Category: Policies

Hegseth Reads Fake Bible Verse from Pulp Fiction

Pentagon Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth recited a fabricated Bible verse during a prayer service at the Department of Defense on Wednesday, presenting it as an authentic scripture passage. Hegseth introduced the text as a prayer used by military pilots during a rescue mission in Iran, claiming it was titled “CSAR 25:17” in reference to the biblical book of Ezekiel. He urged attendees to pray along with him as he delivered the passage aloud.

The text Hegseth read closely mirrors a fake version of Ezekiel 25:17 quoted by actor Samuel L. Jackson in Quentin Tarantino’s 1994 film “Pulp Fiction,” which Jackson’s character recites before committing violence. The actual Ezekiel 25:17 from the King James Bible contains only a brief passage about vengeance and divine judgment, bearing minimal similarity to the elaborate text Hegseth presented. Tarantino himself had sourced the fabricated verse from a 1970s Japanese martial arts film.

Hegseth’s misrepresentation of the scripture was flagged by A Public Witness, a religion-focused publication, after the Pentagon prayer service. The Secretary of Defense presented the Pulp Fiction dialogue as a genuine military prayer recited before combat search and rescue missions, falsely attributing sacred authority to entertainment industry fiction. This lie demonstrates a troubling disregard for religious authenticity and public trust in military leadership.

(Source: https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/pray-please-pete-hegseth-reads-114001144.html)

Trump Attacks Fox News Over Steyer Coverage

President Donald Trump attacked Fox News on Wednesday for covering Democratic California gubernatorial candidate Tom Steyer, whom Trump called a “SLEAZEBAG” and “LOSER.” Trump posted on Truth Social that the network was “promoting” Steyer instead of focusing on Republican candidate Steve Hilton, whom Trump has endorsed to succeed Governor Gavin Newsom.

Trump’s complaint about Fox News coverage lacked factual grounding. His post came approximately 40 minutes after Fox News had already featured Hilton on air discussing his campaign with host Harris Faulkner. Fox News had not run a substantial segment on Steyer on Wednesday but instead mentioned him briefly in relation to his fundraising totals, policy positions, and polling performance against other candidates.

The president appeared to reference a graphic displayed during Hilton’s interview that showed Steyer’s five-point immigration plan while Faulkner discussed his anti-ICE agenda and $120 million spending on the race. Hilton used the airtime to criticize Steyer’s immigration positions as “far-left extremism” and an extension of what he characterized as Biden-era open borders policies.

Trump’s attack on Fox News reflects a pattern of hostility toward the network when coverage does not align precisely with his preferred narrative. Trump has previously attacked both Fox News and Steyer simultaneously, demonstrating a longstanding grievance with both the billionaire Democratic donor and the Republican-aligned outlet that regularly gives Trump platform access.

Trump’s criticism of Fox News contradicts his repeated beneficiary status from the network’s coverage. Despite claiming the channel promotes Democrats, Trump continues to receive favorable treatment and extensive airtime on Fox News programming while endorsing Republican candidates aligned with his political interests.

(Source: https://www.mediaite.com/politics/trump-bashes-fox-news-for-covering-sleazebag-tom-steyer-right-after-interviewing-his-favorite-california-candidate/)

Trump Posts Another AI-Generated Image of Jesus

President Donald Trump posted an AI-generated image depicting Jesus Christ and himself standing side-by-side on Wednesday, with Jesus placing his arm around the president. The image included text suggesting God is “playing his Trump card” to expose “satanic, demonic, child sacrificing monsters,” language Trump used to mock opponents he labeled “Radical Left Lunatics.” This post came days after Trump deleted a previous AI image showing himself as Jesus healing a sick man, which drew fierce backlash even from Republican party members.

When initially confronted about the deleted image, Trump lied about its content, claiming he believed it depicted him as a “doctor” rather than acknowledging the religious comparison. He blamed “fake news” for the controversy surrounding the original post. Instead of accepting criticism, Trump escalated by posting the second image while explicitly mocking those who objected to his previous religious imagery.

