This is a new low.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has had enough of Trump’s insults and the gloves are coming off.
watch Amanda explain the situation below:
Opinions expressed by contributors do not necessarily reflect the views of Great America News Desk.
ANALYSIS – In his Twitter Spaces debut Tuesday night, called “Tucker on Twitter,” former Fox News host Tucker Carlson immediately accused Ukraine of being responsible for the catastrophic attack on the Nova Kakhovka dam in Southern Ukraine.
And he may be right.
Ukraine and Russia have routinely accused each other of shelling the dam, the hydroelectric station and the nearby Zaporizhia nuclear power plant.
Both sides have blamed the other for the attack, in what appears to be a war crime. Kyiv blamed Moscow for the “terrorist attack,” but the Kremlin claimed that Ukraine had struck the dam to impact Russian-controlled Crimea’s water supplies.
As Newsweek reported, that is part of Tucker’s claim, too.
And, despite his spotty track record on speculation, in this case, he may be right. Or at least, the assumption that Russia is always the culprit is no longer valid.
Based on recent reporting, which I wrote about here, Ukraine may, in fact, have been responsible for the serious sabotage of the Nord Stream undersea gas pipelines in September 2022, which was long blamed on Russia.
This makes the always-blame Russia crowd look less credible. But that doesn’t mean Tucker’s always-blame-everyone-except-Russia approach is any better.
While on Fox, Tucker repeatedly blamed the United States and Joe Biden for being behind the Nord Stream attack.
On Feb. 24 he said: “So the Biden administration committed the single largest most profound act of industrial terrorism of sabotaging history. They blew up the Nord Stream pipeline …”
And that has always been a stretch. Instead, The Post reporting today reinforces my earlier conclusion that it is “likely, the U.S. was aware but turned a blind eye.”
Thus, as far as we can tell, Biden knew about it beforehand but was unwilling or unable to do anything about it.
Tucker’s claims aren’t helped when he spouts pro-Russian talking points in his video, such as:
The Kakhovka dam was effectively Russian. It was built by the Russian government. It currently sits in Russian- controlled territory. The dam’s reservoir supplies water to Crimea, which has been for the last 240 years home of the Russian Black Sea Fleet.
Firstly, the ‘Soviets’ built the dam during the USSR, not the ‘Russians,’ and the USSR no longer exists. Secondly, it doesn’t matter how long Russia’s Black Sea Fleet was based in Crimea; it belongs to Ukraine because that’s what happened when the USSR dissolved in 1991 and Ukraine became independent.
Tucker’s Trumpian personal insults, like describing Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky, as a “sweaty and rat-like comedian-turned-oligarch,” probably don’t help his credibility much either.
Tucker is on firmer ground when he argues that: “Blowing up the dam may be bad for Ukraine, but it hurts Russia more, and for precisely that reason, the Ukrainian government has considered destroying it.”
Especially when he cites a December report from The Washington Post in which a Ukrainian general spoke of using U.S.-made HIMARS launchers to “test strike” on the Kakhovka dam.
So, what are the facts?
The dam spanning the Dnipro River was breached on Tuesday, flooding swaths of territory and threatening crucial water supplies to Europe’s largest nuclear power plant.
At least 42,000 people and 1,500 square miles of land are at risk from the flooding caused by the destruction of the dam, likely slowing any potential Ukrainian military advance in the Dnipro River delta.
Much of the Dnipro River delta will become inaccessible for land operations, raising suspicions that Russia deliberately sabotaged the dam to prevent an expected Ukrainian counteroffensive.
However, the flooding has disproportionately affected the Russian-occupied side of the river.
The Kakhovka reservoir does supply Russian-occupied Kherson Oblast and the Crimea peninsula with fresh water.
Zelensky has said that the only way to destroy the dam is through mining and explosives and emphasized that Russian forces have now occupied the dam for over a year.
In a statement, Ukraine’s Southern Operational Command said, “Russian occupation troops blew up the dam” at Nova Kakhovka in the Kherson region.
Blaming “Russian terrorists” for the attack, Zelensky said on Twitter that “the destruction of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant dam only confirms for the whole world that they must be expelled from every corner of Ukrainian land.”
In the end, Tucker may be right. Ukraine could have been behind the attack.
But he is far more credible when he is less bombastic and emphatic with his theories. Such as when he states:
So really, once the facts start coming in, it becomes much less of a mystery what might have happened to the dam, and a fair person would conclude that the Ukrainians probably blew it up, just as you would assume they blew up Nord Stream, the Russian natural gas pipeline last fall.
