Kathleen Culliton

A three-sentence tweet from a state-level candidate has sparked a nationwide uproar about racism in the Republican Party.

A conservative U.S. senator, an MS NOW panel, a rising star in the Democratic Party, and a host of local GOP politicians publicly spoke out against a comment from the Republican nominee for Texas Railroad Commissioner on Sunday.

"Are other Republican elected officials going to condemn the intolerance and racism, or look the other way while it becomes normalized?" asked Texas Sen. John Cornyn. "This is how great political parties self-destruct."

The comment in question came from Bo French, who shared a picture of what appears to be a screenshot of celebrating students at a Texas Longhorns football game.

"I heard UT graduation this year looked like this," Bo French wrote on X. "I didn’t believe it. The problem is now obviously far worse than anyone imagined."

French later replied to Cornyn's condemnation by doubling down on his race-based rhetoric.

"Generations of Texans have invested billions of dollars into UT," French wrote. "Today it is filled with foreign nationals and Leftists who boo Ted Cruz. John Cornyn says we should accept decline."

State Rep. James Talarico, running for the U.S. Senate in Texas, thanked Cornyn for speaking out against French and called on his competitor, Attorney General Ken Paxton, to do the same.

"Racism has no place in Texas," Talarico wrote. "Will you condemn this blatant racism or will you cower to extremists?"

Paxton's campaign did not immediately condemn the post online or respond to a request for comment from the Texas Tribune, which reported the Republican Senate nominee has supported French’s campaign and claimed he would make "a great Railroad Commissioner.”

Other local Republicans were outraged.

State Rep. Jared Patterson (R-TX) joined his colleague across the aisle in condemning French's remarks with a lengthy statement.

"This is racist. It is wrong. And I condemn it without reservation," he wrote. "There is absolutely nothing Christian or conservative about looking at a crowd of young Texans at a college football game, seeing the color of their skin, and declaring that they are a 'problem.'”

State Rep. Jeff Leach (R-TX) posted a picture of his son Brady at the game in question.

"Bo thinks it’s a 'problem' they don’t all look like and have the same skin color as Brady," Leach wrote. "I think that’s racist — and it makes me sick."

"Please delete this," begged state Rep. Lacey Hull (R-TX). "This post breaks my heart. I see college kids cheering on their football team. I see Texans."

MS NOW host Antonia Hylton devoted an entire segment to her concerns about the rising number of conservative campaign scandals linked to Nazi rhetoric, misogynistic commentary and Ku Klux Klan attire.

Molly Jong Fast argued Cornyn was correct in his warning that the conservative party might self-destruct, calling it a "leopards-eating-faces scenario."

A Fox News host's attempt to smear a Democrat Senate hopeful was subject to a brutal fact check this weekend.

Laura Ingraham took to X on Saturday night to insult Abdul El-Sayed's recent video in which he shakes hands at a tailgating event for the University of Michigan Wolverines.

"Stop pretending to care about football if you don’t care about football," Ingraham snapped.

She also shared commentary from MAGA political commentator Charles Downs, who argued it was "pretty telling" that El-Sayed wore a black t-shirt.

"Abdul can’t even bother to put on a maize-and-blue V-neck to attend a Michigan tailgate," he wrote.

These comments failed to impress readers with a basic knowledge of El-Sayed's biography, which states, "[El-Sayed] proudly attended public schools where he captained his high school football, wrestling, and lacrosse teams.

"He graduated from the University of Michigan with the highest distinction," it notes, "and played on the Wolverines men’s lacrosse team."

Ingraham's post was repeatedly hit with a photo of a smiling El-Sayed in his high school uniform, clutching a football.

"You'd think a so called reporter would have looked that up," replied one X user. "Clowns."

Aaron Rupar, the independent journalist who recently incurred the wrath of the White House for reporting Natalie Harp had joined President Donald Trump on his trip to Ireland, echoed Ingraham's own famous words in response.

"Shut up and dribble," he wrote.

This isn't the first time conservatives' attempts to hurl a football attack at El-Sayed failed to score them a political touchdown.

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) tried to respond with a scathing remark on X after El-Sayed's comment that he was looking forward to the Wolverines getting the chance to "beat Ohio".

