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Former NFL Kicker Dragged Out Of City Council Meeting After Calling MAGA ‘A Nazi Movement’

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Arrest image via Pixabay

Former NFL punter Chris Kluwe was removed from a California city council meeting by police after a self-described act of “civil disobedience” while attacking Donald Trump.

The reason for Kluwe’s protest revolved around a sign proposed for Huntington Beach’s public library, which would have the words “Magical,” “Alluring,” “Galvanizing” and “Adventurous” next to each other. The words spell out MAGA.

“Through hope and change our nation has built back better to the golden era of Making America Great Again!” the signage reads.

Video captured Kluwe speaking at the City Council meeting, where he criticized the MAGA movement, which is typically associated with President Donald Trump’s campaign message, “Make America Great Again.” He opined that it was “a Nazi movement.”

“I’m gonna take my time to say what MAGA has stood for these past three weeks,” said Kluwe. “MAGA stands for trying to erase trans people from existence. MAGA stands for resegregation and racism. MAGA stands for censorship and book bans. MAGA stands for firing air traffic controllers while planes are crashing. MAGA stands for firing the people overseeing our nuclear arsenal.”

“MAGA stands for firing military veterans and those serving them at the VA, including canceling research on veteran suicide,” the former punter added. “MAGA stands for cutting funds for education, including for disabled children. MAGA is profoundly corrupt, unmistakenly anti-democracy, and most importantly, MAGA is explicitly a Nazi movement.”

Kluwe then slightly elevated his voice to say, “You may have replaced a swastika with a red hat, but that is what it is.

“I will now engage in the time-honored American tradition of peaceful civil disobedience,” Kluwe said at the end of his speech to the City Council before walking up to the front where the council members were sitting. 

Video posted by HB Protect on X showed police officers quickly arresting Kluwe, who was face down on the floor with a crowd cheering behind him for his actions. The City Council’s feed cut out before Kluwe was seen rushing the council members.

He was then carried out by three police officers, two of whom holding one arm each and the other carrying the former punter’s legs. 

Kluwe was charged with disrupting an assembly. He told the Orange County Register he was released around four hours after his arrest. He said his belief was that the plaque was more “propaganda” than celebrating the library, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year.

Watch:

Kluwe, 43, played eight years in the NFL, all for the Minnesota Vikings, from 2005-12. 

Pelosi Slams Trump’s Mental Fitness—Admits She Didn’t Watch the Speech

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Nancy Pelosi via Gage Skidmore flickr

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., accused President Donald Trump of “mental incapacity” during a recent interview with ABC News—despite admitting she did not actually watch his speech to the nation.

“I didn’t even think about his speech, but I did see some of it in the news afterward, and I think it was a demonstration of his mental incapacity,” Pelosi told ABC’s Jonathan Karl in a clip that aired Sunday on This Week.

Pelosi said she chose not to watch the address, explaining that she had “had enough” of the president. Still, she did not hesitate to publicly criticize Trump, continuing a pattern of weighing in on his presidency even when acknowledging she lacked firsthand exposure to the event in question.

When pressed by Karl to explain her remarks, Pelosi added, “Well, that was a ridiculous speech. Of course, we were all offended because of what he said about Rob Reiner… and Michele just a few days before, after the tragedy. Something’s wrong there, and something’s wrong with the people around him that they don’t stop him from his ridiculousness.”

During the speech, Trump said he had brought the nation back from “the brink of ruin” in less than a year back in office, sharply criticized Democrats, and touted that he had made America the “hottest country” in the world. As expected, reactions to the politically charged address largely fell along partisan lines, as Trump continues to face negative polling on the nation’s economic outlook.

Pelosi’s attack on Trump’s mental capacity comes with notable irony, given her role in 2024 in pressuring President Joe Biden to step aside as the Democratic nominee—a move that fractured their long-standing political relationship.

Before Biden’s disastrous debate performance against Trump last June, Pelosi had been one of the most vocal defenders of Biden’s mental sharpness. She publicly dismissed concerns about his cognitive decline and criticized a Wall Street Journal report detailing issues behind the scenes.

Earlier that year, Pelosi praised Biden as “very sharp” and “always on the ball.”

