President Donald Trump suffered another court loss related to his immigration crackdown in a blistering rebuke from a federal judge.
A federal judge on Wednesday blocked the president's deployment of National Guard troops to Los Angeles and ordered their return to California Gov. Gavin Newsom's control, reported Reuters.
"The Founders designed our government to be a system of checks and balances," wrote U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer. "Defendants, however, make clear that the only check they want is a blank one."
President Donald Trump's speech on affordability in Pennsylvania is getting mixed at best reviews even from his own supporters, analyst Willie Geist told MS NOW's "Morning Joe" on Wednesday.
"The inflation rate is higher than it was a year ago, and has been rising since President Trump's tariffs took effect in April," said co-anchor Mika Brzezinski. "Meanwhile, beef prices are at an all time high and tariffs are to blame for increased costs on common grocery items like coffee and orange juice. Also continuing problems, Willie, as more and more people appear to be having trouble finding jobs. Definitely having trouble buying homes. And affordability is a big issue."
"Not to assume what his supporters think here, but I really wonder how that speech went over if you're a Trump supporter watching it on TV and the comment about pencils and buying less, I don't know. I don't know. It seems like a little confusing," she added.
"He's saying that the economy is roaring and doing well, but at the same time he's preaching austerity," said Geist. "Buy less for your children, buy less for your family this Christmas, and you don't have to take it from us people. At the rally, Trump supporters interviewed by MS NOW, by NBC News, by The New York Times said prices are too high and they're disappointed by what they heard."
"Remember ... this was supposed to be a rally about affordability," Geist continued. "This was supposed to be to reframe the debate about affordability and acknowledgment that Americans are paying too much for their lives, that they need help from this administration. And he immediately goes on the stage with a banner that says lower prices behind him — which is not true, inflation is where it was when Joe Biden left office — and mocks the idea of affordability. He says it's a Democratic hoax and that no, prices are not actually too high. You're doing well."
"That didn't sit well," he added. "Ifyou listen to those exitinterviews of people at therally, they say, I like DonaldTrump, I like a lot of what hestands for. But he is wrongthat things are going well inthis country in terms of ourpocketbooks."
In a new interview published Tuesday with the wife of White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk raged over “people not born in America” having influence in American elections, delivering his critique with frequent pauses, filler words and throat clearings.
Musk appeared on “The Katie Miller Podcast,” hosted by the wife of President Donald Trump’s top aide, Stephen Miller, where the two discussed immigration trends. While on the topic, Musk suggested that immigrants were becoming increasingly influential in election results, and warned that it could soon turn the United States into a “communist hell.”
“Let’s look at Rep. Illhan Omar (D-MN), who was literally – was voted into power, voted into Congress by… you know… a large group of people from Somalia who are in Minnesota, which is really far from Somalia,” Musk said. “Or [New York City Mayor-elect Zohran] Mamdani, who was voted as – to be mayor by a majority of people who are not, um, born in America. That’s my understanding, at least.”
Omar, who was born in Somalia, has represented Minnesota’s 5th Congressional District since 2019, with the district having a sizable Somalian immigrant population. However, Musk’s suggestion that Somali immigrants were a deciding factor in Omar’s victory are at odds with demographic data, which shows there to be around 100,000 Somali immigrants in the entire state, making up just 1.7% of the state’s population.
Musk’s similar suggestion regarding Mamdani was equally at odds with demographic data. Immigrants currently make up around 38% of New York City’s population, but historical data shows that the percentage of New York City residents born abroad was even higher in the late 19th century, with more than 42% of the city’s population in 1890 being foreign born.
Musk himself is foreign born, hailing from South Africa. His parents, Errol and Maye Musk, raised Elon Musk in South Africa during apartheid, and were enormously wealthy from their holdings in property and emerald mining endeavors. On the family’s wealth during Elon Musk’s youth, Errol Musk said they had “so much money we couldn’t even close our safe.”
Errol Musk has fiercely defended South Africa’s apartheid government that classified the native Black population as second-class citizens, and would end up marrying his adult step daughter whom he’d known since she was 4 following his divorce from Maye Musk, according to reports.
“So, um, and then California, same, big time, situation,” Musk continued. “So, uh, I don’t – we just don’t want to turn into a, um… communist hell, basically.”
WATCH: Elon Musk is upset that Somalian Americans in Minnesota get to vote.
The "iron grip" Donald Trump had on the Republican party is starting to slip when he needs their backing most, a political commentator has claimed.
