Trump's 'twisted and demented' salute to Jan. 6 rioters wrecked by Morning Joe

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Trump's 'twisted and demented' salute to Jan. 6 rioters wrecked by Morning Joe

MSNBC's Joe Scarborough condemned Donald Trump for celebrating jailed Jan. 6 rioters as patriots and hostages.

At a campaign rally in Dayton, Ohio, the former president saluted the J6 Prison Choir's alternate rendition of the national anthem, calling them "unbelievable patriots," and pledged to help those "hostages" on his first day in office, and both the "Morning Joe" host and co-host Mika Brzezinski called his comments "twisted."

"Donald Trump, again, the Republican frontrunner who basically clinched the nomination, addressing one of the first things he'll do in office, is free the – and I say this in quotes – 'hostages,'" Brzezinski said. "It's beyond twisted for him to use that word. Not surprised but as disturbed as we'll ever be."

Scarborough said the ex-president's remarks were insulting to Americans who have loved ones held as hostages by Hamas after the Oct. 7 attacks in Israel.

READ MORE: MAGA’s Christian nationalism excludes a vast majority of Christianity

"What if you were an American family with hostages still being held in tunnels underneath Gaza, people who actually are hostages, who were doing nothing but being in their home or at a musical festival, minding their own business, when Hamas terrorists came and seized them and beat them, raped them, abused them, took them underground," Scarborough said. "Donald Trump comparing those people in name to others that drove from across the country, came to the Capitol, used bear spray on police officers, beat the hell out of cops, beat the hell out of other people who got in their way, wanted to hang Mike Pence, were looking for Nancy Pelosi, destroyed a lot of offices, defecated in the United States Capitol. Again, jammed cops' heads in doors and tried to hurt as many people as they could."

"You know, Donald Trump, I remember the day after, Donald Trump and members of his family getting in trouble for calling these rioters patriots," Scarborough continued. "They backed off, some of them backed off. Donald Trump wading straight in, saying these people were patriots and that, you know, others saying this wasn't a bloodbath. I would suggest that you talk to the wives, sons and daughters of those police officers who lost their lives as a result of Jan. 6, and they will tell you that their loved ones lost their lives as a result of Jan. 6. Donald Trump continues to praise these people. He says, he says, everybody knows they're patriots. No, everybody doesn't, in fact. You have to be twisted and demented in your head if you can look at can rioting, people beating the hell out of cops, with police officers with American flags, trying to kill them, and call them hostages after they went through the court system. That is a sickness and a twistedness, and the continued -- you have people continuing to try to apologize for this behavior, starting with Donald Trump, trying to minimize what happened on Jan. 6."

"For those who say, why do you talk about Donald Trump?" he added. "We talk about Donald Trump because, yes, democracy is on the line. When Donald Trump says this is normal political behavior, the RNC said it was normal political behavior, Donald Trump says it, he says those people abusing police officers are patriots. Those that got sent to jail for trying to overrun the U.S. Capitol and for beating the hell out of cops are hostages, nothing – there is nothing normal about this. For those weak-kneed wimps that say we should never mention Donald Trump's name and just turn our faces from this and talk about something else, I would suggest there are Germans who tried that with Hitler – didn't turn out well."

Watch the video below or at this link.


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War scholar flags chilling parallels between Trump's war in Iran and past conflict

A contrast between President Donald Trump's war with Iran and a previous conflict has been flagged by a war scholar.

Trump's military conflict with Iran has emerged as one of the most consequential failures of his second term. The war, launched without congressional authorization, has devastated regional stability and undermined American credibility with traditional allies.

Domestically, the conflict has fractured the MAGA movement, with prominent figures like Tucker Carlson and Marjorie Taylor Greene publicly opposing the war as a betrayal of "America First" principles.

Historian Hai Nguyen believes there are parallels between how Iran has reacted to US strikes and how Vietnam responded to a boots-on-the-ground deployment in the 1960s.

Salon columnist Andrew O'Hehir wrote, "From the beginning of this conflict, the Iranians identified the fundamental weakness of U.S. strategy, which was based on a litany of false assumptions, starting with the premise that total victory could be achieved with air power (something that has never happened in the history of warfare) and that killing Iran’s senior leaders would cause the regime to surrender or collapse.

