Tag Archives: Tucker Carlson

Buzzfeed: Trump Allegedly Decided To Bomb Iran And “Get In On The Action” After Watching Fox News

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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

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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.

Former Fox News Favorite Declares Network a ‘Propaganda Hose’ Aimed at Manipulating ‘Elderly’ Viewers
Tucker Carlson turned on Fox News and Trump, accusing both of pushing war propaganda to manipulate elderly Americans.

https://www.latintimes.com/former-fox-news-favorite-declares-network-propaganda-hose-aimed-manipulating-elderly-viewers-585175

Mediaite: Whopping Majority of Americans Oppose US Military Involvement in Conflict Between Israel and Iran

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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.

…

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.
Whopping Majority of Americans Oppose US Military Involvement in Conflict Between Israel and Iran

New York Times: As Trumps Monetize Presidency, Profits Outstrip Protests

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The president and his family have monetized the White House more than any other occupant, normalizing activities that once would have provoked heavy blowback and official investigations.

When Hillary Clinton was first lady, a furor erupted over reports that she had once made $100,000 from a $1,000 investment in cattle futures. Even though it had happened a dozen years before her husband became president, it became a scandal that lasted weeks and forced the White House to initiate a review.

Thirty-one years later, after dinner at Mar-a-Lago, Jeff Bezos agreed to finance a promotional film about Melania Trump that will reportedly put $28 million directly in her pocket — 280 times the Clinton lucre and in this case from a person with a vested interest in policies set by her husband’s government. Scandal? Furor? Washington moved on while barely taking notice.

The Trumps are hardly the first presidential family to profit from their time in power, but they have done more to monetize the presidency than anyone who has ever occupied the White House. The scale and the scope of the presidential mercantilism has been breathtaking. The Trump family and its business partners have collected $320 million in fees from a new cryptocurrency, brokered overseas real estate deals worth billions of dollars and are opening an exclusive club in Washington called the Executive Branch charging $500,000 apiece to join, all in the past few months alone.

Just last week, Qatar handed over a luxury jet meant for Mr. Trump’s use not just in his official capacity but also for his presidential library after he leaves office. Experts have valued the plane, formally donated to the Air Force, at $200 million, more than all of the foreign gifts bestowed on all previous American presidents combined.

And Mr. Trump hosted an exclusive dinner at his Virginia club for 220 investors in the $TRUMP cryptocurrency that he started days before taking office in January. Access was openly sold based on how much money they chipped in — not to a campaign account but to a business that benefits Mr. Trump personally.

trump-money-plane-crypto.html

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/25/us/politics/trump-money-plane-crypto.html

New York Times: If We Can’t Prosecute Trump’s Foes, We’ll ‘Shame’ Them, Justice Dept. Official Says

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Few, if any, of those singled out have done anything to invite conventional prosecutorial scrutiny, much less committed crimes to warrant an indictment under federal law.

President Trump has kept up a steady bombardment of suggestions, requests and demands to arrest, investigate or prosecute targets of his choosing — the former F.B.I. director James B. Comey, various Democrats, officials who refuted his election lies, Beyoncé, the Boss.

But Mr. Trump’s directives have so far hit a stubborn snag. Few, if any, of those singled out have done anything to invite conventional prosecutorial scrutiny, much less committed prosecutable crimes to warrant an indictment under federal law.

But a Trump loyalist, given new, vague and possibly vast power, has found a workaround.

In recent days, Ed Martin, the incoming leader of the Justice Department’s “weaponization” group, made a candid if unsurprising admission: He plans to use his authority to expose and discredit those he believes to be guilty, even if he cannot find sufficient evidence to prosecute them — weaponizing an institution he has been hired to de-weaponize, in the view of critics.

In other words, if they can’t prosecute their target, they’ll engage in character assassination.

So much for a professional Department of Justice!

https://archive.is/SLN1j#selection-707.0-730.0

Business Insider: ‘A flashing red light’: how Donald Trump Jr. is cashing in on his dad’s presidency

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Last November, only six days after his father was elected president, Donald Trump Jr. made a career move that, on the surface at least, seemed a bit odd. He became a partner in a small investment startup called 1789 Capital, which is based in Palm Beach, Florida, 2 miles from Mar-a-Lago. At that point, 1789 was a microscopic player in the world of venture capital. It had raised less than $200 million, and it hadn’t made many investments beyond leading a group that put $15 million into Tucker Carlson’s new media company. Its goal, according to its founders, is to create a “parallel economy,” investing in “anti-woke” businesses that align with MAGA values.