Trump’s repeated posting of AI-generated religious content depicting himself alongside Jesus reflects his use of disinformation and inflammatory rhetoric to provoke his supporters and dismiss legitimate criticism. The caption text, invoking conspiracy theories about child sacrifice, demonstrates Trump’s willingness to amplify unfounded and dangerous narratives to justify his own behavior and attack his opponents.

(Source: https://www.mediaite.com/politics/trump-posts-another-ai-generate-image-of-jesus-to-spite-radical-left-lunatics/)

Trump DOJ Seeks to Vacate Seditious Conspiracy Convictions

Trump’s Department of Justice, led by U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro, filed motions on Tuesday to vacate convictions against members of the Oath Keepers and Proud Boys who were convicted of seditious conspiracy and related crimes for their roles in the January 6 Capitol attack. The filing seeks to erase convictions for Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes, militia members Kelly Meggs, Kenneth Harrelson, and Jessica Watkins, and Proud Boys members Ethan Nordean, Joseph Biggs, Zachary Rehl, and Dominic Pezzola. This escalates Trump’s earlier mass pardons and commutations issued on his first day in office.

Stewart Rhodes, convicted of seditious conspiracy and sentenced to 18 years in prison, had his sentence commuted to time served by Trump in January. Enrique Tarrio, former Proud Boys leader also convicted of seditious conspiracy and sentenced to 22 years, was similarly pardoned. The remaining defendants had their sentences commuted to time served, though convictions technically remained until these new motions. Federal prosecutors argue that continuing prosecution is not in the interests of justice, according to the filed motions.

Rhodes founded the Oath Keepers anti-government militia group in 2009 and coordinated extensive preparations for armed conflict before January 6, including weapons caches and encrypted messaging discussions about a violent response to the 2020 election. Similarly, Proud Boys members including Nordean, Biggs, and Rehl were convicted after evidence demonstrated they orchestrated a violent plot to stop the peaceful transfer of power. Rehl called for “firing squads” for election “traitors,” and Pezzola was filmed using a stolen Capitol riot shield to break windows during the assault.

The Trump administration is systematically dismantling accountability for the January 6 attack through mass pardons, sentence commutations, and now attempted erasure of convictions. Stewart Rhodes appeared at Trump’s Las Vegas rally in January following his sentence commutation. Additionally, the administration has targeted federal prosecutors involved in January 6 cases and is identifying FBI agents involved in investigations while removing evidence and public statements about the attack from government websites.

Convicted rioters are now suing the federal government alleging excessive force by law enforcement, and the Justice Department has already settled with the family of Ashli Babbitt, who was fatally shot by Capitol police. Trump pledged to review the shooting decision. At least one rioter who called for police to be killed now works for the Trump administration, and a newly launched White House website attributes blame to law enforcement for “deliberately escalating tensions” during the Capitol breach.

(Source: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-jan-6-oath-keeper-proud-boys-doj-b2957740.html)

Trump Attacks Former Ally Meloni After She Defends Pope

President Donald Trump denounced Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on Tuesday, calling her “unacceptable” after she publicly criticized his attacks on Pope Leo XIV. In a phone interview with Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera, Trump accused Meloni of being a changed person and claimed he was “shocked by her,” stating “I thought she was brave, but I was wrong.” Trump’s reversal came after Meloni defended the Pope’s calls for peace, characterizing Trump’s words toward the pontiff as unacceptable.

Meloni’s statement defended the Pope’s role as head of the Catholic Church and his right to condemn war. Trump had previously attacked the Pope as “WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy,” and reiterated his grievances by stating he did not want a Pope who criticizes his presidency, which he characterized as setting “Record Low Numbers in Crime, and creating the Greatest Stock Market in History.” Trump then pivoted his criticism to Meloni, repeating her language and accusing her of indifference to Iran’s nuclear weapons capabilities, falsely claiming Iran could destroy Italy if given the opportunity.

Trump had previously praised Meloni during a visit to Mar-a-Lago, positioning her as a significant figure in European politics aligned with his agenda. Meloni, a right-wing populist, had begun distancing herself from Trump in recent weeks following domestic political setbacks linked to Trump’s rock-bottom approval ratings in Italy. She stated earlier in the month that “when we don’t agree, we must say it,” in response to being questioned about the Iran war.