"What does it say that this [clown emoji] —who wants to represent Michigan—has never heard of Ohio State?" Cruz asked.

There was just one problem, as a former alum of President Barack Obama's administration was quick to point out: El-Sayed was echoing the words of a legendary former Michigan Wolverine who went on to play for the NFL.

“We start every meeting with Beat Ohio,” Will Campbell told the Michigan Daily in 2012.

Cruz was booed at a college football game in his home state this weekend by crowds who chanted, "Ted, you suck."

Former President Barack Obama issued a stark warning to Democrats last week about a "dangerous" development he urged them to tackle, according to a new report.

Obama's address at a private fundraiser in Manhattan urged House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) to be prepared to move in 2027 should the Democrats reclaim the majority in November, the New York Times reported Sunday.

“Once you are speaker, I would strongly urge that the Democrats put together a framework for a very public conversation," Obama said. “I would talk about this, and I would say, ‘Here’s our plan for safety. Here’s our plan for making sure our kids are not corrupted by this.'"

The "this" in question? Artificial Intelligence.

Obama warned AI could be "dangerous" if left unrestrained and warned Democrats to prioritize protections in the years to come, according to a transcript reviewed by the Times.

The former president also urged candidates running for president in 2028 to come prepared with “a very clear plan” to address safety and economic concerns linked to AI, according to the report.

"In a Democratic Party with no clear leader, many look to Mr. Obama for guidance, and his comments carry considerable weight," the Times noted.

"The remarks come amid escalating worries about the risks associated with A.I. development, as well as growing calls for lawmakers and politicians to do more to tackle the topic."

Another challenge Democrats will face is the millions of dollars in support tech industries donate to their political campaigns amid mounting concerns over potential safety risks, according to the report.

"This year’s elections have been flooded with money from A.I. companies and allied groups," the report noted. "And anxiety about the technology, a rare issue that many Republican and Democratic voters can agree on, has peaked in recent days after a researcher at the A.I. company Anthropic loudly and publicly resigned, writing in a viral social media post that 'the people building AI earnestly believe that it could kill us all by the end of the decade.'”

Obama, while professing himself not to be a "doomer" on the issue, did urge Democrats to think seriously about the implications for American workers.

“I would be thinking about the economic impacts in very concrete ways and understanding what does it mean if there’s going to be job displacement,” Obama reportedly said.

“If it turns out that you’ve got a lot more people who can’t find full-time work because they’ve been rendered redundant, how are we going to respond?”

President Donald Trump's "secret" contest for Cabinet members was revealed in a new report that raises concerns about potential Hatch Act violations.

An unofficial Cabinet Travel Competition is encouraging secretaries to appear in competitive congressional districts or states ahead of the 2026 midterm elections, The Atlantic revealed Sunday.

"There were rumors of a prize—possibly a dinner with the president for the winning Cabinet secretary, plus their family," the report stated, "but several White House officials insisted that the competition is simply for bragging rights."

Cabinet contestants have been encouraged to appear with members of Congress in local media interviews to help drive Trump’s message, according to the report.

Contestants must win White House approval for travel and have been instructed not to violate federal rules on partisan politics, The Atlantic reported.

"Taxpayers foot the bill for travel related to the secretaries’ official duties," the report noted, "and the top officials are expected to pay for any personal political travel themselves."

An unofficial Atlantic tally found Cabinet members had made 46 visits to Texas, 42 to Pennsylvania and 40 to New York. The Atlantic predicts the winner will be Small Business Administration head Kelly Loeffler, who took at least 18 trips.

The report noted former President George W. Bush ran a similar competition before the 2006 midterms and was condemned by The Office of Special Counsel years later for using federal funds for political purposes.

"The investigation found that the Bush tracking system spurred a 'friendly competition' between White House liaisons that, ultimately, was part of the 'type of electioneering proscribed by the Hatch Act,'" the Atlantic reported.

Whether the contest violates federal law depends on internal safeguards to protect federal funds from being spent on politics, Donald Sherman, the president of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, told the Atlantic.

“The details do matter,” he said. “But it is also hard to imagine that that compliance is being prioritized in a competition-like scenario, particularly in an administration that has been hostile to the Hatch Act in pretty much every other instance.”

