"More Nations Should Step In": Israel On What Can End Hormuz Chokehold

03/19/26 9:53 PM

As fast as more countries come and step to the plate to engage with this effort to restore order and to send a very clear message to this regime - that what they are doing is unacceptable - the crisis will end sooner," Israel's Ambassador to India R

'He's mentally unhinged': Trump hit with disgust as tasteless Japan comment flops

03/19/26 5:19 PM

Donald Trump’s Oval Office appearance with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi ended on a sour note after he made a tone-deaf comment about Japan attacking Pearl Harbor in 1941.At the end of what was a mostly cordial joint appearance, the president was asked why he did not alert the leadership of Japan and other allies about his impending attack on Iran.First stating that he didn’t want to lose the element of surprise, he took what seemed an awkward stab at a joke, saying, “Who knows better about surprise than Japan? Okay, why didn’t you tell me about Pearl Harbor?"That led to a few scattered laughs and then some murmuring, as the president continued, “You believe in surprise, I think, much more so than us. And we had a surprise, and we did, and because of that surprise, we knocked out, the first two days, we probably knocked out 50% of what we — and much more than we anticipated doing. So if I go and tell everybody about it, there’s no longer a surprise, right?”Needless to say, social media lit up over the tasteless remark.Former Chicago Tribune editor Mark L Jacob was quick to respond with, “Trump jokes about Pearl Harbor with his guest, the Japanese prime minister. He’s mentally unhinged, with no impulse control or sense of what’s appropriate.”“I can’t believe that Trump just joked about Pearl Harbor while sitting next to Japan’s prime minister at the White House. What an absolute embarrassment!” added Democratic strategist Jon Cooper. Journalist Steven Beschloss added, “’Who knows more about surprise than Japan? Why didn't you tell me about Pearl Harbor?’ -- the embarrassing idiot Donald Trump in response to a Japanese reporter's question about starting a war with Iran while sitting next to the Japanese prime minister.”Educator Orion noted, “You can hear the air go out of the room.”“This is another leak in the cognitive damn. Look for increasingly racist comments in the coming weeks. Unless biology steps in and saves us, I have a feeling we’ll hear the N word by the midterms,” predicted Democracy Dude.“I didn't think he could still make me gasp, but I was wrong,” admitted archivist Rubberband Girl Cheryl McNeilly noted. “My great-aunt Hisako was a Nagasaki survivor. Great-uncle was a pilot, brought her to US post-war. We saw her regularly till her death when I was 20. Sweet, gentle woman. First rule of the family was to NEVER discuss the war. Ever. Even when cancer finally killed her. The look on the PMs face ...”

'I'm thinking': Tulsi Gabbard falls into awkward silence over Iran war objectives

03/19/26 2:08 PM

Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-TX) was met with silence when he asked Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard about the objectives of the war with Iran.During a House Intelligence Committee hearing on Thursday, Castro noted that Israel had struck Iran's energy infrastructure despite President Donald Trump telling the country not to."So my question is, what does the intelligence community assess Israel's goals in this war to be?" Castro asked. "And are those goals aligned with the goals of the United States?"Despite having a working microphone, Gabbard was unable to respond for several moments."I'm thinking carefully here," she finally said, "about what can be said in this open setting versus a closed setting.""Are the goals aligned?" Castro repeated."The objectives that have been laid out by the President are different from the objectives that have been laid out by the Israeli government," Gabbard admitted. "We can see through the operations that the Israeli government has been focused on disabling the Iranian leadership and taking out several members, obviously, beginning with the Ayatollah and the supreme leader. And they continue to focus on that effort.""How does that differ from our goals?" the congressman wondered. "The president has stated that his objectives are to destroy Iran's ballistic missile launching capability, their ballistic missile production capability, and their Navy, the IRGC Navy, and mine-laying capability."Castro observed that "death and destruction continues, the economic costs to the United States, to Israel, to the Gulf states, and to the world continues to increase."He then asked CIA Director John Ratcliffe: "Do you know why Israel decided to strike that infrastructure despite the fact that the president said it should be off limits?""I wouldn't speak for Israel," Ratcliffe replied."What do you guys know? We're at war. What do you guys know?" Castro demanded as his time ran out."Let's take that for the record," the chair said.

