Donald Trump is reportedly considering Ron DeSantis to replace Pete Hegseth, if Hegseth drops out of the running to lead the Department of Defense, but some DeSantis allies worry that Trump is actually looking to punish the governor.

DeSantis opposed Trump for the 2024 GOP primary, but immediately joined forces with Trump after being beaten. Still, some have said bad blood still exists between the two Republican politicians.

DeSantis' name has popped up in conversations as Hegseth, a Fox News personality, is reportedly having difficulty with securing enough Republican votes to win confirmation.

Politico did some in-depth reporting on exactly what such a switch would mean.

"POLITICO interviewed 16 Republican lobbyists, elected officials and political consultants tied to both Trump and DeSantis about the possibility of the swap, many of whom were granted anonymity to talk freely," according to the report. "Many DeSantis allies see the Defense secretary job as being attractive to DeSantis, giving him the keys to run the world’s most powerful bureaucracy — and just as important, will keep him in the spotlight ahead of any potential future presidential run."

Some close to DeSantis call the move a "win-win" scenario, but others warn of pitfalls.

The report says, "But some DeSantis allies also think that Trump could just be floating DeSantis’ name to see how senators back in Washington react."

"Such a move could be orchestrated to see whether the president-elect needs to choose a new nominee out of concern that Hegseth won’t get confirmed," it states.

Politico reports that one ally "who often talks to DeSantis’ inner circle" said DeSantis and his team also "had to decide whether to trust Trump knowing that he could join the administration and then get thrown out, perhaps even in a short amount of time."

"The person described the scenario as DeSantis taking a risk — that he might on the one hand gain political longevity, but also that it wasn’t guaranteed given the possibility of angering Trump the way some Cabinet members did during the first term," the outlet reported on Thursday.

Another individual close to Trump reportedly "said they had a hard time picturing DeSantis as a subordinate and said the governor should be skeptical about hopping aboard."

“It could all be a Machiavellian move to kneecap him and leave him with nothing,” the person said, according to the new reporting.

Read the article here.

Donald Trump sparked outrage among his critics with the appointment of Kash Patel as the head of the FBI, and now some are warning Patel to protect himself.

Patel has been seen as a controversial pick, including because of his reportedly unwavering loyalty to the former and incoming president, and because of his purported ties to QAnon.

Morgan Ortagus, a Trump-endorsed candidate for Congress in Tennessee's fifth congressional election who effectively lost the race in 2022 after being removed from the ballot, posted a photo with Patel Saturday.

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"A beautiful Sunday lunch with 45/47 and the next ⁦[FBI] Director my friend [Patel]," Ortagus wrote on her social media.

Far-right activist Laura Loomer, who recently spoke out against a dinner guest Trump had, replied to Ortagus.

"I bet it was beautiful… Remember when you went on MSDNC and said 'you didn’t know' if you could ever support Donald Trump as the GOP nominee for President while you were a campaign surrogate for [Jeb Bush]?" Loomer asked. "Remember when you called Trump 'disgusting.'"

Loomer also felt the need to warn Patel about Ortagus.

"I love Kash Patel. He has always been a big supporter of the J6 patriots and even raised money for them," she wrote. "Morgan Ortagus is a snake who is disliked by all of her colleagues at the State Department and she is a traitor to Trump."

Loomer continued:

"Let’s go down memory lane. Morgan was never with Trump. Her twin sister married a Muslim man, which prompted Morgan to attack Donald Trump over his travel ban from Islamic countries, she divorced her first husband and married a rich, politically connected Jew in DC and had her wedding officiated by the ultra-liberal SCOTUS justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg."

Another X user named Teri McCoy, a self-identified "Trump supporter," also flagged a "Snake Alert on Ortagus!!"

An account on X purportedly about the so-called Trump Derangement Syndrome wrote, "Weren’t you for Jeb Bush in 2016 and Nikki Haley in 2024? What a grifter!"

Another popular MAGA X account, Tammie McDonald, said, "Get out of here" with a snake emoji.

Democratic strategist Nomiki Konst unleashed on Thursday in discussing Donald Trump's recently reported phone call and his tariff threats.

Trump recently claimed his call with Mexico's leader resulted in her agreeing to effectively close down the border, purportedly as a result of his planned tariffs.

Her version of events was slightly different, according to CNN.

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Former George W. Bush spokesman Pete Seat said he didn't think either side was lying, instead suggesting that the results of the call were "lost in translation."

But Konst saw things in a different light, saying, "It's par for the course for Donald Trump to have his own version of events and obviously put that out on Truth Social, his own social media platform that he's making money off of as he goes into the next presidency."

She continued, saying that, if Trump gets his way on his tariff threat on Mexico that lies at the heart of the dispute, the "burden is actually going to be put on the United States, the people of the United States."

Donald Trump Saturday made a move that is being seen as a middle finger to both the Supreme Court and the intelligence community, experts say.

Trump over the weekend announced his appointment of Kash Patel as the director of FBI, leading critics to lash out and causing a pre-emptive strike against Senate Republicans by a top MAGA lawyer who said he would make their political lives hell if they opposed Patel.

Sophia Cai, senior national politics reporter for Axios, said, "Trump's decision to name hardline loyalist Kash Patel to FBI director amounts to a massive middle finger to the intelligence community."

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Conservative commentator Charlie Sykes also weighed in on the big picture of the Patel appointment.