Tucker ended his new Twitter show by promising to be back with “much more, very soon.” I’m looking forward to it.
Opinions expressed by contributors do not necessarily reflect the views of Great America News Desk.
Former President Donald Trump is responding to fresh claims that federal authorities are closing in on a new indictment against him.
On Wednesday, a former Trump associate testified before a federal grand jury in the investigation into former President Donald Trump’s alleged mishandling of classified materials.
“Today, in what can only be described as a bogus and deeply troubling effort to use the power of government to ‘get’ Trump, I fulfilled a legal obligation to testify in front a federal grand jury and I answered every question honestly,” Taylor Budowich, a former Trump spokesperson, wrote on Twitter.
“America has become a sick and broken nation—a decline led by Joe Biden and power hungry Democrats,” he added. “I will not be intimidated by this weaponization of government. For me, the need to unite our nation and make America great again has never been more clear than it is today.”
Budowich previously served as a spokesperson for Trump after he left the White House. He is now the head of MAGA Inc., a super PAC backing the former president’s 2024 bid.
The Florida grand jury hearing testimony is the latest development in the investigation by special counsel Jack Smith into whether Trump mishandled classified documents after leaving office.
Multiple outlets have reported that Trump has received a letter from federal prosecutors notifying him of the impending indictment.
The walls are closing in on Donald Trump.
Will the former President have another indictment in the coming weeks over his alleged mishandling of classified documents after leaving the White House in 2021? It’s not looking good.
Former President Donald Trump on Wednesday said he has not been told that he’s being indicted as a special counsel investigation into his handling of classified documents shows signs of wrapping up.
“No one has told me I’m being indicted, and I shouldn’t be because I’ve done NOTHING wrong,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, adding that he has “assumed for years that I am a Target of the WEAPONIZED DOJ & FBI.”
Watch Amanda explain the situation below:
Opinions expressed by contributors do not necessarily reflect the views of Great America News Desk.
A prominent 9/11 group is speaking out after the PGA Tour announced its merger with Saudi Arabia-backed LIV Golf.
9/11 Families United released a statement slamming the PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan for partnering with the Saudi-backed entity, noting that Saudi operatives played a role in facilitating the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
“PGA Commissioner Jay Monahan co-opted the 9/11 community last year in the PGA’s unequivocal agreement that the Saudi LIV project was nothing more than sportswashing of Saudi Arabia’s reputation,” said 9/11 Families United Chair Terry Strada, whose husband Tom died in the World Trade Center’s North Tower. “But now the PGA and Monahan appear to have become just more paid Saudi shills, taking billions of dollars to cleanse the Saudi reputation so that Americans and the world will forget how the Kingdom spent their billions of dollars before 9/11 to fund terrorism, spread their vitriolic hatred of Americans, and finance al Qaeda and the murder of our loved ones.”
“Make no mistake – we will never forget, “the statement continued. “Mr. Monahan talked last summer about knowing people who lost loved ones on 9/11, then wondered aloud on national television whether LIV Golfers ever had to apologize for being a member of the PGA Tour. They do now as does he. PGA Tour leaders should be ashamed of their hypocrisy and greed. Our entire 9/11 community has been betrayed by Commissioner Monahan and the PGA as it appears their concern for our loved ones was merely window-dressing in their quest for money – it was never to honor the great game of golf.”
The PGA Tour suspended 17 golfers from the tour for participating in LIV Golf, kicking off a year of lawsuits between the two golf entities. Eleven pro golfers sued the PGA for allegedly monopolizing competition. However, all 11 plaintiffs left the lawsuit by May of this year after LIV got involved as a plaintiff in the lawsuit, souring the public image of the golfer’s stated principled stand against the PGA.
According to The Daily Wire, the PGA filed a countersuit in September, alleging that LIV golf had unlawfully aided the 17 golfers in violating their contracts with the PGA by offering them separate contracts to play for LIV.
LIV Golf offered major golf stars huge payments to abandon the PGA Tour. Stars like Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson, and Bryson DeChambeau, were paid between $100k-$200k without having to win or even qualify for a single tournament.
With the merger, all lawsuits have been dropped.
The PGA Tour commissioner said the deal will push golf into the future and give fans the best experience.
“Going forward, fans can be confident that we will, collectively, deliver on the promise we’ve always made — to promote competition of the best in professional golf and that we are committed to securing and driving the game’s future,” Monahan said.
