Home Blog

Trump’s Handpicked Graham Successor Draws Challenge From Old GOP Nemesis

By
Madeleine Jackson
-
0
[Photo Credit: The White House from Washington, DC, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons]

Mark Sanford is back — and once again running headlong into President Donald Trump’s political machine.

The former South Carolina governor and congressman announced Thursday that he is seeking the Senate seat previously held by the late Sen. Lindsey Graham, joining a rapidly expanding Republican field despite Trump already throwing his support behind Graham’s sister, Sen. Darline Graham.

“Our country is at a financial tipping point, and I can’t sit on the sidelines while Washington adds a trillion dollars to the debt every 100 days,” Sanford wrote on social media.

“I’ve spent my entire time in politics fighting this fight, and I’m running for U.S. Senate to keep the American dream alive for our sons, my grandson, and those you love. Join us,” he added.

Sanford’s announcement included a video in which he reflected on Graham’s death and described the loss as a reminder of “how short and precious life is.”

“My own dad got Lou Gehrig’s disease when I was in high school, and this notion of all of us having just a little time has always hit me hard,” Sanford said. “We’re stewards of our lives and the things that we love for just a short time.”

The campaign gives Sanford another opportunity to revive his longtime crusade against federal spending — but it also places him squarely against Trump’s preferred candidate.

Trump announced last week that Darline Graham would receive his “Complete and Total Endorsement” if she entered the race, enthusiastically declaring: “RUN, DARLINE, RUN!” (RELATED: Trump Speaks Out On Potential Lindsey Graham Replacement)

Graham, who was appointed by Gov. Henry McMaster to temporarily fill her brother’s seat, confirmed during an interview with Sean Hannity that she would seek the full six-year term. Her appointment made her the first woman to represent South Carolina in the Senate.

Sanford’s entry creates an especially combustible matchup because he and Trump have already fought — and Trump won.

Sanford repeatedly criticized Trump during his first administration, drawing the president’s wrath while seeking another House term in 2018. Just hours before polls closed in that year’s Republican primary, Trump endorsed Sanford’s opponent, state Rep. Katie Arrington, and declared that Sanford had been “very unhelpful” and was “better off in Argentina.”

The jab referenced Sanford’s infamous 2009 disappearance while serving as governor. His staff initially said he was hiking the Appalachian Trail, but Sanford later acknowledged that he had traveled to Argentina to visit a woman with whom he was having an affair.

Arrington narrowly defeated Sanford, handing him his first loss in a South Carolina election. Arrington had spent much of the campaign portraying Sanford as a “Never Trumper.”

Sanford returned the challenge the following year by launching a long-shot campaign against Trump for the 2020 Republican presidential nomination. That effort, which also focused heavily on the national debt, lasted roughly two months before Sanford pulled the plug after struggling to gain traction.

His latest campaign also represents a reversal from the position he took only months ago.

Sanford briefly launched a campaign for his former House seat earlier this year but withdrew in April, saying “the most effective way I can contribute right now is not by seeking office.” At the time, he said he planned to build a nonprofit and grassroots movement focused on the country’s growing debt.

Graham’s death, however, opened a rare statewide opportunity — and Sanford is now arguing that Washington’s spending binge demands his return to elected office.

The 66-year-old served as South Carolina’s governor from 2003 through 2011. He represented the state’s 1st Congressional District from 1995 through 2001 and again from 2013 through 2019.

Sanford joins a Republican field that already includes Graham, Reps. Russell Fry and Ralph Norman, businessman Mark Lynch and attorney Duke Buckner. Norman has secured support from several prominent conservatives, including Rep. Nancy Mace and former Sen. Jim DeMint, underscoring the resistance to Trump’s effort to consolidate the party behind Graham.

The compressed campaign leaves Sanford little time to rebuild his political organization or convince Republican voters to look past his long-running feud with Trump.

Candidate filing closes July 28. The special Republican primary will be held Aug. 11, followed by an Aug. 25 runoff if no candidate receives a majority. The winner will advance to the Nov. 3 general election against Democrat nominee Annie Andrews, according to the South Carolina Election Commission.