The Atlantic posited each of the competitors share a single goal.

"Mere mention of it elicited knowing nods and smiles from agency staff and White House officials," the report noted. "The Cabinet officials understand their singular mission: to spread the Trump doctrine far and wide."

Scott Jennings was subjected to stern rebuke on Sunday after a conspiracy theorist with close ties to President Donald Trump threatened to sue his CNN colleague — and repeatedly called her the c-word.

Journalist Mehdi Hasan demanded Jennings speak out after Laura Loomer lobbed her profane attack at CNN anchor Abby Phillip late Saturday night.

"You got very upset on behalf of Natalie Harp when [Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA)] simply mentioned her name in a speech," Hasan wrote on X. "Here is a top adviser to Trump calling your colleague...the c-word. Will you call her out? Condemn her? Or are you scared?"

Hasan shared Loomer's post to verify his claim.

Loomer appeared to be responding to Phillip's commentary on CNN Saturday night in which the anchor discussed a headline-making photograph taken at the 25th anniversary of Sept. 11 in New York City.

The photo, in which Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez (D-NY) can be seen smiling next to New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, has been used by the right to suggest the pair disrespected victims' families.

A CNN video analysis makes a strong case for the photo having been taken out of context, comparing it to video of former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani smiling widely at Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, who also grins.

Phillip added to this context on Saturday with a reference to the 2024 ceremony at Ground Zero.

"Don't forget the president, Donald Trump, brought Laura Loomer to the 9/11 memorial," Phillip said. "She is a 9/11 conspiracy theorist."

Loomer — who has publicly claimed Sept. 11 to be an "inside job" — responded on X.

"I actually honor the victims of 9/11 EVERYDAY by exposing the death cult that murdered 3,000 Americans 25 years ago," Loomer wrote on X. "I am so sick of this lying c--- repeating the same lie over and over again. I should probably just sue her."

Loomer also replied to Hasan's call for a response from Jennings by attacking the journalist's religion and claiming she was not an adviser to Trump, as he had written.

"I do not work for President Trump," Loomer replied to Hasan. "Stop lying! Lying is the only thing you Muslims know how to do."

While Loomer holds no official title in Trump's administration, she has offered advice to the president, which he has taken, PBS reported in 2025.

"A right-wing political activist who's spread conspiracy theories and used hate speech has become a central figure in the hirings and firings of Trump administration staffers," the report stated.

"Loomer has successfully lobbied to remove aides from several key government roles, including the National Security Council."

Jennings did not immediately reply to Hasan's demand for comment.

Voters in a key swing state say President Donald Trump set a pointless "three-alarm fire" when he waged a "stupid" trade war with Canada, according to a new report.

Michigan auto workers are not happy with the Republican leader after he delivered what they fear will be a serious blow to their industry, The Bulwark reported Sunday.

“It’s just stupid,” Tanya Rincon, a retired autoworker, told The Bulwark. “We build parts for them, they build parts for us, we sell cars to them, they sell their products here."

The United Auto Workers and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers have both come out against Trump’s tariffs, with the latter declaring "We Stand With Our Neighbour” at last week's Labor Day Parade in Detroit.

American-made cars now only account for a third (down from a half) of Canadian vehicle imports and last year Trump’s tariffs on Canada cost the American auto industry $4 billion, according to the report.

Patrick Anderson, of the Anderson Group, told The Bulwark in an interview things have gone from bad to worse.

“Now,” Anderson said, “it looks like a three-alarm fire.”

Less than a third of Michigan voters approve of Trump’s tariffs, according to a Detroit News poll — a point on which Democrat Senate hopeful Abdul El-Sayed has been quick to jump.

The Bulwark reported El-Sayed called it a "dumba-- trade war” during a brief interview.

His opponent Mike Rogers, meanwhile, has only offered lukewarm support for the tariff, telling CNN last week, “If it’s bad for Michigan, I’m going to be against it.”

"That sounds a lot like somebody who has read those polls...but is wary of incurring the president’s wrath," The Bulwark report stated. "It raises a question for those Michigan voters nervous about tariffs: Do they trust Rogers to stand up for them when doing so requires going against Trump’s whims?"