Former President Donald Trump has been a strong proponent of a merger between the two gold powerhouses.
Last year, Trump accurately predicted a merger was “inevitable.”
“All of those golfers that remain ‘loyal’ to the very disloyal PGA, in all of its different forms, will pay a big price when the inevitable MERGER with LIV comes, and you get nothing but a big ‘thank you from PGA officials who are making millions of dollars a year,” Trump posted on Truth Social in July 2022.
“If you don’t take the money now, you will get nothing after the merger takes place and only say how smart the original signees were. Good luck to all and congratulations to really talented Cam Smith on his incredible win!”
Trump, who hosted LIV Golf events at his golf properties, posted a response to the merger on Truth Social.
“Great news from LIV Golf,” Trump posted on Truth Social in all caps after the announcement.
Tucker Carlson is back.
The recently ousted Fox News host has officially kicked off his new Twitter-based news program.
“Hey, it’s Tucker Carlson,” the host said, opening the 10-minute video while seated behind a desk at what appears to be his home in Maine.
Throughout the video, Carlson largely focused on the American news media and politicians who have defended U.S. involvement in the ongoing war between Ukraine and Russia. The pundit opened his video by reporting on an explosion at a dam in Ukraine that sparked widespread evacuations in the war-torn country.
Before signing off, Carlson offered a cryptic message about his new program’s future with Twitter.
“As of today we have come to Twitter, which we hope will be the short wave radio under the blankets,” Carlson said, closing his first video on the platform. “We’re told there are no gatekeepers here. If that turns out to be false, we’ll leave. But in the meantime, we’re grateful to be here.”
According to The Hill, Carlson remains under contract with Fox and it’s unclear if his production of content for the social media platform would violate the terms of his agreement with the network. The pundit has separately accused the network of violating its contract by leaking unflattering material about him to the press. (RELATED: Tucker Carlson Quietly Preparing for ‘War’ Against Fox News)
In April, Carlson was unceremoniously ousted from Fox News. Neither Carlson nor the network have released details on what led to the decision. (RELATED: Tucker Carlson Leaves Fox News)
“We thank him for his service to the network as a host and prior to that as a contributor,” the network said in a statement at the time.
Before the launch of “Tucker Carlson Tonight,” Carlson was co-host of “FOX & Friends Weekend” from 2012 through 2016.
Days before Carlson’s exit, Fox News agreed to a historic settlement with Dominion Voting Systems hours before an expected blockbuster defamation trial.
Embattled CNN boss Chris Licht is leaving his post following an exposé published by The Atlantic that revealed widespread dissent within the ranks.
The New York Times reports:
Mr. Licht’s 13-month run at CNN was marked by one controversy after another, culminating in his exit earlier this week. He got off to a bumpy start even before he had officially started when he oversaw the shuttering of the pricey CNN+ streaming service at the request of its network’s new owners, who were skeptical about a stand-alone digital product. The cuts resulted in scores of layoffs.
Warner Bros. Discovery, CNN’s parent company, did not respond to a request for comment.
Mr. Licht’s departure represents a dramatic fall not long after he departed as an executive producer of Stephen Colbert’s top-rated late night show and vowed to bring a middle-of-the-road balance to CNN’s journalism. When Mr. Licht took the job, he told friends it was a “calling.”
Puck earlier reported that Mr. Licht was leaving CNN.
Licht hoped to appease CNN’s right-wing critics through the town hall. However, both sides remained dissatisfied with the outcome. Trump’s strongest supporters were upset with host Kaitlan Collins for fact-checking his false claims of election fraud in battleground states. Meanwhile, the network staff and on-air talent were disappointed that the former president received a major platform.
The decision by Licht comes less than a month after the network’s town hall with former President Donald Trump.
Earlier this week, CNN media reporter Oliver Darcy spoke out against Licht’s inability to keep the faith of the employees of the network after an avalanche of bad press.
“There are a wide range of emotions coursing through the halls of CNN. Some staffers are frustrated. Others are angry. Many are sad about the awful state of affairs that has taken hold of an organization they love,” Darcy wrote in his Reliable Sources media newsletter late Monday. “There is one near-universal sentiment, however, that has been communicated to me: Licht has lost the room.”
Puck News’ Dylan Byers reports “Warner Bros. Discovery will announce that Licht will be stepping down as chairman and CEO of CNN” within the next 48 hours.
Byers first reported that Licht had been tapped to lead the cable news network 16 months ago.
Could the beloved world of Marvel Comics be done for?