Stand with President Trump against fraud, waste & abuse – he can’t beat the machine without YOU.

Jim Jordan Demands DOJ Probe Jack Smith Over Trump Testimony

By
admin
-
0

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan is calling on the Justice Department to investigate former Special Counsel Jack Smith, accusing the longtime prosecutor of misleading Congress about his pursuit of lawmakers’ private communications during the Trump election case.

Jordan sent a criminal referral Wednesday to Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche after newly released Justice Department records appeared to conflict with testimony Smith gave under oath in December 2025.

The referral does not compel the DOJ to open an investigation or bring charges, but it formally places Smith’s testimony before federal prosecutors for review.

At the center of the explosive dispute are text messages involving members of Congress.

During a closed-door deposition, Smith was asked whether telephone records subpoenaed by his office included the contents of lawmakers’ calls or text messages. Smith answered “no” to both questions.

Those answers were technically accurate when applied specifically to toll records, which generally contain information such as telephone numbers, dates and call durations—not the substance of communications.

But Jordan argues Smith left lawmakers with a deeply misleading impression.

Records recently released by Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley indicate Smith’s team separately obtained the contents of text messages through a subpoena issued to the National Archives and Records Administration. According to Jordan, the material included communications involving dozens of lawmakers.

“The responses provided by Mr. Smith gave the impression that neither Mr. Smith nor his team had access to the content of Members’ privileged text messages. We now know this to be false,” Jordan wrote.

Smith’s attorneys fired back, accusing the Republican chairman of twisting their client’s words to manufacture a criminal allegation.

Peter Koski and Lanny Breuer argued that Smith answered the precise questions he was asked about toll records, which did not contain message content. They said Jordan was improperly conflating those subpoenas with a separate legal process used to obtain communications from another source.

“During his testimony, Mr. Smith provided truthful, responsive answers, and candidly discussed his work as Special Counsel,” the attorneys wrote in a letter to Jordan and Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Jamie Raskin.

They characterized the referral as an effort to “weaponize the justice system” against a career prosecutor.

The Justice Department confirmed that it received Jordan’s referral and said it “will investigate all evidence of criminal conduct.” The department did not say whether it has formally opened an investigation into Smith.

Jordan alleges the former special counsel may have violated federal law by knowingly making materially false statements to Congress. Prosecutors must now determine whether Smith merely answered a narrowly worded question—or deliberately concealed the full reach of his investigation.

The referral opens another front in the long-running battle over Smith’s prosecutions of President Donald Trump involving classified documents and challenges to the 2020 election results.

Smith abandoned both cases following Trump’s 2024 election victory, citing Justice Department policy against prosecuting a sitting president. He resigned shortly before Trump returned to the White House.

Take the Voter Verification Questionnaire before the deadline and make sure your records are up to date!

Trump’s New DHS Chief Already Ruffling Feathers Inside White House: Report

By
Madeleine Jackson
-
0
Indian Affairs Committee Hearings to examine Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act successes and opportunities at the Department of the Interior and the Indian Health Service, in Washington, DC on September 17, 2025. (Official U.S. Senate photo by Ryan Donnell)

Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin has been on the job for just four months — and he is reportedly already stepping on toes inside President Donald Trump’s White House.

Tensions between Mullin and senior administration officials have been building after a string of policy disputes, public missteps and concerns surrounding his preferred candidate to lead Immigration and Customs Enforcement, NBC News reported Thursday.

The first major collision reportedly came when Mullin ordered ICE to temporarily halt most vehicle stops following fatal shootings involving immigration agents in Houston, Texas, and Biddeford, Maine.

The Wall Street Journal reported that Mullin and acting ICE Director Dave Venturella made the call without first briefing Trump. News of the pause began leaking before the president could be informed, leaving him caught off guard. The Wall Street Journal and ABC News separately confirmed that Mullin directed the suspension.

Trump wasted little time reversing it.

“We CANNOT give up one of I.C.E.’s most important and effective Crime Fighting tools, THE TRAFFIC STOP!” the president wrote on Truth Social.

