Donald Trump's latest "low-energy" event revealed that he is "fading," according to a former GOP strategist.
Trump on Tuesday gave a rally in Pennsylvania in an attempt to convince voters he's a good steward of the economy. But it actually had a backfire effect by reminding citizens about the president's failing cognitive health, according to former Republican analyst Mike Murphy.
Murphy, the co-host of the political podcast Hacks on Tap along with Democratic strategist David Axelrod, made the observation early on Wednesday morning.
"A few hours after we discussed on [Hacks On Tap] why Trump has cut back rallies so much, it was pretty evident at his event today in PA just why," he wrote. "Meandering, more confusion and mental weakness than usual."
Murphy added, "Even a bit shall we say, low-energy. Weaker optics too. He’s clearing fading."
Donald Trump "may not make it to the end of this term" according to political commentator Jim Acosta
Ex-CNN journalist Acosta says he cannot see how Trump, 79, makes it to 2029 as president after showing signs of rapid decline so soon into the first year of his second term. Acosta believes even those closest to the president have noticed the decline over the last year and are treating him less like a "dear leader" and more like "goodnight grandpa".
In an appearance on Fast Politics with Molly Jong-Fast, Acosta suggested Trump may not make it to the end of his presidency. By the time Trump leaves office, the president will be 82-years-old, and coming up fast to his 83rd birthday.
Jong-Fast called recent cabinet meetings "North Korean style" with members of the administration heading up a round table where they praised Trump. Acosta added, "He was out. It was not just with Linda McMahon but Marco Rubio, it was several people around the table."
"You've gone from the dear leader treatment to the goodnight grandpa treatment. They're each taking turns putting Donald Trump asleep as they're going around the cabinet room these days. It seems to me like, this is not the same guy we saw on the campaign trail even like, a year and a half ago. I've been around him enough to know the contrast is there."
Further comments from Acosta suggested Trump may struggle to make it through the stresses of the presidency. Some telling parts of the second term may highlight this worry, including a lack of press conferences.
Acosta added, "He seems extremely tired. I will tell you, having covered him up close, where are the press conferences? He doesn't do press conferences. The most he can do now is he brings the little kids into the room and he screams at them and calls them names, and then he sends them away."
"That's the extent of him doing question and answer time is on Air Force One or in the Oval Office. He doesn't do rallies. That special election in Tennessee where he literally phoned it in. In the old days he would've done a hanger rally, but he doesn't do that anymore."
All of this seems to suggest Trump is going to struggle to the end of his presidency. Acosta added, "I did not think we would get to the end of this year and my prevailing thinking on Donald Trump is 'is he going to make it to the end of this term?'"
"Because he is more and more out to lunch by the day, he seems more detached from reality and just seems cognitively in a very different place than he was even a year ago. The naps, the Truth Social posts, the stuff he's saying about Somali immigrants. Some of this you can say 'isn't this the s**t he's been saying since 2015', yes, to some extent that's true, but it feels like, you know... there is something going on."
A new ruling from the Donald Trump administration will be "disastrous" for small businesses, the president's niece has warned.
Political commentator Mary Trump called out Republican representatives during an upload to her YouTube channel. The video, titled "Trump's Global Humiliation Hits New Low", criticised the administration for changing dates for free park entry. Trump's birthday, June 16, is now listed as a day where members of the public can access national parks across the country for free, but MLK Day and Juneteenth were revoked, The Guardian reported.
This change in policy, Mary Trump says, is "racist". But it also has an effect on small businesses across the country that the GOP should be doing more to protect, the political commentator noted.
She said, "Their admission prices have also been raised. Now, why is that a problem? Well, one, it makes people feel really unwelcome and it disincentivizes them to come to this country, let alone go to the national parks."
"Also, how good do you think that is for the American economy? How good do you think that is for the local economies of these places? The small businesses in these places that rely heavily upon tourism. Whether the tourism of American citizens or people from other countries. This is a disaster for those small businesses and local communities."