'It's subjective!' MAGA rep whines over meaning of 'imminent' when grilled on Iran war

03/19/26 7:00 PM

Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-TX) refused to acknowledge that there was not an "imminent" nuclear threat before President Donald Trump struck Iran by insisting that the word was too "subjective" to debate.During a Thursday interview on CNN, host Boris Sanchez noted that Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard had deflected a question about an imminent Iranian nuclear threat by arguing that only the president could define what "imminent" means."I'd say it's a persistent threat," Crenshaw dodged. "I mean, everyone's really getting hung up on the word imminent. And let's be clear about the word imminent. It's a subjective word.""Everyone's getting hung up on this, and I'm not sure why," he complained. "I don't view this conflict with Iran as just a rash decision by the president. I view it as something that was much more inevitable."Sanchez pointed out why Crenshaw, as a member of Congress, should be concerned with the definition of "imminent.""I guess, Congressman, part of the concern is that the president is only supposed to act unilaterally without input from Congress if there's going to be an imminent strike on Americans," the CNN host observed. "In other words, if there is an immediate danger to American lives, that's different than saying that Iran has a persistent threat or eventually may have the capacity to harm Americans on the mainland, no?""I don't think it's different at all," Crenshaw disagreed. "I think you phrased the same thing in two different ways.""What is imminent is the idea that you might have another North Korea," he added. "You're at a point in history where you either decide that you're not going to have another North Korea or you are. And right now, the only way to prevent that, the second North Korea, a madman with a bomb, is to use conventional means."U.S. law defines "imminent threat" as "the imminence of any natural, technological, or other occurrence which, in determination of a Federal Agency Head, because of its size or intent, seriously degrades or threatens the national security of the United States such that an emergency action would be impeded if the Federal Agency were to concurrently meet its historic preservation responsibilities under section 110 of the National Historic Preservation Act, as amended."

'Not going well': MAGA author warns Steve Bannon Trump's war spiraling out of control

03/19/26 6:06 PM

Right-wing author Brandon Weichert warned MAGA influencer Steve Bannon that President Donald Trump's war in Iran was "not going well."During a Thursday interview on the War Room podcast, Bannon insisted that the U.S. had to "win" the war, even though the goals were unclear."Regardless of how we got in here, and we can debate that, and I'm sure that even in the next couple days are coming up, we are where we are, we have to win, right?" Bannon told Weichert. "The President of the United States gave a very clear order out to the public, to the country, to everybody, that Iranian infrastructure, oil infrastructure was not to be hit. These gas fields were hit deliberately.""Now we're in the Persian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz, Red Sea, all of it. And it's rattling, whether you like it or not, whether you support President Trump or not," he continued. "It's rattling the world's economy and President Trump's economic plan.""Clearly, there is a severe breakdown in communication not only between the U.S. and its purported allies in the region, but also between — within the administration itself," Weichert agreed. "And I would encourage everybody in the administration, get on the same page now. Because this is not — this is not going well. The American people do not understand what's going on.""Furthermore, whatever the Pentagon and Centcom and the intel community is saying publicly, behind the scenes, the Iranians are still popping these missiles off," he added. "And you asked about Israel. And I would just say that I don't think we have any idea who is running Israel right now. I have seen no confirmation as to whether or not Netanyahu is still alive or in command.""I have seen no confirmation that anyone has succeeded him. I've been hearing rumors from people.""Hang on!" Bannon interrupted, annoyed with rumors of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's demise. "That can't be the internet slop that says he's an AI figure or anything like that. It's got to be more definitive.""It's a mess in Israel right now," Weichert said."Besides internet slop, why do you say that?" Bannon demanded. "Well, because the entire Israeli system seems to be in confusion," the author insisted. "There is clearly a problem right now. And then also you have these intelligence failures going on in Lebanon with Mossad, where they're blowing up targets that are clearly not military.""I think they're operating off of bad intelligence because Mossad's capabilities have been degraded."Before signing off, Weichert made it clear that he stood with Joe Kent, a former Trump intelligence official who resigned over the war in Iran."This show and me personally have been the biggest backer of Joe Kent," Bannon remarked.

'Partial coup!' Alex Jones rallies MAGA against Trump over Iran war 'disaster'