"Underappreciated angle to the appointments of Patel, Gaetz, Bondi, et al. Massive Fuq U to institutions … But also a huge FU to the Supreme Court, because Trump doesn’t think they will be a check on his campaign of lawless retribution," he wrote Saturday. "Nice work, John Roberts."

Former Republican U.S. Representative Matt Gaetz caused a stir on Saturday as he hinted about his next steps in the political world after withdrawing his name from consideration as Donald Trump's next Attorney General.

Trump nominated Gaetz for the top legal spot despite Gaetz having limited legal experience and never having served as a prosecutor. Gaetz removed himself from the nomination process after hitting speed bumps, including those related to a yet-to-be-released ethics report surrounding allegations about drug use and child sex trafficking.

Some speculated Gaetz might attempt to return to Congress, despite resigning immediately upon being nominated for the spot in Trump's administration, but experts say that would revive the discussion over the report about allegations for which Gaetz was never convicted or charged criminally.

But Gaetz himself provided a hint on social media over the weekend, suggesting he won't return to Congress but instead will position himself to be the next governor of Florida.

Anthony Sabatini, former member of the Florida House of Representatives, posted on X (formerly called Twitter) that Gaetz "will be the next Governor of the State of Florida."

Gaetz himself shared that comment along with a Florida flag.

This led to numerous reactions on social media.

RNC National Committeewoman Amy Kremer said she "would love this!" but others weren't happy.

Republicans against Trump said, "Holy s---."

"Matt Gaetz hints he might run for Florida governor," the group wrote in response. "This creep needs to go away."

Popular parody account GOP Jesus said, "This is his obvious next move" because "DeSantis is term limited."

A political commentary group called Protect Kamala Harris tried to float an early Gaetz opposition.

"Matt Gaetz is considering a run for Governor of Florida in 2026. This is Democrat Gwen Graham, a former Congresswoman and daughter of beloved Senator Bob Graham," the account wrote. "She is the strongest candidate to beat Gaetz."

Lakshya Jain, a political analyst at Split Ticket, an election modeling and data analysis group, said, "Gaetz basically confirms he’s running for governor of Florida in 2026."

"The single weakest candidate you can imagine, and the only one who would realistically put the state in play. Bigger question for now, though, is if he even wins a primary, unless Trump endorses him," Jain wrote.

Political commentator Brian Tyler Cohen also flagged the news, adding, "Far from accusations of child sex trafficking being a disqualifier in the Party of Family Values, it's apparently a prerequisite."

A day earlier, Gaetz's wife, Ginger, posted a photo of her husband along with the words, "Unemployment has never looked so go

Donald Trump's new attorney general nominee has an absolute disqualifier under her belt, according to a former prosecutor.

Former federal prosecutor Joyce Vance Friday noted the decision of Matt Gaetz, Trump's first pick for A.G., to withdraw his name from consideration.

"Gaetz, completely unqualified and credibly accused of the same kind of conduct the Justice Department prosecutes, was rejected by members of his own party," Vance wrote. "Even they couldn’t stomach Gaetz in the role of the Attorney General."

Vance went on to discuss Pam Bondi, Trump's new pick to replace Gaetz as the A.G. nominee.

"By early evening though, Trump had already made a new pick. That suggests he didn’t really put a lot of time into vetting former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, who held that office from 2011 to 2019, before going on to positions important to her nomination like defense counsel for Trump during his second Senate impeachment trial," she wrote. "Trump more than likely already knew everything he needed to know to select her."

One thing people should know about Bondi, according to Vance, is that she is a 2020 election denier.

"Bondi has experience as a prosecutor and with running a large office. And she gets high marks from Florida lawyers who’ve worked with her for surrounding herself with very smart people. But Bondi is a 2020 election denier with a long track record—that should be an absolute disqualifier," Vance added. "How can Bondi say she’ll uphold the oath of office that attorneys general take? Election denialism may be an article of faith for Trump supporters, but it should be a death knell for any nomination to be attorney general of the United States."

Vance noted that there some additional controversies with Bondi, as well.

"She has a long history of being aligned with Donald Trump. There were allegations in 2016 that she took improper political donations from Trump’s charitable organization," according to Vance. "The gist of the story involved what some characterized as a bribe to get her to drop the investigation into Trump University while she was Florida’s AG."

Read the post here.

Donald Trump on Sunday announced that he has nominated a Project 2025 author to be the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission.

Trump, who earlier in the day sought an investigation into a political pollster, said in a statement that he has chosen Brendan Carr, the senior Republican on the FCC, to be its head.

"Commissioner Carr is a warrior for Free Speech, and has fought against the regulatory Lawfare that has stifled Americans' Freedoms, and held back our economy," Trump said. "He will end the regulatory onslaught that has been crippling America's Job Creators and Innovators, and ensure that the FCC delivers for rural America."

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Trump's statement does not mention Carr's connection to Project 2025, the governance plan from which the former and incoming president has tried to distance himself since polls showed it was highly unpopular.

"Carr also wrote the FCC section of Project 2025, the agenda that the conservative Heritage Foundation sketched out for a second Trump term," according to NPR. "Trump disavowed it during the campaign but its themes have dovetailed with his public pronouncements since the election. (A call by House Democrats for Carr to be investigated for engaging in partisan activity over the report did not result in formal action. Carr said he had secured approval from FCC ethics officials to do so in his personal capacity.)"