"So, once again, if any Republican tells you they care about the American working people or American small businesses, they are lying." Mary Trump went further and suggested Trump had his attention elsewhere, with a "hostile takeover" of the Kennedy Center.
She said, "There's a new level of humiliation that Donald engaged in last night, that would be the night that the first Kennedy Center Honors were held since his hostile takeover of the institution."
"The entire event with honorees like Sylvester Stallone and one-hit-wonder Gloria Gaynor was a huge embarrassment' making it infinitely worse however is that Donald chose to host the event himself."
Trump would use the event as an opportunity to call out "miserable" people in the audience and around the world while also honoring Trump's appointed "Hollywood ambassador" Stallone and rock band KISS.
The European Union is fast-tracking plans to preserve peace without the aid of the United States following comments from Donald Trump's administration.
A defense official representing a European country told Politico that "awkward" conversations over America's involvement in the continent were now being prioritized as the "uncertainty" of how the US would react to global conflicts is "just too high". The preparation comes following the release of the Trump administration's National Security Strategy.
Though the administration has played a part in peace talks between Ukraine and Russia, the National Security Strategy makes it clear the US will no longer prop up "the entire world order". Such comments have caused uncertainty in European nations, some of which are now fast-tracking plans for a continent without America's influence.
The strategy published by Trump's administration reads, "The days of the United States propping up the entire world order like Atlas are over. Wealthy, sophisticated nations ... must assume primary responsibility for their regions."
Trump's discontent was made clear in an interview earlier this week where he said world leaders in Europe "don't know what to do" and that the continent is "decaying".
Experts had warned earlier this week that Trump's disinterest in Europe would be a "brutal lose-lose" for everyone involved. Analysis from Georg Riekeles and Varg Folkman saw the pair warn a deprioritization of European stability would be "remarkably abstruse."
They wrote, "hina, they argue, is the decisive theatre, not Europe, and US attention and assets must shift accordingly. Washington has signalled some version of this pivot for more than a decade. Yet European governments have found the idea that the US might actually deprioritise the continent’s security remarkably abstruse."
"The war in Ukraine has intensified this tension: Europe’s thinking is that a US withdrawal or an imposed, unequal peace would produce chaos in Ukraine and instability across Europe." Riekeles and Folkman believe this is part of a larger plan from the US government to shape European politics in a Trump-friendly system.
They wrote, "Because it is clear that as Washington draws back militarily, it will pull even harder on its other levers: financial power, diplomatic pressure, export controls, trade measures and secondary sanctions. These instruments will increasingly be used to steer Europe in the political direction the US wants."
Talk show host Stephen Colbert has called on the parent company of The Late Show, Paramount, to "uncancel one of its best shows".
Colbert's tongue-in-cheek knock at both Paramount and Donald Trump came during the opening monologue of The Late Show, where the 61-year-old seemed to acknowledge the pending finale of his own programme. The Late Show, which Colbert has hosted since 2015 after David Letterman's retirement, will come to an end in May 2026.
The Late Show as a whole, not just Colbert's decade-long reign as host, will come to an end next year. The decision to end the show was roundly criticised by other talk show hosts, such as Jimmy Kimmel who called the reasons for cancellation "nonsensical".
A cancellation order was passed on July 17, with some believing high production costs and declining advertising revenue is part of the reasons for ending the show. But it has been reported that a settlement agreement reached between Donald Trump and Paramount also affected the show's chances of survival.
A statement from Paramount released shortly after the cancellation reads, "Our admiration, affection, and respect for the talents of Stephen Colbert and his incredible team made this agonizing decision even more difficult. With much gratitude, we look forward to honoring Stephen and celebrating the show over the next 10 months alongside its millions of fans and viewers."
Colbert has not taken the news of The Late Show's cancellation lying down, either, with the talk show host using his opening monologue to criticise the proposed merger between Paramount and Warner Bros.
He said, "Wow. I've got to say, if my company has got that kind of green, I'm sure they can afford to uncancel one of their best shows." After a pause for applause, Colbert added, "Thank you, thank you, please, please have a seat everybody. CBS you heard the people, bring back The Equalizer. We need our Queen to return. Why do you think America has become so unequalized?"
