Florida Governor Ron DeSantis received an unexpected rescue after being called a racist.
Black leaders in Miami apologized to Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis after one of its members called him a racist last week, according to reports from Fox News.
Pierre Rutledge, chair of the Miami-Dade Black Affairs Advisory Board, issued a statement on behalf of his board that apologized to DeSantis for a comment made at their Wednesday meeting from a member who said, “Our governor is racist.”
“We take it to heart when someone uses the term racist,” Rutledge said Friday. “Words matter. And so as chair, I must start by saying we want to pull that back. There’s nothing wrong with saying ‘we’re sorry.’ That’s not what we intended to say or be depicted by anyone. And that’s not the feeling of this board.”
The member labeled DeSantis a racist due to the ongoing controversy of an African-American history Advanced Placement course. Earlier this year, Gov. DeSantis rejected the course because he claimed the content did not focus on Black history, instead, the course contained Black Lives Matter and queer issues.
DeSantis has defended the decision from his Department of Education to remove the African-American history course, which he said pushes a political agenda.
“This course on Black history, what’s one of the lessons about? Queer theory,” DeSantis said. “Now, who would say that an important part of Black history is queer theory? That is somebody pushing an agenda.”
Black leaders and Democrats in Florida have pledged to defend and keep the course in schools.
The College Board removed aspects of the course last Wednesday opposed by DeSantis. The course will be reevaluated by the Florida Department of Education to determine if it is appropriate for schools.
Illegal Immigration in the United State via Wikimedia Commons
According to new reports, White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller delivered a blunt ultimatum to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) leadership in mid-May: ramp up arrests to 3,000 per day or face personnel changes.
During a tense meeting at ICE headquarters in Washington, D.C., Miller reportedly warned that regional offices failing to meet the target would see their leadership replaced. Sources familiar with the meeting said Miller left no room for interpretation — improved numbers weren’t encouraged, they were mandatory. (RELATED: Legal Battle May Reveal Big Payouts Tied To Biden’s Border Policies)
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, also in attendance, struck a more measured tone. Still, the message was clear, according to NBC News: immigration enforcement efforts must intensify and take precedence:
Misdemeanor cases for border crossings are regularly appearing in federal court, a rarity in recent years. Justice Department teams focused on other issues are being disbanded, with members being dispersed to teams focused on immigration and other administration priorities.
And prosecutors say cases without immigration components have stalled or are moving more slowly, according to documents seen by NBC News and conversations with six current and former prosecutors and a senior FBI official, who described how immigration is now a central part of discussions around whether to pursue cases.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
“Immigration status is now question No. 1 in terms of charging decisions,” an assistant U.S. attorney said. “Is this person a documented immigrant? Is this person an undocumented immigrant? Is this person a citizen? Are they somehow deportable? What is their immigration status? And the answer to that question is now largely driving our charging decisions.”
At least one U.S. attorney’s office abandoned a potential federal prosecution of someone who prosecutors felt was dangerous because the case against the person lacked an immigration component, an email obtained by NBC News showed. The office instead left the case to state prosecutors.
Mobilizing National Resources
Following the confrontation, ICE launched “Operation At Large,” a coast-to-coast initiative designed to supercharge apprehensions. The scale is unprecedented. Over 21,000 National Guard troops and 250 IRS agents have been folded into the effort, alongside thousands of ICE and federal law enforcement personnel. (RELATED: Police Case That Fueled 2020 Protests Returns To Supreme Court)
The operation’s reach has required coordination across agencies, pulling FBI and DOJ resources away from their usual focus areas and toward immigration-related priorities.
The Daily Mailhas more on Miller’s dramatic call to action:
He then reportedly gave them an open challenge and asked: ‘Why aren’t you at Home Depot? Why aren’t you at 7-Eleven?’
Miller further pushed, getting into what an official called a ‘p***ing contest,’ saying: ‘What do you mean you’re going after criminals?’
Gage Skidmore from Surprise, AZ, United States of America, CC BY-SA 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons
In a statement to the Examiner, ICE deputy assistant director of media affairs Laszlo Baksay said the descriptions were ‘inaccurate.’
However, the conservative-leaning outlet cited sources within ICE and DHS who claimed Miller’s remarks further eroded morale among rank-and-file agents, which was already low.
