Tom Porter

Trump hinted at plans to cancel 2028 election while talking to generals: Dem

President Donald Trump's speech to hundreds of the US' top generals on Tuesday hinted at plans to cancel the 2028 election, according to Democratic Rep. Dan Goldman of New York.

In an appearance on The Jim Acosta Show on Tuesday, Goldman said the speech appeared to be preparing the ground for an authoritarian power grab.

"It’s also, I think, really dangerous because it is trying to manufacture a crisis so that Donald Trump can continue to take more and more authoritarian actions and so that he can usurp more and power," said Goldman.

"And ultimately, my view is that he is looking ahead to 2028, where he will say that, for cockamamie made-up reasons like he’s talking to these generals about."

"That 'well, look, we’re being invaded from within from the enemy within and we’ve got to keep our border safe. And that’s what our focus has to be. We can’t possibly have an election under these circumstances.'”

"You really think that could happen?" said Acosta.

"Yeah, I think that’s where a lot of this is heading towards," said Goldman. "I think that's why he's floating a third term. That's why he's using this language of a war, of the enemy within, of securing our border."

Trump, in his speech to the generals at the Marine Corps base in Quantico, Virginia, said the military's job was to help protect from the "enemy within," and discussed sending troops into Democratic run cities such as Chicago and Portland.

Gavin Newsom trolls JD Vance with new AI couch and makeup videos

California Governor Gavin Newsom mocked JD Vance with an AI video showing the vice president praising couches and an old photograph of him wearing a blonde wig and makeup when he was a student.

Newsom's office's X account has recently leaned into pushing AI content mocking President Donald Trump and other MAGA figures.

Another AI-generated image from the account on Tuesday ridiculed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's speech criticising "fat" generals, with the fake picture showing Trump eating burgers delivered by drones in McDonald's bags.

The Vance videos reference an unfounded rumor that went viral during the 2024 election that he had written about getting intimate with a couch. The pictures of Vance in a wig are believed to have been taken at a party in Yale in 2012.

“Yes, there’s a photo of me in drag from a college party, and that’s normal. Everyone experiments in college, costumes, makeup, whatever, totally normal,” Vance says in one of the fake videos. “But what I don’t understand is why people are so obsessed with this other thing, couch intimacy.”

“Look, couches are comfortable, they’re dependable. They support you when you’re down. If you can’t appreciate that kind of bond, maybe you’re the one with issues.”

Another AI video from Newsom's office on Tuesday showed Vance praising couches and delivering a history of them.

The videos resemble in style those Trump and his allies have pushed mocking Democrats, with a slew from the president this week referencing the QAnon "medbeds" conspiracy theory, and containing racist images of House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries.

'Drive the president nuts': Kimmel and Colbert tag team to shoot barbs at Trump

Late-night hosts Jimmy Kimmel and Stephen Colbert joined forces Tuesday, appearing as guests on each other's shows and aiming barbs at President Donald Trump.

In an appearance on Colbert's The Late Show, Kimmel described finding out that his show was being taken off air by ABC executives over comments he made after the assassination of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk.

The decision came amid pressure from Trump, a longtime subject of the hosts' jokes and criticism.

“You started as a radio disc jockey, as you said,” Colbert said. “When you were spinning platters and making with the banter, did you ever think the president of the United States would be celebrating your unemployment?”

The audience loudly booed the president's name.

“I mean, that son of a b---h, you know?” Kimmel said.

“Mr. Son of a B---h,” replied Colbert.

“His royal ...” Kimmel added.

Colbert nodded: “Yes.”

Kimmel continued: “No, I never thought we would have a president like this, and I hope we don’t have another president like this again.”

Kimmel's show returned to the air last week, amid a backlash to alleged government attempts to censor his views.

CBS said in July that Colbert's show would be taken off the air in May for financial reasons. But fans of the host claim the decision was linked to Colbert's criticism of a $16 million lawsuit paid by CBS's parent company, Paramount, to Trump.

Hosting Colbert on his show Tuesday, Kimmel described him as "the Emmy-winning late-night talk show host who, thanks to the Trump administration, is now available for a limited-time only."

"We thought it might be a fun way to drive the president nuts," he earlier said of their appearances on each other's shows.

Trump's new letter shows plan to return US to 'darkest past': analyst

President Donald Trump's new letter to naturalised U.S. citizens hints at his disturbing agenda for America, according to Salon's Chauncey DeVega.

Trump's letter, released on Sept. 17, tells migrants they are taking an oath to "forge a sacred bond with our Nation, her traditions, her history, her culture and her values."

Whereas other presidents in their letters traditionally celebrated a "hopeful and inclusive vision" of what it means to be an American — premised on shared ideals, not creed and fixed attributes — Trump's letter strikes a very different tone, wrote DeVega.

"He is, symbolically and ideologically, the country’s first White president, and his understanding of what it means to be an American is very different from his predecessors," he said.

Trump’s letter reflects how he is "growing in power as the country’s first White President," wrote DeVega, with the president not celebrating the contributions migrants have made to America, but stressing their obligations to America, and what America has given them.

"The letter must be understood as part of a revolutionary right-wing political and social project: One where a real American is white and patriotism means loyalty to Trump and his MAGA movement. Nonwhite people can aspire to that identity, but their acceptance is conditional on aligning with Whiteness and its norms," writes DeVega.

DeVega pointed to other aspects of Trump's agenda that illustrate his commitment to xenophobic nationalism, such as his hardline migration policy, his attempts to "whitewash" American history to downplay the achievements of Black and Brown Americans, and the recent UN summit speech, where he railed against migration.

"In total, Trumpism models limited, circumscribed versions of citizenship and political belonging known as blood and soil nationalism, where 'racial stock' determines human worth, rights and citizenship," DeVega wrote.

