President Donald Trump howled at the Wall Street Journal's conservative editorial board on Thursday after they published an editorial calling his declared victory in the war on Iran "premature."
On Wednesday, the editorial board warned Trump that it was "too early" to declare victory in the conflict, considering that the Strait of Hormuz remains closed and Iran continues to attack U.S. allies in the region. Trump responded in a fiery Truth Social post, saying the editors will "eat their words."
"The Wall Street Journal, one of the worst and most inaccurate 'Editorial Boards' in the World, stated that I 'declared premature victory in Iran.' Actually, it is a Victory, and there’s nothing 'premature' about it!" Trump wrote. "Because of me, IRAN WILL NEVER HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON and, very quickly, you’ll see Oil start flowing, with or without the help of Iran and, to me, it makes no difference, either way."
"The Wall Street Journal will, as usual, live to eat their words," he added. "They are always quick to criticize, but never to admit when they’re wrong, which is most of the time!"
President Donald Trump raged on Thursday at reports that Iran is charging tolls to ships traveling through the Strait of Hormuz.
Trump's comments came at a time when Iran and the U.S. have agreed to a two-week ceasefire as they discuss ending the war. Multiple outlets have reported that one of the 10 points in Iran's proposed deal is the ability to charge up to $2 million per ship in tolls to fund its rebuilding efforts.
"There are reports that Iran is charging fees to tankers going through the Hormuz Strait — They better not be and, if they are, they better stop now!" Trump wrote.
Podcaster Joe Rogan sounded off against President Donald Trump's war in Iran on Thursday during a new episode of his popular show, "The Joe Rogan Experience."
Rogan and his guest, comedian Duncan Trussell, sharply criticized the war in Iran during the episode. At one point, Trussell said he felt "stupid" for believing Trump when he claimed that he would not start any new wars during the 2024 campaign. He described the war as the "same old bulls---" that MAGA voters have grown tired of, and supported Trump because he seemed to represent the opposite.
"Not only is it the same old bulls---, but it's one of the ones that makes the lease amount of sense in terms of like when they did it and how they did it," Rogan said. "They blew up the leader during Ramadan. Did you really have to do it now? Were you really convinced this time that they are two weeks away from making a nuclear weapon? Are we f------ sure?"
"It's not like we haven't heard that before, right?" Rogan continued, referring to the Trump administration's previous strikes against Iran's nuclear facilities in 2025. Trump declared Iran's nuclear capabilities "completely obliterated" following those strikes.
A New York Times reporter suggested that first lady Melania Trump's denial of her connection to Jeffrey Epstein on Thursday revealed more questions than answers.
Lulu Garcia-Navarro, an on-air CNN contributor, described how Trump's motive behind the statement could clear up some of the comments she made. And although it was unclear what drove the decision to speak out publicly for the first time, Garcia-Navarro considered several potential scenarios.
"Listen, what is everyone asking here? Why now? Why now?" Garcia-Navarro asked.
"It doesn't make sense politically for the reasons that everyone has outlined," she added. "It doesn't even make sense in her own timeline, other than you were suggesting because of her book, or someone else was suggesting because of her book, she did mention her book in that statement, which was, I have to say, a little strange. But why now? And so I don't think we know the answer to that question, but the answer to that question will tell us what, what exactly she is trying to address here, because everyone is sort of saying, what pictures is she talking about? What stories is she talking about? She doesn't actually address precisely what it is that she is trying to tamp down and reject. We don't know. And so once we understand that, I think we'll have a better sense of what exactly she was trying to get ahead of."
President Donald Trump raged against his former allies, whom he called "losers," in a meandering Truth Social rant on Thursday.
"I know why Tucker Carlson, Megyn Kelly, Candace Owens, and Alex Jones have all been fighting me for years, especially by the fact that they think it is wonderful for Iran, the Number One State Sponsor of Terror, to have a Nuclear Weapon — Because they have one thing in common, Low IQs," Trump wrote. "They’re stupid people, they know it, their families know it, and everyone else knows it, too! Look at their past, look at their record. They don’t have what it takes, and they never did!"