“He had nothing positive to say about anybody,” one official told the paper, describing the mood following Miller’s visit.
Another source painted a darker picture of the internal climate confronting ICE agents:
“They’ve been threatened, told they’re watching their emails and texts and Signals. That’s what is horrible about things right now. It’s a fearful environment. Everybody in leadership is afraid. There’s no morale. Everybody is demoralized.”
Despite the backlash, Miller defended the administration’s approach during an appearance with Sean Hannity, insisting the 3,000-arrest-per-day quota is only a temporary benchmark — and warning that agents should be prepared for that figure to rise.
Localized operations have revealed just how expansive the crackdown has become since Miller and Noem appeared at Potomac Center Plaza in Southwest D.C. Across the nation, agents have ramped up early-morning sweeps and workplace raids, often coordinated with minimal local notification. In Florida, a weeklong action labeled “Operation Tidal Wave” resulted in 1,120 arrests — the largest ICE enforcement action ever recorded in a single state.
Tennessee saw similar efforts, with 196 arrests in the Nashville area. The local response was sharply critical. Nashville’s mayor denounced the operation as out of step with the city’s values and implemented policies limiting cooperation with ICE. Republicans in Congress are now investigating whether the mayor’s office leaked information about ICE agents — a serious charge with national implications.
Focus on Career Criminals — But Collateral Arrests Are Rising
Officially, the crackdown targets individuals with criminal records or prior deportation orders. But internal ICE guidance reportedly encourages officers to make “collateral arrests” — detaining illegal immigrants encountered in the field, even if they weren’t the original target and have no criminal history.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Flickr, https://www.flickr.com/photos/us_icegov/54295293536/in/photostream/, Creative Commons Attribution-Public Domain Mark 1.0 Universal (CC BY-NC-SA 1.0)
The broader approach has raised legal and logistical concerns, as well as fears of potential overreach, according to immigrant advocacy groups.
Leadership Purge Signals Internal Pressure
It also hasn’t come without fallout inside ICE. Two senior officials — Kenneth Genalo and Robert Hammer — have been removed from their posts in recent weeks. Sources say the firings reflect internal friction over how aggressively to pursue the administration’s ambitious targets. They also serve as a warning to others who might be perceived as resistant to the push.
White House: Fulfilling the Mandate, Critics Question the Cost
The administration stands by the operation. Officials say it delivers on President Trump’s second-term promise: to secure the border and remove criminal illegal aliens.
Still, questions remain. Legal scholars are raising red flags over the breadth of federal involvement, and local-federal cooperation is growing more strained. As the operation continues, so does the debate — over strategy, law, and the real-world impact on communities nationwide.
On Monday afternoon, a judge ruled that Ryan Routh, the man accused of attempting to assassinate former President Donald Trump, will be held indefinitely without bail, citing the strength of the evidence against him.
Prosecutors disclosed chilling new details about Routh’s plans in a memo aimed at convincing the court to detain him while he awaits trial. A letter found at Routh’s home, made public on Monday, revealed that Routh had predicted his failure in the assassination attempt and even offered a $150,000 bounty for anyone who successfully kills Trump.
During a search of Routh’s Nissan SUV, investigators discovered a handwritten list outlining dates and locations where Trump was expected to appear in August, September and October 2024. Additionally, authorities found two extra license plates, six cell phones – one of which contained a Google search for directions from Palm Beach County to Mexico – and 12 pairs of gloves.
The suspect in former Pres. Trump's second assassination attempt, Ryan Routh, will remain behind bars, after a judge denied bail.@KFaulders reports. pic.twitter.com/saVzU51JVr
Prosecutors also revealed that a witness came forward, stating that Routh had dropped off a box at their residence before the assassination attempt. The box reportedly contained ammunition, a metal pipe, building materials, four phones and several letters, including the letter outlining his plans in case he failed to kill Trump.
Routh will remain in custody as the investigation and legal proceedings continue.
This article originally appeared on American Liberty News. It is republished with permission.
Special counsel Jack Smith filed a superseding indictment in his case indicting former President Trump for his actions seeking to subvert the 2020 election
The superseding indictment is an effort by the special counsel to respond to a ruling earlier this summer by the Supreme Court, which held that Trump and other former executives retain broad immunity for core actions they took as president and are presumptively immune for other actions taken while in office.
