How we got to “I love Hitler.”
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2025/10/maga-moral-collapse-groupchat/684594
Atlantic: The Depth of MAGA’s Moral Collapse
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Tag Archives: Tucker Carlson
Knewz: Conservatives turn on Trump over pledge to defend country that protects terrorists
President Donald Trump is facing criticism from conservatives after signing an executive order pledging U.S. military protection for Qatar — a Gulf state accused of sheltering Hamas leadership.
The Order
Trump’s executive order states, “Over the years, the United States and the State of Qatar have been bound together by close cooperation, shared interests and the close relationship between our armed forces. … In recognition of this history, and in light of the continuing threats to the State of Qatar posed by foreign aggression, it is the policy of the United States to guarantee the security and territorial integrity of the State of Qatar against external attack.”
‘Threat to Peace’
The order goes a step further, declaring the United States will treat an attack on Qatar as a direct threat. “The United States shall regard any armed attack on the territory, sovereignty or critical infrastructure of the State of Qatar as a threat to the peace and security of the United States,” it continued.
Outrage
The latest defense agreement has outraged many on the right, who argue that backing Qatar undermines American values. One critic of the decision, Fox News host Mark Levin, expressed his skepticism, referring to “our new protectorate, Qatar.”
Conservative backlash
Levin warned the agreement could drag the U.S. into unnecessary conflict. “If the leadership of Hamas in Qatar is killed by Israel, are we going to war with Israel? Wouldn’t it have been better to condition any military defense of Qatar on some basic requirements? For example: turnover the Hamas leaders; no more funding of terrorists worldwide: no more funding of Marxist-Islamist groups in the United States. This is the bare minimum.” The Fox News host continued his criticism, this time directing it at conservative commentator Tucker Carlson. “I’m sure Qatarlson and the other Qatarites and assorted grifters and bigots will denounce a deal that ostensibly commits our children to fight for Qatar.”
Conservatives turn on Trump over pledge to defend country that protects terrorists
Conservatives turn on Donald Trump over his executive order pledging U.S. military defense of Qatar amid concerns over terrorism ties.
https://knewz.com/conservatives-turn-on-trump-over-pledge-to-defend-qatar
What do you expect after Trump accepted a 747-sized bribe from Qatar?
Independent: Reporter and House candidate Kat Abughazleh thrown to the ground by ICE as 400 arrested in Chicago
‘This is what it looks like when ICE violates our First Amendment rights,’ said Kat Abughazaleh
Kat Abughazaleh, a former journalist and Democratic congressional candidate, was thrown to the ground by an ICE agent during a protest in Chicago on Friday, with video of the incident going viral.
The 26-year-old running for Congress in Illinois’s 9th District in 2026 posted videos of the incident on X, writing, “This is what it looks like when ICE violates our First Amendment rights.”
In the first video, an armed agent grabs Abughazaleh around the chest and throws her onto the road, landing on her backside.
The other shows Abughazaleh seated on the street alongside other protestors wearing face masks and holding signs.
A group of ICE agents walks up to the group, and one picks up Abughazaleh, dragging her further back. She gets up to be shoved by other agents as multiple bystanders record the interaction.
“What ICE just did to me was a violent abuse of power — and it’s still nothing compared to what they’re doing to immigrant communities,” Abughazaleh added in another post. “I’ve been fighting the right as a journalist and now I’m running for Congress to do the same in DC.
“I hope you’ll join me in this fight,” she said, providing a link to her campaign website.
Some right-wingers appeared gleeful at the assault.
“I love watching communists get body slammed by ICE,” MAGA commentator Laura Loomer posted. “Communist and Palestinian. Pick a struggle.”
Abughazaleh first made a name for herself at Media Matters for America, where she drew attention for her sharp critiques of Fox News host Tucker Carlson. Her work has also appeared in outlets like Mother Jones and The New Republic.
“First off they shot pepper balls to the ground, and then said, ‘Your First Amendment rights are on the sidewalk,'” Abughazaleh told Newsweek. “And then when we tried to get in the way of the van, they picked us up or dragged us away, for some people, shoved people. I was picked up and thrown.”