President Donald Trump — days after appearing to nap during a Sept. 11 memorial ceremony at the Pentagon — hurled accusations at the New York Times of insensitivity over its coverage on the historic day.

Trump on Sunday shared a post from the Department of the Interior press office apparently condemning the New York Times for publishing reports on its botched renovation of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.

"On the 25th anniversary of 9/11, the New York Times spent time and resources analyzing the Reflecting Pool," the comment stated. "They continue to avoid doing any real reporting on all the vandalism."

The Times report revealed the contractor that renovated the Reflecting Pool told the Trump administration that internal errors, not vandalism, caused problems with its lining.

It's worth noting that in 2002 the New York Times won a record-breaking seven Pulitzer prizes for its coverage of the tragic terrorist attack on Sept. 11, 2001.

Its journalists raced toward Ground Zero to document the explosive flames, the bloodied victims, and the first responders who sacrificed their lives to save others.

Trump, meanwhile, skipped the 25th anniversary ceremony at Ground Zero — where former presidents George W. Bush, Barack Obama and Joe Biden were in attendance — and opted instead to give a speech at the Pentagon.

The president has also come under fire this week for increasingly bold claims about his own efforts following the attacks on the twin towers.

"Trump has long talked about his 9/11 response, saying he spent a lot of time at Ground Zero and brought hundreds of workers to aid in the recovery effort," a Politifact report states.

"PolitiFact previously found no evidence that Trump brought hundreds of workers to the site, and other fact-checkers have similarly found the evidence lacking. Trump World Tower was under development in 2001 in Midtown Manhattan, about 5 miles from the World Trade Center."

Law enforcement tasked with protecting President Donald Trump mistakenly talked tactics with a random cameraman, the BBC revealed Sunday.

BBC News reporter Enda McClafferty discussed the incident during a recent on-air interview about Trump's ongoing trip to Ireland, where the president has already spurred an international uproar, mass protests and questions about his cognitive health.

"Yesterday two gardaí flagged down our camera man and mistook him for an undercover Garda officer," he said, "and started to talk tactics to him!"

The host of BBC's Sunday Politics began to chuckle as McClafferty explained it was the cameraman who told the gardaí he was actually a journalist.

Trump's security has caused a large headache for Ireland law enforcement. Rank-and-file gardaí have spent recent weeks fuming after being told to foot the bill for their own accommodation, the Irish Mirror reported this week.

Garda Commissioner Justin Kelly designated the visit an "extraordinary event" over the summer due to the scale of the policing operation, dubbed Operation Far Sunrise, spanning Dublin, Shannon and Trump's golf resort in Doonbeg, County Clare.

“There’s a use-and-abuse policy from management and they’re expecting lads to just show up,” one source told the Mirror.

It appears that despite the grumbles, the lads did show up.

"We have more gardaí than we have spectators at the golf," said McClafferty. "Around every bog corner, if you like, there's a squad car."

McClafferty then took a moment to rib Trump about another security vehicle.

"Donald Trump has brought with him an armor-plated golf cart," said McClafferty.

"I do believe it," Enda," host Mark Carruthers replied. "Thanks very much, indeed."

President Donald Trump's administration has turned Republican Texans against the entire political party by threatening to seize their land for a border wall, they told MS NOW in a new video report.

MS NOW host Antonia Hylton traveled to Big Bend this summer for a deep-dive investigation into how law enforcement officers, business owners and nature lovers have responded to an initiative that threatens to change their lives forever.

"I'm mad, I'm disgusted, and I'm disappointed," said Trump supporter Bill Ivey, "At everybody in Washington."

Hylton's report focused on Senate candidate Ken Paxton's race against James Talarico, the Democrat who has publicly come out against building a border wall in Big Bend.

The issue has united Republicans who say they feel invaded by the federal government as they "sneak around" to community meetings to try and push the wall.

"The truth is, none of this makes sense from a law enforcement standpoint," said local Michael Ryan. "I did 23 years as a law enforcement ranger in Big Bend National Park. The best way to do it is with border patrol agents — they can learn, they can adapt, they can move, be moved around."

Hurt and anger entered Ryan's voice when he explained why he thought Trump's administration was forcing the wall on Big Bend communities.

"It seems like it's about money and greed and corruption," he said.

