Political observers and analysts alike are ridiculing Russell Brand after the former actor went viral for an awkward Bible fail in a Piers Morgan interview.
It started when Morgan asked Brand about why he took a Bible into court. Brand has been charged with assault of multiple women.
Specifically, Morgan asked what verses Brand was inspired by as he sat in court.
Brand then proceeds to fumble through a Bible for more than a minute, at times mumbling but never coming up with the specific verse in question.
The moment led to mockery on X.
One liberal influencer, @Gadget440, shared the video and called Brand "increasingly defensive," writing, "Piers Morgan asks Russell Brand what bible passages he was looking at when he brought his bible into court. It went excactly[sic] how you'd expect from the 'born again Christian'..."
White House columnist Niall Stanage called the exchange "one of the best examples I’ve ever seen of an interviewer knowing when to say nothing at all," before adding, "Beautifully played by @piersmorgan."
Republicans against Trump chimed in, "Piers Morgan asked Russell Brand, who has been charged with r--- and s----- assault, which Bible passage was relevant to him when he brought a Bible to court. It got awkward fast."
Liberal influencer Ed Krassenstein also added, "This is so painful to watch. Piers Morgan asked Russell Brand to read the passages that were relevant to him when he brought his Bible into court."
Yard signs in a ruby red state signal authentic voter enthusiasm that could change the game, according to a former GOP insider.
Kurt Bardella, a former staffer for Republican Senator Olympia Snowe and Republican Congressman Darrell Issa, appeared on MS NOW on Saturday, where he flagged unexpected Democratic momentum in deep-red Texas, citing grassroots enthusiasm for state legislator James Talarico that he's witnessing firsthand in his own Dallas neighborhood.
Bardella said the prevalence of Talarico yard signs in Republican-dominated communities is a striking indicator of genuine voter engagement—something rarely seen from Democrats in conservative areas of Texas.
"A Democrat in Texas is not inclined to put yard signs in their front yard," Bardella explained. "It's not something you take a big billboard out usually to make yourself a target in this era that we live in. And the fact that I am taking my walk around the block and seeing Talarico signs, that's really interesting."
Bardella emphasized that the visible campaign infrastructure suggests something deeper than typical political positioning. "That tells me there's actual grassroots enthusiasm for this candidate," he said. "That voters are genuinely excited to see a candidate talk to them again."
According to Bardella, Talarico's appeal stems from his direct engagement with voters across ideological lines. "He meets you where you are. That's why he's so powerful as a candidate and on the stump," Bardella noted.
What makes Bardella's observations particularly significant is the geographical context. He's witnessing this activity in Dallas neighborhoods that traditionally vote heavily Republican—areas where, as he put it, "all the dads I see at school are MAGA."
The convergence of Democratic enthusiasm in staunchly Republican communities suggests a larger transformation may be underway, he said.
"If I'm seeing that in Texas, in Dallas, in communities that I know vote hardcore Republican, and that type of presence is being felt in literally my own backyard, that tells me there's something very big happening across this country in places that we're not even thinking of right now," Bardella said.
His comments point to a potential realignment in traditionally conservative strongholds—one that could potentially reshape political calculations heading into 2026.
MAGA commentator Scott Jennings found himself repeatedly on the defensive Friday during a tense CNN segment as host Kaitlan Collins and Democratic strategist Paul Begala pushed back on his economic and political claims.
Jennings argued during his appearance on “The Source with Kaitlan Collins” that Republicans should “remind the American people how we got to this cost-of-living crisis in the first place.”
“And it was Joe Biden,” Jennings said, insisting that “the rate of inflation is normal and has come down.”
But Collins quickly challenged him, noting that inflation is “higher than the day Trump took office.” That prompted Jennings to respond defensively: “So you all are arguing that we should have rapid deflation.”
Begala, a former advisor to Bill Clinton, mocked the GOP line of attack, comparing it to a legal excuse for criminal defendants. “Some other dude did it,” he said. “That dog don’t hunt.”
“The problem is you can’t persuade two-thirds of the American people who think this guy is doing a terrible job,” Begala insisted Friday.
Jennings attempted to pivot and accused Democrats of pursuing “a mad power grab,” but Collins steered the conversation back to economic issues.