Niall Stanage, writing in The Hill, suggested the president needs to keep a firmer grip on his power base after fielding a series of economic and healthcare woes during his second term. Though Trump has avoided the "rapid seeping away of power" usually found at the start of a second term, it's borrowed time for the president, according to Stanage.
He wrote, "The 47th president has so far avoided the rapid seeping away of power that often occurs even in the early days of a second term. He retains the avid support of a solid base, even as he draws just as much horror as ever from liberals."
"But above all, the sense is solidifying that not even Trump — a one-of-a-kind figure to his fans and detractors alike — is immune to the laws of political gravity after all." Part of the problem for Trump now is in keeping his administration together despite massive blows dealt by defecting Republicans and party in-fighting.
Stanage pointed out the defection of several Republican party members to side with Democrats on releasing the Jeffrey Epstein files is a sign Trump is struggling to keep the party in line.
He wrote, "Trump, who usually has an iron grip on his party, was unable to prevent a handful of Republicans from joining Democrats to force the release of the files. Trump ended up declaring support for a measure he and his aides had tried hard to derail."
While Trump could see a complete slip of power in the midterms, Democratic candidates are preparing for a "crystal clear" push to reclaim the House and Congress at next year's elections.
Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee president Heather Williams said, "This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to fundamentally transform legislative power. We are looking at the makings of an environment that looks more like 2010 in reverse."
"When you think about the long term trajectory of Democrats and our success as a party, we need to recognize these moments of power, and these states where Republicans have been competing, and we need to show up for voters."
A Texas candidate for state railroad commissioner sparked fury online after fundraising for her campaign as a Democrat — then filing to run as a Republican.
Katherine Culbert, a process safety engineer who has worked on oil and gas projects, would be co-running the agency that regulates energy across the Lone Star State, which most importantly involves the fossil fuels industry.
Culbert previously ran for the Railroad Commission as a Democrat in 2024, losing to Republican Christi Craddick. As of just days ago, she fundraised for her new 2026 campaign through ActBlue, a fundraising platform for Democratic candidates. And according to Michelle Davis of the Lone Star Left Substack, Culbert reached out to Davis to promote her campaign through her list of Democratic campaigns.
At the last minute, however, Culbert proclaimed on X that she has filed to run for the other team.
"I have officially filed to run for Texas Railroad Commissioner in the 2026 election cycle," wrote Culbert. "Filing as a Republican, I am directing my campaign toward all Texans and stressing that effective statewide leadership must rise above partisan expectations."
This immediately drew fury, and accusations that she had scammed and defrauded both donors and candidate support networks.
"Let’s be clear. Switching from Democrat to Republican is not a decision you make on a whim," wrote Davis. "You don’t wake up one morning, pour your coffee, and say, 'You know what? Forget everything I’ve ever said publicly, every donor I’ve taken money from, every volunteer who’s knocked doors for me. I think I’ll join the party of election deniers and book banners today' ... This was a plan. This was a rollout. This was a rebrand that began before she emailed me, and she used my work, my time, and my audience as a stepping stone on her way out the door."
"How does it feel defrauding Democratic donors one week before you file as a Republican?" wrote Jack Chrismon, a financial director with the College Democrats of Texas. "How many people graciously donated money to you to pay your filing fees only for you to file as a Republican one week later? @actblue should disable your account and blacklist you."
"I don’t say this lightly but complete scumbag behavior to solicit donations via ActBlue (posing as a Democrat by doing so) to only then file for office as a Republican," wrote attorney Blake Allen. "If you donated to her, you should demand a refund. Disqualifying for office to scam people like this."
With Culbert switching parties on her way to filing, the main Democratic candidate in the race for Railroad Commissioner is former oilfield engineer and state Rep. Jon Rosenthal.
Vice President JD Vance jokingly called for instituting a “narrow exception to the First Amendment” Tuesday to prohibit Americans from uttering the numbers “six” and “seven,” referencing the viral meme that has exploded in popularity among children and teens, including Vance’s own five-year-old child.
“Yesterday at church the Bible readings started on page 66-67 of the missal, and my 5-year-old went absolutely nuts repeating ‘six seven’ like 10 times,” Vance wrote in a social media post on X. “And now I think we need to make this narrow exception to the first amendment and ban these numbers forever.”
The meme, which has baffled and confused adults for months, traces its roots to the 2025 song “Doot Doot (6 7) by rapper “Skrilla,” which had been used on highlight videos of the professional basketball player LeMelo Ball, whose height is 6’7. Clips of basketball players and young sports fans uttering the phrase “six, seven” while doing exaggerated hand gestures also accelerated the meme’s spread.
