Trump Congratulates OAN for Getting ‘Millions of New Viewers’ That They Didn’t Actually Get

People often forget that Donald Trump was in the television business for many years. In fact, that was likely his primary source of income, since his real estate ventures were failures, including four casinos that went bankrupt. Think about it… No real “billionaire” would have the time or inclination to host a reality TV game show for fourteen seasons unless he needed the money.

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Donald Trump, OAN

Ordinarily, someone with that sort of experience in the TV business would learn something about it. But there is nothing ordinary about Trump. His inability to process and retain information is exhibited on a daily basis in his bizarre and incoherent ramblings on subjects having to do with his current grift: the presidency of the United States. What he has learned about that business would fit onto a used gum wrapper.

FOR INSTANCE: Trump Unloads Dozens of Deranged Comments in a Morning Rage that Confirms His Mental Infirmity

On Thursday morning Trump let his cult followers on his failing Twitter ripoff, Truth Social, know just how ignorant he is about his prior profession. He posted a comment about the growing prospects of the One America News Network saying that…

“OAN is making a huge comeback, with millions of new viewers. Congratulations to OAN and all of those who worked so hard to get you there!”

Notice that Trump doesn’t bother to cite any source for that congratulatory statement. Like most of what he says, it is either misinterpreted, grossly exaggerated, or utterly false. Pathological liars don’t need facts to support their fabrications. And if they have devoted disciples like the MAGA minions, it hardly matters. They will believe whatever he tells them to believe.

What Trump is likely referring to is that Spectrum recently added OAN to its channel lineup, making it available to millions of Spectrum subscribers. That doesn’t mean that any of them actually watched it. It’s like a restaurant adding a shit sandwich to the menu. That doesn’t mean anyone is going to order one.

Nielsen doesn’t track OAN’s audience because it is too small to register. They did briefly in 2019 and found an average of only about 14,000 viewers. Since then OAN lost distribution on major cable networks such as Verizon Fios and DirecTV. So it’s difficult to suggest that their viewership has increased since then.

Nevertheless, this is what Trump regards as a “huge comeback” worthy of a glowing, public congratulation. But no matter what Trump says, he still can’t manage to get his flock to abandon Fox News. Not that he hasn’t tried…

SEE THIS: As the World Burns: Trump Whines that ‘MAGA HATES Fox News’ After New Poll Shows Him Floundering

Trump didn’t mention another source of potential new viewers for OAN: The Voice of America. In May, Kari Lake, who is currently serving as Trump’s special advisor to the United States Agency for Global Media (USAGM), announced a partnership with OAN to provide newsfeed services to USAGM networks, including the Office of Cuba Broadcasting (OCB), Radio Martí, and Voice of America (VOA).

MORE HERE: Trump Flunky Kari Lake Taps MAGA Propaganda Network, OAN, to Be the Voice of Voice of America

The usurpation of these networks by Trump’s propaganda regime completely destroys their intended purpose to broadcast honest and reliable news into countries where it is otherwise prohibited. And delivering OAN’s notoriously untrustworthy programming to the world can only result in humiliation for the U.S. The network has been – and is being – sued for its false reporting. However, in an ironic twist, Trump has also presided over the defunding of the USAGM and directed his team to put their staffs on leave. So there may be no one to implement the OAN broadcasts.

What’s more, Trump’s efforts to dismantle the USAGM are being challenged in court where the funds allocated by Congress, and the original staff of real journalists, could be reinstated. In the meantime, Trump can be expected to continue disseminating lies and decreeing mandates that weaken the free press. But the only new viewers that OAN will gain in any of this will be in Trump’s fertile imagination.

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Trump Hypes His Puerile ‘Perade’ as TV Networks and the Weather Conspire to Depose His MAGA-STY

The big day has finally arrived when Donald Trump gets his long craved charade …er… parade paying homage to his self-declared magnificence. Although it may not materialize in quite the way that he imagined. In his pursuit to be coronated as America’s first monarch, Trump has been doing his best to earn the title. And as usual, his best is pretty damn pitiful.

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King Donald Trump in the Oval Office.

In just the last week “King” Trump has deployed Marines to the streets of Los Angeles, called for Gov. Gavin Newsom to be arrested, said nothing when the Speaker of the House called for Newsom to be tarred and feathered, directed the arrest of Newark Mayor Ras Baraka and the indictment of Rep. LaMonica McIver, approved of Sen. Alex Padilla being tackled and handcuffed by his FBI, and flip-flpped on his own mass deportation policy.