“No one was violent. No one did anything that could possibly warrant being detained by federal officers. But they didn’t care,”
Newsweek: Tucker Carlson urges “civil disobedience” if Trump DOJ targets hate speech
Tucker Carlson warned in a special episode of his show on Tuesday that “civil disobedience” could erupt should the Trump administration and other “bad actors” use Charlie Kirk’s death as a means to attack free speech.
Why It Matters
Kirk, 31, co-founder and executive director of the national conservative organization Turning Point USA, was fatally shot September 10 during a speaking engagement at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah. Immediately following his death, President Donald Trump ordered flags to be at half-staff, and in the days since, some conservatives have openly called for stricter free-speech barriers, including on college campuses.
U.S. Attorney General Pam [“Bimbo #3”] Bondi said and later defended the Department of Justice‘s intent to crack down on “hate speech” nationwide, saying threats of violence are federal crimes under the U.S. Constitution. [“Bimbo #3”] Bondi’s remarks have been met with vitriol from people on both sides of the political aisle, with many quoting Kirk’s own words and sentiments regarding the sanctity of free speech.
What To Know
Carlson opened Wednesday’s episode of The Tucker Carlson Show, a tribute to Kirk called “America After Charlie Kirk,” featuring conservative and liberal guests, including Megyn Kelly and Cenk Uygur, with a near 35-minute introduction about the former conservative commentator’s legacy and how free speech is essentially more vital than ever.
“Consider what it means if you don’t respect free speech, which is another way of saying free conscience—the right of other people to make up their own minds about the basic questions of what is right or wrong, and to express their views on those issues,” Carlson said.
“If you don’t respect the right of other people to do that, and if you take steps to prevent them from doing that, what are you really saying? You’re saying, “I don’t think you have a soul. You’re a meat puppet I can control. I think you’re an animal, maybe a sub-animal. You’re a slave.'”
Carlson then invoked [“Bimbo #3”] Bondi into the argument, referencing her recent remarks on free speech and so-called hate speech in the wake of Kirk’s murder.
Kirk would not have objected to anything more than Bondi’s words of purported defense of free speech, Carlson said, adding that perhaps she “didn’t think it through and was not attempting to desecrate the memory of the person she was purporting to celebrate.
“You hope Charlie Kirk’s death won’t be used by a group we now call bad actors to create a society that was the opposite of the one he worked to build,” Carlson said. “You hope that! You hope a year from now, the turmoil we’re seeing in the aftermath of his murder won’t be leveraged to bring hate speech laws to this country.
“And trust me…if that does happen, there is never a more justified moment for civil disobedience than that—ever, and there never will be. Because if they can tell you what to say, they’re telling you what to think, there is nothing they can’t do to you because they don’t consider you human. They don’t believe you have a soul.”
Jimmy Kimmel Suspension
On Wednesday, ABC announced it had suspended Jimmy Kimmel Live! indefinitely following backlash over comments host Jimmy Kimmel made about Kirk.
“We hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and doing everything they can to score political points from it,” Kimmel said on air.
Following Kirk’s death, Kimmel called the murder “senseless,” and the longtime talk show host had also issued a message of love to Kirk’s family in an Instagram post.
Kimmel’s suspension came hours after FCC Chairman Brendan Carr publicly criticized Kimmel’s remarks and suggested regulatory consequences. The move also coincides with Nexstar Media Group’s pending $6.2 billion merger with Tegna, which is subject to FCC approval—raising questions about whether corporate and regulatory pressures influenced the network’s response.
In the aftermath of the Kirk shooting, some conservatives have praised the firing of individuals from their respective jobs after making comments online that were deemed in poor taste.
Other conservatives have lauded Kirk and advocated for statues to be erected in his honor.
What People Are Saying
Ryan McCormick, managing partner at New York-based Goldman McCormick public relations, told Newsweek: “The abrupt termination of Jimmy Kimmel’s show seems perplexing considering how valuable it had been to ABC. According to TVREV, it ranked as the network’s 10th best ad earner, delivering 11.8 billion national TV ad impressions.