While the indictment retains the original charges – a sign of Smith’s confidence in the evidence underpinning the case – it makes significant cuts in an effort “to respect and implement the Supreme Court’s holdings.”
The filing removes former Justice Department attorney Jeffrey Clark as an unnamed, unindicted co-conspirator in the case, a reflection of specific instructions from the Supreme Court that said Trump’s conversations with Justice Department officials were protected from prosecution.
The superseding indictment is 10 pages shorter than the original, cutting lengthy examples from the original “speaking indictment” that walked through the evidence against Trump and his plots to remain in power.
But the new filing takes pains to distinguish various elements of Trump’s efforts to unwind the election as actions taken purely in a private capacity – and thus conduct that can be prosecuted.
Trump on his social media site called it “an effort to resurrect a ‘dead’ Witch Hunt” and move by Smith to “save face.”
“Deranged Jack Smith, has brought a ridiculous new Indictment against me, which has all the problems of the old Indictment, and should be dismissed IMMEDIATELY,” Trump wrote.
The Tuesday filing comes after Smith presented the case against the former president to a second grand jury, which had not previously heard the matter. It likewise concluded charges were warranted against the president.
Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me…
It’s going to take more than name-calling to upset Ron DeSantis. The Florida Governor recently acknowledged former President Donald Trump’s “Ron DeSanctimonious” nickname, admitting he kind of likes it.
“I don’t know how to spell the sanctimonious one. I don’t really know what it means, but I kinda like it, it’s long, it’s got a lot of vowels,” DeSantis told television host Piers Morgan in an interview. “We’ll go with that, that’s fine.”
“I mean, you can call me whatever you want, just as long as you also call me a winner because that’s what we’ve been able to do in Florida, is put a lot of points on the board and really take this state to the next level,” he added.
However, the former president has also workshopped other nicknames for DeSantis.
After rejecting “Meatball Ron,” Trump reportedly floated “Ron DisHonest,” “Ron DeEstablishment,” and “Tiny D,” but appeared to favor the original “DeSanctimonious” nickname.
“To me, it’s just background noise,” DeSantis said of Trump’s jabs. “It’s not important for me to be fighting with people on social media. It’s not accomplishing anything for the people I represent.”
Trump has taken aim at DeSantis in recent weeks as speculation continues to mount that the Florida Governor will soon announce his own 2024 campaign.
On Wednesday, Trump responded to DeSantis’ interview with Morgan on Truth Social.
“While I am fighting against Radical Left Lunatics, Persecutors, and unfair Prosecutors who want to destroy us all, Ron DeSanctimonious is not working for the people of Florida as he should be, he is too busy chatting with a Ratings Challenged TV Host from England, desperately trying to rescue his failing Campaign—But it’s my fault, I put him there!” he said.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis suggested that billionaire CEO Elon Musk push for balanced budget and congressional term limit amendments to the U.S. Constitution, rather than build a new political party.
Musk, who has been outspoken about the need to rein in government spending, announced that he is launching a new political party called the America Party.
“Backing a candidate for president is not out of the question, but the focus for the next 12 months is on the House and the Senate,” he noted in a post on X.
Backing a candidate for president is not out of the question, but the focus for the next 12 months is on the House and the Senate
The governor suggested that if Musk funds candidates in competitive Senate and House contests, Democrats will likely win.
But DeSantis acknowledged that the GOP has an issue with people running on spending less, but then failing to do so. “There’s a gap between the campaign rhetoric, and then the performance,” he said.
He explained that he does not believe “electing a few better people” will alter the “trajectory” on the debt issue.
DeSantis said that the “incentives” in D.C. will “lead to these outcomes, really, regardless of the outcome of elections at this point,” asserting that a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution is needed.
Musk “would have a monumental impact” if he got involved, DeSantis said.
Billionaire Elon Musk announced the launch of his new political party on Saturday, but has yet to share any further details on how he plans to navigate the red tape to establish a viable alternative.
Musk on Saturday appeared to confirm his intention to launch his “America Party,” after posting a poll to his X account the prior day asking followers whether or not he should create the new party.