Hylton told viewers she traveled 1100 miles of Texas land and, for the first time in a decade of trips, did not see a single MAGA hat, Trump sign or painted car.

Terrell County Sheriff Thaddeus Cleveland told Hylton he used to go on networks like Newsmax and Fox to praise Trump — but now he's frustrated.

"Senate candidate Ken Paxton and Gov. Greg Abbott... they're all afraid of President Trump because they know that if they go against him, that he'll lash out at them," he said. "They'd rather have a vote than save the national park."

Cleveland argued technology already in place does the work of the four-foot vehicle barrier Trump wants to build right on the border of the Rio Grande, which is impossible to drive over.

"[Trump is] ceding, you know, sovereign American-owned land owned by Americans, basically giving it to Mexico," he said. "And I find it kind of ironic that, you know, we wanted to take Greenland and Iceland, but yet we're willing to give up part of the continental United States."

Cleveland still remembers Trump's promise that Mexico would pay for a wall.

"Not only did they not have to pay for it," he said. "Now they're getting free land as well."

Hylton then traveled to the small town of Terlingua to talk to locals about what Trump's wall would do to their tourism-based economy.

Nothing good, they told her.

"I'd say on a scale of 1 to 10, like 13," resident Billy Miller rated his anger. "I think it's the dumbest idea in the history of humanity."

Resident Lara Stage told MS NOW she was an independent who leaned Libertarian until Trump started pushing for the wall in Big Bend.

Said Stage, "This has convinced me to vote Democratic across the board."

Former Saturday Night Live star Leslie Jones revealed she had to comfort a frightened Donald Trump the first time she met him.

Jones made this admission while discussing Trump's second SNL appearance with the Daily Beast's "Obsessed" podcaster Matt Wilstein on Friday.

"I didn't know Trump was so evil," Jones said. "He was the Apprentice. He was this joke to me."

Jones was describing Trump's first table read when he notoriously appeared on SNL in November 2015, during his initial 2016 presidential campaign.

Jones' former co-star Taran Killam would later go on to condemn SNL's decision to platform Trump despite vocal protests outside.

"We could hear the protests during our table read," Killam told NPR in 2017. "As we're reading 40 mediocre sketches, we just hear, 'No Trump! Donald Trump!' ... I am embarrassed, upon reflection, just because of how everyone was right. Every person outside of that building protesting was absolutely right."

Jones said Saturday that she could tell her fellow cast members were "freaked out" by Trump's presence, but she was not.

"What people need to understand about comedians is that we see everything," she said. "I see the insecurity, I see the fear."

And fear and insecurity were exactly what Jones said she saw in Trump.

"When he walked into the table read, he had all of his scripts in his hands like a little boy, and you could tell he was lost," she said. "He was very uncomfortable."

Jones described Trump dumping his scripts and immediately taking out his flip phone. The moment the call ended, Jones said she took pity on the presidential candidate.

"I said, 'Trump! How much money did you just make, man? How much money did you just make, Trump?!"

Jones said that was all Trump needed to calm down.

"I knew that's a little boy," she said. Jones then compared Trump to a specific, if fictional, boy: Biff Tannen, the famous antagonist of "Back to the Future."

"That's a little Biff," said Jones. "And we let Biff become the president and Biff let all his frat boy friends take over and destroy the office."

President Donald Trump supporters think Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is a "toilet bowl" of a politician, according to a new analysis.

The Bulwark's Sarah Longwell on Saturday released a slew of audio clips from Texas Republican voters who did not mince words when it came to their party's Senate nominee.

"If that's the best we can do, does it really even matter?" one Trump voter said. "Like a toilet bowl flushing, we're going down, down, down."

This was just one of multiple Trump voters who ticked off a list of problems they have with Paxton, Longwell reported during her interview with Texas Monthly journalist Christopher Hooks.

Those problems included an indictment for securities fraud, efforts to protect convicted felon real estate mogul Nate Paul, Paxton's lenient plea deal for a man accused of child sex abuse, and his efforts to ban cannabis while accepting campaign cash from the alcohol industry.

"I think he's a full-blown crook right in line with Trump as far as not being able to tell the truth," one woman said. "Politicians are very dirty and corrupt."