However, according to a book by Chris Whipple, Pelosi privately told a friend that Biden had “lost a step” last year. After Biden’s debate struggles became impossible to ignore, Pelosi’s carefully worded comments on Morning Joe—which avoided endorsing his insistence on staying in the race—signaled that her confidence had waned.

Biden ultimately dropped out of the race, but the fallout with Pelosi has lingered. The two longtime allies have not spoken since.

Pelosi has consistently maintained that she did not push Biden to withdraw, claiming instead that she merely urged him to look honestly at polling data showing the steep odds he faced.

Still, her latest remarks underscore a familiar dynamic: Pelosi distancing herself from accountability for her years of Democratic leadership failures while remaining eager to criticize President Trump—this time without even watching the speech she condemned.

Report: Stefanik In Contention For Trump Administration Role

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Elise Stefanik with Donald Trump via Wikimedia Commons

Trump is hard at work crafting his new administration.

House GOP Conference Chairwoman Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) is in contention for a role in the new Trump administration, Fox News Digital is told.

She is now being discussed as a potential candidate for U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, two people familiar with such discussions told Fox News.

One said Stefanik was “high on the list” of potential candidates.

Fox News Digital was also told that another House member, retired Green Beret Rep. Mike Waltz (R-Fla.) is in consideration for a Trump administration role. Waltz is being looked at as a potential candidate for Defense secretary, though Trump is also considering options from the private sector and others, Fox News Digital was told.

Trump-Vance transition spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt told Fox News Digital when asked for comment about the possible appointments, “President-Elect Trump will begin making decisions on who will serve in his second Administration soon. Those decisions will be announced when they are made.”

Man Charged With Attempted Murder After Attack Outside California ‘Trump House’

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Arrest image via Pixabay

A California man is facing attempted murder charges after a brutal daytime attack outside a well-known San Diego “Trump House” left an elderly homeowner fighting for his life and a bystander injured, according to police.

Authorities say 32-year-old Thomas Caleb Butler is accused of critically injuring the homeowner outside a residence on Buchanan Street in Escondido that has long drawn attention for its prominent displays of American flags and pro-Trump banners. The suspect, who lives nearby, is being held at the Vista Detention Facility in San Diego County.

The attack unfolded around 2:15 p.m. Wednesday when Escondido police responded to reports of an assault near East Mission Avenue and Buchanan Street. Officers arrived to find an elderly man suffering from severe injuries in the driveway area, along with a good Samaritan who had intervened and was also hurt.

Police say Butler fled the scene on foot but was located about a half-mile away shortly afterward and taken into custody.

The victim, whose name has not been released, was hospitalized in critical condition. Public records indicate the home is owned by a 69-year-old man. The property—widely referred to online as the “Trump House”—has been a familiar local landmark for years due to its extensive political signage and flags, which neighbors have both complained about and discussed online.

Video and photos from the scene show a heavy police presence, evidence markers along the street, and what appeared to be blood near the driveway between parked vehicles, including a pickup truck displaying American flags.

While investigators have not publicly detailed a motive, the case is already fueling broader concern about escalating political hostility in public spaces. Online discussions about the property in past years have included both criticism of the displays and, in some cases, explicit hostility toward the homeowner.

The incident comes amid a broader national backdrop of politically charged confrontations and violence. In recent weeks, conservative media and activist circles have pointed to the reported attack on Turning Point USA reporter Savannah Hernandez during a separate confrontation as part of a growing pattern of aggression directed at individuals associated with right-leaning political movements. (RELATED: 2 Indicted Following Assault Of Turning Point USA Journalist)

Taken together, these episodes are likely to intensify debate over whether political rhetoric and public polarization are increasingly spilling over into real-world violence. Law enforcement officials have not indicated that Butler’s alleged attack was politically motivated, and the investigation remains ongoing.

This article originally appeared on American Liberty News. Republished with permission.

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Republican Senator Calls For Stephen Miller To Be Removed From Trump Inner Circle

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President Donald Trump signs Executive Orders, Thursday, April 17, 2025, in the Oval Office. (Official White House Photo by Molly Riley)

Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) said Sunday that White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller should be removed from President Donald Trump’s inner circle, arguing the longtime adviser wields too much influence over administration policy and has contributed to repeated controversies.