“By a factor of 2 to 1, you want a new political party and you shall have it! When it comes to bankrupting our country with waste & graft, we live in a one-party system, not a democracy,” he wrote. “Today, the America Party is formed to give you back your freedom.”
By a factor of 2 to 1, you want a new political party and you shall have it!
When it comes to bankrupting our country with waste & graft, we live in a one-party system, not a democracy.
President Donald Trump takes questions after signing Executive Orders, Tuesday, February 18, 2025, at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida. (Official White House Photo by Daniel Torok)
President Donald Trump signs Executive Orders, Tuesday, February 18, 2025, at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida. (Official White House Photo by Daniel Torok)
An Iranian general vowed to respond “decisively and destructively” to any threats from President Trump.
“We warn our enemies that Iran will respond decisively and destructively if they carry out their threats,” Gen. Hossein Salami, the leader of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, told state media following U.S. strikes over the weekend against the Tehran-backed terrorist group, according to Reuters.
“We are not a nation to live in hiding. We are a valid and legitimate system in the world. We announce it if we attack anywhere,” Salami was quoted as saying by ABC News.
U.S. Central Command said Saturday it had “initiated a series of operations consisting of precision strikes against Iran-backed Houthi targets across Yemen to defend American interests, deter enemies, and restore freedom of navigation.”
Trump wrote on Truth Social Saturday that he “ordered the United States Military to launch decisive and powerful Military action against the Houthi terrorists in Yemen.”
“It has been over a year since a U.S.-flagged commercial ship safely sailed through the Suez Canal, the Red Sea, or the Gulf of Aden,” Trump continued. “The last American Warship to go through the Red Sea, four months ago, was attacked by the Houthis over a dozen times.”
Trump wrote that the “relentless assaults have cost the U.S. and World Economy many BILLIONS of Dollars while, at the same time, putting innocent lives at risk.”
“To all Houthi terrorists, YOUR TIME IS UP, AND YOUR ATTACKS MUST STOP, STARTING TODAY. IF THEY DON’T, HELL WILL RAIN DOWN UPON YOU LIKE NOTHING YOU HAVE EVER SEEN BEFORE!” his post concluded.
The large-scale campaign against Houthi targets in Yemen will be “unrelenting” until the Iran-backed proxies pledge to back off U.S. assets, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told Fox News on Sunday.
Trump said in a post on his Truth Social account that any future attacks would be viewed as having come directly from Tehran:
Let nobody be fooled! The hundreds of attacks being made by Houthi, the sinister mobsters and thugs based in Yemen, who are hated by the Yemeni people, all emanate from, and are created by, IRAN. Any further attack or retaliation by the “Houthis” will be met with great force, and there is no guarantee that that force will stop there. Iran has played “the innocent victim” of rogue terrorists from which they’ve lost control, but they haven’t lost control. They’re dictating every move, giving them the weapons, supplying them with money and highly sophisticated Military equipment, and even, so-called, “Intelligence.”
Every shot fired by the Houthis will be looked upon, from this point forward, as being a shot fired from the weapons and leadership of IRAN, and IRAN will be held responsible, and suffer the consequences, and those consequences will be dire!
DONALD J. TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
According to the US Treasury Department, Iran launders funds to the Houthi rebels that the group uses to finance strikes against Israel and other US allies.
[Photo Credit: The White House from Washington, DC, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons]
On Sunday, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R) predicted that the U.S. Supreme Court will send former President Trump’s immunity case back to the lower courts.
“Well, I think the court’s gonna find that presidential immunity exists for President Trump like every other president, but you got to be within the scope of being president. I think they’ll send it back to the lower courts to find out exactly what actions fall within presidential immunity and what are considered personal. I think that’s the way this will end — there will be some immunity for some of the actions,” Graham said on CNN’s “State of the Union.”
The Supreme Court heard arguments last week over whether Trump could have presidential immunity from criminal prosecution in the federal Jan. 6 case brought by special counsel Jack Smith.
Graham said the question of immunity may be “decided partially” for the former president.