03/17/26 8:10 PM

Right-wing conspiracy theorist Alex Jones urged President Donald Trump's MAGA supporters to follow the lead of Joe Kent, an intelligence official who quit the administration over the war in Iran."Well, it's historic time for America and the world. Facts are all coming out. This is truly the age of revelation," Jones declared on his Tuesday broadcast. "Joe Kent. The head of the Office of National Counterterrorism, number two under Tulsi Gabbard, who oversees all 17 intelligence agencies, went public and resigned and said Israel's basically staged a coup over the Trump White House on foreign policy.""I mean, this is just incredibly insane," he continued. "And so to have him do this, be a gold star husband to his wife that died, highly decorated, extremely respected. And to have him come out like this, Trump must change course. This war is a disaster."According to Jones, Trump was notified of the danger of striking Iran days before Operation Epic Fury began battering the country."And so we have to just call it off what it is. There has been a partial coup over the United States of America," Jones said of Israel's ability to persuade Trump. "But now he's launched a new order, and Israel brags their papers that this all hurts U.S. interest, makes them strong... they will be the new center of the world and the new power structure."Jones said he did not think people understood "this Joe Kent situation.""This is going to cause a chain reaction. Other patriots to speak out. It's going to be whistleblowers like this that is going to change the courts. We're going to win! We have the initiative!" he exclaimed, comparing Trump to "the madness of King George." "Will he get back on track or will he fail?" he asked.

'Pathetic, craven': Tulsi Gabbard faces backlash after 'desperate' statement on Iran war

03/17/26 8:24 PM

Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard faced criticism for her response to the resignation of Joe Kent, director of the National Counterterrorism Center.In his resignation letter, Kent said that he was quitting because he could not "in good conscience support the ongoing war in Iran."Gabbard responded hours later by expressing tepid support for President Donald Trump. But she did not come out in favor of or criticize the war effort."The Office of the Director of National Intelligence is responsible for helping coordinate and integrate all intelligence to provide the President and Commander in Chief with the best information available to inform his decisions," Gabbard wrote. "After carefully reviewing all the information before him, President Trump concluded that the terrorist Islamist regime in Iran posed an imminent threat and he took action based on that conclusion.""Pathetic, craven, desperate for power, total and permanent drain of integrity," libertarian lawyer Glenn Greenwald replied. "This neither contradicts Joe Kent nor defends the President's Iran policy," former national security staffer Tommy Vietor noted."A statement clearly made in response to Kent, but one that actually never says if she supports the war!" the Bulwark's Sam Stein observed."The Director of National Intelligence says that an imminent threat is whatever the president says is an imminent threat," ABC News correspondent Jonathan Karl wrote. "But nowhere in this statement, does she say that she agrees that Iran posed an imminent threat — or that the intelligence supports such a conclusion.""What a worm this woman is. It's amazing how little dignity she has," Richard Hanania remarked. "Of all the people who've grabbed on to the Trump train, she is the one who has done so with the least to show for it and the least plausible story of how it fits with her principles. And that's saying a lot!"

'Profound idiot': Nicolle Wallace struggles to process Trump's shock joke to Japanese PM

03/19/26 10:12 PM

MS NOW host Nicolle Wallace had a frank reaction on Thursday after President Donald Trump made a jaw-dropping comment that shocked people inside the Oval Office during a White House meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi.Wallace was visibly stunned after discussing Trump's attempted joke that clearly left the room uncomfortable when a reporter asked why Trump hadn't warned his allies that the U.S.-Israeli military strikes were coming. "One thing, you don't want to signal too much when we go in," Trump said. "We went in very hard and we didn't tell anyone about it because we wanted surprise. Who knows better about surprise than Japan? Why didn't you tell me about Pearl Harbor?"Wallace watched the video playback and commented on Trump, asking her panel to share their thoughts. "I struggle every minute of every day with platforming him, one, I should do it all day because it shows what a profound idiot he is," Wallace said. "But but two, we were on other sides. This is a question about why didn't you read in your allies? And he says, we didn't know what our adversary was going to do. I mean, David Frum, what do you even, how's your brain doing?"Frum, a Canadian-American commentator and former speechwriter, described why Trump's words shocked the Japanese leader and dignitaries visiting America. "So first, there's probably no society on earth where good manners count for more than Japan, a country that has been — and we're talking about 80 years since the end of World War II, that has been a staunch and loyal ally of the United States for 80 years, where the warmth of person to person ties," Frum said. "But the one big cultural difference has always been the emphasis on decorum and decency and respect in Japanese culture, whereas American culture can be a little more boisterous. For the president of the United States to insult them, and you can watch it, sort of figuring out 'No one is amused by what I just said. Maybe if I say it again, it'll get more amusing the second time. And what if I say right, right, right. And give them a little jab in the ribs? Maybe it'll be funny then.'"Frum described why it was so surprising — and why it left them silent. "And it's just horrifying. One more thing that needs to be pointed out in this analogy that he's drawing between the United States and Japan, who's doing the sneak attack?" Frum added. "Oh, yeah. He's comparing the United States to the Japanese sneak attack. He wanted to do a Pearl Harbor on Greenland. Now he wants to do a Pearl Harbor on Iran. He is comparing himself to the people whom Americans normally condemn, and then elbowing the Japanese that they don't think the whole thing is terribly amusing."