Speaking on CNN’s State of the Union, Tillis told host Jake Tapper that Miller has had an “outsized influence” on the administration and is “out of his depth” in his current role.

When asked directly whether Miller should be relieved of his duties, Tillis replied, “Oh, of course I do.”

“Not only does Stephen really want to just paint a picture. He’s not worried about substance. He’s more worried about form,” Tillis said. “But I also think that he has an outsized influence over the operations of the Cabinet. And I believe we have got qualified Cabinet members there that sometimes are doing less than what they want to because of his direction and his outsized influence.”

Miller, one of Trump’s closest advisers since the president’s first campaign, has long been a key architect of the administration’s hardline immigration policies. He currently serves as deputy chief of staff and has played a central role shaping the White House’s approach to border enforcement and deportation initiatives.

Tillis’s remarks come amid broader scrutiny of the administration’s immigration enforcement strategy and leadership at the Department of Homeland Security. The criticism follows a series of controversies, including the fatal shootings of two U.S. citizens by federal immigration agents in Minneapolis earlier this year.

Tillis previously criticized Miller and then–Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem after both officials suggested Good and Pretti were acting unlawfully before they were killed, assertions that drew backlash from lawmakers and civil liberties advocates. The North Carolina Republican has called for a thorough investigation into the incidents and greater accountability within DHS.

The comments also come as the administration undergoes leadership changes at the department. Trump recently removed Noem from her post as homeland security secretary following mounting criticism of her tenure and controversies surrounding immigration enforcement operations.

Tillis, who has announced he will not seek reelection, has been among the more vocal Republican critics of the administration’s handling of the Minneapolis incidents and broader immigration enforcement policies. On Sunday, he said the administration should rely more heavily on Cabinet officials rather than informal influence from White House advisers.

“He’s a big problem in this administration,” Tillis said of Miller. “He has been from the beginning.”

Hollywood Actor Robert De Niro Calls For ‘Vietnam-Style’ Protests Against Trump

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By David Wilson - https://www.flickr.com/photos/davidwilson1949/6056934707/in/photolist-5coszA-aeenEK-2CqzzK-8QZ5mo, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=98841262

Actor Robert De Niro said during a Monday interview that he believes President Donald Trump would “never leave” office voluntarily and argued that it would be up to the public to remove him.

Speaking on MSNBC host Nicolle Wallace’s podcast, The Best People, De Niro dismissed the suggestion that Trump’s term would simply end in three years.

“I wonder what it is about people’s inability to see beyond the next three — he’s gone in three years,” Wallace said.

“Well, he will never leave. We have to make him leave. You see, he jokes now about nationalizing the elections — he’s not joking. We’ve seen enough already. And everybody’s worried about it, but he means it,” De Niro replied.

When Wallace again asked whether he believed Trump would leave in three years, De Niro doubled down.

“He ain’t leaving. No, no way. Let’s not kid ourselves. He will not leave. It’s up to us to get rid of him,” the actor continued.

De Niro also suggested that Trump might not respect midterm election results and called for widespread public demonstrations.

“You start hearing it all over now,” the actor said. “It’s up to you. Damn right, it’s about the people. The people got — like Vietnam. You got to get out there and protest. The ‘No Kings’ coming. It’s got to be not 7, 8, 9 million. It’s got to be way, way more than that.”

Longstanding Critic of Trump

De Niro has been one of Trump’s most outspoken celebrity critics for nearly a decade, frequently using award show appearances, interviews, and public events to denounce the president in blunt and often profane terms. He has previously endorsed Democratic candidates and supported legal efforts against Trump, framing his activism as a defense of democratic institutions.

In an earlier appearance on MSNBC in October, De Niro praised several Democratic leaders who have challenged Trump’s policies in court and in Congress.

“There’s something,” De Niro said. “I like Hakeem Jeffries. I like… Chuck Schumer, Adam Schiff, they’re all great, strong. I like what Letitia James is doing. She’s fighting back. She’s saying, ‘f— you!’”

After an audible reaction from host Jonathan Capehart, De Niro continued, “I’m sorry. This is where we are. It’s what she’s saying. ‘This is it. I will not be taken down by this person. I am not afraid of him.’ And God bless her for that. And that’s how other people have to be.”