Republicans against Trump responded to the news, simply saying, "Shocking."

Donald Trump reportedly got a potentially devastating message from Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell, and political observers are speaking up.

Trump already announced he would be relying on recess appointments to get some of his cabinet nominees pushed through, but McConnell said on Sunday that such a thing wouldn't happen, according to a news report.

Trump's controversial nominees include former GOP lawmaker Matt Gaetz, who has been investigated for drug use and allegedly having sex with a minor.

ALSO READ: Why Trump voters should be held accountable for their choice

After McConnell reportedly said, "There will be no recess appointments," social media was overtaken by talk of the upcoming standoff.

Former federal prosecutor Harry Litman said, "Lines are drawn."

"It would be sad as well as disgraceful if the Senate caved on this," he added. "And the stakes go beyond the political, and even the constitutional. It’s an inordinate and unnecessary national security risk."

HuffPost reporter Yashar Ali said, "McConnell will not be Senate Republican Leader soon, but he may be saying this based on conversations with his colleagues."

"The idea that the U.S. Senate will give up its authority on this matter with the flip of a switch is foolish," Ali said. "They’re not going to stop using pro-forma."

Economic advisor Patrick Chovanec said, "McConnell understands this would be the end of the Senate as we know it. Whether he's in any position to stand up against the MAGAs is the real question."

Correspondent Molly Jong-Fast simply said, "Let us pray."

Legal analyst Allison Gill, better known as Mueller, She Wrote, said, "But McConnell won't be the leader. Here's hoping, though."

Political and legal experts spoke out Saturday after it was reported that Donald Trump's transition team is compiling a list of senior current and former U.S. military officials to see if they could be court-martialed.

NBC News dropped the exclusive report over the weekend, saying the Trump team is "considering creating a commission to investigate the 2021 withdrawal from Afghanistan."

The news gave one former GOP insider some "literal goosebumps."

Online, some also lashed out at the news.

Former federal prosecutor Joyce Vance, for instance, noted that it was Trump himself who "signed the timeline agreement for Afghanistan withdrawal."

"Now Trump's transition team, if reporting is correct, is talking about prosecuting officers for following lawful orders. Hard to see that surviving a military Rule 32 hearing (sort of like a criminal grand jury) which makes this sound like an autocrat's move--try and strike terror into the hearts of public servants so they will be obedient," Vance wrote. "A horrible abuse of military justice & unlawful effort to impose command influence."

Anti-Trump conservative Tom Nichols also chimed in, saying, "Trump's people might be floating this court-martial thing to distract everyone from his Cabinet picks. Maybe."

"But even as a head-fake, it's a direct attack on the norms of American civil-military relations and a reminder that Trump wants loyalty to him, not the Constitution," he wrote on Saturday.

Retired soldier Robert Clark wrote, "Not a single US active or retired military General or Flag Officer will be convicted at court martial over the Afghan NEO / withdrawal or for anything else they did in following legal & lawful orders."

"It will blow up in Trump's face," he added.

Donald Trump's pick for Defense Secretary, Fox News host Pete Hegseth, paid off a sexual assault accuser, according to the Washington Post's exclusive reporting Saturday.

Reports have suggested Trump chose Hegseth for the position in part because of Hegseth's abilities as a TV culture warrior on TV. It has also been reported that Trump's team was thrown for a loop when it was revealed that he had been accused of sexual assault.

Now, the Washington Post has reported additional details.

"Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for secretary of defense, paid a woman who accused him of sexual assault as part of a nondisclosure agreement, though he maintained that their encounter was consensual, according to a statement from his lawyer Saturday and other documents obtained by The Washington Post," the outlet reported over the weekend. "Hegseth’s attorney, Timothy Parlatore, said that Hegseth was 'visibly intoxicated' at the time of the incident, and maintained that police who were contacted a few days after the encounter by the woman concluded that 'the Complainant had been the aggressor in the encounter.' Police have not confirmed that assertion."

The Post further reported that Hegseth "agreed to pay an undisclosed amount to the woman because he feared that revelation of the matter 'would result in his immediate termination from Fox,' where he works as a host."

"The statement came after a detailed memo was sent to the Trump transition team this week by a woman who said she is a friend of the accuser," Michael Kranish, Josh Dawsey and Jonathan O'Connell wrote. "The memo, a copy of which was obtained by The Post, alleged he raped the then-30-year-old conservative group staffer in his room after drinking at a hotel bar."

Read the full report here.

Donald Trump has made some cabinet choices that have confused and upset even his closes congressional allies, and there's a reason for that, according to a CNN reporter.

Trump's choice for Tulsi Gabbard to be the nation's top spy and for Fox News anchor Pete Hegseth to be defense secretary have caused some outrage, but nothing comes close to the former and incoming president's choice for Matt Gaetz to be Attorney General.

But "they are perfectly in tune with Trump’s campaign trail promises and political project," according to senior CNN reporter Stephen Collinson.

"The dismay engulfing establishment elites contrasted with the euphoria rocketing through conservative networks and social media among Trump fans," he wrote. "The president-elect draws political strength from his position as an outsider scourge of the establishment, and if his picks are confirmed by the Senate — a huge if in the case of Gaetz — they will be tasked with his mission of defenestrating government and driving out those Trump sees as enemies."