The meme’s use in schools has been so prominent among young children and teens that some have begun banning its use, a policy that Vance now appears to agree with, at least in jest.
“Where did this even come from?” Vance continued. “I don't understand it. When we were kids all of our viral trends at least had an origin story.”
Yesterday at church the Bible readings started on page 66-67 of the missal, and my 5-year-old went absolutely nuts repeating "six seven" like 10 times. And now I think we need to make this narrow exception to the first amendment and ban these numbers forever. — JD Vance (@JDVance) December 10, 2025
The Democrats could be on the path to success for the midterms next year, with a "crystal clear" plan shared by a political commentator.
Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee president Heather Williams has outlined exactly what candidates need to do between now and November 2026 for a post-election environment that could see the Democrats sweep the House and Congress. The chance to flip both in favor of the Democrats was described by Williams as a "once-in-a-generation opportunity" when she spoke with Mother Jones.
Williams said, "This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to fundamentally transform legislative power. We are looking at the makings of an environment that looks more like 2010 in reverse." It takes just 19 seats on the map for new majorities and trifectas, according to Williams.
It comes as analysis suggests Democrats could take advantage of a loosening grip on power in usually solid red states like Missouri and South Carolina. Capitalising on that, Williams says, is the "crystal clear" aim of candidates across the country in 2026.
She said, "Democrats in the states lost a lot of ground in 2010 and in the couple of elections after that, and in that rebuild process, the map changed a lot. What we are saying in this update to the target map—and frankly, our broader strategy—is that we must show up in these red states."
"When you think about the long term trajectory of Democrats and our success as a party, we need to recognize these moments of power, and these states where Republicans have been competing, and we need to show up for voters."
"Flipping just 19 seats on this map could establish four new Democratic trifectas and six new Democratic majorities. The path there is not complicated—it’s really crystal clear."
Political analysts and GOP members had previously sounded the alarm on what could be a Republican blowout in the midterms next year. Pollsters Douglas E. Schoen and Carly Cooperman, writing in The Hill, explained how the Tennessee election results, despite being positive for Republicans, could spell disaster for the GOP next year.
The pair wrote, "That a candidate such as Behn came within single digits in this dark red district should set off alarm bells for the GOP. It is not unreasonable to think a centrist Democrat could have won."
"The overarching takeaways are that Trump’s declining approval ratings, along with policy and messaging failures are weighing on Republicans, and Democrats stand a good chance to retake the House by tying GOP candidates to the president."
President Donald Trump's inability to admit failure on a key issue is likely to doom Republicans to a defeat in next year's election, warned a Democratic strategist.
The president addressed the affordability issue Tuesday night in Pennsylvania on his first stop of a planned nationwide tour to reassure Americans he shares their concerns about higher prices, but instead he mocked the topic as a "Democratic hoax," and CNN's John Berman made an offbeat comparison.
"By the way, by and large, prices are not coming down, inflation also not coming down," Berman said. "But you guys are old enough – no you're not, you guys are young. But do you remember 'Happy Days'? Do you remember howmuch trouble the Fonz had sayinghe was sorry? In case you don'tremember, I do have a short clipof it. Listen."
" CNN News Central" producers rolled a clip of Henry Winkler, playing the Fonzie character, struggling to annunciate the word "sorry," repeatedly stuttering and getting hung up on the first syllable, and Third Way co-founder Matt Bennett laughed and agreed with the comparison.
"There was another greatmoment in 'Happy Days' where the Fonz, wearing a leather jacket,jumped over a shark, as we all know," Bennett said. "I think that is what ishappening with Trump and theeconomy. He is completely out tolunch. Not only are priceskilling people now, and the New York Times [columnist] Tom Edsel has a back-of-the-envelope calculation.It's going to cost the averagefamily $2,200, just what we'veseen so far. That's before thepremium spikes hit on Jan. 1 for the Affordable Care Act,which could cost a couple intheir 60s $32,000 a year."
"Imean, this guy is completelynuts if he thinks thataffordability isn't actuallyhurting Americans," Bennett added, "and if hekeeps mocking it, Democrats aregoing to keep winning by giantmargins."
Claire McCaskill, the former Democratic senator from Missouri, warned Wednesday that the Trump administration’s controversial boat strike last month may become the catalyst that brings it down.