DeVega argued that Trump's policies are part of a deeper history of racism, including slavery, violence and discrimination towards non-whites, and polices in the 1920s that banned non-white migrants and restricted citizenship to white people.

"Trump’s letter, his UN address and other policies are daily affirmations that he and his MAGA allies are seeking to return us to the country’s darkest past. In their eyes, being a real American means being the right kind of white American," wrote DeVega.

Trump's plans to silence enemies are backfiring massively: analyst

President Donald Trump's bid to silence his prominent critics is backfiring by making them more popular, political pundit Jonathan Chair wrote in The Atlantic.

The president in recent weeks has stepped up his campaign against high-profile opponents, cheering ABC's short-lived decision to suspend "Jimmy Kimmel Live" after the host's comments about the assassination of Charlie Kirk, and pressuring officials to prosecute former FBI Director James Comey, who was charged last week with lying to Congress.

But, wrote Chait, the moves aren't having the intended effect, and are instead "boosting the reputation of his enemies."

Kimmel's suspension, he writes, alienated even conservative allies of the president such as Sen. Ted Cruz, and led ABC's owner Disney to rapidly backtrack and bring Kimmel back on air, fearing an exodus of viewers and talent.

Noting Kimmel's ratings bump since returning, Chait writes that "Trump’s attempts to silence Kimmel served to make him more popular."

And on Comey, Chait writes, Trump's prosecution seems "even more doomed than his campaign against Kimmel."

Once again, a longtime ally of the president, this time conservative legal analyst Andrew McCarthy, has been among those critical of the case against Comey, while Trump's public calls for Comey to be convicted will make it easy to undermine the integrity of the prosecution, Chait argues.

Also, Chait notes, that even if Trump replaces Justice Department officials with loyalists, successfully persuading juries to convict based on meager evidence is another matter entirely.

"If—or when—Comey wins his case, he is sure to come out looking like a hero," writes Chait.

Overall, he concludes, Trump is losing the backing of supporters who long saw him as a champion against government measures like COVID-19 restrictions, and "leftist scolding."

"Trump seems to think he can consolidate power by turning the MAGA cult from a countercultural rebellion into a tool for state-sponsored submission. That is a frightening ambition. It also looks to be beyond his grasp," he writes.

Supreme Court's new cases include two 'looming disasters': legal analyst

The Supreme Court's likely rulings in its new term are "looming disasters" for voting laws and LGBTQ issues — but also pose a mystery, wrote Vox legal correspondent Ian Millhiser in an analysis Monday.

The mystery, writes Millhiser, is whether the conservative-majority court will strike down President Donald Trump's controversial tariffs regimen. The writer points out that the court had struck down several Biden policies on the basis that they were of "enormous economic and political significance."

"The tariffs are clearly illegal under a doctrine the Republican justices used to halt many of President Joe Biden’s policies," he writes.

The two disasters center on several cases relating to voting laws and LGBTQ issues.

The conservative justices are expected to repeal laws against racial gerrymandering in the 1965 Voting Rights Act, and loosen campaign finance laws, writes Millhiser.

Repealing racial gerrymandering laws, he writes, would "devastate Black representation in red states" and "supercharge Trump’s efforts to gerrymander Congress to lock the GOP into power," while loosening laws on campaign finance would "permit wealthy donors to give tens of thousands of dollars directly to candidates."

He adds that the justices are also expected to repeal the ban on so-called "conversion therapy" and uphold state laws requiring high school athletes to play on teams aligning with their sex assigned at birth.

Millhiser notes that the American Psychological Association says that conversion therapy “‘puts individuals at a significant risk of harm’ and is not effective in changing a person’s gender identity or sexual orientation,"' and adds that "trans advocates face a difficult uphill climb" regarding sports teams and gender identity.

He writes that the cases are one of a number that will be heard by the justices, with potentially huge ramifications for America.

The "2025–’26 term is already shaping up to be extraordinarily consequential," he writes.

'No songs in English!' MAGA livid as Latino Trump critic picked for Super Bowl halftime

Puerto Rican superstar Bad Bunny was announced as the 2026 Super Bowl headliner Monday — and the backlash from MAGA influencers was immediate.

The rapper and singer, who hasn't held back in his criticism of President Donald Trump's hardline migration policies, said in a statement said securing the performance was a historic achievement.

"What I’m feeling goes beyond myself,” Bad Bunny said in a statement. “It’s for those who came before me and ran countless yards so I could come in and score a touchdown … this is for my people, my culture, and our history. Ve y dile a tu abuela, que seremos el HALFTIME SHOW DEL SUPER BOWL.”

But on social media, right-wing influencers stoked culture wars grievances, the Daily Beast reported.

Podcaster Benny Johnson on X listed his objections to Bad Bunny: "Massive Trump hater - Anti-ICE activist - No songs in English!"

Dan O'Donnell, a conservative radio host, accused the singer of hypocrisy.

"Bad Bunny said two weeks ago he won’t perform in the US because he’s scared ICE agents would deport his fans. Turns out his business sense far outweighs his moral convictions," he posted.

While Robbie Starbuck, an activist and Heritage Foundation fellow, accused Bad Bunny and the NFL of promoting divisive "woke" ideology.

"Also, most of his songs aren’t even in English. This is not a pick designed to unite football fans or let people just enjoy the show. It was a pick designed to divide fans and no doubt Bad Bunny will find some way to push a woke message," he posted.

"Are NFL owners in on this idiocy or are they just culturally that disconnected from reality and how Roger uses the NFL to push left wing social issues?" he posted on Facebook.

Bad Bunny, whose real name is Benito Antonio Martinez Ocasio, recently revealed that he'd decided not to include the US in his 2025-26 tour because of fears ICE agents could be waiting to detain people at his concerts.