SEE THIS: TACO Trump Chickens Out on His Mass Deportation Plans When it Affects Him and His Wealthy Pals

So imagine how disappointed Trump will be when his parade is received with less than the unanimous acclaim of his loyal subjects. Much less. Consequently, he is pulling out all the stops to promote the event. Recognizing that God is among the conspirators plotting to spoil his birthday bash, he posted the following comment on his failing Twitter ripoff, Truth Social, to encourage his faithful to attend, despite the dangerous weather forecast. Unfortunately, his inbred ignorance resulted in his promotion of a “perade.”

TRUMP: "A rainy day PERADE brings good luck." ?In that case, best of luck today, birthday baby.

News Corpse (@newscorpse.bsky.social) 2025-06-14T16:08:27.633Z

What’s more, Trump’s persistent need to be the center of attention at all times is at risk of going unfulfilled. According to Variety, “ABC News, NBC News and CBS News are unlikely to pre-empt regular TV programming for coverage of the event.” And according to Politico only seven of the 50 members of Congress they asked say they will be attending the affair.

Meanwhile, the hundreds of “NO KINGS” demonstrations that are also taking place today are already drawing massive crowds and nationwide television coverage. All of this is working to the disadvantage of the petulant president. As reported here last week

“Trump has been on the receiving end of some decidedly bad news lately. For instance, his bitter break up with billionaire pal Elon Musk; his failure to fulfill his promise to bring peace to Ukraine or Gaza; his assault on academic freedom and free speech at universities such as Harvard; his recessionary tariffs; and his so-called “Big Beautiful Bill” that may be big, but is grotesquely ugly and detrimental to most Americans. Consequently, Trump is desperately trying to change the subject.”

Sadly for Trump, his deflections are failing miserably. But then, it’s awfully difficult to pretend that you aren’t aspiring to impose yourself as authoritarian royalty when you have also posted pictures of yourself like this…

This is picture that Trump posted of himself wearing a crown with the caption "Long Live the King."And it is why millions of Americans are participating in "NO KINGS" day.

News Corpse (@newscorpse.bsky.social) 2025-06-14T16:27:54.399Z

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UH-OH: ABC, NBC, and CBS News are ‘Unlikely to Preempt Programming’ for Trump’s Birthday Parade

This Saturday, June 14, Donald Trump has planned a vain tribute of himself on his 79th birthday that he expects every American to celebrate. It’s an event that he has long coveted, featuring a military parade to salute his self-proclaimed magnificence. While he pretends that the affair is to note the 250th anniversary of the founding of the U.S. Army, he can’t stop reminding people that it is also his birthday.

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Trump in Bed, Eating, Sad

The parade is set to take place in Washington, D.C. in the early evening, with tanks and jets and more than 6,000 soldiers marching in the streets of the Capitol. It is estimated to cost about $45 million to pay this homage to Dear Leader in the style of history’s most notorious tyrants (e.g. Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping, Kim Jong Un), who Trump makes no secret of embracing with admiration and envy. But what else would you expect from someone so patently disturbed?

SEE THIS: WHO’S DERANGED? Trump on Biden Clones, Transgender Mice, Autopens, and His Own Mental Anguish

Trump may be in for a bit of disappointment on Saturday when his party isn’t given the attention that he believes it deserves. It appears that the media isn’t planning on catering to his ego for a change. According to Variety

Mainstream TV-news outlets seem divided over how to cover an extravagant display of military might along the streets of Washington, D.C. from the Trump administration. […]

“ABC News, NBC News and CBS News are unlikely to pre-empt regular TV programming for coverage of the event, according to people familiar with their plans.”

All three national broadcast networks plan to direct their live coverage of the parade to their streaming platforms. That will significantly depress viewership for Trump’s shameless shindig. But not to worry, Trump will still be able to tune in to it at the White House as he scarfs down his Big Mac and sips his Diet Coke. Because it will be airing on Fox News – of course. In fact, as reported by Variety…

“Fox Corp.’s Fox News Channel will pre-empt its Saturday schedule with four hours of special coverage.

[However…]

“Other cable-news networks do not seem poised to offer robust parade coverage. MSNBC will have anchor Ali Velshi on hand, according to a person familiar with the matter, and “will cover news as it happens.” Warner Bros. Discovery’s CNN was not able to offer immediate information about coverage plans tied to the event.”