“Democrats are saying Trump’s not doing what he said he would do in office,” the anchor said, adding, “And I think that’s a powerful argument because he did say he would bring prices down and they’re up.”
As the back-and-forth ramped up, Jennings found himself talking over interruptions while insisting that inflation has “normalized.”
“Don’t argue with me,” Begala told Jennings. “You’re not going to persuade me.” The Democratic strategist predicted Trump would oversee GOP midterm losses in the House “and maybe even the Senate because he’s doing such a terrible job.”
President Donald Trump's polling, along with the Republican Party at large, is a flashing danger sign for the president and his allies in the upcoming midterm elections, former Fox News anchor Gretchen Carlson told CNN's Kate Bolduan on Friday evening.
This comes amid new survey data that shows voters trust Democrats over Republicans on the economy for the first time in 16 years. It also follows another poll that says nearly one in three Republicans disapprove of Trump's job performance. This has even right-wing figures like Megyn Kelly pre-writing Trump's political obituary, proclaiming of Trump, "It's done. You're effed."
"Gretchen, do you see it as bad for the president and the Republican Party as she's painting it?" asked Bolduan.
Carlson confirmed. "I think it's Bad with a capital B."
The issue, she said, is "he'sunderwater in absolutely everycategory except border security,which is 53 to 47 percent withindependents. He's underwater55 points. There's been almosta 60-point swing since he wasre-elected just a year and a halfago. And that's no matter whatany campaign says. Like we don't watch it. We look at trends. That is like a five-alarm fire. Well, that is a five because independents decide every election. We know that."
"I think if the election were held today with those numbers, Trump would have lost in a landslide, not won," she added. "And really, he just needs to look in the mirror because a lot of his ideas, a lot of Americans agree with. That's why he was re-elected. Immigration, the economy, his strong points. But his implementation of the plans is what has suffered. It's not necessarily the ideas. It's the way in which he goes about it, which has been a failure."
The ombudsman of the Pentagon's paper of record warned that her sudden firing doesn't bode well for the publication's future independence.
"There's a very real threat," Jaqueline Smith, the Stars and Stripes ombudsman who was fired on Wednesday, said on "Erin Burnett OutFront" on Friday about the attack on the editorial independence of the military newspaper. "The Pentagon is taking steps to try and control the message through various ways."
Smith said that could include the Pentagon deciding "to remove the requirement that the publisher is a civilian" and putting a member of the military in charge of Stars and Stripes. The top brass are even "prohibiting use of syndicated material," like articles published in other outlets, "which affects what readers can get," Smith said.
Smith explained in an April 8 article for the Stars and Stripes that the newspaper had to stop printing comic strips due to the ban on syndicated material and because War Secretary Pete Hegseth "doesn’t want you to see cartoons here," she wrote. "Wow. Readers were angry" with Hegseth in response to the article, Smith said on CNN on Friday.
"It's my job to inform when I think that there are threats to the editorial independence," Smith said. "I was doing my job, speaking out about it, letting people hear about it, and they could decide whether it's acceptable, especially Congress."
In a column on Thursday, Smith wrote that "The Pentagon is trying to silence me" and detailed her firing.
"Apparently, the Pentagon also doesn’t want you to hear from me anymore about threats to the editorial independence of Stars and Stripes," Smith wrote in the column. "They fired me."
"OutFront" fill-in host Kate Bolduan described Smith's firing as "controversial" and "with little explanation," comparable to the ouster of former Navy Secretary John Phelan.
Former Trump administration Homeland Security staffer turned whistleblower Miles Taylor regaled the crew of MS NOW's "The Weeknight" with a startling anecdote about how unconcerned President Donald Trump was in the middle of a North Korean nuclear threat — and what he was singularly focused on instead.
This came in the middle of a discussion about Trump falling asleep in the Oval Office, and what it says about his fitness for office.
"Americans who were polled are saying many of them feel as though the president has lost a step over the last year, a majority, the majority that that he is more erratic, that they would not describe him as stable," said anchor Symone Sanders Townsend. "And so the logical conclusion to just those numbers is, in fact, to ask the questions, well, is the president okay? Has he lost a step? And before I wrote it and then he sleeps, what if Joe Biden had fallen asleep in the Oval Office on camera multiple times? It would be all we were talking about. I am frustrated because it feels as though that we are giving Donald Trump a pass, because everyone is concerned if they're going to be sued."