“There’s no absolute immunity in the Constitution. It will be a legal analysis, you know, the president needs to be protected. You know, we don’t become a banana republic here. We prosecute, you know, our political opponents, which is going on really in many jurisdictions,” he said. “But I think the immunity question will be decided partially for Trump and some legal, some factual analysis as to when and where it applies.”
Graham then went on to slam all of the cases being brought against Trump as “political” and “selective prosecution.”
“So I think most Americans are not going to decide how to vote based on Trump’s legal troubles, but their troubles they face — inflation, crime or broken border — your poll tells me everything I need to know about these legal problems for Trump. People looking at their problems, not Trump’s legal problems,” Graham said.
The special grand jury that investigated possible election interference by former President Donald Trump and others in Georgia’s 2020 presidential election results recommended indictments against multiple individuals, according to its forewoman Emily Kohrs.
She declined to discuss specific indictments or give any names.
“It is not a short list,” the forewoman, Emily Kohrs, said, adding that the jury had appended eight pages of legal code “that we cited at various points in the report.”
She declined to discuss who specifically the special grand jury recommended for indictment, since the judge handling the case decided to keep those details secret when he made public a few sections of the report last week. But seven sections that are still under wraps deal with indictment recommendations, Ms. Kohrs said.
Asked whether the jurors had recommended indicting Mr. Trump, Ms. Kohrs gave a cryptic answer: “You’re not going to be shocked. It’s not rocket science,” adding “you won’t be too surprised.”
The investigation in Atlanta has been seen as one of the most significant legal threats to Mr. Trump as he begins another run for the presidency. In November, the Justice Department named a special counsel, Jack Smith, to oversee two Trump-related criminal investigations. And last month, the Manhattan district attorney’s office began presenting evidence to a grand jury on whether Mr. Trump paid hush money to a porn star during his 2016 presidential campaign, laying the groundwork for potential criminal charges against the former president in the coming months.
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By The White House - https://www.flickr.com/photos/202101414@N05/54581054338/, Public Domain,
President Donald Trump’s nominee for a senior State Department position withdrew his candidacy Tuesday after growing opposition from lawmakers threatened to derail his confirmation.
Earlier in the day, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer accused Jeremy Carl—Trump’s nominee for assistant secretary of state for international organizations—of having “a long history of racist, white supremacist, and antisemitic views,” arguing that those views disqualified him from serving in the role.
Carl stepped aside after weeks of scrutiny over past remarks about white identity and American culture, though he maintained that his comments had been misinterpreted.
“Unfortunately, for senior positions such as this one, the support of the President and Secretary of State is very important but not sufficient,” Carl said in a statement announcing his withdrawal. “We also needed the unanimous support of every GOP senator on the Committee on Foreign Relations, given the unanimous opposition of Senate Democrats to my candidacy, and unfortunately that support was not forthcoming.”
This will be a bit more formal than usual, but I wanted to announce that I am withdrawing my nomination for consideration as Assistant Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs. I am tremendously grateful to President Trump for nominating me and then (upon… pic.twitter.com/S6nEamTZg4
Carl also defended his previous comments, saying that while he has occasionally used the phrase “white culture” in speeches and writings, his broader concern has been preserving what he described as a shared American civic culture.
According to Carl, the term referred to cultural traditions widely shared by Americans prior to the 1965 Hart-Celler Immigration Act. He argued that people of all backgrounds can participate in and contribute to those traditions.
Carl also pushed back against Schumer in a post on X, accusing the New York Democrat of selectively condemning controversial rhetoric when it can be used against Republicans.
“You appear to only disavow racism, antisemitism and racial supremacy if you think you can use those words as a cudgel to beat Republicans,” Carl wrote, adding that Schumer has not denounced comments he characterized as anti-white from Democratic lawmakers, including Texas House Democratic leader Gene Wu and Rep. Jasmine Crockett.
Carl faced intense questioning during a Senate confirmation hearing in February over earlier remarks warning about the potential “erasure” of white culture in the United States.
During the hearing, Sen. Chris Murphy, a Democrat from Connecticut, pressed Carl to explain what values he believed were disappearing and why he believed “white culture” was being erased.
Carl responded that Murphy had misunderstood his position, reiterating that his comments referred to what he views as a shared civic culture in the United States rather than an exclusionary racial identity. He again argued that Americans of all backgrounds can take part in and help shape that culture.