"I am so turned off by Ken Paxton," another said. "I don't know that I can vote for [state Rep. James] Talarico, who I think is a very attractive guy, you know, a hardworking guy who loves God and country and his family and all that sort of stuff."

Added the voter who compared Paxton to a toilet, "He's getting paid beaucoup bucks to be the sheep or the puppet for the alcohol lobbyists."

Hooks, the Texas journalist, suggested Texas Republicans might be more likely to vote for Talarico, or not at all, because Paxton has failed to prove his defeat would represent a serious problem for the state.

"What Ken Paxton is telling conservative voters right now is that if the Democrats get in this election, like, the Democrats are going to win forever here, and it's going to be a blue state and there's no coming back," Hooks said. "But I think a lot of Republicans have the sense that if Ken Paxton loses this, it's because Ken Paxton sucks."

Texas Republicans ultimately don't believe Talarico will "permanently derail" their coalition — but they have a lot of quiet concerns that Paxton might, said Hooks.

That's in part because of Trump, who endorsed Paxton over incumbent Sen. James Cornyn.

"The way Trump got involved at the last minute is something that has left a lot of bad feeling here in private," Hooks said. "It was my assumption that they were going to work this out eventually. And it just doesn't seem like they are. And we're about 45 days away from the start of early voting. They're kind of running out of time."

The powerful far-right leader of a neo-Nazi-backed political group — and recent new "crush" of podcaster Joe Rogen — publicly split with President Donald Trump Saturday over his off-the-cuff comment about a "very cool thing."

Rupert Lowe, a member of the British Parliament and founder of the "ethno-nationalist" group Restore Britain, took to X on Saturday to lambast Trump over his recently professed support for Irish unification.

"I want to be really clear in Restore Britain’s response," Lowe wrote. "The American President is talking about breaking up our country. This is unacceptable, this is insulting."

Lowe's criticism stands in stark contrast to recent public messaging in which he has aligned himself with Trump to call for what critics describe as a deportation-led "ethnic cleansing" of Great Britain, the Atlantic recently reported.

"He understands exactly what the modern American right wants to hear," wrote the Atlantic's Helen Lewis, "that the second Britain exists, and only Donald Trump is preventing the United States from heading in the same direction."

Such rhetoric has caused frustration and fears abroad as critics warn his party has become "the new home for neo-Nazis," as it was recently described by the Daily Mail.

Yet Lowe on Saturday reached for the moral high ground as he chastised Trump for suggesting it would be "cool" to force unification on the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland to inflict pain on Great Britain's left-leaning governing party.

"I like Trump, I've backed Trump," Lowe wrote. "But he should not be aiming to permanently damage our country to get back at the current malign Labour Government."

Then Lowe issued Trump a warning.

"Do not irreversibly damage our relationship because of this Labour Government," he wrote. "It's not on."

President Donald Trump's off-the-cuff comment about a "very cool thing" has created an international uproar embroiling multiple frustrated nations, reports show.

Trump in Dublin on Saturday morning repeatedly told reporters and officials that he supported a unified Ireland.

"I think it would be cool," said Trump. "I actually said it would, I think, be a very cool thing."

Trump of course was referencing the centuries-long conflict between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland over the latter's fight for independence from the United Kingdom.

To simplify an extremely complex political conflict marred by famine, sectarian violence and civil war — the predominately Protestant Northern Ireland prefers to remain within the United Kingdom while the historically Catholic Republic cherishes its freedom.

This perhaps is why the BBC reports Trump immediately created a "headache" for the Irish government and Taoiseach Micheál Martin.

Former Democratic Unionist Party MP Ian Paisley, a close friend of the Trump family, reportedly argued Trump was suggesting the Republic return to the United Kingdom and "the crown."

Asked for comment, 10 Downing Street did not align itself with Trump and referred the BBC to Prime Minister Andy Burnham's promise that he would stick "100 percent" to The Good Friday Agreement, which in 1998 ended 30 years of "The Troubles" in Northern Ireland.

Democratic Unionist Party leader Gavin Robinson, whose party strongly supports Northern Ireland remaining in the United Kingdom, snapped back at Trump on X.

"Northern Ireland’s constitutional future will be decided by the people of Northern Ireland, not by commentary in London, Dublin or Washington," he wrote. "As unionists we are not interested in the destruction of our country by joining with the Irish Republic."