The episode apparently did not sit well inside the West Wing.

“Every Cabinet secretary knows that they have to come to the White House for major policy decisions,” a senior administration official told NBC News. “The president sees, hears, reads everything.”

Mullin also reportedly irritated officials with a recent CNN interview concerning the Supreme Court’s decision allowing the administration to move forward with ending Temporary Protected Status for immigrants from Haiti and Syria.

The secretary suggested that hundreds of thousands of affected immigrants could apply for another legal status. They could not automatically do so under the ruling, according to NBC News, which described Mullin’s remarks as a misstatement that “annoyed” some administration officials.

The Supreme Court ruled on June 25 that lower courts could not continue postponing the administration’s termination of the two countries’ TPS designations while litigation moved forward.

Another potential fault line involves Richard “Lance” Schroyer, Trump’s nominee to lead ICE.

Schroyer, a former Marine and Oklahoma Highway Patrol veteran, is a longtime Mullin ally whom the secretary previously called “a good friend of mine.” Mullin brought Schroyer into DHS to advise local law enforcement agencies participating in a federal immigration enforcement program before Trump nominated him for the top ICE post in June.

But the nomination has reportedly drawn resistance from officials who question whether Schroyer possesses enough federal management experience to run the agency spearheading Trump’s deportation campaign.

Trump border czar Tom Homan was among those who objected to the selection, according to The Wall Street Journal.

“Homan and others aren’t particularly thrilled with him,” the administration official told NBC News.

The White House publicly played down any suggestion of a widening rift, insisting Mullin remains committed to carrying out Trump’s immigration agenda.

“Secretary Mullin is working hard to implement the President’s immigration enforcement agenda,” White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said. “Thanks to President Trump and Secretary Mullin, the border is totally secure, dangerous illegal immigrants are being deported, and Americans are safer.”

“Secretary Mullin will continue to enforce federal immigration law as effectively as possible,” she added.

Trump selected Mullin to replace Kristi Noem, and the former Oklahoma senator was sworn in on March 24 after receiving bipartisan Senate confirmation.

During his confirmation process, Mullin said his goal was to keep DHS from dominating the daily news cycle.

“My goal in six months is that we’re not in the lead story every single day,” he told senators.

Four months later, the reported turbulence inside Trump’s team is threatening to make that promise harder to keep.

Take the Voter Verification Questionnaire before the deadline and make sure your records are up to date!

Secret Service Agent Benched Over Alleged Leak From JD Vance’s Security Detail

By
Madeleine Jackson
-
0

A Secret Service agent assigned to protect Vice President JD Vance has been yanked from duty over allegations that someone inside his security detail leaked sensitive information to the press.

The unidentified agent was placed on administrative leave and is now the subject of an internal investigation, the Secret Service confirmed Thursday.

“A member of the Vice Presidential Protective Division is the subject of an administrative investigation, and potential criminal inquiry,” agency spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said in a statement obtained by CNN.

Guglielmi said any behavior that damages the trust between an official and the agents protecting that person is “fundamentally incompatible with our mission and will not be tolerated.”

The agent is suspected of feeding information to MS NOW for a July 15 report detailing growing frustration inside Vance’s protective detail, according to CNN.

That story portrayed agents as fed up with the vice president’s last-minute travel demands and alleged use of government resources for family trips.

The flashpoint was a planned Marine Two flight carrying Vance and his young son to Joint Base Andrews, where the boy was scheduled to receive a golf lesson. The helicopter trip was ultimately scrubbed because of severe thunderstorms and high winds around Washington.

While no Secret Service policy reportedly prohibits a vice president’s child from riding aboard a government helicopter, current and former supervisors told MS NOW they knew of no precedent for using one for that purpose.

Marine Two costs taxpayers between $16,000 and $24,600 per flight hour, based on 2022 Defense Department budget estimates cited by The Independent.

“That is RIDICULOUS,” one person familiar with the planned flight told MS NOW, claiming former Vice Presidents Mike Pence and Kamala Harris never made a similar request.