In September, the Trump administration carried out a follow-up strike on a boat suspected of carrying narcotics in the Caribbean in order to kill its survivors, who were observed clinging to the wreckage, an act that would likely constitute a war crime, according to a whistleblower.
Critics have demanded that video of the strike be released, though Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has remained hesitant to do so, in spite of President Donald Trump having initially said he had “no problem” with releasing the footage.
While appearing on MS NOW Wednesday, McCaskill characterized the Trump administration’s hesitancy to release the video as an admission that its content was damning, and argued that the controversy would continue to “consume” the administration until its resolution.
“The fact they're hiding it tells you all you need to know, that they think showing it is more damaging to them than the story staying alive, and it is going to consume them,” McCaskill said.
“And I've got to tell you, I want to indict Hegseth, I want to indict Trump for what they're doing here, but really, the military leaders, the ones he had in the first term would not have done this. The military deserves better than this, they're being put in a terrible position, and the leaders of the military know it.”
As to why he remains hesitant to release the video, Hegseth said that he held concerns about exposing military sources and methods. Given the growing number of Republican lawmakers who’ve called for transparency around the strike, including Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), who has characterized the strikes as illegal “extrajudicial killings,” McCaskill argued that Hegseth’s purported reason for not releasing the video didn’t make sense.
“They know they're keeping this story alive by hiding the evidence, the legal opinion, the video of the second strike, and it is total BS that this has something to do with protecting sources and methods,” she said. “They showed the video of blowing up the boats!”
And on the growing dissent among Republicans, McCaskill said it was evident of the gravity of the situation for the Trump administration.
“There is more activity than I've seen ever before among Republicans on the Armed Services Committee,” she said. “They are not pounding the podium, they're not speaking out like they should, but this investigation is moving, it's not stalling.”
A Gen Z MAGA influencer and Fox News contributor who has amassed more than nine million followers across social media is bucking President Donald Trump.
Conservative podcaster and influencer Brett Cooper, who signed as a Fox News analyst this year and was hired by The Daily Wire, is not interested in following every word out of Trump's mouth, according to an interview.
NPR published a piece called, "Brett Cooper says she makes up her own mind — about Trump and everything else," in which the outlet quoted Cooper on numerous hot-button issues.
"About one-third of Americans get their news from YouTube, and some of them are watching Brett Cooper," according to the report. "The 24-year-old has drawn a following as host of The Brett Cooper Show, where she offers mostly conservative reactions to news events. In recent weeks she has sometimes praised President Trump and also, notably, criticized him. She also traded online messages with Texas Sen. Ted Cruz."
Describing Cooper as "part of a constellation of personalities who interpret the news for their followers," the outlet quoted her as being critical of the president.
"Cooper spoke out after Trump, in an interview with Fox News' Laura Ingraham, said the United States needs high-skilled immigrants because Americans lack the necessary talents. It was an unusual stance for the president, and Cooper disagreed," the report stated before quoting her.
"I think my disappointment and concern was shared by my audience and people who are like me," she said. "This is like the worst thing for a president to say."
The report further adds, "She also criticized Trump for dismissing consumers' concerns about high prices and affordability as a Democratic hoax."
Donald Trump needed to make "cosmetic changes" to the economy rather than grand and sweeping new policies, a Nobel Prize winner has claimed.
Paul Krugman suggested that only a few minor changes were needed to level out the economy left to Trump by Joe Biden's administration. Instead, Krugman suggested Trump had tried and failed to "gaslight" the American people with a slate of large changes and tariff policies which have seen the president's approval rating slump.
Krugman explained in his Substack, "Trump would be in much better political shape right now if he had basically continued Biden’s policies, with only a few cosmetic changes. When he took office inflation was on a declining trajectory. Consumer sentiment was relatively favorable at the start of 2025."
"Americans were still angry about high prices, but the inflation surge of 2021-3 had happened on Biden’s watch and was receding into the past. My guess is that many voters would have accepted Trump’s claims that high prices were Democrats’ fault and given him the benefit of the doubt about the economy’s future if he had simply done nothing drastic and left policies mostly as they were."
Instead, Krugman says the president tried to "gaslight the public" with recent speeches rejecting the idea there was an affordability crisis across the country. The Nobel Prize winner says that in order for Trump to criticise economic policies from the Democrats, he would have to admit the economy now is suffering, something the president has refused to do.
Krugman wrote, "A number of news analyses suggested that he would use the occasion to blame Democrats for the economy’s troubles. That was never going to happen."