But even beyond that, according to Collinson, "outrage is the point" of the picks.

"The latest selections for Trump’s MAGA dream team caused such a stir that they almost overshadowed the pick of Fox News anchor Pete Hegseth to serve as defense secretary on Tuesday night," he wrote before quoting Trump’s short-lived former first-term communications director Anthony Scaramucci in saying that "the president-elect’s personnel selections were purposely meant to 'own the liberals.'"

Collinson also quoted Pennsylvania Democratic Sen. John Fetterman as saying, “It’s just kind of like a god-tier, kind of trolling, just to trigger a meltdown.”

Read the full report here.

Donald Trump just had a big win, but he might be about to fall into a trap, a conservative economist said Saturday.

Oren Cass, who previously flagged concerns with Trump's political campaign, wrote in the New York Times over the weekend that suggests the former president and president-elect might make a decision that could ultimately doom his presidency.

In a piece titled, "Trump Is About to Face the Choice That Dooms Many Presidencies," Cass, the chief economist at American Compass, a conservative economic think tank, said "Trump is experiencing a sudden role reversal."

"His campaign to earn support from voters has ended abruptly and a new one has begun among donors and activists to earn his support for their priorities. The election was about tax cuts, or maybe cryptocurrency, the arguments go. What Americans really want, sir, is fewer protections on the job and a weaker safety net," Cass said. "This is the first moment when presidencies go wrong. Rather than prepare to govern on behalf of the electorate that put them in power — especially the independent swing voters who by definition provide the margin of victory in a two-party system — new presidents, themselves typically members of the donor and activist communities, convince themselves that their personal preferences are the people’s as well."

Cass goes on to outline the plan Trump might follow:

"As he looks toward his new term, Mr. Trump could claim a mandate to lead however he wishes, huddle with his supporters at Mar-a-Lago and then see how much of their agenda he can advance before his popularity falls too far to effect further change," the expert wrote. "That is the formula that has left a nation seemingly resigned to the loss of both common purpose and institutional competence. It is not a formula for a successful presidency, let alone for making America great again."

Cass further suggests it's not too late for Trump to do the right thing and focus on the issues that matter to American voters the most.

Read the piece here.

The reported resignation of Jack Smith, who was appointed special counsel to investigate and ultimately prosecute Donald Trump, appears to be a clear win for the former and incoming president. But there may be more to the story, according to an ex-prosecutor.

Former federal prosecutor Joyce Vance on Thursday noted that, despite the fact that the cases against Trump are coming to an end, there is a requirement in the special counsel regulations that could come back to haunt Trump even as he ramps up to return to the White House.

"The reports painted a picture of prosecutors who had concluded their only option was to close up shop because Trump prevailed in the case," Vance said. "It’s possible that is what is happening, but there is another possibility, too.

Specifically, Vance states, "At the conclusion of a special counsel’s investigation, section 600.9(a)(3) of the Special Counsel Regulations requires the Attorney General to provide Congressional leadership with 'a description, and explanation of instances (if any)' where the Attorney General overruled an action the special counsel wanted to take."

"That requirement would be triggered if Smith proposed moving forward despite DOJ policy against prosecuting a sitting president (there were earlier reports he intended to continue his work through inauguration day), and the Attorney General countermanded him because of existing policy," she added. "It’s hard to assess what value a report like that might have, beyond information and evidence Smith’s court filings have already made public. It would at least guarantee there would be a permanent public record that would survive Trump’s certain demand that the Justice Department kill the cases against him."

Vance concluded:

"This is one potentially intriguing possibility in a day that didn’t have much optimism to offer. It bothers me deeply, nonetheless, that Trump has avoided accountability at the hands of a jury that would consider the evidence against him and decide whether to convict him or not. I know I’ll struggle with that for a long time."

Read Vance's full piece here.

An internal memo from those closest to Donald Trump puts forth a plan for the former president to "bypass traditional background checks" and give appointees "immediate access to classified secrets after taking office," according to Maggie Haberman of the New York Times.

Haberman, along with Jonathan Swan and Charlie Savage, on Sunday published a piece in which they reveal the details of the memo, which purportedly "says that if elected he should use private firms to check appointees’ backgrounds and give them immediate access to classified secrets after taking office."

"A memo circulating among at least half a dozen advisers to former President Donald J. Trump recommends that if he is elected, he bypass traditional background checks by law enforcement officials and immediately grant security clearances to a large number of his appointees after being sworn in, according to three people briefed on the matter," the report says. "The proposal is being promoted by a small group including Boris Epshteyn, a top legal adviser to Mr. Trump who was influential in its development, according to the three people."

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Although the report states that it's not clear whether Trump intends to enact the plan, it emphasizes that, if he does, "it would allow him to quickly install loyalists in major positions without subjecting them to the risk of long-running and intrusive F.B.I. background checks, potentially increasing the risks of people with problematic histories or ties to other nations being given influential White House roles."

"Such checks hung up clearances for a number of aides during Mr. Trump’s presidency, including Mr. Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and Mr. Epshteyn himself," according to the report.

The report goes on to say that, under the plan, the Trump White House would use private-sector investigators instead of the FBI to do the background checks. It also quotes multiple inside sources close to the campaign.

"Once Mr. Trump took the oath, he would then summarily approve a large group for access to classified secrets, they said," according to the report.

National security attorney Bradley Moss responded to the new report, saying, "Yep, this was inevitable."