Robbie Butler, the Northern Ireland unionist who serves as minister of health, also lambasted Trump for his comment on X.

"For years we have been told this President is beyond the pale: his character, his conduct, his position on Gaza," Butler wrote. "One sentence about a united Ireland and he is apparently a statesman of rare vision. It seems his judgement is sound only on the one subject where it happens to suit."

"The President was at least candid enough to accept that the United Kingdom would have something to say about it," Butler added. "So would the people of Northern Ireland, who under the Belfast Agreement are the only people whose consent counts."

President Donald Trump is terrified of a lone "feminine theater kid," according to a new political analysis.

New York Times editorial writer Michelle Cottle offered this opinion Saturday in a scathing takedown of Trump's antics in a southern state's headline-making Senate race.

"Trump is worried," Cottle titled her column. "He only has himself to blame."

The person Trump fears has been described by the president and his aides as "Pee-wee Herman," "a “lightweight loser," "the biggest cuck loser in politics" and a “feminine theater kid."

Such insults suggest that their target — so easily able to draw their wrath — is a political star on the rise, Cottle argued, and largely thanks to Trump.

So who is Trump afraid of, according to Cottle?

"A charmingly nerdy, vaguely awkward, low-key freshman lawmaker," wrote Cottle. "Senator Jon Ossoff of Georgia."

Ossoff has much to thank Trump for as the president continues to meddle in the Georgia election, Cottle argued.

Cottle pointed both to Trump's endorsement of Mike Collins and Trump's efforts to undermine faith in federal elections in 2020 ahead of the Capitol riots on Jan. 6, 2021.

"This tipped control of the chamber to the Democrats, a mark of shame that sat poorly with many Georgia Republicans," Cottle wrote. "Republican elected officials now view the state party not as an organ for helping get them elected so much as one aimed at litigating grievances against G.O.P. officials and candidates deemed insufficiently MAGA."

Trump's endorsement of Collins hardly made the position easier for Georgia Republicans, Cottle argued.

"The hard-right representative emerged from a nasty G.O.P. primary tarnished by scandal, short on campaign cash, polling well behind Mr. Ossoff and facing grave doubts among many Republicans in the state that he can turn things around," she wrote.

"Collins’s scandals and missteps have not helped. Several people in his orbit, including his son-in-law, have been chummy with white nationalists, publicly promoted white nationalism or been otherwise accused of antisemitic behavior."

Because of Trump, Ossoff is not only well positioned to hold onto his Senate seat, but to run a successful campaign for U.S. president, Cottle concluded.

"Mr. Ossoff’s choirboy looks and often earnest demeanor, coupled with his taste for political combat and his social media savvy, give him an edge in the political mud pits," Cottle wrote.

"If Mr. Ossoff winds up in the White House, Mr. Trump will have largely himself to blame."

President Donald Trump made a surprising admission about his golf game in Ireland on Saturday morning.

The president was delivering remarks to the U.S. Embassy Personnel and Business Leaders in Dublin when his lengthy speech touched on one of his favorite subjects, by way of a joke about the Secret Service.

"They don't give a damn about you," Trump told the laughing crowd. "You're all collateral damage."

This led Trump to an anecdote about a golf game with "the head of the biggest company in the world" who discovered even he would not take priority should a threat to the president's safety present itself.

Trump then posed a question he suggested an unidentified "they" had asked.

"They said, does Trump cheat?"

Trump decided to answer this question on Saturday — and gave a surprising answer.

"I can't cheat, you have 250 Secret Service agents running down," Trump said. "It's not that I wouldn't cheat. But you can't move the ball. I don't know if they play or not, but they know you're not supposed to be moving the ball around."

Trump's admission that he would cheat — and knows how to — aligns with the reporting of sportswriter Rick Reilly in his 2019 book "Commander in Cheat: How Golf Explains Trump."

"Trump doesn’t just cheat at golf,” Reilly wrote. “He throws it, boots it, and moves it. He lies about his lies. He fudges and foozles and fluffs. At Winged Foot, where Trump is a member, the caddies got so used to seeing him kick his ball back onto the fairway they came up with a nickname for him: ‘Pele.’"