Adding to Trump’s likely dismay, many of trump’s fellow Republicans plan to skip the festivities as well. Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul went so far as to criticize them saying that he has “never been a big fan of goose-stepping soldiers in big tanks and missiles rolling down the street.” And he’s not the only one. Politico reports that only seven of the 50 members of Congress they asked intend to attend the affair. Some of the most senior members of Congress are staying away. Including…

  • Senate Armed Services Chair Roger Wicker
  • House Armed Services Committee Chair Mike Rogers
  • Senate Majority Leader John Thune
  • Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso
  • House Majority Leader Steve Scalise
  • Sen. Tommy Tuberville
  • Sen. Markwayne Mullin
  • Sen. Lindsey Graham
  • Sen. Todd Young
  • Sen. Rick Scott
  • House Appropriations Chair Tom Cole
  • House Freedom Caucus Chair Andy Harris
  • House DOGE Subcommittee member Rep. Tim Burchett

What’s more, there are hundreds of demonstrations planned for the same day as Trump’s bash. The “No Kings” events will likely draw far more people than Trump’s parade. The question is whether the media will devote the appropriate measure of coverage to a movement that exceeds what remains of the MAGA cult. For more information, and links to how you can participate, see this: NO KINGS

Trump has been on the receiving end of some decidedly bad news lately. For instance, his bitter break up with billionaire pal Elon Musk; his failure to fulfill his promise to bring peace to Ukraine or Gaza; his assault on academic freedom and free speech at universities such as Harvard; his recessionary tariffs; and his so-called “Big Beautiful Bill” that may be big, but is grotesquely ugly and detrimental to most Americans.

Consequently, Trump is desperately trying to change the subject. His war on Los Angeles and its peaceful protesters is one of his efforts to deflect attention from his failures. This parade is another. And he has managed to conflate the two by threatening to use “very heavy force” against anyone who dares to protest his party. Because the only thing that Trump hates more than being ignored, is the Constitution.

First Trump deploys the military against peaceful protesters in Los Angeles. Now he's threatening anyone who protests his vanity birthday parade in Washington, D.C. He couldn't care less about the Constitution.

News Corpse (@newscorpse.bsky.social) 2025-06-10T17:26:17.549Z

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WHO’S DERANGED? Trump on Biden Clones, Transgender Mice, Autopens, and His Own Mental Anguish

Last month a book was published that purported to reveal an alleged mental incapacity of President Joe Biden. The authors of “Original Sin,” Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson, asserted that Biden’s condition was covered up by his staff and family, but they never actually provided any evidence of any act or behavior that impacted his ability to govern efficiently and successfully. Which may account for the book’s poor reception and the ratings decline of Tappers CNN program.

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Donald Trump, Insane, Straight Jacket

Nevertheless, the failure of the book to document the core premise of its authors didn’t stop them, or much of the mainstream media, from engaging in obsessive coverage of the book to the exclusion of many other far more newsworthy issues. Particularly the state of Trump’s own mental health considering that, by his own admission, he is perilous ignorant of a wide range of subjects that the president ought to know…

SEE THIS: What Trump Admits He Doesn’t Know: 13 Examples of His Failing Mental Acuity – or Blatant Lying

While the Washington press has been fixated on dubious accusations aimed at Biden, Trump has been busy providing real proof of severe cognitive decline. And it’s much worse with Trump if only because he is not a former president in retirement on a Delaware beach, but is the current occupant of the White House whose deficiencies could result in catastrophes. For instance, just within the past few days…

CLONES? Trump promoted an insane post on his failing Twitter ripoff, Truth Social, asserting that Biden was executed in 2020, and replaced by clones, or soulless, mindless robots, or WTF, you figure it out…

Trump posted this insanity on Truth Social about President Biden having been executed and replaced by clones…“There is no #JoeBiden – executed in 2020. #Biden clones doubles & robotic engineered soulless mindless entities are what you see. >#Democrats dont know the difference.”

News Corpse (@newscorpse.bsky.social) 2025-06-01T10:31:38.814Z

MICE? Trump repeated the already debunked nonsense that “They spent $8 million on making mice transgender…I could sit here all day and read things just like that.” The research that he’s referring to was on “transgenic” mice, which is completely different.

WOW! Trump's dishonesty and stupidity is totally OFF THE CHARTS!He has already been told that it is not "transgender" mice. It's "transgenic." Which has nothing to do with sexuality. It is gene therapy research to help save human lives.

News Corpse (@newscorpse.bsky.social) 2025-05-30T19:15:34.960Z

AUTOPENS? Trump fantasizes – without evidence – about Biden using on autopen to sign nearly everything during his term in office saying that, “I think the autopen is going to become one of the great scandals of all time…Who signed these orders and proclamations and all these other things that he signed?”

Trump: "I think the autopen is gonna become one of the great scandals of all time."

Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) 2025-05-30T18:18:17.181Z

ANGUISH? Trump whines that he has suffered “mental anguish” as a result of how CBS’ 60 Minutes edited an interview of Kamala Harris six months ago. So he’s suing them for $20 billion dollars. Poor baby.

MEANWHILE, on Fox News, they were devoting much of their airtime to Biden and their manufactured musings about his mental acuity. The Fox and Friends “Curvy Couch” potatoes, Will Cain and Rachel Campos-Duffy, played a clip of Biden responding humorously to a question about it…

Biden (video clip): You can see that I’m mentally incompetent, and I can’t walk. And I can beat the hell out of both of them [Tapper and Thompson].
Reporter: Do you want to reply to any of those reports and also the fact that are some Democrats who are now questioning whether you should have run for reelection in the first place.
Biden: Why didn’t they run against me then. Because I would have beaten them.
Cain (in studio): If any viewers know what he’s saying, please email us.
Campos-Duffy: There’s so much to unpack there. I have no idea what he said. None of the words made sense together.

Apparently Biden’s entirely comprehensible and light-hearted, snarky response was over the heads of the Fox News hosts. Hopefully they will get someone to explain it them later.

However, that won’t resolve the problem with their flagrantly biased coverage of Biden, or their avoidance of covering Trump’s more obvious and dangerous mental maladies. What follows are a few more examples of Trump’s deteriorating mental state. It is not a comprehensive list. But it would be helpful if the media would do its job and report on these and other episodes of Trump’s inability to comprehend reality…

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Trump Flunky Kari Lake Taps MAGA Propaganda Network, OAN, to Be the Voice of Voice of America

From the very first day that Donald Trump reoccupied the White House, he has orchestrated an assault on the free press and any journalistic effort to report the truth about him. There is nothing that irks him more than accurate reporting of his wrecking of the economy and his contempt for the Constitution.

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Donald Trump, OAN

Trump’s anti-media crusade has taken the form of banishing news outlets like the Associated Press from all presidential events, and stacking the White House press corps with sycophantic Trump-fluffers

SEE ALSO: Trump Declares Himself King of the White House Press Corps, Will Now Decide Who Can Question Him

The Trump regime’s campaign to undermine the free press is not limited by international borders. He put one of his most fervent cult devotees, Kari Lake, in a position to control the United States Agency for Global Media (USAGM), which oversees multiple broadcasting networks that inform people in countries that have no other source for reputable news. The networks under the auspices of the USAGM include Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), Radio Free Asia (RFA), Radio Television Martí, the Middle East Broadcasting Networks (MBN), and the Voice of America (VOA).

Now David Folkenflik is reporting for NPR (an American public broadcaster that Trump is trying to defund) that “Kari Lake says OAN’s far-right coverage will fuel Voice of America.” Folkenflik writes that…

“Senior presidential adviser Kari Lake appears to have resolved any doubts about what she wants to do with the Voice of America. Lake seeks for it to look and sound a lot like the far-right One America News Network.”

[Lake said that] “the United States Agency for Global Media (USAGM) is excited to announce a partnership with One America News Network (OAN) to provide newsfeed services to USAGM networks, including Office of Cuba Broadcasting (OCB), Radio Martí, and Voice of America (VOA). […] I can ensure our outlets have reliable and credible options as they work to craft their reporting and news programs.”

The notion that Lake can ensure the VOA outlets of “reliable and credible options” by teaming up with one of the most dishonest purveyors of ultra-right propaganda would be laughable if it weren’t so harmful. And since she has already put the staff of VOA and the other USAGM networks on indefinite leave, OAN will be the only source of news for the these networks.

The “quality” of reporting by OAN is notoriously untrustworthy. After all, they hired former GOP representative, MAGA Matt Gaetz, as a primetime host after he crashed and burned as Trump’s attorney general nominee. And they have been the subject of massive defamation lawsuits, one of which they already settled, admitting that their reporting was false.

MORE HERE: OAN Concedes that ‘There Was No Widespread Voter Fraud’ to Settle Defamation Lawsuit

VOA insiders are justifiably appalled. Their White House bureau chief, Patsy Widakuswara, said that “Congress mandated VOA to report reliable and authoritative news, not outsource its journalism to outlets aligned with the president’s agenda.” And the former CFO of USAGM, Grant Turner, said that “Kari Lake providing One America News Network to our global audiences makes a mockery of the agency’s history of independent non-partisan journalism.”

It is entirely understandable that honest journalists would be disgusted by Trump and his lackey, Lake. But it is not unsurprising that the Trumpists would exploit and abuse their power to spread their disinformation to the world. They are already doing it here at home. Fortunately, however, they are losing in the courts, and in the court of public opinion. But we must remain vigilant and resolved to resist the totalitarian Trump agenda if we are to prevail.

