Media

A California election recount was abruptly canceled this week after a candidate endorsed by Mike Lindell failed to pay the required fees.

Shasta County District 2 Supervisors candidate Laura Hobbs requested a hand recount after Allen Long won by more than 50% of the vote, just 13 more votes than needed to prevent a run-off.

Conservative podcaster Steve Bannon revealed Monday that he would host Christian prayer services on his social media channels to stop "satanic forces that come through" during an eclipse.

Bannon announced the prayer event on his War Room podcast.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) praised Russia while suggesting Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) was responsible for a "war on Christianity" in Ukraine.

During an appearance on Steve Bannon's War Room podcast on Monday, Greene was asked about Johnson's plans to provide supplemental funding to Ukraine.

Fox News host Howard Kurtz reminded Trump campaign press secretary Karoline Leavitt that her boss could still talk about his hush-money case even though a judge put a limited gag order in place.

While speaking to Leavitt on Sunday, Kurtz noted that former President Donald Trump had said he was willing to go to jail after Judge Juan Merchan prevented him from talking about court staff or the judge's family.

Fox News host Maria Bartiromo highlighted revenue losses suffered by Donald Trump's Truth Social platform.

During a Sunday interview with Truth Social CEO Devin Nunes, Bartiromo reviewed the company's financial condition.

Trump Media & Technology Group may have lost $4 billion in value since the stock plummeted on reports the company makes no money, but that hasn't kept the company's executives from raking in big salaries, bonuses and stock options as investors and analysts question the long-term viability of the parent company of Truth Social.

Stock in the now-public technology company launched on Monday at $79.38 before going into a freefall all week and ending Friday at $40.49.

House Intelligence Committee Chair Mike Turner (R-OH) on Sunday accused fellow members of Congress of repeating Russian propaganda.

During an interview on CNN, host Jake Tapper noted that Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX) said that Russian propaganda had "infected a good chunk of [his] party's base."

A supporter of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was called out for repeating conspiracy theories after he claimed pedophiles were secretly running the country.

During the Sunday edition of C-SPAN's Washington Journal, a caller named David said he had recently switched from the Democratic Party to become an independent voter.

During an appearance on MSNBC's "The Katie Phang Show," MSNBC host Ali Velshi claimed that the wheeling and dealing of the stock issued by Trump Media & Technology Group, which trades under the ticker DJT, is likely drawing more than the normal amount of scrutiny by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Velshi, who started out at MSNBC as a business reporter, claimed he has been closely watching the price plummet and the lawsuits tied to the company play out in the press and there should be cause for concern that not everything looks above board.

After first taking a shot at the stock centered on the lackluster performance of Truth Social, which caused the value to go into freefall, he claimed he didn't, for the moment, see anything Donald Trump has done that would have him in trouble with the SEC, but there should be concerns for investors.

ALSO READ: No, Donald Trump, fraud is not protected by the First Amendment

"We know the FBI is involved because of these two guys who were insider trading," he told host Phang. "We are not sure what the connection is, and we are not sure whether Donald Trump or anybody in the company knew about it."

"That said, the SEC does have rules and nothing Donald Trump does generally sounds like a guy who is equipped to follow those kinds of rules," he continued. "So, I would imagine the SEC is looking at it very closely. I have been studying it closely, there is nothing I have seen that is clearly an SEC violation, but it is awfully messy."

"If you are going to run a public company, there are actual rules and if you violate them, the SEC will come after you," he elaborated. "I don't know what it is; everything that I talked about right now seems to be legal, including [TikTok investor] Jeff Yass involving himself in this company, possibly for the benefit of his TikTok stocks. But I would assure you there are some people at the SEC who are watching it closely."

Watch below or at the link.

One week into trading on Trump Media & Technology Group Corp. stock led the panel on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" to warn long-term investors they need to avoid the company at all costs because there is no evidence it will ever be successful.

Appearing with co-host Joe Scarborough, MSNBC host Stephanie Ruhle, who came to broadcasting after a successful career on Wall Street, agreed with American businessman Barry Diller who trashed the company during an appearance on CNBC on Thursday.

Appearing on "Squawk Box," Diller told the host, "I mean, it’s ridiculous. The company has no revenue.”

ALSO READ: The overlooked detail in Trump’s Bible sales pitch

“It’s a scam, just like everything he’s [Trump] ever been involved in is some sort of con," the founder of Fox Broadcasting Company continued.

First stating she wished the clip would be shown again on MSNBC, Ruhle stated, "When we're talking about the truth, nobody likes to go on TV and drop a truth-bomb like Barry Diller does. I called Truth Social a fakakta company, whatever word you want."

"This company is absolutely not worth where it's at on paper," she added. "What's happened in the last 24 hours is Donald Trump is now pumping it up on his platform — earlier this week it was funny because he wasn't. His entire universe is talking up his game. Now that he has a public company, he could get himself entangled in huge problems with the SEC."

"It's going to be interesting to see how he plays this," she later added, "I would make one other point: it shows how clever this is. He's not on the board of the company. [JPMorgan Chase CEO] Jamie Dimon cannot come out and pump up his company because they'll come for him. But Donald Trump, who owns 60 percent of the company and is suing his cofounders, is not an officer of the company. He may have found a loophole where he gets all of the upside and none of the downside, a true Trump special."

MSNBC regular Donny Deutsch jumped in to add, "Let me give you one simple reality: advertisers will never advertise on there. There's a reason Fox let Tucker Carlson go. No matter how big their numbers are, they can't get advertisers."

"You will not have advertisers on Truth Social," he reiterated. "Maybe you'll have gold bouillon or eagle statues and pillows and whatnot. Be clear if you're investing in this company, there's no chance this will ever be successful from a revenue point of view."

Watch below or at the link.

Harrison Floyd, a former director of Black Voices for Trump, blasted Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis for trying to "control men by fear" by charging him with a conspiracy to overturn the 2020 presidential election.

Floyd made the remarks during the Doug in Exile podcast on Thursday. The host asked Donald Trump's co-defendant how race came into play in the case.