Sources also accused the Vance family of frequently changing plans and arranging sudden “off the record,” or OTR, movements that force agents to build security operations on short notice.

“The detail is tired of them not giving notice on things and making everything an OTR,” one source told the outlet.

The frustration allegedly became so intense that agents created mocking challenge coins and stickers reading “Bobcat OTR Survivors Club,” a reference to Vance’s Secret Service code name. Other items reportedly carried the motto: “Advance. OTR. Repeat.”

The original report also said the Vances had taken several last-minute helicopter trips to Middleburg, Virginia, while searching for a new home.

Vance’s office defended the family while praising the agents responsible for protecting them.

“The Vances are grateful to the men and women of the U.S. Secret Service who serve our country with distinction,” a spokesperson said.

Secret Service Deputy Director Matt Quinn separately noted that protective assignments routinely require long hours, frequent travel and sudden changes.

But the problem now facing the agency extends beyond bruised morale.

CNN reported that the MS NOW story caught the attention of officials inside the Secret Service, FBI and White House, who were alarmed that details touching on Vance’s movements and protective operations had appeared in the press.

The agency’s internal affairs office is leading the review. Administrative leave does not constitute a finding of wrongdoing, and investigators have not publicly identified which information the agent allegedly disclosed. It remains unclear whether the case will result in discipline or criminal charges.

This is also not the first alleged security breach involving Vance’s detail this year.

In January, another agent was placed on leave after an undercover journalist recorded him allegedly discussing travel plans, shift schedules and protective formations. The agent’s clearance was suspended, and the Secret Service ordered its personnel to repeat anti-espionage training, according to People.

The latest investigation comes as the Trump administration intensifies its war on unauthorized leaks.

The Justice Department recently subpoenaed New York Times journalists over reporting about security concerns surrounding the Qatari-donated aircraft converted for use as Air Force One. Prosecutors also sought phone records connected to reporters and some of their relatives in an effort to uncover their sources, according to reports.

Stand with President Trump against fraud, waste & abuse – he can’t beat the machine without YOU.

Mike Johnson Urges Trump Administration To Bring Iran War To A Close

By
Patrick Houck
-
0
Gage Skidmore from Surprise, AZ, United States of America, CC BY-SA 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

For months, Republican leaders have defended President Donald Trump’s campaign against Iran. Now one of Trump’s closest allies on Capitol Hill is publicly delivering another message: it’s time to finish the job and come home.

House Speaker Mike Johnson on Tuesday called on the administration to wrap up the war, arguing that the United States has already achieved its primary military objectives and should avoid allowing the conflict to become another prolonged American intervention.

‘We’ve got to wrap it up’

Speaking to reporters at the Capitol, Johnson was asked whether Congress might eventually step in to limit Trump’s war powers if the fighting continued.

Rather than entertain that possibility, the speaker predicted the campaign was nearing its conclusion.

“I think we’re wrapping it up,” Johnson said. “We’ve got to wrap it up.”

He cautioned that allowing the conflict to drag on would be damaging not only for the United States but for the broader international community.

“That would be a disaster for everybody,” he said. “Everybody around the world understands that.”

WATCH:

Backing the war, but not an endless one

Johnson’s comments were notable because they stopped well short of criticizing Trump’s decision to launch the operation.

Instead, the speaker reaffirmed his longstanding position that military action was necessary to halt Iran’s nuclear and missile ambitions. He has also opposed bipartisan efforts to curb the president’s authority while American troops remain in combat.

The message was clear: support the mission, but don’t let it become another endless war.

The costs continue to rise

Johnson’s remarks come as the political and financial costs of the conflict continue to grow.

According to Pentagon estimates, the war has already cost roughly $37.5 billion. At least 17 American service members have been killed and more than 100 wounded. The administration is now asking Congress for another $87.6 billion to continue military operations.

Trump has shown little sign of easing public pressure on Tehran, warning that significantly heavier military action remains on the table if Iran refuses to meet U.S. demands.

A shift in Republican messaging

Johnson’s comments reflect a subtle but important shift inside the Republican Party.