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60 Minutes Interview of Kamala Harris that Drove Trump to Sue CBS is Nominated for an Emmy

The crusade by Donald Trump to suppress the media, intimidate journalists, and bring an end to America’s constitutional protection of the free press, has accelerated since his reoccupation of the White House. His determination to emulate the sort of autocratic control that his idols (Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping, Kim Jong Un, etc.) enjoy is the keystone of his MAGA Cult movement.

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Kamala Harris, Donald Trump baby

Among Trump’s brazen efforts to clamp down on independent news organizations and reporting is his lawsuit against CBS for what he claims was their “illegal” editing of an interview of Vice-President Kamala Harris near the end of the 2024 election campaign. It was just another attempt by Trump to use meritless legal tactics to bring the media to heel with threats and the abuse of the power of the presidency.

SEE THIS: Trump Threatens CBS Over Kamala Harris Interview on 60 Minutes He Says Was ‘Possibly Illegal’

Trump was furious at CBS and 60 Minutes for reporting in a manner that was consistent with honest and professional journalism. He posted a frothingly rabid comment in October of last year on his failing Twitter ripoff, Truth Social, saying that…

“60 MINUTES SHOULD BE IMMEDIATELY TAKEN OFF THE AIR – ELECTION INTERFERENCE. CBS SHOULD LOSE ITS LICENSE. THIS IS THE BIGGEST SCANDAL IN BROADCAST HISTORY. Kamala should be investigated and forced off the Campaign”

Trump is going to have an aneurism after he learns that the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences has just announced that the interview that triggered Trump’s wrath has been nominated for an Emmy in the very category that ruffled his scales. As reported by the Associated Press (which Trump has banned from presidential events)…

“Last fall’s ’60 Minutes’ story on Kamala Harris — the subject of Trump’s $20 billion lawsuit against CBS — was nominated for an Emmy Award Thursday for ‘outstanding edited interview.’ Trump, in his lawsuit, complained that the interview was deceptively edited to make his Democratic election opponent look good.”

That’s right. The interview that Trump baselessly asserted was “illegal” and “election interference” due to its editing, has been nominated for an Emmy for “Outstanding Editing.” Could there be a better example of the irrational inanity of Trump’s impotent whining?

Well, actually there can be. Because Trump is still doing it with even greater force of idiocy. A few days ago Trump posted a new comment absurdly claiming that “The case we have against 60 Minutes, CBS, and Paramount is a true WINNER.” He reiterated his false accusation that the interview was improperly edited. But then he escalated his legal threats to include the New York Times because they published an article that correctly reported that legal experts regarded his case as “baseless.” He wrote that…

“[T]he Failing New York Times, which is Fake News both in writing and polling, claims that ‘people’ said that the case is baseless. They don’t mean that, they just have a non curable case of TRUMP DERANGEMENT SYNDROME, possibly to the point where the Times’ interjection makes them liable for tortious interference, including in Elections, which we are intently studying.”

It is also notable that Trump’s legal threats are both a conflict of interest and a flagrant abuse of power. As David Corn of Mother Jones reports, Trump is simultaneously suing CBS and it’s corporate parent, Paramount, while his FCC chair, Brendan Carr, is reviewing a proposed merger between Paramount and Skydance Media. So Trump can extort a settlement from CBS under the threat of declining to approve the merger.

That wholly inappropriate scenario may have contributed to the resignation of 60 Minutes executive producer, Bill Owens, whose reason for leaving after 37 years included the complaint that he “would not be allowed to run the show as I have always run it. To make independent decisions based on what was right for 60 Minutes, right for the audience.”

Hopefully CBS will not capitulate to Trump’s demands. What is clear is that everyone who has done so previously has paid a price for it, financially and reputationally. And those who have stood up against him have prevailed. That’s because the law, and the Constitution, and the people are on the side of unfettered freedom of the press. And it’s why Trump’s totalitarian efforts to undermine it will fail in the end.

UPDATE: An outraged and deranged Trump is predictably whining that the 60 Minutes interview “has now been nominated for an award by the totally discredited Emmys. Did 60 Minutes and its Corporate Parents apply to get an Emmy for an illegally falsified interview?”

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Trump is APPALLED at the ‘Large Scale Social Deception’ that His Own Administration Paid For

Donald Trump is notoriously fond of castigating his perceived enemies for offenses that he himself is responsible for. Every time he has falsely accused President Biden of committing crimes, it has been to deflect from his own documented criminality, including 34 felony convictions. Every time he has railed at Democrats for cheating, or attacked liberals as extremists, it has been to cover up his own dishonesty and manic radicalism.