Trump's comments came at a time when his administration is facing significant criticism for its handling of the war in Iran. Carlson, Kelly, Owens, and Jones have all criticized the president over the war, as well as the release of the Jeffrey Epstein files.
"These so-called 'pundits' are LOSERS, and they always will be! Now Fake News CNN, The Failing New York Times, and all of the other Radical Left 'News' Organizations, are 'hailing' them, and giving them 'positive' press for the first time in their lives. They’re not 'MAGA,' they’re losers, just trying to latch on to MAGA," Trump continued.
"As President, I could get them on my side anytime I want to, but when they call, I don’t return their calls because I’m too busy on World and Country Affairs and, after a few times, they go 'nasty,' just like Marjorie 'Traitor' Brown, but I no longer care about that stuff, I only care about doing right for our Country," he added.
"MAGA is about WINNING and STRENGTH in not allowing Iran to have Nuclear Weapons," he added. "MAGA is about MAKING AMERICA GREAT AGAIN, and these people have no idea how to do that, BUT I DO, because THE UNITED STATES IS NOW THE “HOTTEST” COUNTRY ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD!"
An official in President Donald Trump's Department of Defense could be in legal jeopardy after he disclosed the murky sale of stock that he held in Elon Musk's artificial intelligence firm, according to a new report.
The Guardian reported on Thursday that Emil Michael, the undersecretary for research and engineering at the Pentagon, disclosed selling a position in Musk's xAI company, valued between $500,000 and $1 million, according to an ethics disclosure the outlet reviewed. Michael may have pocketed about $24 million in profit from the sale, according to the report.
Musk's xAI company is not publicly listed, and the Guardian notes that it is "unclear" how Musk sold the stock or who purchased it from him.
The report also notes that Michael appeared to be holding the stock during a time when the Pentagon was negotiating with xAI on a contract to become one of the agency's AI vendors.
"During the period that Michael owned the xAI stock the Pentagon announced two separate agreements with the firm," the report reads in part. "In July 2025 the Pentagon chose Grok as one of four commercial providers that would help the department utilize artificial intelligence."
The internet was stunned on Thursday after first lady Melania Trump publicly denied for the first time that she had any connection to Jeffrey Epstein.
She claimed that multiple people and organizations had lied about her connection to the late financier and convicted child sex offender, delivering a statement at the White House on Thursday. She also pushed back on allegations that she had a relationship with Epstein co-conspirator and former companion Ghislaine Maxwell.
Political commentators and media voices were quick to question the statement and reacted to her remarks:
"What the f--- was that Melania statement??? What story are they frontrunning over at the White House??" Tommy Vietor, spokesperson for former President Barack Obama and "Pod Save America" co-host, wrote on X.
"I am not sure why Melania Trump decided to make a statement about Jeffrey Epstein seemingly out of nowhere today, but if the idea was to put the ongoing coverup in the rearview mirror it will backfire spectacularly," journalist Aaron Rupar wrote on X.
"Again, no one asked if you were Epstein’s victim. That’s a deflection. The actual question is why you and your husband were, at MINIMUM, embedded in the same elite party circuit as a known predator for years, praised him publicly, and only distanced himself after Epstein became radioactive. That’s not chance. So no, a self-written book isn’t evidence, it’s clean up," RJ Riley, research paralegal and progressive commentator, wrote on X.
"In today's edition of You Couldn't Make This S--- Up: Melania Trump is talking about Epstein in order to distract from the Iran War her husband started in order to distract from Epstein," Paul Kavanagh, columnist at Scottish publication The National, wrote on Bluesky.
"Everyone now racing to google 'Melania Trump' and 'Jeffrey Epstein,'" Jen Bendery, senior politics reporter at HuffPost, wrote on Bluesky.
White House officials were reportedly blindsided after first lady Melania Trump gave a surprise address in which she admitted partying with two of the country's most infamous sex offenders, Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell.