"Trump did, of course, take many swipes at Joe Biden, as well as attacking immigrants, women and windmills. But to blame Democrats for the economy’s problems he would have to admit that the Trump economy has problems. And the speech was important because it revealed that he won’t make any such admission, and will continue to gaslight the public."
The so-called "affordability tour" was deemed to have gotten off to a "disastrous start" by Krugman, who added, "And it won’t get better, because while Trump insists that the problem is you, it’s actually him. And he isn’t going to change."
CNN's Audie Cornish rejected a Republican congressman's defense of President Donald Trump's threats against Democratic lawmakers.
The president last month accused six elected Democrats of "seditious behavior," which he said was "punishable by death," for recording a video urging military and intelligence service members not to follow illegal orders – and that reminder took on enhanced meaning over revelations about an attack on survivors of a boat strike near Venezuela.
"[Uniform Code of Military Justice] says that you're neverobligated to follow an unlawfulorder," said Rep. Ryan Zinke (R-MT). "But this is what'shappening, you've heard itevery day over 3,000 times. Thispresident is unlawful, thispresident's actions areunconstitutional. His actionsto deploy the [National] Guard isunlawful. His action to supportICE is unlawful."
Cornish pointed out that those actions are still being challenged in court.
"Yeah, but it's not unlawful," Zinke argued.
"Yet," Cornish said, smiling.
"Well, it's not unlawful," Zinke continued, "and to to suggest and topromote that a service memberviolate the UCMJ – by the way,the penalty for sedition isdeath, I think the president wasright. You know, General Washington, if those members ofthe House and the Senate were inhis Army, if they're in the Army, they probably would havebeen hung. General Washingtonhung men for deserting theirpost."
Cornish was baffled by the congressman's historical analogy.
"I mean, a lot has changedsince then, includinginternational law around war andlaws of war," Cornish said, and then checked her watch. "You're taking itback to the 1800s?"
"President Washington wouldhave a shorter rope, andcertainly today the shorterrope," Zinke added. "So members of Congress, Article One, Article Two, theysay what they like, but it isseditious to to suggest thattroops disobey alawful order and suggest thispresident – remember the contextis this president is unlawful, therefore you don't have to youdon't have to follow hisorders. That's a very dangerousroad. UCMJ, the bar is muchhigher on what's lawful andwhat's not lawful."
Fox News’ Brian Kilmeade is sounding the alarm Wednesday morning after Republicans faced yet another election defeat Tuesday after a Democrat won the mayoral race in Miami, Florida, a seat that has been held by Republicans for nearly three decades.
Democratic candidate Eileen Higgins won Tuesday’s election handily, defeating her GOP opponent, Emilio Gonzalez, who was officially endorsed by President Donald Trump, with nearly 60% of the vote. And on Tuesday, “Fox and Friends” host Brian Kilmeade issued a grave warning to the Trump administration, begging the president to “examine” his “aggressive” deportation policy that he argued may have put off Hispanic voters.
“If the numbers show the Hispanic vote went heavily for the Democrat, that is a warning sign for next year,” Kilmeade said.
“They love him at the border – they don't necessarily love the aggressive tactics going to Home Depot or landscape trucks dragging people off. The perception is that they're being grabbed because they're Hispanics. They need to examine that position when it comes to illegal immigration. Yes, it got him elected, but the way you implement it is not grading over 50%.”
Higgins’ victory marks just the latest in a series of election losses for the GOP, which includes last week’s congressional race in Tennessee, which, while the GOP Trump-backed candidate came out on top, was far closer than what experts expected from a district that supported Trump by double digits in 2024.
Kilmeade also expressed fear that Miami’s election upset may bode poorly for Trump’s redistricting effort in Texas, which was designed to give Republicans five additional House seats, but hinges on Trump maintaining his standing among Hispanic voters.
“Now I heard in many ways you look at Miami as an anomaly – there's a lot of conservative Hispanics in the area – but, if the administration does not win the Hispanic vote, the Texas redistricting will not work because it's all based on the president continuing to get 47% of the Hispanic vote!” Kilmeade warned.
“[Trump] got the job really because he promised to crack down at the border, which he did. When it comes to the 12 million illegals that are here, that's going to be the key: how you round them up.”
Brian @kilmeade sounds the alarm after Dems' victory in Miami, says Trump needs to "examine" his "aggressive" deportation tactics because it's hurting him at the ballot box.
Also warns that Trump's TX redistricting effort could backfire if he loses Hispanic voters. pic.twitter.com/iWtn9jnRTC — Alexander Willis (@ReporterWillis) December 10, 2025