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Trump Lies

Nothing is more predictable than Trump’s displays of pure projection that mirror his worst behaviors. And his feigned blindness to what is obvious to everybody else speaks to the degree of mental deterioration that he must be suffering, and/or his pathological impulse to lie about everything. These may be factors in why Trump’s popularity is wallowing at record lows.

SEE THIS: Trump 2.0 Begins with Approval Ratings that Rank Below Every Other President Dating Back to 1953

Consequently, no one should be surprised that Trump is now unleashing a rancid and utterly unwarranted assault on the media that he despises so thoroughly. Just one day after he brazenly violated the First Amendment rights of the Associated Press (because they wouldn’t kowtow to his preposterous renaming of the Gulf of Mexico), Trump is now making bizarre and unfounded accusations aimed at Reuters. He posted the following harangue on his failing Twitter ripoff, Truth Social

“DOGE: Looks like Radical Left Reuters was paid $9,000,000 by the Department of Defense to study ‘large scale social deception.’ GIVE BACK THE MONEY, NOW!”

What things “look like” to Trump are usually grossly distorted by his perversely warped political baises. And this case is no exception. To begin with, Trump was alerted to this phony atrocity by his unelected co-president and puppet master, Elon Musk, who shortly before Trump’s posting, tweeted that…

“Reuters was paid millions of dollars by the US government for ‘large scale social deception’. That is literally what it says on the purchase order! They’re a total scam. Just wow.”

There a couple of serious problems with these crackpot commentaries. Let’s begin with the fact that the expenditure in question was not one that financed engaging in “large scale social deception.” It was clearly described as a contract to conduct research on nefarious social media operations in order to defend against such threats to national security due to the social media campaigns of foreign adversaries. Naturally Trump is opposed to that because it would put constraints on his BFF, Vladimir Putin, and other tyrants that Trump admires and seeks to emulate.

Furthermore, the expenditures that Trump and Musk are complaining about were made in 2018, during Trump’s occupation of the White House. So he is actually attacking the work of his own administration. And yet, still managing to blame it on “Radical Left[ists]” and demanding repayment of the funds that he paid out. None of this was secret. It was all documented and available online. Mediaite did a quick fact-check and easily found that…

“The contract in question, issued in 2018 during the first Trump administration, was actually awarded to Thomson Reuters Special Services for cybersecurity research. […] The ASED program aims to create scalable systems capable of detecting, analyzing, and mitigating threats to bolster cybersecurity.”

For the record, Thomson Reuters Special Services is a division of the same corporation that owns Reuters News Service, but is not affiliated with it in any working capacity. TRSS has no input into Reuters reporting or editorial practices. It would like saying that Pepsi and Quaker Oats are clandestinely conspiring to alter each others recipes because they are both owned by the same corporation.

The bottom line here is that Trump and Musk are deliberately lying about the pseudo-scandal that they are pretending to have uncovered. And they are demonstrating that they couldn’t care less about the facts that are so readily available. So if anyone still needs more reasons not to trust anything that either of them say (a line that should have been crossed long ago), this should be a convincing closer to that deal. From now on, if you are fooled by these con artists, you want to be fooled. Also, you are in a cult.

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Who Should Fill Andrea Mitchell’s Now Vacant Slot on MSNBC? Jim Acosta? Mehdi Hasan? Or…

MSNBC anchor Andrea Mitchell hosted the last episode of her program on Friday. Her departure was announced last October in a statement that indicated her interest in doing “more of what I love the most: more connecting, listening and reporting in the field.”

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Jim Acosta, MSNBC

Mitchell will retain her role as chief Washington correspondent and chief foreign affairs correspondent. However, no one has yet been named to fill her 12:00pm ET time slot. That leaves some interesting possibilities for the network to counter Trump’s war against the free press that he refers to as “the enemy of people.”

SEE THIS: Trump Hurls Hate and Fear at All of the Media He’s Suing Following the ABC News Capitulation

Among the prospective candidates to succeed Mitchell is former CNN anchor, Jim Acosta. He recently chose to ditch CNN when they tried to banish him to an overnight wasteland, despite his having higher ratings than most of his CNN colleagues. It’s clear that the network’s brass were determined to kiss up to Trump by silencing one of his most honest and effective critics. Acosta signed off by warning that…

“It is never a good time to bow down to a tyrant…Don’t give in to the lies. Don’t give in to the fear. Hold on to the truth and to hope.”