During an address at the White House, Trump decried the "lies" linking her to Epstein and Maxwell.
"I reject their mean-spirited attempts to defame my reputation. I've never been friends with Epstein. Donald and I were invited to the same parties, as Epstein from time to time, since overlapping in social circles is common in New York City and Palm Beach," the first lady said. "To be clear, I never had a relationship with Epstein or his accomplice, Maxwell. My email reply to Maxwell cannot be characterized as anything more than casual correspondence."
"I'm not a witness or a named witness in connection with any of Epstein's crimes. My name has never appeared in court documents, the depositions, victim statements, or FBI in interviews surrounding the Epstein matter. I have never had any knowledge of Epstein's abuse of his victims. I was never involved in any capacity. I was not a participant, was never on Epstein's plane, and never visited his private island. I have never been legally accused or convicted of a crime in connection with Epstein sex trafficking, abuse of minors, and other repulsive behavior," she insisted.
Trump, however, did not spend as much time defending her husband.
"Now is the time for Congress to act. Epstein was not alone," she said. "Several prominent male executives resigned from their powerful positions after this matter became widely politicized. Of course, this doesn't amount to guilt, but we still must work openly and transparently to uncover the truth."
Following the speech, MS NOW's Jake Traylor reported that White House officials "were caught off guard by her statement."
CNN reporters were shocked on Thursday after first lady Melania Trump gave her first-ever statement on Jeffrey Epstein and called for Congress to give survivors of the late financier and convicted child sex offender a chance to testify.
Melania Trump's connection to Epstein has long been under speculation, and in her speech from the White House, she broke her silence for the first time. CNN anchor Briana Keilar and CNN senior White House correspondent Kristen Holmes were both stunned by the "extraordinary" move.
Holmes described why the moment was so striking.
"I would use the word stunning here, particularly as it pertains to this first lady," Holmes said. "She is often not in the limelight. She doesn't take to center stage. She doesn't react to things like this, standing there at the podium. And these remarks kind of came out of the blue. It's a time when we're actually not focusing on Epstein. The country seemingly had moved on to the latest issue that is coming out of this administration, which, of course, is the war in Iran. Yet we have Melania Trump coming up here and essentially defending her name."
Melania Trump referred to multiple accusations against her and President Donald Trump, claiming that people had spread lies about her ties to Epstein, whom she said she had interacted with socially at parties.
"And we should note, there were a lot of smears across social media linking her to Epstein. None of it seemed verified," Holmes said. "We don't need to repeat any of those claims, although she does list them out somewhat during that speech regarding meeting Donald Trump, her relationship with Epstein. But even further, the fact that she is calling on Congress for an open hearing for them, for these victims and survivors to provide their testimony, we have to compare that to what we have been hearing from President Trump, from the White House, from the [former] attorney general, Pam Bondi, before she left, talking about how America wants to move on from this, how they don't want to have these hearings. They don't want to draw this out, how people in the country are tired of talking about Epstein."
But Melania's comments differed from those within the White House and the DOJ.
"You have a direct contradiction to that with the first lady here," Holmes added. "So yes, you have her defending herself, but she is also calling for what so many people across America have been calling for, which is a chance for these victims, for these survivors to come forward and speak on the record, speak to Congress. And she is actually calling on Congress to let them have this day in court. Obviously, court is metaphorical here, talking about Congress, but saying that everyone should have to testify under oath. Talking about how people, men, have lost their jobs because of their relationships to Epstein saying that of course it doesn't make you guilty of anything, but it should be an opportunity to have the survivors talk, the victims talk to get their side of the story out there. This, again, is completely the opposite of what we have been hearing in terms of the narrative and trying to get away from the narrative around Jeffrey Epstein and coming from the first lady in this kind of impassioned speech where she is directly addressing these claims, again, mostly claims that have been seen on social media."
Melania Trump said that several people and companies have had to issue public apologies and retractions, naming Daily Beast, James Carville and Harper Collins UK.