Few Republican leaders are openly questioning the decision to go to war. Increasingly, however, they are signaling that recent military gains should be followed by an effort to end the conflict rather than allow it to become an open-ended U.S. military commitment.

That balancing act is likely to become more difficult as casualties mount, costs rise, and public support for the conflict continues to erode.

READ NEXT: Why Is Security Still At McConnell’s Hospital?

END THE INDOCTRINATION OF AMERICA’S STUDENTS – your input is urgent.

Bill O’Reilly Tells Trump To ‘Take The Next Month Off’

By
Patrick Houck
-
1
AI-generated image.

Conservative commentator Bill O’Reilly is urging President Donald Trump to step away from the White House for several weeks, arguing that the 80-year-old president has been stretched too thin by months of nonstop domestic and international crises.

Speaking on his “No Spin News” program, the former Fox News host said Trump should take time to rest after an intense stretch that has included the war with Iran, trade negotiations, immigration battles and high-profile diplomatic meetings.

“He needs a breather,” O’Reilly said. “Take the next month off.”

‘He’s exhausted’

O’Reilly argued that Trump’s demanding schedule appears to be taking a physical toll.

Throughout his presidency, Trump has maintained an unusually active public schedule, often holding multiple events, traveling and making major policy announcements in a single day.

According to O’Reilly, that pace has begun to show physically.

“Now, I’ve noticed that he is hunching over a little bit, and that’s normal,” O’Reilly said. “You get older, every malady in the world is going to visit you. I can’t even bore you with the stuff I got to deal with.”

O’Reilly said the changes are a natural part of aging but suggested they underscore the importance of slowing down. “I was actually feeling sorry for myself the other day, and I never do that,” he added.

WATCH:

Advice from a longtime ally

The comments stand out because O’Reilly has generally been one of Trump’s most reliable supporters.

Earlier this year, he warned Republicans they would be “slaughtered” in the midterm elections if they attempted to distance themselves from the president, arguing that Trump remains the party’s dominant political figure.

Rather than criticizing Trump’s agenda, O’Reilly framed his latest advice as a matter of endurance, saying the president should preserve his energy for the remainder of his term.

White House has shown no sign of slowing down

There is no indication the administration plans to scale back the president’s schedule.

READ NEXT: New Details Emerge About Trump Ally’s Moscow Trip

Stand with President Trump against fraud, waste & abuse – he can’t beat the machine without YOU.

Kash Patel Reportedly Planning Rare Russia Trip For Secretive FSB Talks

By
Madeleine Jackson
-
1
Kremlin.ru, via Wikimedia Commons

FBI Director Kash Patel is reportedly preparing for a rare trip into the heart of Russia — one that could put America’s top federal lawman across the table from the successor to the Soviet-era KGB.

Patel is expected to visit Moscow and St. Petersburg on Oct. 14 and 15, according to a U.S. official and another person familiar with the plans who spoke with Politico.

“His host is likely to be the FSB, the Russian security service that is heir to the Soviet-era KGB,” the U.S. official told the outlet.

The purpose of the trip has not been disclosed, and it remains unclear which Russian officials Patel intends to meet. There has also been no indication whether a face-to-face meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin is under consideration.

The FBI and Justice Department did not respond to Politico’s requests for comment, while the White House referred questions about the trip to the bureau.

The Kremlin did little to clear up the mystery Tuesday.

“These kinds of visits usually happen behind closed doors,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters while declining to confirm or deny Patel’s travel plans, according to The Moscow Times.

The reported visit would carry particularly high stakes because Patel could be meeting with the same security service his bureau has publicly identified as an active threat to Americans.

In a June warning, the FBI and Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency said Russian intelligence actors were conducting an ongoing phishing campaign against high-value targets. The agencies said FSB officers and others working for Russian military services were targeting current and former U.S. government officials, military personnel, political figures and journalists.

The campaign allowed Russian operatives to take over messaging accounts and potentially access victims’ private conversations, according to the FBI and CISA advisory.