“For something like this to happen, it would likely seem that the legal implications of Kimmel’s controversial statements must either be substantial, the reputational fallout from Kimmel’s recent comments was too severe to contain, or ABC had been planning to do this all along but was waiting for the right moment. From a PR perspective, it seems the die was cast for this day to come when Kimmel made his program politically polarizing (permanently narrowing the audience size).”
New York trial attorney Nicole Brenecki told Newsweek: “If a network parts ways with a host because of something they said, it’s typically a business or contractual decision, not a First Amendment violation. The U.S. Constitution protects individuals from government censorship, but private companies have their own standards and are generally free to make programming choices—even if those choices spark public debate about free expression.”
What Happens Next
One week after Kirk’s shooting and death, tensions remain high and conversation continues surrounding free speech and political violence.
Tucker Carlson urges “civil disobedience” if Trump DOJ targets hate speech
“You hope Charlie Kirk’s death won’t be used by…bad actors to create a society that was the opposite of the one he worked to build,” Carlson said.
https://www.newsweek.com/tucker-carlson-jimmy-kimmel-abc-trump-free-speech-2131881
Knewz: MAGA fumes as Newsom mocks Trump with Bibles
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.”
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/maga-fumes-as-newsom-mocks-trump-with-bibles/ss-AA1MxApp
DNYUZ: Fuming Loomer Goes Nuclear on Marjorie Taylor Greene in All-Night Attack
Laura Loomer is out for blood.
The far-right provocateur has gone after her fellow MAGA Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene with a level of vitriol that is striking even by Loomer standards, calling the lawmaker a “rabid dog” and a “lying fake Christian whore.”
“This is a woman who allowed her sexual impulses to tear her family apart,” Loomer, 32, wrote in a social media post. “She wants to now tear our country apart to try to steal [President Donald] Trump’s movement away from him. Don’t let this home wrecker become a country homewrecker.”
“Go find a chair to hump like the dog in heat you’ve always been,” Loomer added.
Several hours later, she posted a follow-up calling Greene, 51, a “lying fake Christian whore” and “one dumb b—-.”
Look in the mirror, dingbat! The “dumb b—-” shoe fits you, too. You are two birds of a feather.
The tirades were in response to a post from Greene accusing Loomer of “viciously attacking” and lying about Trump’s “most original MAGA supporters.”
“She has no long-time relationships because she psychotically turns on everyone,” Greene wrote. “Laura Loomer is the most unstable person and worst liability to ever walk in the Oval Office.”
The fighting began after Loomer stunned some of her own supporters by ranting against the military’s decision to celebrate a Medal of Honor recipient, former U.S. Army Capt. Florent Groberg, on social media.
Greene then told Loomer to “shut up” and accused her of working on behalf of a foreign government or intelligence agency, causing Loomer to go full scorched earth and accuse Greene of “getting bent over backwards inside the gym by every man who isn’t your husband.”
It takes a tramp to know a tramp? I love a good cat fight!
She attached a 2021 Daily Mail article reporting that Greene cheated on her then-husband, Perry Greene, with a “polyamorous tantric sex guru” as well as a gym manager in the early 2010s.
Greene, a self-proclaimed Christian nationalist who regularly promotes weather manipulation conspiracy theories, previously denied the allegations, calling them “ridiculous tabloid garbage” and “another attempt to smear my name” in a statement to the Mail. She and Perry divorced in 2022.
Both women have tried to used their proximity to Trump as evidence of their MAGA bonafides, though Loomer—a self-described Islamophobe who has called 9/11 an “inside job”—has never held an official role with the administration.
She has, however, taken it upon herself to “vet” administration officials, pushing Trump to oust anyone she deems “disloyal” to the president—a definition that includes non-partisan career civil servants who also happened to serve under Democratic administrations.
Trump has tried to downplay her influence, but has fired more than a dozen of her targets since March. Loomer has also clashed with fellow MAGA influencers like Tucker Carlson, though not with the viciousness of her feud with Greene.
The post Fuming Loomer Goes Nuclear on Marjorie Taylor Greene in All-Night Attack appeared first on The Daily Beast.
Looney Loomer is one of King Donald’s shining intellectuals?