Other potential replacements might include current weekend MSNBC hosts, Katie Phang, Ali Velshi, Alicia Menendez, Jonathan Capehart, and Ayman Mohyeldin. Another intriguing possibility would be to bring back former host Mehdi Hasan, an insightful journalist who was popular with MSNBC viewers before he was let go. Although he may not be available now as he has started his own successful media enterprise, Zeteo.

Replacing Mitchell with Acosta or Hasan would serve the dual purpose of pissing off Trump. Of course, he will attack whoever gets the spot with his hallmark hatred of anyone who dares to criticize him. And he has a special place in the decaying organ where his heart should be for MSNBC. Some of his recent outbursts include…

You take a look at MSDNC, how evil they are. They’re evil. They’re sick. They shouldn’t even be allowed to do what they do. Because it’s so corrupt. They shouldn’t be allowed to do it.”

MSNBC (MSDNC) uses FREE government approved airwaves, and yet it is nothing but a 24 hour hit job on Donald J. Trump…Our so-called ‘government’ should come down hard on them and make them pay for their illegal political activity.”

MSNBC, often and correctly referred to as MSDNC (Democrat National Committee!), should be investigated for its ‘Country Threatening Treason.’”

One option that MSNBC must resist is giving another hour of air time Morning Joe host, Joe Scarborough, who is already controlling four hours every weekday morning. The last thing the network needs is to lean closer to the Trump-fluffers at Fox News.

Speaking of which, Fox just announced its own new host, Trump’s daughter-in-lawlessness, Lara Trump. Which is their way of affirming that the network has abandoned any pretense of being anything other than Trump’s Ministry of Propaganda.

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Has Hell Frozen Over? Newsmax Host Shoots Down Trump’s Defense Secretary Nominee, Pete Hegseth

The parade of nominees for Donald Trump’s reoccupation of the White House is in progress on Capitol Hill. Confirmation hearings are being held by the Republican controlled Senate that is almost certainly going to rubber stamp every last one of Trump’s choices to serve in his Politburo…er…Cabinet. And once in place they will swear their allegiance to Trump, rather than to the Constitution.

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Pete Hegseth with Drunk Emoji

Among those being questioned by the senators is Pete Hegseth, Trump’s pick for Secretary of Defense. He is a standout among the roster of Trump’s ultra-loyalist, but dangerously unqualified nominees for being particularly unfit for the post to which he aspires. Not only has he never had any experience managing anything on the scale of the Pentagon, his personal history is one replete with sexual misconduct, drunkenness, financial mismanagement, and general ethical and moral bankruptcy.

SEE THIS: Fox News Buries Reports of Trump’s Unsavory, Unqualified Defense Secretary Pick, Pete Hegseth

Despite Hegseth’s dreadful resume, he is being lauded by MAGA World and fawned over by GOP politicians and press. However, there is one notable exception to this lock-step march to Grandmaster of the Military. Greg Kelly, a host on the Trump-fluffing Newsmax network, has come out in opposition to Hegseth. And he has some pretty well thought out reasons. Media Matters reports his reservations delivered on his primetime program. He prefaced his commentary saying that…

“I love President Trump, but he has sometimes gotten it wrong when it comes to the military. Who remembers General Milley? General Milley was Donald Trump’s pick for chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. And what happened? He turned around and called him fascist to the core and basically waged a coup against Donald Trump while he was in office.”

For the record, there was no coup against Trump, and all Milley did was tell the truth about him. But Kelly was just getting started. He also noted that one of Trump’s defense secretaries during his first term, Mark Esper, was “a bad call, a guy who was totally beholden to the swamp and turned around and called him a threat to democracy.” And then there was “General Mattis [another Defense Secretary]. He turned on President Trump big time.”

Maybe there were good reasons that all of these faithful, heroic, military officers were repulsed by Trump once they got to know him. Kelly then offered some detailed arguments against Hegeth’s nomination…

“I think the regulations suggest that since he paid money in a confidential settlement to a woman who accused him of assault — I — it’s akin to blackmail. And when you’re when you pay blackmail, I don’t think you’re eligible. […] We have all kinds of regulations that say if you’re vulnerable to blackmail, you shouldn’t be in a high level national security position. And that’s what his own attorney has called it – blackmail and extortion.

[And that…]

“[Hegseth] went on The Megyn Kelly Show and he made a case that he didn’t have a problem drinking.” [And also that] “he told [Fox News host] Will Cain in 2021 that, yeah, he had a problem.”