"She names a few news outlets that had carried some of this, and then going into a call to action to even take this further," Holmes explained. "Re-injecting the Jeffrey Epstein saga back into the media narrative and essentially saying Congress didn't do enough. That is such a stunning and stark departure from what we have been hearing, and to be given again by the first lady standing there at the White House."
Right-wing conspiracy theorist Alex Jones broke down in tears while cradling a "battle axe" in an effort to break a "demonic spell," which he believed had caused President Donald Trump to wage war on Iran.
During a Thursday segment with journalist Tim Williams, Jones presented the battle axe as proof that God had blessed his attempts to combat "witchcraft" afflicting Trump.
"And thank you for the example that you've given," Williams prayed over the axe. "Alex is a battle axe. Your president is a battle axe. Lord, we repent."
"And now we intercede on behalf of our president, Donald J. Trump. Lord, we decree and declare as the Ecclesia now in the name of Jesus Christ that every form of witchcraft, sorcery, and divination has been cast against our president is now broken," he added. "And we decree and declare freedom for his mind. Freedom for his heart. Freedom from his soul."
"And everyone must join us and pray for Trump right now!" Jones insisted. "We're going to break this demonic spell right now in the name of Jesus!"
"They brought spirits unto him, Lord," Williams said of the president.
"Let's stop right there," Jones remarked, interrupting the prayer by displaying the axe. "But how crazy is this, just delivered in the last 30 minutes? Rob delivered it 10 minutes ago... They walk in with this, and the man says, I was told by God in Oklahoma, make this for you. Like Close Encounters, he was told to make the mountain. I had to send this to you, and my son said send it, and it perfectly arrives right as you're talking about it."
"That is the power of God, literally telling us that your message was true. God obviously knows the future," he continued.
As Williams called for a religious fast at the White House, Jones began to weep.
"Oh, my God!" the conspiracy theorist exclaimed. "You just said it. God's whole point was to make them listen to you about the fast. And so, call for a fast. God literally just took a highlighter to everything you just said. In God's plan, literally had someone make this [axe] months ago, be pushed by God and sons said, send it now to perfectly arrive, not last week, not yesterday, today, 20 minutes ago!"
"That's God's perfection right there. You just saw a miracle, folks. Yep. And look how badass it is," Jones asserted. "It doesn't matter if Trump gets off track. He belongs to God. He's going to do his job. If we back him. He's going to do his job."
"Like, can you imagine that's the power of God right there? This is a true miracle!"
First lady Melania Trump broke her silence for the first time and denied any relationship with late financier and convicted child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein — calling on Congress to give his survivors a chance to testify under oath.
In her speech at the White House on Thursday, she said she had no knowledge of Epstein's activities and claimed that multiple people and organizations had lied about her connection to him.
"I am not Epstein's victim. Epstein did not introduce me to Donald Trump," Melania Trump said.
"I was not a participant, was never on Epstein's plane, never visited his private island," she said. "I have never been legally accused or convicted of a crime in connection with Epstein's sex trafficking, abuse of minors, and other repulsive behavior. The false smears about me from spirited and politically motivated individuals and entities looking to cause damage to my good name, to gain financially and climb politically, must stop. My attorneys and I have fought these unfounded and baseless lies with success and will continue to maintain my sound reputation without hesitation."
She cited that several people and companies have had to issue public apologies and retractions, naming Daily Beast, James Carville and Harper Collins UK.
"Now is the time for Congress to act. Epstein was not alone," she said.
She asked Congress to hold a public hearing to give the survivors a chance to testify under oath.
"Each and every woman should have her day to tell her story in public if she wishes and then her testimony should be permanently entered into the Congressional record. Then and only then, we will have the truth."