'Train wreck': Senator fed-up as 'flailing' Trump admin can't keep its Iran story straight

03/18/26 8:57 PM

Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) pointed out on Wednesday that after he questioned National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard, it appeared that the Trump administration still couldn't get its story straight on what prompted the Iran war. The top Democrat and veteran spoke with CNN anchor Kasie Hunt after the Senate Intelligence Committee hearing with Gabbard and several other senior intelligence officials, who were asked about global threats as the Trump administration has continued to send mixed messages about the military operation in the Middle East and its objectives. Lawmakers pressed the administration members to clarify whether the Trump administration knew the pending economic fallout, including rising gas prices or the Iranian regime's move to close the vital shipping route, the Strait of Hormuz. They also wanted clarification over claims that Iran posed an "imminent threat," something the Trump administration has cited in the last several weeks. Hunt asked Kelly if the Trump administration had underestimated how Iranians would respond to the military strikes. "They're flailing. This has been a train wreck," Kelly said. "They have not been able to tell the American people, you know, why we are in this fight. You know, what is the strategic goal? What is the plan? What's the timeline? How do you get out of it? And today we were trying to figure out what did the president know and when did he know it? And was he briefed on something pretty basic, which was the Strait of Hormuz, whether or not the Iranians would try to shut it down. And we've gotten different answers from the White House."Kelly also pointed out how the word "imminent" means something is about to happen, yet the Trump administration had gone back and forth, saying Iran was expecting to strike the United States and its allies in "the near future," which is not what the word "imminent" actually means."And I even got to the point I was trying to make this very simple for the DNI, for Tulsi Gabbard," Kelly said. "Was there a request for a brief, or did you offer a brief on the Strait of Hormuz? I didn't even ask her if it was given or what was in it. She would not even answer that question." He explained that getting to the truth hasn't been a problem with just Gabbard, but also with other Trump cabinet members and White House insiders. "And this is what happens when you put a lot of yes people in an administration where their number one priority is to please the commander in chief," Kelly added. "And when you do that, this is why this is a lot different than Donald Trump's first term with a lot of very professional people around him. This is what you get. You get a lot of non-answers, you get a lot of just trying to get around some pretty basic things."

'What the hell?' Bizarre videos plucked from Pentagon staffers' private chats jolt experts

03/19/26 11:37 AM

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's approach to war messaging has devolved into pure spectacle — TikTok-style video montages splicing missile strikes into movie clips and video game footage — leaving military veterans and Congress members stunned by the brazenness of treating armed conflict like entertainment content.According to Politico, the White House communications team has churned out more than half a dozen of these viral videos, apparently plucked straight from staffers' private group chats. But outside the administration bubble, the reaction has ranged from bewilderment to outright revulsion.Former military brass are particularly appalled. "I don't think the performance of our men and women in uniform requires embellishment from Hollywood or computer games," said Joe Votel, a former Central Command chief under Trump's first administration. "They represent the American people quite well on their own."Retired Lt. Gen. Ben Hodges, who commanded U.S. troops in Europe during Obama's presidency, was even blunter. "It just seems detached from reality. Our allies look at this and they wonder what the hell is going on? It doesn't look like we're serious."The videos range from an NFL clip captioned "Touchdown" to baseball home runs, Grand Theft Auto footage, and scenes from "Iron Man," "Top Gun" and "Gladiator."Hegseth has escalated beyond embarrassing aesthetics into genuinely alarming territory. He's declared the U.S. will give "no quarter, no mercy for our enemies" — language that signals troops should execute combatants rather than take prisoners, a potential war crime. He's called rules of engagement "stupid" and branded Iranian leaders as "rats" who are "cowering" underground.Military historian Tom Ricks slammed the entire approach. "The Trump administration's approach to discussing the war against Iran is both unusual and unprecedented," he said. "With Hegseth at the helm, they are mixing incompetence and hubris. They don't seem to care what the American public thinks, which is a dangerous approach."The messaging offensive isn't working. A YouGov poll this week found 56 percent of Americans — and 63 percent of independent voters — disapprove of Trump's Iran handling. The propaganda blitz hasn't even successfully consolidated Trump's base, with significant cracks emerging in the MAGA movement.Joe Rogan, the podcaster who helped Trump reach young male voters during the presidential campaign, has called the Iran war "nuts" and reported his listeners feel "betrayed" by Trump's pivot toward military adventurism instead of domestic priorities.You can read more here.e here.