MORE HERE: Pete Hegseth’s Fox News Co-Host Admits He Had a Drinking Problem, But It’s Now ‘Under Control’

Kelly’s arguments for nixing Hegseth are compelling and ought to taken seriously by the senators considering his confirmation. His vulnerability to blackmail and/or extortion would create an existential threat to the nation’s national security. Add that to his moral vacancy and glaring inexperience, and you have a portrait of someone who should never be in charge of the U.S. military.

The question is, will enough senators have the integrity and patriotism to vote “NO”? Or will the Republican majority kowtow to Dear Leader Trump out of cultish devotion and/or fear?

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GOOD NEWS: Rachel Maddow Will Return to Airing 5 Days a Week for the First 100 Days of Trump 2.0

The tsunami of unsettling reports that have saturated the media in recent weeks has cast a pall on the newborn year of 2025. They include the unfolding consequences of the last November’s election, the persistent news of deadly conflicts in Gaza and Ukraine, and of course, the catastrophic wildfires that have ravaged several neighborhoods in Los Angeles.

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Rachel Maddow

Amidst all of those harrowing happenings the nation has also had to contend with the dystopian soap opera surrounding the reoccupation of the White House by Donald Trump. His toxic tendencies and temper tantrums have lived up to the worst predictions made prior to his unwelcome ascendancy. He has even managed to combine separate awful affairs to merge into mega-monstrosities.

SEE THIS: Trump Lashes Out Manically at Firefighters and Jack Smith in a Rabid Late-Night Freakout

So it comes with some relief to learn that there will be some respite in the storm of psychobabble that consumes America’s airwaves. MSNBC has just announced that Rachel Maddow, who has been on the air weekly for the past several months, is returning to a five-day-a-week schedule

“MSNBC fans are about to get a bigger dose of its marquee host: For the first 100 days of Trump’s second presidency, ‘The Rachel Maddow Show,’ will revert to its former five-night-a-week schedule.”

It is significant to note that this is a temporary change that will be in place for the first 100 days of Trump’s second term in office. Those will be particularly volatile days in the words of Trump himself, who has promised that “all hell will break loose.” He has said that there will a hundred or more executive orders from day one, a day on which he is also planning the biggest mass deportation in history.

Consequently, Maddow will have her hands full for the duration of her extended broadcasts. And it’s safe to predict that not much of the rest of the media will be covering the issues as thoroughly and honestly as she will. Alex Wagner, who has been airing on Tuesday through Friday, will take to the road for special reports on “Trumpland: The First 100 Days,” before returning to her anchor desk in May.

For a sneak preview of Maddow’s priorities for her program, what follows are some of her answers in an interview about the schedule change.

Question: What’s it going to be like covering Trump in 2025 vs. 2017? Have you learned any lessons from his first administration?
Answer: In the first Trump term, one of the things that we learned was this idea of watching what they do, not what they say. Trump is a real master of shifting the news cycle toward himself and away from himself as best suits his purposes, simply by saying really transgressive and shocking things all the time. […]

We’re already seeing the freneticism of the Trump news cycle taking over, even during the transition. We’re seeing the unpredictable cadence of the way news breaks as opposed to a more competent rational administration. So we’ll see; we’re trying to be ready for anything.

Question: There seems to be an exhaustion factor about Trump news. Do you agree, and if so, is it understandable, unhealthy, or both?
Answer: Everybody sort of implicitly knows that pretending something isn’t happening does not ensure that the thing doesn’t actually happen; there’s a sort of head-in-the-sand wish casting that’s happening with a lot of people checking out of the news, thinking ‘If I don’t hear about it, if I don’t look at it, then maybe it’s not happening.’ But people know that’s not actually the way to stop it from happening.”

Question: Trump has long attacked the press as the enemy…How do you deal with that?
Answer: As long as we’re still here, our job is pretty clear: Follow the facts, don’t be intimidated, tell true stories, help people understand the world. And I’m going to keep doing that […] Americans broadly know that we need a free press. We don’t need just state TV; we don’t need to have the government control the media, as happens in authoritarian countries. You want a free and independent and even oppositional press if you want a healthy country, and I think the country recognizes that. All of us in the business recognize that.

It will be refreshing to get Maddow’s insights on a more frequent basis while Trump and his MAGA media minions seek to deflect and distort what they are doing. And hopefully she will have some influence on her peers that results in better journalism all around. Especially while so many lies are proliferating on social media platforms that have abandoned fact-checking and thus, their responsibility to the their readers, their nation, and the world.

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Be sure to visit and follow News Corpse
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Fox Nation vs. Reality:
The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.

Thanks so much for your support.