the man who is destroying the once Great State of California. I will save California!!! President DJT.”
California Governor Gavin Newsom has escalated his online feud with J.D. Vance, leaning into his new nickname for the vice president — “Just Dance Vance.” Knewz.com has learned that Newsom’s communications team recently posted a meme of Vance’s face edited onto the body of Australian break-dancer Rachael “Raygun” Gunn, who became a viral sensation after scoring zero points in the 2024 Olympic breakdancing competition.
‘Just Dance Vance’
Newsom’s team first rolled out “Just Dance Vance” during debates over Republican redistricting strategies. GOP officials in states like Texas and Indiana have been under pressure from President Donald Trump’s allies to redraw congressional maps in their favor ahead of the 2026 midterms. In a recent post on X, Newsom’s office wrote, mocking President Trump’s signature pattern of tweeting in all caps, “NOT EVEN JD ‘JUST DANCE’ VANCE CAN SAVE TRUMP FROM THE DISASTROUS MAPS ‘WAR’ HE HAS STARTED.”
Newsom’s team doubles down on Vance’s nickname
The nickname gained traction again after reporter Nick Sortor posted that Vance would join Trump’s meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Washington. Sortor hinted at another potential Oval Office clash, recalling the tense February exchange in which Vance told Zelensky to “offer some words of appreciation for the United States of America and the president who’s trying to save your country.” Newsom’s team replied with the meme of Vance’s face on Gunn’s body, captioned, “A highly anticipated ‘showdown.’”
Tensions rise between Newsom and Trump
The barbs came at a time of escalating tensions between President Donald Trump and the California governor. In June, Trump ordered thousands of National Guard troops and hundreds of Marines to Los Angeles to counter large protests against his mass deportation campaign. Newsom condemned the move, arguing that Trump’s true goal was to advance “the deranged fantasy of a dictatorial president.” The episode deepened their already hostile relationship, which has increasingly played out on social media. While Trump often calls the governor “Newscum,” Newsom has hit back by calling the president “tiny hands” in his posts. The back-and-forth has expanded to include other figures in Trump’s inner circle, with Vance becoming Newsom’s latest target.
Newsom’s “creepy” obsession with Trump
The White House brushed off Newsom’s tactics as an unhealthy fixation. “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, but Gavin’s obsession is getting a little creepy at this point,” White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson told Newsweek. Newsom, on the other hand, defended his approach, insisting that he is simply mirroring Trump’s own behavior. “I’m just following his example. If you have issues with what I’m putting out, you sure as hell should have concerns with what he’s putting out as president,” he said in a statement.
Gavin Newsom launches new mock nickname for J.D. Vance
Gavin Newsom has escalated his online feud with J.D. Vance, leaning into his new nickname for the vice president.
Republican Senator slams Trump DC troop deployment: ‘Where do we stop?’
The Trump Administration is ramping up its war on blue cities with plans for major immigration crackdowns. Politico reports that The Trump administration is planning a surge in immigration enforcement in Boston “soon.” In Chicago, the planned immigration enforcement could come next week with agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Border Patrol, and other federal agencies taking part.
Kristi Noem’s “Face the Nation” comments were ridiculed across the internet.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem is being mocked relentlessly after bizarrely claiming that Los Angeles “wouldn’t be standing today” if former President Donald Trump hadn’t deployed the National Guard.
During a Sunday morning appearance on Face the Nation, CBS host Ed O’Keefe asked Noem whether Trump would follow through on his threats to send federal troops into Chicago.
“I won’t speak to the specifics of the operations that are planned in other cities,” the former South Dakota governor began. “But I do know that L.A. wouldn’t be standing today if President Trump hadn’t taken action. That city would have burned down if left to the devices of the mayor and the governor of that state.”
Stunned, O’Keefe gave her a chance to walk it back, repeating:
“You said L.A. wouldn’t be standing, if not for these federal deployments?” But Noem doubled down.
“So many of those homes and businesses that were in downtown L.A. and in those areas were dealing with riots and violence, and coming in and bringing those federal law enforcement officers in was incredibly important to keeping peace,” she said. “And so we are grateful that President Trump was willing to send resources and people in in order to enforce the law.”
California Governor and certified online troll Gavin Newsom had a simple response: laughter.
“Hahahahahhahahahahahahahaha,” Newsom’s press office posted on X.
Others quickly piled on.
“There were protests in like three downtown blocks of L.A. over the course of a few days,” wrote Pod Save America co-host and California resident Tommy Vietor. “No one here wanted or needed troops on the streets—Kristi Noem is comically full of sh–, per usual.”
There were protests in like three downtown blocks of LA over the course of a few days. No one here wanted or needed troops on the streets. @KristiNoem is comically full of shit, per usual. https://t.co/fLhjSARpaA— Tommy Vietor (@TVietor08) August 31, 2025
“MRIs of Kristi Noem’s head showed nothing,” added journalist Keith Olbermann.
Noem’s comments come on the heels of Trump deploying thousands of National Guard troops into Democratic-led cities including Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., with Chicago reportedly next on his list.
The administration claims the deployments are necessary to “liberate” residents from crime, arguing that Democratic leaders have allowed urban centers to become “war zones.”
The Daily Beast has reached out to the Department of Homeland Security for comment.
ICE Barbie Mocked for Claiming ‘L.A. Wouldn’t Be Standing’ Without Trump
Kristi Noem’s “Face the Nation” comments were ridiculed across the internet.