What “Vietnam-Style” Protests Could Mean Today

De Niro’s reference to Vietnam evokes the mass anti-war demonstrations of the late 1960s and early 1970s, when millions of Americans participated in marches, campus protests, and large-scale rallies in Washington, D.C., and other major cities. Those protests included peaceful demonstrations, acts of civil disobedience, and, at times, clashes with law enforcement.

In today’s political climate, a “Vietnam-style” protest movement would likely unfold across multiple fronts: coordinated national marches, sustained demonstrations in major cities, social media-driven organizing, and pressure campaigns aimed at lawmakers. Modern protest movements often rely on digital mobilization, viral messaging, and coalition-building across activist groups.

At the same time, the U.S. Constitution sets fixed presidential term limits under the 22nd Amendment, and presidential elections are administered by the states under established federal and state laws. Any removal of a sitting president outside of an election would require constitutional processes, such as impeachment by the House of Representatives and conviction by the Senate.

De Niro’s comments reflect a broader concern among some Trump critics that he will not actually exit the White House following the conclusion of his second term.

President Trump has frequently teased liberal meltdowns by joking he plans to pursue a third term in office.

Shortly after returning to office, Trump again referred to another term at a rally in Las Vegas on Jan. 25.

“It will be the greatest honor of my life to serve, not once but twice — or three times or four times,” Mr. Trump quipped to applause from the crowd, before adding that “no, it will be to serve twice.”

Then on Jan. 27, President Trump joked to Republican lawmakers about a third term. Speaking before the House GOP conference in Florida, Mr. Trump touted the money he’d raised for another race that he said “I assume I can’t use for myself.”

“But I’m not 100% sure because, I don’t know,” the president continued, to laughter from House Republicans. “I think I’m not allowed to run again. I’m not sure. Am I allowed to run again?”

New Poll Shows MAGA Candidate Overtaking Incumbent By Double Digits

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Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) is trailing Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) by a whopping 16 points in the 2026 Republican Senate primary, according to an internal poll reported by Punchbowl News on Monday.

The poll from the Senate Leadership Fund (SLF) found Paxton leading with 50% support to Cornyn’s 34%, with 17% undecided.

Paxton, a staunch ally of President Donald Trump, officially announced his candidacy last month. He is positioning himself as a more pro-MAGA alternative to Cornyn, who hardline Texas conservatives have painted as a moderate. Cornyn, Texas’s senior senator, has held his seat since 2002 and served in Senate leadership. He was a leading contender to replace Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) as GOP leader, but eventually lost the race to Sen. John Thune (R-SD).

Cornyn faced backlash over his work in crafting the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, a gun safety law passed in 2022 after a massacre at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas.

The legislation included enhanced background checks for gun buyers under 21 and was the first major federal gun control measure in decades.

Punchbowl News reported in a hypothetical three-way GOP primary, Paxton leads with 44%, followed by Sen. John Cornyn at 34% and Rep. Wesley Hunt at 19%, according to an internal Tarrance Group poll conducted April 27 to May 1.

In general election matchups against potential Democratic challenger Colin Allred, Cornyn leads by six points.

McConnell Biography Unveils Senate Leaders Private Reaction After 2020 Election

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Mitch McConnell, Kevin McCarthy, Nancy Pelosi, Chuck Schumer attend medal ceremony via Wikimedia Commons

A new biography on Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) exposes new details surrounding his tense relationship with former President Donald Trump.

Michael Tackett, deputy Washington bureau chief at the Associated Press, drew from nearly three decades of McConnell’s political career using sources including recorded diaries by the elder statesmen and past interviews. In the finished book, The Price of Power, which hits shelves on October 29, Tackett uncovered several shockingly negative assessments of the ex-president by McConnell, who has publicly expressed his support and endorsed him in the 2024 election.

After Trump lost the election in 2020, McConnell congratulated his former Senate colleague President Joe Biden and warned his fellow Republicans not to challenge the election results. But behind the scenes — and as Trump tried and failed to overturn the election results — he apparently couldn’t wait to see the last of Trump:

Privately, he said in his oral history that “it’s not just the Democrats who are counting the days” until Trump left office, and that Trump’s behavior “only underscores the good judgment of the American people. They’ve had just enough of the misrepresentations, the outright lies almost on a daily basis, and they fired him.”

