Bongino and Bondi clash over botched handling of Epstein files



Attorney General Pam Bondi's handling of the Epstein files sparked outrage among conservatives, supporters of President Donald Trump, and even among FBI leadership.

The dramatic Epstein saga has caused a rift between FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino and Bondi in recent days, one source familiar with the matter confirmed to Blaze News. Other reports indicate that Bongino and FBI Director Kash Patel are both threatening to leave the bureau altogether unless Bondi is removed from office.

'Fire Pam Bondi. Keep Dan Bongino.'

RELATED: FBI, DOJ Epstein memo sparks right-wing outrage: 'Nobody is believing this'

  Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

As tensions emerge between the FBI and DOJ leadership, the MAGA base has made clear where its support lies.

"There is no question that the base is behind Bongino," conservative commentator and reporter Julie Kelly said in a post on X. "I respect Pam Bondi and understand the immense challenge at taking the reins of such a systemically corrupt agency. But the self inflicted wounds and unforced errors are consuming attention away from other DOJ/FBI achievements. Time is ticking away and something drastic needs to change immediately."

"It would be a huge loss for the country if we lost Dan Bongino at the FBI," TPUSA founder Charlie Kirk wrote in a post on X.

Blaze Media co-founder Glenn Beck made a similar appeal to Trump, urging him to put Bongino over Bondi.

"America can't lose Dan Bongino," Beck said in a post on Instagram. "He has so much credibility. Everybody knows him, loves him. Pam Bondi has created so much doubt and chaos in this whole thing. There's no reason for all of this."

"Either it's a massive cover-up, or she's just fouled this up every single time," Beck added. "Please, let's not lose Dan Bongino. If there's a choice — I hope not — but please, fire Pam Bondi. Keep Dan Bongino."

RELATED: Is the FBI salvageable? Here's what bureau insiders have to say

  Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

Following Bondi's now-infamous Epstein memo, which the DOJ leaked to the Beltway corporate outlet Axios, the administration has spent days doing damage control. Trump reiterated his support for Patel and Bongino in a Truth Social post on Monday, though he notably refrained from providing Bondi with the same praise.

"The FBI, under the direction of Director Kash Patel and Deputy Director Dan Bongino, is back to the basics: Locking up criminals, and cleaning up America’s streets." Trump said in the post. "We have the Greatest Law Enforcement professionals in the World, but 'Politics' and Corrupt Leadership often prevented them from doing their job. That is no longer the case, and now, they have been unleashed to do their jobs, and they are doing just that. Keep it up — MAKE AMERICA SAFE AGAIN!"

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Rumors of a MAGA civil war are just wishful thinking



MAGA world is torn asunder! At least that’s what a lot of D.C. reporters seem to think. The truth is less dramatic. Anger and confusion over recent moves by the administration are real, but also a natural part of governance — and the reality of political success. Of course, that doesn’t mean the players inside the administration are all safe in their jobs.

The White House is currently engaged in heated back-and-forths on two major fronts: the Epstein files and lethal aid to Ukraine and the ongoing U.S. role in that conflict. The administration has set clear paths on both: The Jeffrey Epstein investigation is officially closed, and weapons will continue flowing to Ukraine.

This moment won’t define the administration. The latest drama will look like a sideshow soon enough.

People are angry, and the president is irritated. Major White House players might fall in the aftermath.

First, neither issue is a threat to the MAGA coalition, any more than an aborted freeze on ICE agricultural raids, or strikes on Iranian nuclear sites, or even Elon Musk’s angry departure threatened the president's authority or popularity with his base. There will always be back-and-forths inside a dynamic coalition with players who are old-time believers and players who secretly long for less confrontational politics.

The first Trump administration was beset on all sides and from within. The second administration is far more unified, and Democrats and their allies in government and American intel agencies are on the back foot — and have significantly less credibility with Republicans than the first time around.

A seriously weakened opposition party naturally creates more opportunities for infighting, and a political movement largely governed by one man is going to clash from time to time with those outside (and inside) players with strong thoughts or stakes in any field.

Sometimes explosions of internet outrage can have an impact, though, as was the case during the brief pause on agricultural immigration raids. While Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents lacked the resources to crack down broadly before the One Big Beautiful Bill Act put more than $46 billion toward deportation resources, a public shift in policy sat terribly with many of the White House’s faithful supporters. The ensuing reaction caused a pullback.

During a July 3 rally in Des Moines, Iowa, President Donald Trump called out Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins by name as the person who “brought this whole situation up,” while promising to make sure farmers and hotel owners were included in the enforcement process.

Speaking in Washington on Monday, Rollins clarified: “There will be no amnesty.” She added: “The mass deportations continue, but in a strategic way, and we move the workforce towards automation and 100% American participation.”

BlazeTV host and columnist Auron MacIntyre was one of several to get the message loud and clear: “Always chimp,” he wrote — a reference to “chimping out” when bad policies are floated.