Alternet: Trump just made a big mistake — and he has no one to blame but himself | Opinion
The Epstein scandal is the best thing to happen to the cause of freedom and democracy in a very long time. I don’t remember the last occasion when liberals could hope to break the grip that Donald Trump has had, not only on the Republicans but on the Washington press corps. With this story, there’s finally daylight between him and his base. MAGA is facing a crisis of faith and with that, there’s hope.
Which is why I was genuinely stunned yesterday to see former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi dismiss the Epstein scandal as just another distraction. “Whether it’s Jeffrey Epstein or Alcatraz, it’s all off the subject of what they’re doing with this budget that’s harmful to meeting the kitchen-table needs of the American people,” she said.
MSNBC’s James Downie put it well: “The public is pissed about Epstein in no small part because he was a rich guy who got away with heinous crimes, because he deliberately cultivated rich friends,” he said. “That’s an inequality story. The only way it could be closer to ‘kitchen-table issues’ is if the files were tucked in a goddamn pocketbook!”
Aside from that, she’s missing the bigger picture. The Epstein scandal has grown so fast that Trump now risks forfeiting the one thing that made him invincible in the eyes of many – that made it possible for him to credibly claim that he could shoot someone and never lose a supporter. That one thing is him being the exception to the rule.
In this case, the except to the rule of Epstein.
Fact is, the president was intimately involved with the disgraced financier and child-sex trafficker. (You can read about their history in today’s Times.) But the MAGA faithful never believed it, or if they did, they didn’t believe Trump deserved the same level of scrutiny. Why?
Because the cult of MAGA is animated by a conspiracy theory, one that holds that Trump was sent by God to fulfill a prophecy, as a hero who saves America from a secret cabal of powerful (Jewish) pedophiles who traffic young girls for sex to untouchable elites. In MAGA lore, Epstein came to represent this shadowy, malevolent confederacy. The idea was that Trump would get reelected in 2024 and bring them all to justice.
So even if there was concern about old pictures and videos of Trump palling around with Epstein, Trump couldn’t be that bad, because QAnon – the conspiracy theory’s name – said that Trump was MAGA’s champion. Enemies like Bill Clinton, Barack Obama and George Soros were guilty and deserving of death, but Trump? He was the exception to that rule, the exception that would make America great again.
As long as MAGA believed in him as their savior, there was little he could do to lose their trust. He could shoot someone on Fifth Avenue. He could lead a paramilitary takeover of the US government. He could literally betray some supporters with the understanding that their sacrifice was for the greater good of saving little girls from monsters.
But then Trump made a mistake. He took MAGA’s faith for granted. He and US Attorney General Pam Bondi believed they would go wherever he told them to, even if the US Department of Justice concluded that there was no list of Epstein clients and there was no blackmail ring. They pulled back the curtain to reveal that Trump is not only a mere man, but a con man. And if MAGA believed him, well, that’s on them.
Up to that point, it really didn’t matter how much reporting there was about the actual relationship between Trump and Jeffrey Epstein, because MAGA could explain away those facts as part of the QAnon prophecy. The (Jewish) media is part of the evil conspiracy against America, so naturally they are going to try to bring its savior down. Now that Trump has triggered a crisis of faith, things are different.
You can see the difference in Trump’s reaction to the latest by the Wall Street Journal. It reported Thursday that he gave Epstein a “bawdy” note on his 50th birthday in which he drew the outline of a naked woman. He signed his name at the bottom as if the signature were her public hair. He included imaginary dialogue in which Trump says, “We have certain things in common, Jeffrey.” Trump concluded with saying: “Happy birthday – and may every day be another wonderful secret.”
If you’re willing to give him the benefit of the doubt, which is what MAGA has been doing for the last decade, there’s nothing to see here. But if you’re unwilling – if, in fact, you feel betrayed by a leader who said he’d reveal the secrets of America’s enemies but instead chose to protect those secrets – this might look like what it seems to be: Two grown men joking about their fondness for sex with underage girls.
It used to be that Trump could gut it out knowing that the rightwing media apparatus was behind him all the way. They could altogether shout down legitimate mainstream reporting. But the rightwing media apparatus – which includes men like Steven Bannon, Tim Pool, Tucker Carlson and Benny Johnson – made itself as powerful as it is by advancing Trump, in one way or another, as the leader of the cult of MAGA. In their view, he was never supposed to put himself in league with the Jewish conspiracy, yet that’s what he did, and now that he’s done so, these rightwing media personalities can’t accept it.