Talk show host Jimmy Kimmel has mocked Donald Trump for organising the White House-hosted UFC fight to land on his birthday.
Trump will celebrate his birthday on June 14, the same day a proposed UFC fight will take place on the lawn of the White House. Kimmel criticised the plans to hold the event at the White House, and the weigh in at the Lincoln Memorial, calling Trump a "child" for organising such an event.
He would go on to point out a hypocrisy in the Trump administration when it came to historic memorials, too. Kimmel said, "The president is planning to build a 5,000 seat arena in front of the White House. They scaled it down from 20,000 to 5,000, which is fine because Trump will say it's 100,000 anyway, but, I guess it was too big."
"The event will take place on June 14, which just happens to be his 80th birthday. Whose 80th birthday theme is inviting men to beat the crap out of each other on his lawn? The most miserable son of a b**ch in the world, that's who. The weigh-ins for this event will be held at the Lincoln Memorial. That is not a joke."
Kimmel suggested those who were defending controversial historic memorials and then actively wanting a UFC weigh-in at the front of the Lincoln Memorial were hypocrites. The talk show host went on to say Trump was a "child" for having such plans.
He added, "These are the same people who are all, 'Don't you dare desecrate the flag.' Totally fine with guys in their underpants at the foot of Abraham Lincoln. But it's his birthday, he has to have a party for his birthday. What a child he is. Everyone around him treats him like he's three-years-old."
"He is three years old. He needs a lot of attention so they let him have a press conference every day. He needs immediate gratification, so they give him a Diet Coke button. He gets constant praise for nothing. He takes naptime, often in the middle of a meeting."
"They order him McDonald's, he gets ice cream after dinner every night, he loves to use a sharpie when he's not supposed to.He wants to hear the same two songs over and over and over again, and he wears diapers. He is three-years-old."
President Donald Trump revealed a dark secret about himself when he accepted the inaugural FIFA peace prize last week, according to his niece.
Mary Trump, a psychologist and author, argued in a new Substack essay that Trump's exuberance over the "fabricated and meaningless" FIFA prize was reminiscent of how "desperately" Trump is seeking the love of his parents. She pointed to his statement after FIFA president Gianni Infantino handed him the prize.
"I’m going to wear it right now. This is truly one of the great honors of my life," Trump recounter her uncle saying at the ceremony.
"If Donald had any self-awareness at all, which of course he does not, he’d be embarrassed and ashamed," Trump wrote in the essay. "He would know what we know—that he is being mocked."
Trump went on to discuss how her uncle's father, Fred Trump, was a "patriarchal authoritarian sociopath" who was incapable of loving his son, the current president. That left a huge void in Trump's life that he now seeks to fill with other pursuits, Trump argued.
She also warned that "all of us are paying the price" because of this void in her uncle's life.
"That is why Donald constantly needs more of everything else, believing that that will somehow fill the void," she wrote. "More money, more power, a bigger ballroom, more fake medals, more fake prizes, more fake honors. Maybe, he desperately hopes, someday that void will be filled. Maybe receiving more compliments, having more people grovel and degrade and debase themselves for him will finally make him feel whole."
"On some very dark level, Donald knows that’s impossible because as much as my grandfather wanted to convince Donald, and his other children, and his grandchildren that money is the only thing that matters, it can stand in for everything else, that isn’t true and never can be," she continued. "Nothing can replace kindness, empathy, or compassion. Nothing, certainly, can replace love. In his most terrified moments, Donald knows that. And all of us are paying the price for that knowledge."
President Donald Trump was roundly mocked on Tuesday night after he issued his latest threat to The New York Times over its overage of his health.
Trump made a winding post on Truth Social after his speech in Monroe County, Pennsylvania on Tuesday that was supposed to be about affordability, but often touched on other points such as immigration and domestic policy. In the post, he called the NYT's reporting on his health 'treasonous' and said the country would be better off if the newspaper stopped printing.
