Former President Donald Trump early on Monday morning took a shot at Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, whom polls have shown is his toughest rival for the Republican presidential nomination.
Writing on his Truth Social platform, Trump said DeSantis owed his entire political career to his endorsement in the 2018 governor's race, and accused him of being a plant for the Republican establishment.
"Ron DeSanctimonious, who I made Governor in BOTH the Primary & the General, is also a Globalist, & so are his donors," Trump charged. "Jeb 'Low Energy' Bush was next to him last week. Check PAST!"
In contrasting himself to DeSantis, Trump declared that he was "America First all the way," which he called "the ONLY way we will MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN."
READ MORE: Bill Barr's 'hollow and self-serving' image rehabilitation tour shredded in scathing NYT editorial
Although DeSantis has yet to formally announce a bid for the White House, Trump has nonetheless started attacking him frequently, as he trotted out the "DeSanctimonious" nickname for him just days before DeSantis was set to face voters in the Florida governor's race.
Trump has also made veiled threats about blowing up the entire GOP should he be denied the nomination, as last year he promoted an article encouraging him to run as a third-party candidate if Republicans pick someone else in 2024.
Politico magazine reported on Monday that folks are overthinking things when they say indictments will help Donald Trump more than hurt him. While Trump will likely raise a lot of money off of playing the victim of a conspiracy, he's still being indicted personally, and he'll be the first president in history to have been indicted and booked.
"For all his unusual strengths, Trump is defined these days more by his weaknesses — personal and political deficiencies that have grown with time and now figure to undermine any attempt to exploit the criminal case against him," the column argued. "His base of support is too small, his political imagination too depleted and his instinct for self-absorption too overwhelming for him to marshal a broad, lasting backlash. His determination to look inward and backward has been a problem for his campaign, even without the indictment. It will be a bigger one if and when he’s indicted."
The weaknesses are already on display. While Trump has begged his supporters to "protest," and some are coordinating on such an effort online, even his allies in Congress are asking people to stand down.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) has claimed to be a close ally of Trump's, but on Sunday she said that the majority of Americans oppose President Joe Biden.
IN OTHER NEWS: Florida cops stay composed as man throws a racist tantrum after being confronted over antisemitic flyers
"These idiots are sealing their own fate in 2024 because the silent majority has two feelings right now about the current regime. Fear and anger," Greene tweeted. "Fear and anger. That is the most powerful combination when election time comes. And the Democrats are driving that force with their own corrupt actions."
Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) also called on people not to protest.
"I don't think people should protest this, no," said McCarthy, according to NBC News. "And I think President Trump, if you talk to him, he doesn't believe that, either."
Last week, polls revealed that an increasing number of Fox News viewers moved from believing the lie about the 2020 election to realizing it was never true. So, while Trump's loyal majority was out in full force to support him in that election, the numbers appear to be slowly falling.
The cast of hit comedy series "Ted Lasso" was meeting President Joe Biden on Monday to promote mental health awareness, but the actors' message was briefly eclipsed by a disgruntled journalist's live-television outburst in the White House briefing room.
Jason Sudeikis, who stars as Ted Lasso, a baffled American football coach at a dysfunctional English soccer club, led fellow actors onto the daily briefing room podium alongside Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre.
"No matter who you are, no matter where you live, no matter who you voted for, we all probably -- I assume we all know someone... that's struggled, that's felt isolated, that's felt anxious, that's felt alone," Sudeikis told reporters.
That caring message -- building off the mental health challenges that the Lasso character faces in the series -- was, however, derailed briefly when a journalist began heckling.
The reporter for online outlet Today News Africa broke the storied briefing room's unwritten rules by loudly repeating that he was not picked by Jean-Pierre to ask questions as often as he wanted, sparking uproar from other journalists as he refused to stop shouting.
A grim-faced Jean-Pierre, still standing next to the "Ted Lasso" actors, eventually threatened to call off the briefing and the heckler fell quiet.
Noting that verbal jousting was a norm for the briefing room, and had been for decades, Jean-Pierre said: "What I will not appreciate is disrespecting your colleagues and disrespecting guests who are here to talk -- were here to talk -- about an incredibly important issue, which is mental health."
The Apple TV+ series, the third season of which premiered March 15, delves into various characters' mental health, with storylines tackling issues with bullying, anger, relationships and self-esteem, as well as panic attacks.
"'Ted Lasso' has inspired the world through its universal themes around optimism, kindness and determination, and the Lasso philosophy to 'believe,'" Apple TV+ said in a statement, as reported by entertainment news outlet Deadline.
Biden on Sunday tweeted a photo of the Oval Office with a sign reading "BELIEVE" taped above the door -- a reference to Lasso's mantra.
The Biden administration said it has expanded mental health resources for young people and provided nearly $500 million to help states transition to the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.
Anyone experiencing a mental health or suicide crisis can access confidential counseling by calling or texting 988 in the United States to reach the hotline.
"Ted Lasso" won Emmys in 2022 and 2021 for best comedy, best lead actor in a comedy for Sudeikis and best supporting actor in a comedy for Brett Goldstein, among other wins.
After winning in 2021, Sudeikis said the show was about family, mentors and teachers, and teammates.
"And I wouldn't be here without those three things in my life," he said.
A video showing a man spouting racial slurs at a West Palm Beach police officer is going viral, with many commenters commending the officer for keeping his composure throughout the ordeal, WSVN reported.
Police were reportedly responding to reports of a group of men passing out antisemitic flyers and handed them a littering citation.
In video of the incident, one of the men, identified as white supremacist Jon Minadeo, can be heard repeatedly calling one of the officers the N-word.
“This n***** is getting in my face. See this n*****? He’s intimidated... f*cking aggressive n*****” said Minadeo.
At one point in the video, one of the officers, identified as D. Thomas, can be seen absorbing the abuse with a slight smirk on his face.
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