Read the full piece here.

Donald Trump recently claimed to have helped hurricane victims, but there's "no evidence" to support he did any such thing, one reporter found on Saturday.

S.V. Date, a senior White House correspondent at HuffPost, said over the weekend that the former president "said he brought supplies to storm-ravaged Georgia."

But all Trump really brought were "dozens of local police officers for security, diverting them from storm cleanup," according to the report.

"While Donald Trump took credit for bringing truckloads of supplies to hurricane-ravaged Georgia last month, it appears that the only thing he brought to Valdosta that day was traffic and a first-responder diversion from the relief effort," the reporter wrote.

Date quoted Trump and his campaign, which said the ex-president brought "truckloads of different items, from oil to water to all sorts of equipment that’s going to help."

The reporter found that wasn't true.

"In reality, those trucks were brought by Samaritan’s Purse, a charity run by the pastor Franklin Graham. They were already there by the time Trump flew to the local airport and then rode into town in his Secret Service motorcade, according to residents," Date wrote. "That motorcade and the increased security needed at Trump’s photo opportunity required 42 officers from the Georgia State Patrol, according to documents from that agency obtained by HuffPost."

Date continued:

"A smaller number of Valdosta police officers and deputies from the Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office also provided traffic control at the town’s intersections during Trump’s visit, said Mayor Scott James Matheson. He acknowledged that those officers could not continue with relief and cleanup efforts while they were detailed to Trump’s visit."

The report noted that President Joe Biden not wanting to interfere with clean-up efforts "was the reason President Joe Biden cited for waiting to visit until roads were open and immediate needs taken care of."

Trump has a history of accusations that he hasn't been helpful in similar disaster responses dating back to his presidency.

Read the full report here.

Donald Trump's own family member says the former president is no longer "tethered to reality," and says it's "getting worse."

Trained psychologist Mary Trump, the niece of the ex-president Trump, stated on Thursday night that she doesn't understand how people don't see how he's declined.

"Between cutting his Pennsylvania town hall short to listen to songs from Cats and Shrek for 39 minutes, to his rambling, incoherent performance at the Economic Club of Chicago, it’s hard to see how anybody thinks my uncle is still tethered to reality," she said.

Mary Trump went on to say that the recent town hall dance party could be "the best example so far of his cognitive decline," and noted that Trump's recent interview with Bloomberg Editor-in-Chief John Micklethwait at the Economic Club of Chicago "was perhaps the best example I’ve seen of an interlocutor revealing both Donald’s inability to handle pushback and his stunning ignorance."

"The titan of business and master of the art of the deal clashed repeatedly with Micklethwait—over January 6 and the economic impact of increased tariffs—and he came out of every exchange looking like a complete fool whose lack of knowledge was surpassed only by his contemptuousness," she said.

Mary Trump went on to suggest that people are finally catching on to what she says are her uncle's most obvious cognitive failings.

"I will never understand why it took so long, but it’s as if people are finally seeing the man behind the curtain: the miserable, petty, perpetually aggrieved child who seems only to be trying to win back the presidency so he can stay out of prison," Mary Trump wrote. "That so many media outlets continue to let him get away with murder, and that tens of millions of Americans continue to support him is enough to make one’s head explode. But it’s a good sign that at least some people are waking up to the realization that Donald is a no-nothing empty suit who is losing his grasp of reality."

Read it here.

Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell called Donald Trump a "narcissist" and a "despicable human being," among other things, according to an upcoming biography.

McConnell, who has publicly disagreed with Trump on several occasions but largely stuck by the former president's side, is reported to have made the remarks following the events of Jan. 6 in 2021. At the time of the riot, McConnell publicly condemned Trump's actions, but said he shouldn't be impeached for it because it would be up to the justice system to punish him for spurring the attack on the Capitol.

Now, the Associated Press is unveiling specific comments McConnell purportedly made about Trump in private.

"Mitch McConnell said after the 2020 election that then-President Donald Trump was 'stupid as well as being ill-tempered,' a 'despicable human being' and a 'narcissist,' according to excerpts from a new biography of the Senate Republican leader that will be released this month," according to the report. "McConnell made the remarks in private as part of a series of personal oral histories that he made available to Michael Tackett, deputy Washington bureau chief of The Associated Press. Tackett’s book, 'The Price of Power,' draws from almost three decades of McConnell’s recorded diaries and from years of interviews with the normally reticent Kentucky Republican."

The report continues:

"The animosity between Trump and McConnell is well known — Trump once called McConnell 'a dour, sullen, and unsmiling political hack.' But McConnell's private comments are by far his most brutal assessment of the former president and could be seized on by Democrats before the Nov. 5 election. The biography will be released Oct. 29, one week before Election Day that will decide if Trump returns to the White House."

McConnell has still endorsed Trump for his White House bid.

Read the report here.

Donald Trump at his California rally on Saturday threatened to withhold funds for helping to fight wildfires in the state.

Trump over the weekend spoke in the city of Coachella, where he was laying out his vision of problems in the Golden State. At one point during his speech, he said a woman who was protesting and heckling him would get "the hell knocked out of her," causing observers to say he was endorsing violence against women.

After that, he was talking about issues he says farmers have in California when he threatened to withhold aid for fighting the state's forest fires.