Melania Trump: I was not a participant, was never on Epstein's plane, never visited his private island. I have never been legally accused or convinced of a crime in connection with Epstein's sex trafficking, abuse of minors, and other repulsive behavior pic.twitter.com/WzixQFkwaR — Acyn (@Acyn) April 9, 2026
On the same day that MS NOW host Joe Scarborough suggested that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s “humiliating” performances at press conferences might compel Donald Trump to replace him, The Hill is reporting that the former Fox News personality has grown increasingly “uncomfortable" with his fate in the administration.
The roots of Hegseth's paranoia trace back to perceived slights. Driscoll was selected by Trump last year to negotiate with Ukrainian officials in hopes of ending the Russia-Ukraine war — a high-profile diplomatic assignment that positioned the Army Secretary as a potential rival for influence. A current U.S. official said Hegseth's "paranoia" has been heightened in recent weeks as the president has fired two Cabinet officials, creating a lethal atmosphere where anyone could be next.
To neutralize the threat, Hegseth has launched a systematic campaign to undermine Driscoll's authority. He fired Gen. Randy George, Driscoll's widely respected chief of staff, along with two other senior military officials last week — a move that stunned defense officials while the U.S. is actively engaged in war against Iran.
George is a decorated combat veteran who deployed in support of Desert Shield, Desert Storm, Operation Iraqi Freedom, and Operation Enduring Freedom. His firing prompted some Republicans to publicly rally to his defense — a potential embarrassment for Hegseth.
The ouster has shaken GOP lawmakers who have largely backed Hegseth despite mounting scandals. "There's concern about the state and health of DoW going forward, if you get rid of good — really good — generals for no reason, and therefore they have concerns about Hegseth himself," one former official said, using the administration's preferred term "Department of War" for the Pentagon.
Driscoll, by contrast, has earned bipartisan praise. Among the three service secretaries — heads of the Army, Navy and Air Force — Driscoll is doing the best job, according to a Democratic congressional aide.
The White House has explicitly told Hegseth he cannot fire Driscoll, forcing the Defense Secretary to pursue a more subtle strategy of sabotage. "He sees that Driscoll is a natural successor to him," one ex-official explained, adding that Hegseth is attempting to sideline and undercut Driscoll through proxy attacks.
Beyond George's firing two months ago, Hegseth also purged Col. Dave Butler, another one of Driscoll's top advisers.
"It's a way for him to … look, I'm going to signal that I'm in charge of your people. I'm going to try to undermine your leadership," the official said. Hegseth is "just trying to knock the Army down a few pegs so that he feels safer."
MAGA influencers were raging at each other over a supposed Department of Justiceinvestigation examining whether foreign money plays a role in their social media content, according to a report published on Thursday.
The growing divide over Iran and President Donald Trump's decisions has pitted conservative influencers against each other, The Bulwark's Will Sommer reported.
"But so far, those influencers largely aren’t blaming the president for their divisions," Sommer wrote.
"Instead, they are pointing to a new culprit: The reason conservatives are at each other’s throats, they argue, is that they’re being paid by foreign sources to, essentially, bicker," Sommer explained. "But the enthusiasm for a Justice Department probe is notable not just because it suggests influencers believe the MAGA civil war now requires federal intervention. It sticks out because many of these influencers calling for a DOJ probe have taken foreign money themselves."
It turns out plenty of MAGA influencers have already had "pay-to-post arrangements" involving foreign entities.
"Just a few weeks ago, country music sensation Alexis Wilkins, the girlfriend of FBI director Kash Patel, claimed she had uncovered a wide-ranging foreign influence network to make people think she’s a Mossad operative," Sommer reported. "And who could forget Laura Loomer’s nickname for Carlson: 'Tucker Qatarlson'?"
It's unlikely there was an actual probe happening, despite hopeful wishes from several conservative social media personalities, including Catturd and Rob Smith.
"Of course, the idea of a Trump Justice Department investigating foreign influence is laughable, given the foreign financial entanglements and conflicts already rife in the administration," Sommer wrote. "Recently booted Attorney General Pam Bondi scaled back Foreign Agents Registration Act enforcement early in her tenure at DOJ, signaling the administration’s stance on policing foreign influence in our politics."