“And for a narcissist like him,” McConnell continued, “that’s been really hard to take, and so his behavior since the election has been even worse, by far, than it was before, because he has no filter now at all.”

Before those Georgia runoffs, McConnell said Trump is “stupid as well as being ill-tempered and can’t even figure out where his own best interests lie.”

An account of the aftermath of January 6, which had McConnell in a secure location while his aides “barricaded” in the office, revealed an emotional moment between the former Senate Majority Leader and his staff:

McConnell then went to his office to address his staff, some of whom had barricaded themselves in the office as rioters banged on their doors. He started to sob softly as he thanked them, Tackett writes.

“You are my family, and I hate the fact that you had to go through this,” he told them.

Stacey Abrams Claims Trump Will Turn US Into Autocracy

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Photo via Gage Skidmore Flickr

Failed gubernatorial hopeful Stacey Abrams recently claimed President Trump is attempting to shift the United States from a democracy to an autocracy.

Abrams appeared on “Jimmy Kimmel Live,” where guest host Anthony Anderson asked her to explain the “10 steps to autocracy.”

Abrams said her 10 steps apply to “every nation that has become an autocracy having been a democracy,” specifically referencing Brazil India, Russia, and the Philippines.

“Start with winning an election,” Abrams said. “Usually the last one you’ll get to have for real.”

Office of U.S. House Speaker, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Abrams’ next steps included expanding executive power and weakening Congress and the judicial branch.

“Like, I don’t know, the Supreme Court is giving you unfettered power and saying we don’t have the ability to stop things,” Abrams said, presumably referencing the recent Supreme Court ruling limiting nationwide injunctions.

Abrams then conveniently avoided mentioning former President Joe Biden, who notably ignored the Supreme Court’s ruling striking down his student loan forgiveness plan.

Abrams then said autocracies then “gut the civil service” to “break democracy” and put loyalists in the FBI “so they go after your enemies.”

She again failed to mention that under the Biden administration, Trump was charged in four criminal cases that were widely viewed as political prosecutions.

Abrams said that Trump “[going] after DEI” was evidence that he was looking for someone to blame, which she said was another hallmark of autocracies.

She then suggested Trump’s mobilization of the National Guard and the U.S. Marines in Los Angeles was one step away from a full autocracy.

Watch:

“You send the U.S. Marines into spaces where they should not be, you send the National Guard in, you kidnap people off of the streets and pretend that’s normal,” Abrams said.

“Once you’ve done those nine steps, step 10 is easy,” Abrams said. “That’s when you decide there won’t be new elections because everyone’s either afraid, poor, broken, or complicit.”

Abrams has claimed dozens of times that the 2018 gubernatorial election was stolen from her. In 2019, she said, “I didn’t lose. I got the votes. But we won’t know exactly how many because of how they cheated.”

Trump Challenges Biden To Pre-Debate Drug Test

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Photo via Gage Skidmore Flickr

Trump is throwing down the gauntlet…

Presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump challenged Joe Biden to take a drug test before this week’s televised presidential debate.

“DRUG TEST FOR CROOKED JOE BIDEN??? I WOULD, ALSO, IMMEDIATELY AGREE TO ONE!!!” Trump wrote Monday on Truth Social.

The former president has repeatedly suggested Biden could take a performance-enhancing drug before the debate, with some already discounting any well-received performance by the incumbent as a charade.

In two other posts on Truth Social, Trump praised Rep. Ronny Jackson (R-Texas), who sent a letter to the president and his physician Monday, demanding he take drug tests immediately before and after the debate.

“Ronny Jackson was a brilliant Doctor, Admiral and now, a GREAT Congressman,” the presumptive GOP nominee wrote in one post. “He happens to be totally right about what is written in this MUST READ Article but, unfortunately, nothing will be done about it!”

Trump and Biden will square off Thursday night in a debate hosted by CNN, in what will be the first debate since the 2020 election. 

Trump last week said he does not want to underestimate Biden ahead of the debate.

“Well, all I can say is this: I watched him with Paul Ryan, and he destroyed Paul Ryan,” Trump said during an episode of the “All-In podcast” last week. “And he beat Paul Ryan, so, I’m not underestimating him.”