"I agree, and I think we need to worry that his sleepiness is getting sleepier, but I worry even more about the highs than the lows, the moments of grandiosity, erratic and impulsive behavior are getting more erratic, more grandiose," said Taylor.
"We saw this in the first term," he continued. "People didn't believe me when I came out and said we were closer to the brink of nuclear war than folks realize, because Donald Trump was tweeting us all the way to the brink with North Korea, so much so that the Department of Homeland Security had to do those exercises to prepare for the possibility we might get into a nuclear war."
"But it was even worse than that," said Taylor. "I remember going into a secure facility after the North Koreans had just launched a test missile, and we didn't know if it was headed towards the United States. And you know what Donald Trump called to talk to us about? I would have hoped he was calling to say, 'Is everything okay? Are we going to be okay?' He called to say, 'We got to deport them at the border.' Why, during a live-fire exercise, is the President of the United States not even thinking about that possibility?"
"He was that erratic from the start, all over the place, not caring about these things. And now it's worse," he said. "Remember when Richard Nixon in 1974 said I could pick up the phone and in 25 minutes, 70 million people would die? That was a hypothetical. Donald Trump gets on Twitter and says 90 million people will die. That should scare folks."
"One other thing. A lot of people don't know this," he added. "On Donald Trump's desk, there's a little wooden box with a red button. He had that installed as a prop so that people are sitting in the Oval Office and see him reach for the red button and thinking, 'What's he going to press?' And he presses it, and the anteroom swings open, and a guy comes in with a Diet Coke. True story. He does it every single day. He presses that button. The fact that the President of the United States likes to joke about practicing pressing the big red button should tell us everything you need to know about his mental state."
A political pundit slammed Congress after poll findings revealed historically high disapproval ratings and predicted poor midterm returns for the GOP.
"We're talking record-high disapproval of Congress," political analyst Harry Enten said on CNN on Thursday. "I am here in Washington D.C. to deliver a message: they hate you guys."
Enten shared Gallup poll findings that show 86 percent of Americans disapprove of Congress, the highest disapproval rating since November 2013.
"Just 10 percent of Americans approve of the job that Congress is doing," Enten stressed. "That is actually lower than the percentage of Americans who believe that we faked the moon landing."
Enten rubbed in that the same poll found that 12 percent of Americans think the moon landing was faked and 10 percent think that the Earth is flat. "When you can't even meet the Mendoza line of the moon landing, you know that you're in deep, deep trouble," he ribbed.
Compared to March 2025, Congress's approval ratings have dropped by 89 points, Enten added. It bodes poorly for the GOP heading into the midterms, as the party faces a 15 percent chance of holding the House, largely because turned-off Republican voters.
"Remember that Republicans control the House and Senate," Enten said. "Despite the fact that Republicans control Congress, Republicans themselves absolutely despise Congress at this point."
A GOP lawmaker admitted that farmers are feeling a crunch under Trump but shrugged off the economic pressures they've felt recently.
CNN's Brianna Keilar pressed Rep. Marlin Stutzman (R-IN) to explain how farmers are surviving in a global market affected by war in Iran and a blockade in the Strait of Hormuz.
"They are so impacted by the strait and the limitations of fertilizer," Keilar told Stutzman, noting he's a fourth-generation farmer. "What that does to the global markets, the cost of diesel, and that kind of thing. And they're really coming off a tough time because of the trade war with China, really hitting a market that was crucial for them. You talk to them, they really just want stability, right?"
Keilar said that farmers "felt that things were going to get a little bit better, and then the rug kind of gets pulled out from underneath them."
Stutzman answered, "You're right," and added that farmers are also struggling to compete with South American soybean farmers. Still, the GOP congressman insisted that farmers are steadfast in their support of Trump.
"Most farmers are saying, 'We get it,'" Stutzman defended. "We understand what President Trump's trying to do. It's having some short-term pain, but in the long-term, we know that it's going to put us in a much better spot."
Stutzman still wants Trump to change course for the sake of farmers, noting that "I won't bet against the American farmer, but any sort of relief that we can get soon is going to be well received."