Ever since Trump joined 1789, its portfolio has begun to blossom. Despite its tiny size, the firm has been granted shares in several coveted offerings, including Elon Musk’s SpaceX. The shares, which are widely viewed as an almost certain home run, are essentially an insider deal: To participate in the offering, you typically have to receive an invitation from someone already in the club. In addition, 1789 has invested in Musk’s artificial intelligence company, xAI, as well as a handful of startups that have received or are vying for contracts from the Defense Department. Almost overnight, a VC firm involving the president’s son has become a significant beneficiary of the federal bureaucracy long derided by President Trump as “the swamp.”

‘A flashing red light’: how Donald Trump Jr. is cashing in on his dad’s presidency
With his unseemly investments in defense contractors, Donald Trump Jr. is the new Hunter Biden

https://www.businessinsider.com/donald-trump-jr-making-money-trump-presidency-1789-capital-2025-5

New York Times: With Trump Visit, Qatar’s Image Makeover Scores Another Success

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The emirate, once called “a funder of terrorism” by President Trump, has spent lavishly on overhauling its global reputation.

The president, who has described the emir as a “great gentleman” and a “friend of mine,” is granting Qatar the honor of hosting one of the first foreign visits of his second term. As for the plane, the president says he would be “stupid” not to accept such a nice gift despite loud objections, not only from Democrats but from some of his most fervent MAGA supporters.

It is a dramatic turnaround for a small Persian Gulf country that Mr. Trump derided eight years ago as “a funder of terrorism at a very high level.” At that time, he cooperated with Qatar’s bitter rivals in the region — who imposed a punishing blockade on Doha — in calling for an end to what he described as the country’s “extremist ideology.”

Impeach! Impeach! Impeach!

https://archive.is/5Xbf6#selection-727.0-738.0

New York Post: Steve Witkoff shouldn’t be leading Iran, Russia negotiations, allies and insiders say

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President Trump’s special envoy to the Middle East, former real estate attorney and investor Steve Witkoff, has left administration insiders distressed by his approach to negotiating with two of America’s greatest adversaries.

Witkoff, who has become Trump’s de facto personal ambassador to Russian President Vladimir Putin in addition to taking on the Middle East portfolio, takes part in high-level meetings alone — and is said to have even occasionally leaned on Kremlin translators — in a break with longstanding diplomatic procedure, multiple sources told The Post.

Ahead of Witkoff’s most recent meeting with Putin this past Friday, the New York native greeted the Kremlin tyrant like an old friend — with no sign of the usual coterie of advisers, experts and military officers who typically accompany US officials conducting negotiations.

Exclusive | Steve Witkoff shouldn’t be leading Iran, Russia negotiations, allies and insiders say
Steve Witkoff, who has become Trump’s de facto personal ambassador to Russian President Vladimir Putin in addition to taking on the Middle East portfolio, takes part in high-level meetings al…

https://nypost.com/2025/04/30/us-news/steve-witkoff-shouldnt-be-leading-iran-russia-negotiations-allies-and-insiders-say

Polygraph Threats, Leaks and Infighting: The Chaos Inside Hegseth’s Pentagon

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Defense secretary has chastised top military officers and staffers as he seeks to quiet a storm he helped create.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth denied discussing sensitive military information with his wife and others in the Signal app.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was rattled.

Word had leaked that he was planning a classified briefing for Elon Musk on China, a revelation that infuriated President Trump and raised alarms inside the Pentagon given Musk’s business ties to Beijing.

https://www.wsj.com/politics/national-security/pete-hegseth-pentagon-fired-aides-cfa9e0d5

Politico: The vicious rivalries tearing apart Pete Hegseth’s Pentagon

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A feud between the secretary’s advisers and his chief of staff created backbiting and distrust that has erupted into the open.

When President Donald Trump chose Pete Hegseth for Defense secretary, incoming officials knew they’d need to surround the inexperienced Fox News host with accomplished staff who could handle the nation’s largest bureaucracy. Hegseth would be the show horse, they figured, and others at the top would keep the Pentagon on track.

What happened was the opposite. Hegseth surrounded himself with advisers who quickly turned into vicious rivals for power — whose bitter brawl has now unraveled into revenge power plays, surprise firings, accusations of leaking and embarrassing headlines that are blowing up the Pentagon, distracting from Trump’s agenda and possibly jeopardizing Hegseth’s job.

It’s a dog-eat-dog world. Just consider that they’re not starting with the finest of people.

The vicious rivalries tearing apart Pete Hegseth’s Pentagon
A feud between the secretary’s advisers and his chief of staff created backbiting and distrust that has erupted into the open.

https://www.politico.com/news/2025/04/22/pentagon-infighting-hegseth-fired-officials-00302709