That creates a striking backdrop for Patel’s expected talks: The FBI may need Russian cooperation on terrorism, cybercrime and other international investigations even while treating the expected host of the trip as a hostile intelligence organization.

If Patel makes the journey, he would become the first sitting FBI director known to visit Russia since Robert Mueller traveled to Moscow in 2013.

Mueller’s unannounced trip came shortly after the Boston Marathon bombing and included discussions with Russian officials about the investigation and security cooperation ahead of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi.

Patel’s history makes the planned visit even more politically combustible.

Before taking over the FBI, Patel rose to prominence as a House Intelligence Committee aide investigating the origins and conduct of the bureau’s Trump-Russia probe. He has repeatedly denounced the investigation into alleged collusion between Trump’s 2016 campaign and Russia as the “Russiagate hoax.”

The trip is also being planned as relations between Washington and Moscow remain strained over the war in Ukraine and lawmakers push for tougher economic penalties against Putin’s government.

Trump administration envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner have made repeated attempts to negotiate an end to the war, but Russia has continued to demand Ukrainian territorial concessions that Kyiv has rejected, according to The Kyiv Independent.

For now, the biggest question surrounding Patel’s journey remains unanswered: What exactly does America’s FBI director expect to accomplish behind closed doors with one of the country’s most powerful adversaries?

Stand with President Trump against fraud, waste & abuse – he can’t beat the machine without YOU.

Trump To Welcome Fallen Heroes Home As Iran Faces Fierce Warning

By
Madeleine Jackson
-
0
President Donald J. Trump and First Lady Melania Trump attend the Dignified Transfer of remains of six U.S. soldiers killed in an Iranian drone strike in Kuwait, Saturday, March 7, 2026, at Dover Air Force Base, Delaware. (Official White House Photo by Daniel Torok)

President Donald Trump is heading to Dover Air Force Base to welcome home two young American soldiers killed by Iran—and he is promising Iran that their deaths will not go unanswered.

Trump will attend the dignified transfer of fallen U.S. service members Tuesday evening following one of the deadliest weekends for American forces during the renewed conflict.

“President Trump will attend the dignified transfer of our fallen heroes tomorrow evening at Dover Air Force Base,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt wrote Monday on X. “The President and the entire White House are praying for their families.”

The solemn military ceremony will return the remains of the fallen to American soil. Flag-draped transfer cases will be carried from a military aircraft to vehicles bound for Dover’s mortuary facility as grieving families, military leaders and the commander in chief look on.

The Department of War identified two of the fallen soldiers Monday as 1st Lt. Tyler James Feehan, 25, of Ewa Beach, Hawaii, and Pvt. Isabella Gonzales, 19, of Carrollton, Texas.

Gonzales was killed in action July 17 when Iran unleashed ballistic missiles and drones against Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan. Feehan was killed in action the following day as a result of the same attack, according to the Pentagon.

Both soldiers were supporting Operation Inherent Resolve, the American-led mission against the Islamic State.

Feehan served with the 2nd Battalion, 55th Air Defense Artillery Regiment at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. Gonzales was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 57th Air Defense Artillery Regiment in Ansbach, Germany.

“U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command mourns the loss of 1st Lt. Tyler Feehan, whose service and sacrifice will never be forgotten,” Lt. Gen. John L. Rafferty said in an Army statement.

“Losing him to enemy fire will inspire our Soldiers and strengthen their resolve to continue the mission,” Rafferty added.

The Army said Feehan will be posthumously promoted to captain and awarded the Bronze Star and Purple Heart.

Four other American service members were medically evacuated after the Jordan attack, according to U.S. Central Command. They have since been discharged.

Another service member was initially declared missing. American personnel later recovered unidentified remains at the base, but military officials said the examination process was still underway.

A third American service member was killed in northern Iraq on July 18 during the controlled detonation of unexploded ordnance from a downed Iranian attack drone. Another service member suffered minor injuries.

As the fallen return home, Trump has issued a chilling warning to the regime responsible.

“Every time Iran kills an American Soldier they will pay for that killing many times over!” Trump declared on Truth Social.