Therefore, Trump is in a position he has never been in. He must earn back trust from the MAGA faithful, trust that he used to safely assume was his. That’s why he ordered the attorney general to seek the release of grand jury testimony in the Jeffrey Epstein case. But in doing so, he opened space for more questions by the press corps, more demands by the rightwing media personalities, and more opportunities for his most loyal supporters to second-guess the purity of his intentions.
That’s not a distraction. That’s the whole ball game. Fortunately, many Democrats are taking advantage of it. They’re calling for the release of more documents, raising awareness of Trump’s hypocrisy and in general, they’re sewing doubt by hyping the idea that he’s hiding something. Nothing else has cracked Teflon Trump, but this might.
Pelosi ought to know better.
https://www.alternet.org/alternet-exclusives/trump-maga-epstein-2673383670
Buzzfeed: Trump Allegedly Decided To Bomb Iran And “Get In On The Action” After Watching Fox News
President Donald Trump apparently decided to bomb Iran and “get in on the action” Saturday after watching Fox News praise Israel for striking the country earlier this month, says New York Times reporter Helene Cooper, who cited Pentagon and Trump administration officials.
Cooper argued Monday on MSNBC’s All In With Chris Hayes that Trump previously prided himself on being a noninterventionist, and said he maintained an “America First” perspective even after Israel attacked Iran on June 13, but that a shift occurred the very next day.
“One official told me that it started as early as the next morning when President Trump woke up and watched Fox News and started to see how well Israel was being presented as doing,” Cooper, who also spoke with U.S. military and Pentagon officials, said Monday.
“Israel was hitting all of these Iranian sites, it was taking out military commanders, nuclear scientists, and that was being presented on Fox as this huge victory,” she continued.
“And he decided that he wanted a piece of it,” she said of Trump.
Cooper explained that the president then started taking credit for some of Israel’s operations, citing a June 17 social media post in which Trump said “We” have taken control of Iran’s airspace, and that a meeting with his national security advisers cemented the decision to enter the war.
A New Report Claims Fox News Coverage May Have Pushed Trump To Bomb Iran
New York Times reporter Helene Cooper cited Pentagon and administration officials who said the president was influenced by pro-war coverage.
https://www.buzzfeed.com/marcomargaritoff/trump-decision-bomb-iran-influenced-by-fox-news
Latin Times: Former Fox News Favorite Declares Network a ‘Propaganda Hose’ Aimed at Manipulating ‘Elderly’ Viewers
Former Fox News host Tucker Carlson is accusing the network he once called home of operating as a “propaganda hose” aimed at manipulating its older viewers into supporting war, including the latest U.S. entanglement in Iran.
Carlson, once one of Fox News’ most influential and highest-rated personalities, has increasingly broken from the Trump-aligned right in recent months. His departure from the network in 2023 marked the beginning of a shift, with Carlson growing more outspoken against U.S. foreign policy, particularly military involvement in the Middle East.
Appearing on Steve Bannon’s War Room podcast, Carlson condemned Fox News and its primetime personalities, most notably Sean Hannity, for cheerleading Israeli strikes on Iran and pushing for U.S. military involvement.
He called out what he described as the network’s deliberate effort to stir pro-war sentiment among “elderly” viewers.
“What they are doing is what they always do, which is just turning up the propaganda hose to full blast and just trying to knock elderly Fox viewers off their feet and make them subject to more wars,” Carlson said.
Mediaite: Whopping Majority of Americans Oppose US Military Involvement in Conflict Between Israel and Iran
A whopping majority of Americans do not support the United States getting involved in the fighting between Israel and Iran, according to a new poll.
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According to the results, just 16% back US involvement while 60% say the US should not be involved. Another 24% said they were unsure.
Whopping Majority of Americans Oppose US Military Involvement in Conflict Between Israel and Iran
A whopping majority of Americans do not support the United States getting involved in the fighting between Israel and Iran, according to a new poll.