"I actually believe it’s seditious, perhaps even treasonous, for The New York Times, and others, to consistently do FAKE reports in order to libel and demean 'THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES,'" Trump wrote. "They are true Enemies of the People, and we should do something about it."
:They have inaccurately reported on all of my Election Results and, in fact, were forced to apologize on much of what they wrote," he added. "The best thing that could happen to this Country would be if The New York Times would cease publication because they are a horrible, biased, and untruthful 'source' of information."
Political analysts and observers noted the apparent irony behind Trump's statement on social media.
"Incredibly rich coming from a man who wouldn’t shut up about Biden’s failing mental state," Evan Rosenfeld, deputy digital director for The Bulwark, posted on X. "Pot, meet kettle."
"Every time Tiny Hands calls reporters 'Enemies of the People' and hints we should “do something” about the New York Times, he is telling you he thinks the First Amendment is a character flaw in the Constitution," political activist Mike Young posted on X. "The cognitive test he keeps failing is basic democracy."
"Turns out every third tweet Trump sent starting in 2020 was a seditious attack on Joe Biden," journalist Marcy Wheeler posted on X.
CNN anchor Kaitlan Collins confronted MAGA Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) during an interview on Tuesday night over her alleged comments during an October incident at the Charleston International Airport.
Mace joined Collins on CNN's "The Source" on Tuesday, where the two discussed Mace's campaign for South Carolina governor and other issues. Collins asked Mace about a new report from The Washington Post that included video footage of an incident where Mace unleashed a profanity-laden tirade at a TSA official working at the Charleston airport.
The report, which includes transcripts and interviews with local police officers who responded that day, described Mace's interaction with the employees as "berating."
Collins asked Mace about some of the comments that the report says she made that day. The report says Mace called one employee a "f------ idiot' and "f------ incompetent."
"Are you saying that you never said any of these quotes, that every single one is a lie?" Collins asked.
Mace asked her to read the quotes back to her, and then denied saying them.
"I have never called a cop an idiot. That is a remarkably false," a defiant Mace insisted.
"But you're saying these police officers are lying?" Collins shot back. "Then who spoke to them?"
"I am absolutely saying that that report was falsified. 100% fictitious," Mace continued.
The Department of Justice moved to dismiss a civil lawsuit brought by an injured Capitol police officer who responded to the events on Jan. 6, 2021, that could have forced President Donald Trump's administration to hang a plaque commemorating that day.
Congress commissioned a plaque to honor the bravery of police officers who responded to the Jan. 6 riot shortly after the event occurred. The plaque was supposed to be completed by May 2023 and installed by 2024, but the installation was not completed before Republicans won back control of Congress.
Since then, the party has sought to prevent the real plaque from being hung. Democrats have chided Republicans by hanging replicas throughout the halls of Congress.
In the lawsuit, the police officers claimed that the delay in hanging the plaque caused them "psychic injuries," and they also received death threats. The DOJ argued in a court filing on Tuesday that these allegations do not constitute an "injury-in-fact," and asked the judge to toss the case.
"Despite that public recognition over three years ago, Plaintiffs contend that the harms they allegedly experienced on January 6, 2021, and allegedly continue to experience from the subsequent conduct of third parties, persist," the court filing reads. "They have pled no allegations that would allow the Court to plausibly infer that the further act of installing an honorific plaque would ameliorate any of their alleged harms which either arose from the events of January 6, 2021, or flow from the subsequent independent acts of parties not before the Court."
"For example, it is implausible for Plaintiffs to suggest that the installation of the plaque would stop the alleged death threats they claim to have been receiving from third parties not before this Court," it added. "Accordingly, standing does not exist for this additional reason."
A Democrat has been projected as the winner in a special election in Georgia for the State House of Representatives in a district that President Donald Trump won by double digits last year.
Eric Gisler was projected as the winner in the race for Georgia State House of Representatives District 121 on Tuesday night. The vacancy arose after Republican State Rep. Marcus Wiedower resigned in late October to focus on his role at a real estate company.
Gisler, a Democrat from Oconee County and a University of Georgia graduate, previously ran against Wiedower last year, receiving just 40% of the vote.