Meloni had previously served as a bridge between Trump and the European Union, particularly regarding Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and harder-line immigration policies. Her recent shift reflects her attempt to separate herself from Trump’s declining political standing domestically. Trump’s attack on Meloni demonstrates his pattern of abandoning allies who refuse absolute loyalty or who publicly diverge from his positions, revealing his transactional approach to international relationships.

(Source: https://www.mediaite.com/politics/trump-flips-on-former-key-european-ally-its-her-whos-unacceptable/)

Trump Officials Assumed USAID Just Did Abortions

Trump administration officials tasked with dismantling USAID in 2025 demonstrated profound ignorance of the agency’s actual functions, according to a new book by Nicholas Enrich, the agency’s acting assistant administrator for global health. During a February 5, 2025 meeting at USAID headquarters, official Joe Borkert and his team admitted they had assumed the agency “just did abortions,” revealing that Elon Musk’s cost-cutting operation DOGE had targeted the organization without understanding its humanitarian mission. Musk had previously called USAID a “criminal organization” and “radical-left political psy op” based on disinformation.

Enrich described to the Trump officials how USAID tackled emerging pandemics, diagnosed and treated tuberculosis, malaria, and HIV, and immunized millions of children against deadly diseases. His explanation prompted stunned silence before Borkert confessed his assumption about the agency’s work. A White House liaison then suggested that drug-resistant tuberculosis was too complex for non-health professionals and proposed simplifying it to “Super TB” and creating maps resembling the film “Outbreak” to visualize disease spread, treating public health crises as entertainment concepts.

When Enrich pressed the importance of USAID’s malaria response efforts, which DOGE had just shut down at the cost of thousands of jobs, even Borkert expressed frustration, saying “just because it might work at Twitter does not mean you can do it here.” Despite this acknowledgment, he ordered the USAID team to implement draconian cuts, retaining only first-priority programs and discarding second, third, and fourth-tier priorities, including lifesaving maternal health interventions designed to prevent pregnancy-related deaths.

Enrich and his colleagues left the meeting deeply disturbed, concluding that the Trump administration officials making decisions with real-world consequences “were not real policymakers, but impostors, sitting in big chairs and pretending to grapple with complex issues that required teams of experts, who they had just off-loaded.” The episode exemplifies the abuse of power and reckless dismantling of critical global health infrastructure driven by ideological cost-cutting rather than informed policy analysis.

(Source: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-administration-usaid-whistleblower-b2957508.html)

Starmer told ‘drill, baby, drill’ by Trump over North Sea oil fields | The Independent

Donald Trump pressured Prime Minister Keir Starmer to expand North Sea oil and gas drilling, using the phrase “drill, baby, drill” and demanding Scotland abandon wind energy development. Trump claimed the United Kingdom is “tragic” for refusing to exploit North Sea oil reserves and stated that Aberdeen “should be booming” with fossil fuel extraction, despite Europe’s stated energy security needs.

Trump asserted that Norway profits by selling North Sea oil to Britain at double the price, implying the UK should extract and sell its own resources instead. He reiterated his long-standing opposition to wind energy, calling it an “expensive joke,” and demanded the UK cease wind turbine development in Scotland while prioritizing oil drilling.

The Republican president’s intervention in UK energy policy reflects his consistent push to expand fossil fuel extraction globally and his hostility toward renewable energy infrastructure. His demands contradict the UK government’s stated climate and energy transition goals, positioning Trump as openly hostile to clean energy policy regardless of national sovereignty or environmental commitments.

(Source: https://www.independent.co.uk/bulletin/news/trump-starmer-north-sea-oil-drill-b2957519.html)

Trump Posts Jesus-Like Picture of Himself Amid Pope Leo Feud

President Donald Trump posted an artificial intelligence-generated image depicting himself as Jesus Christ performing a miraculous healing on a sick man, complete with religious iconography including a glowing hand, American flags, the Statue of Liberty, fighter jets, and angelic soldiers. The image also featured a praying woman, a person in what appears to be an Immigration and Customs Enforcement uniform, and a nurse observing Trump’s supposed miracle work in a hospital setting.