The president said his directive had already been delivered to Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Dan Caine and military leaders throughout the chain of command.

Trump previously told reporters that the latest American attacks on Iran were carried out in honor of the troops lost over the weekend.

“We hit them very hard again tonight, and we did that in honor of the probably three, as opposed to two, great patriots,” Trump said Sunday after arriving at Joint Base Andrews.

American forces responded to the attack in Jordan by striking Iranian coastal surveillance and air defense facilities, maritime capabilities, and missile and drone storage sites.

https://x.com/RapidResponse47/status/2079001736396652710

CENTCOM said the military also directly targeted Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps forces accused of launching the deadly assault against the Americans.

That retaliatory operation was followed by a ninth consecutive evening of strikes on Iranian command centers, communications networks, air defenses and missile and drone launch sites.

Tuesday’s ceremony will be another somber visit to Dover for Trump during the conflict. The president and first lady Melania Trump attended the dignified transfer of six American soldiers killed in an Iranian drone attack in Kuwait in March.

END THE INDOCTRINATION OF AMERICA’S STUDENTS – your input is urgent.

Trump Slams Mamdani’s Netanyahu Arrest Threat: ‘Will Not Happen’

By
Madeleine Jackson
-
8
By Bingjiefu He - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0,

President Donald Trump drew a bright red line Monday after New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani threatened to have Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrested on American soil.

“Benjamin Netanyahu will not be arrested, in any way, shape, or form, while in the United States of America,” Trump declared in a Truth Social post.

The president defended Netanyahu as a wartime leader confronting the Islamic Republic of Iran, which Trump accused of killing 52,000 protesters and spending decades targeting American troops.

“The only ones that should be arrested are the people that led Iran into this unprecedented SPIRAL OF DEATH AND DESTRUCTION,” Trump added, arguing that previous presidents should have confronted the regime years ago.

Trump’s declaration came after Mamdani revived one of his most controversial campaign promises during an interview with The New York Times’ Lulu Garcia-Navarro.

“I believe that Prime Minister Netanyahu belongs in The Hague,” Mamdani said. “He’s a war criminal who has been charged by the International Criminal Court.”

The democratic socialist mayor said his administration is now examining whether he could use the New York Police Department to detain Netanyahu when the Israeli leader is expected to attend the United Nations General Assembly in September.

“That’s an active conversation with our legal department in seeing what the prospects are we have here in our municipality,” Mamdani said.

He insisted he would follow existing city law and would not attempt to write new rules specifically targeting Netanyahu.

But Mamdani’s arrest talk faces a mountain of legal obstacles.

The United States is not a party to the Rome Statute establishing the International Criminal Court and does not recognize the court’s authority over Americans or Israelis. Foreign affairs are also controlled by the federal government, while diplomatic protections and head-of-state immunity could shield Netanyahu during a U.N. visit.

U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz dismissed Mamdani’s proposal as “pure political theater.”

“The U.S. is not party to the Rome Statute that underlies the ICC,” Waltz wrote on X, adding that the U.N. Headquarters Agreement grants protections to visiting foreign leaders and that “federal authority trumps any local mayor’s wishes.”

Legal experts have expressed similar doubts. Syracuse University law professor Cora True-Frost said foreign affairs are the “exclusive power of the federal government” and that protections afforded to visiting diplomats would further restrict Mamdani’s ability to carry out his threat. NBC New York reported that several former prosecutors believe an attempt to enforce the ICC warrant could expose participating local officials to federal charges.

The ICC issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant in November 2024, alleging war crimes and crimes against humanity during Israel’s military campaign against Hamas in Gaza. The court said judges found reasonable grounds to believe Netanyahu and Gallant bore responsibility for alleged crimes including using starvation as a method of warfare.

Israel has categorically rejected the allegations, maintaining that its military takes extensive precautions to protect civilians while battling a terrorist organization that embeds itself among the Palestinian population.

Netanyahu’s office fired back Sunday by branding the ICC a “kangaroo court that has no jurisdiction over Americans or Israelis.”