Decision Desk projected Gisler defeated Republican candidate Mack "Dutch" Guest IV just after 9 p.m. ET.
As of 9:30 p.m. Tuesday, Gisler had secured 5,873 votes to Guest's 5,676, or 50.9% to 49.2%, respectively.
The stunning win comes after a similar result unfolded in Miami, where Democrats pulled off a huge victory on Tuesday by winning the mayoral runoff. It was the first time they have been elected to that office in nearly 30 years.
Republicans have faced numerous warnings of disaster looming at the midterms due to President Donald Trump's deeply unpopular agenda and stubbornly high prices.
Democrats pulled off a huge victory on Tuesday by winning the mayoral runoff in Miami, the first time they have been elected to that office in nearly 30 years, and overperforming former Vice President Kamala Harris' margin in the heavily Hispanic South Florida city by nearly 20 points.
The result, which follows a series of Democratic victories and overperformances across the country in the run-up to the 2026 midterm election season, triggered a buzz from commenters on social media and a victory lap from Democratic officials.
"With her runoff victory tonight, Eileen Higgins will be Miami's next mayor — the first woman in the city’s history and the first Democrat in nearly 30 years elected to the office," wrote the official Democratic Party account. "Congrats, Mayor-elect!"
"No Democrat has been elected Mayor of Miami in nearly 30 years. Until tonight," wrote House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY). "Congratulations to Mayor-elect Eileen Higgins on crushing Donald Trump’s candidate! We are coming for the three South Florida Republicans next."
"The Democrat in Miami just defeated the Republican ICE cheerleader for mayor," wrote Democratic strategist Adam Parkhomenko. "Turns out even in Florida, people are tired of cruelty masquerading as leadership. Republicans had held this seat for the last three decades. Let that ... sink in."
"Florida just flashed a warning sign for the GOP," wrote Jennifer Jenkins, a former Brevard County school board member currently running for Senate. "Eileen Higgins just flipped Miami blue, becoming the city’s first Democratic mayor in nearly 30 years. If you weren’t paying attention before, you should now: Florida is officially back in play. The Blue Wave is coming!"
"A huge congratulations to Mayor-elect Eileen Higgins!" wrote former Florida Republican congressman turned Democratic gubernatorial candidate David Jolly. "For the first time in decades, a Democrat has won in Miami. Change is here and there’s a brighter future waiting for Florida! Join us next November to keep the momentum up!"
President Donald Trump attacked The New York Times in a new Truth Social post on Tuesday night, suggesting the paper's reporting on his health may be "seditious" and that reporters for the outlet may have committed treason.
Trump issued the screed after he delivered a speech in Monroe County, Pennsylvania, that was supposed to focus on affordability, but meandered through old talking points about immigration and the wonderful job his cabinet secretaries are doing.
In the post, Trump claimed he is the hardest-working president in history and that his "results are among the best."
"Despite all of this, the time and work involved, The New York Times, and some others, like to pretend that I am 'slowing up,' am maybe not as sharp as I once was, or am in poor physical health, knowing that it is not true, and knowing that I work very hard, probably harder than I have ever worked before," Trump wrote in the post. "I will know when I am 'slowing up,' but it’s not now!"
"After all of the work I have done with Medical Exams, Cognitive Exams, and everything else, I actually believe it’s seditious, perhaps even treasonous, for The New York Times, and others, to consistently do FAKE reports in order to libel and demean 'THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES,'" he added. "They are true Enemies of the People, and we should do something about it. They have inaccurately reported on all of my Election Results and, in fact, were forced to apologize on much of what they wrote."
"The best thing that could happen to this Country would be if The New York Times would cease publication because they are a horrible, biased, and untruthful 'source' of information," he continued.
Trump's health has been called into question recently after the president admitted to taking a cognitive test and getting an MRI. Some psychological experts suggested that Trump may be experiencing early signs of dementia.
Other medical experts have pointed to the bandage on his hand and the swelling of his ankles as evidence of his physical decline.