Trump posted the image approximately 40 minutes after launching a hostile attack on Pope Leo XIV over the pontiff’s criticism of the Iran war. Trump branded the pope “WEAK” on crime and nuclear weapons, calling him “terrible” on foreign policy. Trump also attacked the pope’s brother, Louis Prevost, claiming he preferred him because Prevost was “all MAGA,” demonstrating Trump’s weaponization of family members to escalate conflicts.

The pope’s criticism stemmed from Trump’s threats to obliterate “a whole civilization” in Iran if its leadership refused to make a deal, which the pontiff called “truly unacceptable.” Pope Leo XIV subsequently declared that “God does not bless any conflict.” The pope had previously denounced the Trump administration’s “extremely disrespectful” treatment of undocumented immigrants, establishing a pattern of moral opposition to Trump’s policies.

When speaking to reporters at Air Force One on Sunday evening, Trump doubled down on his attacks, stating “We don’t like a pope that’s going to say it’s okay for Iran to have a nuclear weapon” and describing Pope Leo XIV as “a very liberal person” who “doesn’t believe in stopping crime.” Trump’s messaging contradicted the pope’s actual position on nuclear proliferation while mischaracterizing the pontiff’s humanitarian stances.

The AI-generated image and accompanying tirade reflect Trump’s pattern of appropriating religious imagery and language to reinforce a messianic narrative among his supporters, while simultaneously attacking religious figures who challenge his military and immigration policies. The juxtaposition of the image with the pope attack demonstrated Trump’s weaponization of faith rhetoric to delegitimize moral opposition to his authoritarian actions.

(Source: https://www.mediaite.com/politics/trump-posts-jesus-like-picture-of-himself-performing-miracle-on-sick-man-minutes-after-ramping-up-feud-with-pope-leo/)

Trump Threatens to ‘Eliminate’ Iranian Ships Violating Blockade

President Donald Trump threatened to destroy any Iranian vessels that approach his newly imposed naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, posting the threat on Truth Social on Monday morning within 23 minutes of the blockade taking effect. Trump claimed Iran’s Navy had been “completely obliterated” with 158 ships destroyed, and warned that any remaining “fast attack ships” attempting to breach the blockade would be “immediately ELIMINATED” using lethal methods comparable to those deployed against suspected drug-smuggling boats from South America.

The threat followed Trump’s announcement of the blockade after Vice President JD Vance failed to negotiate a deal with Iranian leadership during weekend talks in Pakistan. Trump described the anticipated elimination as “quick and brutal,” framing the blockade as part of a broader administration strategy to disrupt Iranian activity and drug trafficking simultaneously.

Trump added an unsubstantiated claim that 98.2% of drugs entering the U.S. by ocean have been stopped under his administration’s policies, attributing this result to the aggressive enforcement methods he referenced in his warning about Iranian vessels. The post represents an escalation in Trump’s rhetoric toward Iran following the collapsed diplomatic negotiations.

Trump had previously claimed that whether or not a deal with Iran was reached made “no difference” to American interests, suggesting his administration’s approach prioritizes military confrontation over sustained diplomacy. The blockade and accompanying threats signal Trump’s intent to use force as the primary instrument of foreign policy toward Iran regardless of diplomatic outcomes.

(Source: https://www.mediaite.com/politics/trump-warns-iran-any-ships-that-attempt-to-violate-blockade-will-be-eliminated-just-like-south-american-drug-boats/)

Trump Weighs Iran Military Strikes After Pakistan Peace Talks Collapse

Trump and his advisers are evaluating military strikes against Iran following the collapse of peace negotiations in Pakistan. The White House is weighing limited bombing campaigns alongside the naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz as pressure tactics to restart stalled diplomatic talks, according to officials briefed on the situation.

A full-scale bombing campaign remains under consideration, though officials indicated this option is less probable given Trump’s stated aversion to prolonged military conflicts and concerns about further regional destabilization. Trump is also exploring a temporary blockade arrangement that would shift long-term enforcement responsibilities to allied nations.

Trump’s aides maintain that he remains open to diplomatic resolution despite the breakdown in Pakistan negotiations. The administration is treating military action as one element of a broader coercive strategy rather than an immediate objective.

(Source: https://www.wsj.com/world/middle-east/trump-weighs-limited-strikes-on-iran-after-talks-collapse-71908883?mod=WSJ_home_mediumtopper_pos_3)

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