Countless movies, superheroes, and battles have captivated audiences for decades but now the woke mob is threatening to run everything.
Watch Amanda explain the situation below:
Opinions expressed by contributors do not necessarily reflect the views of Great America News Desk.
A relatively unknown Republican Governor has decided to enter the 2024 primary field in what appears to be an ever-growing group of competitors.
On Wednesday, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum became the most recent Republican to enter the race.
Burgum announced his candidacy in an op-ed in The Wall Street Journal.
“We need a change in the White House. We need a new leader for a changing economy. That’s why I’m announcing my run for president today,” he wrote.
The economy must be our top priority. We need to get inflation under control, cut taxes, lower gas prices and reduce the cost of living.
We need to stop buying energy from our enemies and start selling it to our friends and allies. America produces the cleanest and safest energy in the world. Anyone who cares about the environment should want all energy produced here.
Finally, we must recognize the real threat to America and strengthen national security. Our enemies aren’t our neighbors down the street. Our enemies are countries that want to see our way of life destroyed. The first time I ever saw Great Plains’ software in China in 1989 it had been stolen and pirated to sell for a tiny fraction of our price. We must rebuild our military and re-establish our nation’s position of strength to win the cold war with China.
“There’s a value to being underestimated all the time,” Burgum told The Forum Editorial Board in an interview published last month. “That’s a competitive advantage.”
Burgum, who has served as the governor since 2016, announced his campaign during an event in Fargo.
Besides former President Trump, the Republican presidential nomination field includes Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former South Carolina governor and former ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley, Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, former two-term Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, multimillionaire entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, and Michigan businessman Perry Johnson.
On Monday, former Vice President Mike Pence formally filed paperwork with the Federal Elections Commission (FEC) ahead of his expected announcement on June 7.
Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who ran for the 2016 presidential nomination, also filed his paperwork with the FEC on Tuesday.
ALERT – If you’re reading this on your cell phone, and you are a Secret Service agent or officer on duty, please stop and put away the phone – immediately.
Otherwise, you can continue reading.
Ok. Now that we got that out of the way, we can inform you of how an intoxicated intruder was able to enter the home of Joe Biden’s National Security Advisor – Jake Sullivan – back in April.
While Sullivan isn’t particularly impressive (and I’m being gracious), he is one of Biden’s top national security officials. By virtue of his position, he is a very big deal.
He has direct access to the president, the White House, and to the nation’s most classified intelligence and national security information.
Terrorists or spies would love to get their hands on some of that stature, or just get into their homes undetected.
And one unidentified person did just that. But how?
Well, sadly the agents protecting Sullivan were distracted, at least in part, because they were using their personal cell phones while on duty.
A scourge that is affecting most of society.
This is according to an internal investigation by the Secret Service.
The incident at Sullivan’s home occurred in the early morning hours. Sullivan reportedly confronted the intruder inside his home and later told investigators that he believed the person, who was later seen on surveillance video entering and exiting the property, was intoxicated and entered the home by mistake.
Sullivan made the confused man leave his home and then went outside to tell the agents what happened.
Whether the intruder was really just a drunk nobody, or just pretending to be one, is still to be determined.
Meanwhile, Sullivan and his family were unharmed, but the Secret Service officers won’t be so lucky.
As CNN reported: “A law enforcement official familiar with the internal investigation said the agents on duty that night and their supervisors, are likely to be subject to disciplinary action, including an evaluation of whether they can maintain their federal security clearance, a requirement for their positions.”
So, basically, they could lose their jobs over this. And they probably should.
More importantly, the Secret Service, and all federal law enforcement agencies, and their private security contractors, must enforce rules limiting personal cell phone use while on duty.
Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle appears to be doing just that when last week she ordered increased penalties for employees who violate agency policies while on duty, including the use of personal electronic devices on the job.
According to CNN, Cheatle ordered “disciplinary penalties be increased to up to 21-day suspensions, and up to removal for infractions that lead to operational failure. Those include for the use of personal phones or the use of alcohol while on assignments.”
Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi stated:
We have zero tolerance for anything that jeopardizes operational success. While human errors may occur, what sets us apart is our unwavering commitment to maintaining very high professional standards and ethics. This includes enhanced penalties for incidents involving alcohol and a strict policy regarding personal cell phone use while on duty.
Well, that’s a start. The Secret Service is our nation’s, and perhaps the world’s, leading dignitary protection agency. It simply can’t allow things like this to happen.
Opinions expressed by contributors do not necessarily reflect the views of Great America News Desk.