"We'll force it down his throat. And I will say, [California Governor] Gavin [Newsom], if you don't do it, we're not giving you any of that fire money that we send you all the time for all the far... forest fires that you have. It's not too hard to do. We just had so many other things to do. I was working on two Russia hoaxes, I was working on impeachments, I was working on indictments. They went out of their way to keep me busy because they didn't want this to happen."

Watch below or click the link here.

Donald Trump owes more than $750,000 to at least four cities and one county, according to a new Friday report.

Trump has long been accused of hosting rallies in various jurisdictions, and then leaving without paying fees due for public safety costs. Those bills have been accruing over the course of eight years and now near almost $1 million, according to NBC.

"Former President Donald Trump held a third rally last month in Erie, Pennsylvania, which sits in the northwest corner of a swing state that could decide who wins the White House," the report states. "Like the two other times Trump has been to Erie to rev up his supporters, he left without paying the bill."

According to the report, this is a pattern and city officials "haven't yet tallied up what the Trump campaign owes Erie for public safety costs for his most recent rally in September."

"But according to a city official, Trump owes the city more than $40,000 for the rallies he held there in 2018 and 2023," NBC reported on Friday. "Erie, whose bills were previously reported by the Erie Times-News, isn't the only city that has hosted Trump rallies and not been paid by the campaign."

While other cities and municipalities have gone on the record about Trump's bills in the past, he has still reportedly failed to pay some fees he owes. NBC was able to confirm that Trump still owes money to at least four cities and one county.

"Including Erie, four cities and a county confirmed to NBC News that they're still waiting for the Trump campaign to pay bills often associated with reimbursements for the costs of local law enforcement and other first responder personnel," the report states. "The final price tag is more than $750,000 for those five jurisdictions, with some bills dating back eight years."

Trump and his campaign have reportedly pushed these bills to Secret Service.

Read it here.

Donald Trump has consistently claimed that his fans don't leave his rallies early, but that appears to be undermined by footage from his Sunday rally.

Trump over the weekend spoke in Wisconsin, where he made multiple verbal slip-ups that were ridiculed online. He also appeared to get distracted by an "aggressive" fly.

Observers also noticed that, at least at one point, numerous rallygoers seemed to be filing out while he was speaking.

ALSO READ: Inside Trump and Johnson's shocking new bid to suppress women's votes

Trump was in the middle of speaking about immigration issues when, in videos that went around online, you can see around a dozen people standing up and walking somewhere else. Raw Story has not confirmed that these individuals left the rally itself.

One of the videos was posted by the popular Kamala’s Wins account, which wrote, "BREAKING: Stunning new footage shows people leaving Donald Trump’s rally today."

The Ford News Podcast also circulated a similar video, writing, "People are leaving the Trump rally after a short time of him speaking. This happens during every rally because MAGA enthusiasm is low."

Artist Art Candee responded to footage posted elsewhere on X, formerly called Twitter, and wrote, "They're over him."

Watch the video below or click the link here.

Donald Trump supporters were outraged on Saturday when Vice President Kamala Harris made a comment in support of the citizens of Lebanon.

Many Lebanese citizens have been caught in the crossfire as Israelbombards Hezbollah, a militant group, with missile attacks in and around the country's capital, Beirut. Israel is responding in part to a barrage of missiles from Hezbollah that began on Oct. 8, the day after the deadly attack by Hamas in Israel.

Harris responded by offering her concern, as well as an update on funding, on the same day she visited North Carolina to survey storm damage.

"The people of Lebanon are facing an increasingly dire humanitarian situation. I am concerned about the security and well-being of civilians suffering in Lebanon and will continue working to help meet the needs of all civilians there," Harris wrote. "To that end, the United States will provide nearly $157 million in additional assistance to the people of Lebanon for essential needs such as food, shelter, water, protection, and sanitation to help those who have been displaced by the recent conflict. This additional support brings total U.S. assistance to Lebanon over the last year to over $385 million."

That didn't sit well with Trump supporters.

Trump's senior campaign adviser, Chris LaCivita, replied with, "Tone Deafness runs in Washington."

Eric Daugherty, the Assistant News Director for the conservative-leaning Florida's Voice, responded with, "To be clear - Kamala Harris' campaign-suicidal post this evening focusing on LEBANON while major disaster rescues and recovery are underway is an admission she is losing Michigan right now."

Trump-aligned podcaster Tim Pool asked, "How the f--- is this real??"

"Kamala announcing she gave our money to Lebanon for aid during a disaster," he then added.

Rick Scott, a senator from Florida and an ally of Trump, said, "If we renamed Florida and North Carolina to Lebanon and Ukraine, maybe Kamala Harris would send disaster relief faster."

"She’s made it clear that being Americans puts us last in line," Scott added.

Harris actually spent the day Saturday in North Carolina, where she "met with local officials to receive an update on Hurricane Helenerecovery efforts, spoke with several families impacted by the catastrophic storm and helped at a donation center," according to USA Today's weekend reporting.

Jim Jordan may be gearing up to launch a bid for a promotion that could set off a major civil war among Republicans.

Raw Story recently reported that, if the GOP loses its existing majority in the House of Representatives this fall, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) will very likely have fellow Republicans gunning for his job. Jordan is reported to be topping that list.

Jordan's reported ambitions would require him to challenge current Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA), according to Politico.