“Under Prime Minister Netanyahu’s leadership, Israel has taken unprecedented wartime measures to minimize harm to civilians while confronting Hamas, a genocidal terrorist organization that uses Palestinians as human shields and deliberately targets innocent Israeli civilians,” his office said.

It then turned its fire directly on City Hall.

“Mr. Mamdani should focus on fixing the damage his policies have caused New York,” Netanyahu’s office concluded.

Netanyahu has also accused the mayor of siding with “terror actors,” while Mamdani has repeatedly characterized Israel’s response to the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas massacre as genocide.

The Trump administration, meanwhile, has backed its rejection of the ICC with more than words. It has imposed sanctions on court personnel and affiliated organizations involved in efforts to prosecute Israelis, declaring that neither the United States nor Israel is subject to the tribunal’s authority. The State Department has described the court’s actions as a threat to American sovereignty.

Mamdani may be determined to turn Netanyahu’s expected September visit into an international showdown.

Trump’s message was that the mayor will not get the chance.

Take the Voter Verification Questionnaire before the deadline and make sure your records are up to date!

Trump Praises JD Vance, Usha On Birth Of Fourth Child

By
Madeleine Jackson
-
0
By Office of Vice President of the United States - @VP on X, Public Domain,

The White House is celebrating the arrival of its newest—and smallest—addition.

Vice President JD Vance and Second Lady Usha Vance welcomed their fourth child, a son named Alec Neel Vance, on Sunday morning.

“We are excited to announce that our baby boy, Alec Neel Vance, was born this morning,” the couple said in a joint statement. “Usha and the baby are happy and healthy, and our kids are overjoyed to meet their little brother.”

The Vances also expressed their gratitude to the medical professionals who cared for Usha and Alec at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.

“The incredible military doctors and staff members of Walter Reed Medical Center and the White House Medical Unit have been a blessing,” the couple said. “We are deeply thankful for all they have done for our family.”

President Donald Trump joined the celebration Monday, offering the public its first glimpse of the newborn in a photo shared on Truth Social. The picture showed two of Alec’s older siblings smiling as they held their baby brother.

“Congratulations!” Trump wrote. “A perfect baby boy for the wonderful Vance family.”

Alec joins the couple’s three other children: sons Ewan, 9, and Vivek, 6, and daughter Mirabel, 4. JD and Usha Vance have been married since 2014.

The birth also marked a milestone more than a century and a half in the making. Alec is the first child born to a sitting vice president since Schuyler Colfax III arrived in 1870, while his father, Schuyler Colfax Jr., served under President Ulysses S. Grant. CBS News described the Vances’ new arrival as the first known birth to the nation’s second family in 156 years.

The couple announced Usha’s pregnancy in January, saying at the time that they expected their son to arrive in late July. Vance, who has frequently encouraged Americans to form and grow families, later joked that the pregnancy showed he was willing to follow his own advice.

“So let the record show, you have a vice president who practices what he preaches,” Vance told the 2026 March for Life rally.

Alec’s arrival continues something of a baby boom inside the Trump administration.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt and her husband, Nicholas Riccio, welcomed their second child, daughter Viviana “Vivi,” on May 1. Leavitt announced the happy news several days later, sharing a photograph of herself holding the newborn inside a pink nursery. (RELATED: Karoline Leavitt Shares She Is Expecting Baby Girl In May 2026)

“On May 1st, Viviana aka ‘Vivi’ joined our family, and our hearts instantly exploded with love,” Leavitt wrote on Instagram.

“She is perfect and healthy, and her big brother is joyfully adjusting to life with his new baby sister,” she continued. “We are enjoying every moment in our blissful newborn bubble.”

Leavitt returned to the White House briefing room on July 16 after taking maternity leave, according to People. Vivi joined the couple’s son, Niko, who recently turned 2.

Now, just over two months after Vivi’s birth, the administration has another reason to celebrate—with the Vance children welcoming a little brother and Trump proudly introducing the “perfect baby boy” to the country.

END THE INDOCTRINATION OF AMERICA’S STUDENTS – your input is urgent.
123...337Page 1 of 337
© Great America News Desk 2022