President Donald Trump has sent envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to Islamabad, Pakistan, this weekend for continued negotiations with Iran — but Vice President JD Vance did not plan to attend — something a CNN analyst said was telling in a report on Friday.
Vance, who previously attended marathon talks with the Iranians earlier this month, will be on standby and available to join by phone or travel if need be, CNN reported. Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf, Iran's Speaker of the Parliament, who the White House views as Vance's counterpart and head of the Iranian delegation, will not attend either.
The timeline for the ongoing war has remained uncertain, with Trump telling reporters on Thursday "Don't rush me."
CNN special correspondent Jamie Gangel signaled that the Iran strategy has appeared to shift within the White House.
"Let's be hopeful. Let's be optimistic. It's moving in in the right direction," Gangel said.
"I think everyone would like this war to end," she added. "But we've seen a roller coaster here. And in when dealing with the Iranians, I've been told over and over by intelligence experts, they're really good at talking. And they will talk and talk until the cows come home. But getting to substantive negotiations is a whole other matter. So let's see where this goes. I do think it's interesting that Vice President Vance is not going. I think it says something about where we think this is at the moment."
Members of Vance's team were reportedly already in Pakistan for the talks with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi. Iranians have not yet confirmed if they will meet with the American delegation.
Conservative podcast host Megyn Kelly suggested that many voters would find Democrats to be the "better option" in the midterm elections because President Donald Trump had done little other than "make things worse."
On her Thursday broadcast, Kelly pointed to recent polls that showed support for Trump had "catered."
"It's like not even present tense anymore. It's done," she explained. "Just 23% approve of his overall performance. That ticks up to 30 when it comes to how he's handled immigration. And then from there, it is all downhill. 21% of Independents support this war on Iran. You've got 79% of independents who are against folks. You cannot win elections like that."
"How many independents approve of Trump's job performance when it comes to the cost of living? 12," she continued. "So this pain is likely only to get worse. And this war [in Iran] needs to come to an end right away."
According to Kelly, Trump was not the only one facing voter dissatisfaction.
"The numbers are bad for the entire Republican Party," she remarked. "For the first time since 2010, first time in 16 years, they're favoring Democrats on the economy."
"They feel like they gave Trump a year and a half," the host added. "He's done nothing other than make things worse. This is how they feel if you read the polls. And so, and they're p—d. They're not feeling pro-GOP right now for a variety of reasons. They don't tend to like the tariffs... They don't like the war. They don't like what's happening in their bank accounts."
"And they're starting to think the Democrats might be the better option on the economy. 52% say they prefer Democrats compared to 48% who say they like the Republicans when it comes to who should manage the economy."
A former White House cardiologist advised President Donald Trump's medical team to consider formal testing after the president appeared to fall asleep in the Oval Office this week.
Dr. Jonathan Reiner, who was the cardiologist to late former Vice President Dick Cheney for nearly 30 years, described what he saw after Trump was caught visibly tired during a White House event on Thursday. The president was speaking with a group of cabinet members about several topics, including health care, prescription drug prices, and the economy, when people started to notice he was nodding off.
Reiner recommended that Trump's medical team consider additional steps to address the potential health concern.
"When a patient tells me that they can’t stay awake in meetings, we do formal sleep testing to look for sleep apnea," Reiner wrote. "I’m sure the White House medical team has done this, but the president continues to struggle with daytime somnolence. This is a common problem, and there are things that can can be done to improve these symptoms."
Trump has faced ongoing scrutiny throughout his second term in office regarding his physical and mental fitness, with recent polling showing a majority of Americans expressing concerns about his mental soundness to serve. Medical experts and political observers have raised questions about different aspects of his health, including reports of cognitive performance and stamina, which have become focal points in discussions about his ability to fulfill presidential duties.
When a patient tells me that they can’t stay awake in meetings, we do formal sleep testing to look for sleep apnea. I’m sure the White House medical team has done this, but the president continues to struggle with daytime somnolence. This is a common problem, and there are things… https://t.co/ksPQAkcdg2 — Jonathan Reiner (@JReinerMD) April 24, 2026
The United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit has overturned $8.2 million in damages won by former Republican Senate candidate Roy Moore (AL) after he sued the Senate Majority PAC (SMP) for defamation over an advertising campaign that alleged that he was banned from a mall for "soliciting sex from young girls."