" Trump and Pete Hegseth and Marco Rubio and whoever else somehow persuaded themselves — or allowed Netanyahu to persuade them — to ignore the obvious Heffalump trap that was right in front of them, that being yet another protracted, expensive and massively unpopular foreign war likely to crater or destroy a presidency.

"Hai Nguyen, a Vietnam War scholar at the Harvard Kennedy School, told [Foreign Policy columnist Michael] Hirsh that he saw history literally repeating itself. Like the Viet Cong of 50-odd years ago, the Iranians have perceived the American superpower’s Achilles heel: 'They understand that the U.S. could drop thousands of tons of bombs, but it does not possess the patience to withstand a prolonged war.'

"In refusing to negotiate despite the risk of further devastation and the immense hardship inflicted on its own people, the Iranian regime is observing a time-honored principle attributed to Napoleon: Never interrupt your opponent when he’s making a mistake."

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Trump cites WHCD shooting in demand that suit against WH ballroom be ‘dropped immediately'

In the wake of the White House Correspondents’ Dinner (WHCD) shooting Saturday night, President Donald Trump doubled down on his calls to fast-track his White House ballroom project Sunday morning, demanding that the lawsuit currently holding the project up be “dropped immediately.”

“What happened last night is exactly the reason that our great Military, Secret Service, Law Enforcement and, for different reasons, every President for the last 150 years, have been DEMANDING that a large, safe, and secure Ballroom be built ON THE GROUNDS OF THE WHITE HOUSE,” Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social.

“The ridiculous Ballroom lawsuit, brought by a woman walking her dog, who has absolutely No Standing to bring such a suit, must be dropped, immediately. Nothing should be allowed to interfere with its construction, which is on budget and substantially ahead of schedule!!!”

Within hours of the shooting, Trump said the shooting proved why his ballroom project was needed, sparking scorn from critics over the president’s use of the potentially deadly incident to “hype his ballroom.” Trump appeared unfazed by the scrutiny, however, alleging Sunday morning that Saturday’s shooting incident “would have never happened” had his ballroom been operational.

“This event would never have happened with the Militarily Top Secret Ballroom currently under construction at the White House,” Trump wrote.

“It cannot be built fast enough! While beautiful, it has every highest level security feature there is plus, there are no rooms sitting on top for unsecured people to pour in, and is inside the gates of the most secure building in the World, The White House.”

Trump using old playbook tactic to scare voters ahead of midterms: analysis

President Donald Trump is using an old tactic to scare the electorate ahead of the midterm elections, a political analyst has claimed.

Heather Digby Parton, a columnist for Salon, suggested that Trump and the Department of Justice are kindling a scare tactic with a "lesser-known" administration policy. Mass deportations have given the right a "newfound freedom to talk of expelling anyone of whom they disapprove," according Parton.

His administration has prioritized mass deportations, workplace raids, and expanded detention operations targeting undocumented immigrants across the nation.

The Trump administration has deported thousands of people to about a dozen countries, often to places where they have no ties. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations have intensified significantly, with agents conducting sweeps in schools, workplaces, and residential areas.

Federal data shows immigration authorities placed 248 relatives of veterans into deportation proceedings after Trump rescinded preferential treatment guidance.

Parton wrote, "Texas GOP Rep. Chip Roy, who is running for attorney general in the Lone Star State, has submitted a particularly grotesque piece of legislation that he dubbed the 'MAMDANI Act,' which stands for Measures Against Marxism’s Dangerous Adherents and Noxious Islamists.

"As the bill’s title suggests, it would ban immigration by many Muslims and socialists. Since communists are already covered under previous laws, 'socialists' means people like Mamdani and Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., who identify as Democratic Socialists.

"Belonging to the Democratic Socialists of America is mentioned specifically as a reason to deny a visa or green card application. In fact, you don’t have to claim any affiliation with socialism at all; all you have to do is 'advocate the restructuring of economic and social relations to reduce class distinctions.'

"That would include pretty much all the entire Democratic Party and half of all Independents. And guess what? The bill would strip any naturalized citizen who meets that criteria of his or her citizenship.

"Since it’s aimed at both Muslims and Marxists, it’s only logical to assume that the name 'Ilhan Omar' can be read between the lines. (Mamdani also meets that criteria, but then again, he is already named outright in the bill’s title.) This is straight-up McCarthyism, taken right out of the Red Scare playbook. Everything old is new again."

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