In an article entitled "The bitter leadership rivalry that could split the House GOP — again," the outlet reports that "House Republicans believe the stalwart conservative isn’t done angling for a leadership spot. But he still has dug-in opponents in the conference."

"House Republicans are seeing strong signals that Jim Jordan is looking to move to a more powerful perch in the party," Politico reports. "The current Judiciary Committee chair and conservative darling has been campaigning for House members — including some of the centrists who blocked his short-lived bid for the speakership last fall — at a level that has raised eyebrows inside and outside of House GOP leaders. He’s also written checks to multiple members for their campaigns, and he’s been doing check-ins with some who opposed him, efforts seen as a way to shore up his relationships."

While some Republicans who opposed Jordan's last effort to take over the speakership are now supporting him, the road to overtaking Scalise will not be an easy one. He also burned some bridges, according to Politico.

"Despite those inroads, Jordan allies warn that he burned bridges during the leadership race that go beyond those who publicly opposed his speakership bid. More than 120 Republicans privately bucked Jordan as their speaker nominee during a closed-door meeting last year," the report states. "While more voted for him when he forced three House floor votes, some of his detractors blamed him and his allies when they and their families received death threats. Some even faced primary challengers, inspired by their votes against Jordan. The Ohioan denounced those tactics, but the damage was done."

Other issues Jordan might face, according to the Politico report, involve a weakened alliance with the far-right of the conference.

"At times, he’s brushed off pressure from the right flank to engage in hardball investigative tactics. He’s also lost clout with some conservatives for his close relationship with McCarthy, who leaned on Jordan as a key ally after an initially fractious start to their relationship," the report states. "In fact, some Jordan allies suggest he felt deflated after the McCarthy ouster, which was embraced by multiple members of the House Freedom Caucus, a group he co-founded."

Read the report here.

Donald Trump was interviewed by Brian Kilmeade on Fox News, and the video was published Saturday night. One of the former president's answers had observers scratching their heads.

Trump was asked during the interview about what kind of an opponent he saw in Vice President Kamala Harris after the faced off in a debate that most analysts say she won. Earlier in the day, Trump rejected Harris' offer for a second debate, giving an excuse that was widely ridiculed online.

During the Fox News interview, Trump gave a surprising response about the strength of his debate performance.

"Well, I thought that she had a debate which was interesting, because she wasn't answering any questions," Trump said. "And I thought it was a great debate for me. I thought it was one of my best debates that I've ever had. And some people disagreed, but I felt it was the strongest debate I ever had."

The interview answer raised eyebrows with many viewers.

Former NBA and University of Kentucky player Rex Chapman said, "You can’t win a debate if you won’t look at the other candidate the entire night. At all. Not once. Scared. The whole world saw it. Couldn’t even look at her. She eyeballed him all night long and talked s--- while doing it. Took his heart. Soft."

Conservative Army Iraq War Veteran Peter Henlein said that "the debate may go down as the moment that broke Trump."

Writer and podcaster Hemant Mehta said, "Then you would think he'd leap at the chance to destroy her in a debate once again..."

Brian Tyler Cohen, a provider of political commentary, said, "It was so 'strong' that he's literally afraid to get on the stage with her again."

Geographer Linda Stevens replied, "Narcissists are delusional. They make up alternate realities to fit their warped views of themselves."

"They have to if they don’t, they collapse," she added Saturday.

Watch below or click here.

Donald Trump will "never recover" from the narcissistic injury inflicted upon him by Vice President Kamala Harris at the recent presidential debate, according to Trump's psychologist niece.

Mary Trump, a trained psychologist who earlier in the day said her uncle has been "signaling" his plans to steal the 2024 election, appeared on MSNBC Saturday night to discuss her uncle's presidential campaign and her new book, Who Could Ever Love You: A Family Memoir.

The host of Ayman asked Mary Trump about the debate, where many analysts say Harris baited Trump by mocking him and his rally sizes.

Mary Trump highlights the "moment" when Harris "essentially, mocked him for the rallies that he holds and said they were boring and people leave early."

That moment, according to Mary Trump, "inflicted a narcissistic injury from which -- and I'm not overstating this, this is actually true -- he will never recover."

She continued:

"As we know for a long time, Donald measures his sense of self-worth in how big things are. His fortune, his buildings, his crowds, et cetera. She completely undermined that because, as much as he wants to delude himself, he has eyes. He understands that his rallies do not draw as many people. He understands that people leave."

She added that, "Every other moment in the debate where he was flustered or lashing out was the result of that first exchange."

Watch below or click here.

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Donald Trump may have lost his bid for the White House this week, a former Republican lawmaker said on Saturday.

Former Rep. David Jolly (R-FL) appeared on MSNBC over the weekend to discuss Trump's recent debate, widely perceived as a flop for the former president, as well as Trump's close association with far-right conspiracy theorist Laura Loomer. Last month, Jolly tore into the Heritage Foundation's Project 2025, and the organization's director Kevin Roberts, for their effort to reimpose Christian nationalism on the country.

On MSNBC, Jolly was asked by the host about Trump's latest perceived campaign downfalls.

Jolly said it was "unsettling" that Loomer "is a close adviser now to Donald Trump."

"Now he is getting off the plane for the debate with Laura Loomer and Matt Gaetz. He doesn't even have Melania with him, or Jared or Ivanka, none of these so-called stabilizing forces for Donald Trump are now around the former president," Jolly said. "And so you see the performance that we saw Tuesday night in the debate. And you see the disgusting moment where he calls out Haitian immigrants with this lie and conspiracy about eating animals."