In his 2019 lawsuit, Moore contended that SMP's 2017 Senate campaign advertisement was a "deliberately constructed maze of lies and deception."
"SMP argues that Moore failed to meet the demanding constitutional actual malice standard; therefore, Moore's defamation and false-light invasion of privacy claims necessarily fail as a matter of law," Trump-appointed Judge Elizabeth L. Branch wrote in her 45-page opinion for the panel of three judges this week. "Specifically, SMP argues that Moore did not present clear and convincing evidence that SMP subjectively knew or recklessly disregarded that its ad ... implied that Moore solicited sex from Wendy Miller when she was 14 years old and working as Santa's helper."
"[W]e agree that the record does not contain sufficient clear and convincing evidence to support the jury's actual malice finding," she continued. "We thus vacate the jury's verdict, reverse the denial of SMP's motion for judgment as a matter of law, and remand for entry of judgment in favor of SMP."
"Because the evidence discussed above is inadequate to support a finding of the necessary intent to defame for purposes of actual malice in a defamation-by-implication case, Moore's defamation and false-light claims necessarily fail."
Moore lost his 2017 bid for Senate to Democratic candidate Doug Jones after nine women came forward alleging misconduct.
President Donald Trump likes to boast that he's created a historic economy, but new polling shows he may be on the wrong side of history.
The 79-year-old president was re-elected to a second term in 2024 largely on the basis of his economic message, but CNN's Harry Enten presented polling data that shows Americans have not liked seeing those policies in action.
"The president ismaking history on the economy,at least how Americans feelabout it, and the completelywrong way," Enten said. "What are we talkingabout here? Well, let's take alook at Trump's net approvalrating on the economy. Look atwhere he is today: Way, way downthere, minus-32 points, and the netapproval rating at the beginningof term two. Remember, Trump gota term two because voterstrusted him more on the economythan Kamala Harris. He was at plus-six – that's a nearly 40-point drop and a little bit morethan a year's time, and look atwhere he was at term one at thispoint. He was at plus-twopoints."
"Remember, the economywas a strength for him in termone at this point. It was astrength for him throughout hisentire term one, but in termnumber two, it has becomeabsolutely an anchor that isdragging him down to a historicdegree," he added.
Trump has hit a historic low for economic approval, and Enten sees evidence that could get even worse.
"I'm astudent of history – I likereading those history books, Ilike going through thespreadsheets, and just take alook here," Enten said. "He's not just thelowest at this point at anypoint in either of hispresidencies, but he is at thelowest, he has the worst netapproval rating at this point inany term for any president. Lookat this: He's at minus-32 points now. Joe Biden, of course, Donald Trump loved to rip Joe Biden in the economy. Joe Biden,though, was at minus-25, seven pointsbetter. How about George W. Bush minus-25 points, again, seven pointsbetter than Donald Trump, and ofcourse, Donald Trump loves torip on James Earl Carter, but James Earl Carter, Jimmy Carter,was at minus-22 points, 10 pointsbetter than Donald Trump isright now. So again, Donald Trump making the type of historythat no president likes to make."
"If you think this minus-32 pointsis bad, you ain't seen nothingyet, because just take a look atindependents," Enten added. "Oh my, oh my ... look at this: Trump's economic net approvalrating among independents, he'sat minus-55 points. Ladies andgentlemen minus-55 points, 55 pointsunderwater. Look at that. He wasa plus one, he was a plus one in January of 2025. That's a 56-point drop, and in term numberone he was breaking even atzero, so he's 55 points lower.The bottom line is the reasonwhy the general electorate isleaving. Donald Trump is beingdriven, the car is being totallydriven by independentsabsolutely abandoning him. He isdown there with the Titanic atthis point."
There's not really a precedent for the drop-off in support that Trump has experienced, Enten said.
"This this is the type ofstuff where you're reading thehistory books, when you're looking back, and go, 'Whoa, that couldnever happen again,'" Enten said, "and that isthe type of thing thatabsolutely ruins presidents."
"Takea look at the Kalshi predictionmarket chances," he added. "April CPI year-over-year is above March's 3.3 percent,98 percent chance. That's not 100, butit's pretty gosh-darn close.The bottom line is this theeconomy for Donald Trump is his Waterloo."