He then added, "I would say this... I really mean this. This may be the week that Donald Trump lost the race for the White House. This might be the week."

Watch below or click here.

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Donald Trump has long been criticized for what some have called corrupt foreign practices involving money coming from foreign nations, but those issues are only growing deeper, according to a new report.

Before, during, and after his presidency, Trump benefited from foreign deals that largely flew under most citizens' radar.

But those deals are ramping up, "likely in preparation for a second term," according to a report from the Intelligencer.

ALSO READ: Why Trump’s Arlington controversy is actually a crime

"Given the financial overlap between Trump, his family, his company, and a constellation of kleptocratic regimes, especially Russia, Trump presented an unprecedented opportunity for foreign regimes to directly access the White House and tilt American policy in the process," according to the report. "Now, with Trump running for the presidency once more, those concerns have hardly disappeared. If anything, foreign governments — including brand-new regimes that weren’t involved in Trump’s first whirlwind in the White House — have only spied new opportunities to burrow into his pockets and into a second administration."

The report outlines various deals from various foreign nations, including Egypt, China, Kazakhstan, and Indonesia, but especially focuses on Trump's multi-prong relationship to the Saudi Arabian government.

"Look at Saudi Arabia. Years after Saudi tyrant Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) ordered the grisly killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, the Saudi government has used an entire fleet of PR professionals and consultancy firms to launder its image, transforming the regime from a bastion of backwardness into one of progress and reform," the article states. "And part of that influence campaign has directly targeted — and directly used — Trump."

Earlier this month, Raw Story reported that former President Donald Trump had a recent discussion with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman. Just a month earlier, the Trump Organization was reported to have signed a new deal with a Saudi real estate company to build a residential high-rise tower in the city of Jeddah, the New York Times reported at the time.

According to the Intelligencer, that's just the beginning.

"Yet the deepening links between Trump and Riyadh don’t revolve only around a single, luxe new high-rise. Time and again in recent years, Saudi and its proxies have bankrolled Trump and his inner circle — and even expanded the network of authoritarian allies succoring Trump," it states. "But the new links between Saudi and Trump go even deeper, stretching into Saudi Arabia’s latest foray into foreign investments: golf. Throwing billions of dollars into professional golf — all as a way of transforming Riyadh into a destination of global sports — Saudi backed the recent creation of LIV Golf, the rising competitor to PGA Golf."

Read the full article here.

Donald Trump on Saturday commented about an upcoming vote on a new amendment in Florida, and conservatives are not happy about it.

Trump over the weekend took to Truth Social to proclaim himself the "most respected LAW & ORDER President in U.S. History," before going off in an odd direction and complaining about the smell of marijuana. He also appeared to approve of the passage of an amendment in Florida that would legalize possession of a personal amount of marijuana.

That didn't sit well with many traditional conservatives, including many of those in the state.

Debbie Mathews, a Florida conservative, said in response to Trump, "Here we go again."

"Trump doesn’t understand a Florida Amendment," she said Saturday. "Study shows crime goes up when marijuana is legal. Can his advisors prep him better, please? Vote NO on 3."

David Biddle, chair of the Gilchrist GOP in the state, said on Saturday, "Don't listen to Trump. Vote NO on Amendment 3. We don't need recreational marijuana in Florida. It's been a disaster everywhere they have it, it brings zero benefit to society, it increases crime, increases homelessness, and increases further drug use. It's bad for Florida."

Conservative Army Iraq War Veteran Peter Henlein also chimed in:

"Great. Now we have Trump coming out for amendment 3 in Florida, saying it will pass. We know MAGA influencers are being paid large sums to promote this as well. It’s all just a big scam for money. And even though I am a big DeSantis supporter, if he can’t stand up to Trump over issues in his own state….well that’s pretty bad. Stop being afraid of Trump and MAGA."

Former Trump attorney Jenna Ellis, who identifies as a constitutional conservative from Florida, called Trump's comments a "PR play."

"Trump is talking about Amendment 3 to make conservatives start talking about why we obviously oppose this stupidity and he hopes we just forget about the Amendment 4 problem," she said. When someone suggested Trump may have been paid to endorse the cannabis amendment, Ellis said, "Definitely could be that too."

Donald Trump may have a card up his sleeve for an "October surprise," and J.D. Vance should be worried, a conservative columnist said Saturday.

During an appearance on MSNBC over the weekend, columnist Jennifer Rubin — a loyal conservative until Donald Trump came along — was asked about the impact Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s recent Trump endorsement might have on the presidential race.

Specifically, the host said, "This average of national polls we will put this up here on the screen. You can see there, before Vice President Harris took over the top of the ticket, with Kennedy in the race, Trump was leading President Biden. Now with Vice President Harris at the top of the ticket, she's leading Trump with Kennedy in the race. With him out of the race, just a two-way race, she gets a bump, what do you make of this?"

Rubin replied, "The more people know about Bobby Kennedy the more people who are saying they do not want to vote for him."

"I think he's a perfect match for Donald Trump," she added before making a prediction.

"In fact, if I were J.D. Vance, I would stick by the phone, because he might be just the kind of guy that Trump would pull in as an October surprise."

She continued, saying Kennedy is "freaking in every sense of the word."

Watch below or click here.

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