Strong negative reactions won’t always work, though. The president was clearly irritated when New York Post reporter Steven Nelson asked about the Epstein files during a Tuesday Cabinet meeting but allowed Attorney General Pam Bondi to answer anyway. There’s nothing there, she said, and nothing more coming — but that doesn’t mean her position is secure.

Maybe there is nothing else there beyond “this creep” and an imprisoned Ghislaine Maxwell. Then again, maybe releasing all that’s known would threaten foreign or domestic intelligence operations around Epstein’s infamous island.

Either way, Bondi’s been under concerted attack for mishandling the media and releases around the Epstein files for months. Prominent conservative voices, including Blaze Media co-founder Glenn Beck, clearly don’t think she’s up to the job. Notably, the president didn’t name her in a Truth Social post defending FBI Director Kash Patel and his deputy, Dan Bongino.

Lastly, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has drifted in and out of Trump’s inner circle — and trouble. Reports suggest he was sidelined during key phases of the Iran strike. On Friday, President Trump told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy he hadn’t approved the pause in aid shipments. Then, during Tuesday’s Cabinet meeting, Trump told CNN’s Kaitlan Collins he didn’t know who gave the order to halt the shipments. That kind of public distance from the president doesn’t speak well for Hegseth’s standing.

Still, this moment won’t define the administration. We’re only seven months into a four-year term. The White House remains focused on major priorities: finishing the border wall, revitalizing and reshoring the economy, ramping up immigration enforcement, renegotiating trade, and pursuing global peace. The latest drama will look like a sideshow soon enough.

Plenty of reasons exist to feel energized in Washington right now. The rumored collapse of MAGA isn’t one of them.

Blaze News: FBI, DOJ Epstein memo sparks right-wing outrage: ‘Nobody is believing this’

Blaze News contributor Mike Howell: The Epstein memo is a joke — and the joke’s on us

Blaze News, July 1: Is the FBI salvageable? Here’s what bureau insiders have to say

Blaze News: DeSantis has some serious political advice for Elon Musk to ensure a ‘monumental impact’

Blaze News: Border Patrol chief has defiant message for Mayor Karen Bass after she claims to have stopped ICE raid in Los Angeles

Blaze News: 25 years after a Central American hurricane, Noem’s DHS to end associated immigration Temporary Protected Status

Blaze News: Drug middlemen launch attacks against MAGA allies pushing for health care reforms

Sign up for Bedford’s newsletter
Sign up to get Blaze Media senior politics editor Christopher Bedford’s newsletter.

'TRAIN WRECK': Trump blasts Elon Musk over anti-MAGA campaign, new 'moderate' party



President Donald Trump and billionaire inventor Elon Musk had a major falling out last month after the tech magnate publicly campaigned against Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill, calling it a "disgusting abomination."

The world's most powerful man and the world's richest man subsequently traded barbs online — Trump threatening to terminate Musk's governmental subsidies and contracts and Musk both threatening to decommission SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft and suggesting that "the real reason" the Epstein files had not been made public was because Trump was somehow implicated in them.

There were, however, some signs of a possible reconciliation.

Trump, for instance, said of Musk during a June 9 press conference, "We had a great relationship and I wish him well — very well, actually." Musk, expressed regret over some of his more incendiary posts aimed at the president, deleted them, and stated, "They went too far."

Musk has since crossed the Rubicon, kicking off an anti-MAGA campaign and announcing the formation of a new political party he says "is needed to fight the Republican/Democrat Uniparty."

'The one thing Third Parties are good for is the creation of Complete and Total DISRUPTION & CHAOS.'

The announcement was poorly received by many inside the MAGA coalition. Trump was especially critical of Musk's announcement, noting Sunday evening on Truth Social, "I am saddened to watch Elon Musk go completely 'off the rails,' essentially becoming a TRAIN WRECK over the past five weeks."

RELATED: The political future of Elon Musk

 Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

"He even wants to start a Third Political Party, despite the fact that they have never succeeded in the United States — The System seems not designed for them," continued Trump. "The one thing Third Parties are good for is the creation of Complete and Total DISRUPTION & CHAOS, and we have enough of that with the Radical Left Democrats, who have lost their confidence and their minds!"

As Trump indicated, third parties — such as the Libertarian or Green parties, failed Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang's Forward Party, and even President Theodore Roosevelt's Progressive Party — have long proven unable to make a meaningful splash. It certainly does not help Musk that 57% of voters already have an unfavorable opinion of him, according to a national Quinnipiac University poll released last month.

In addition to suggesting that Musk's animus was fueled by the BBB's elimination of "the ridiculous Electric Vehicle Mandate, which would have forced everyone to buy an Electric Car in a short period of time," Trump indicated that Musk was angry that he pulled his nomination for Jared Isaacman to run NASA.

"I was surprised to learn that he was a blue blooded Democrat, who had never contributed to a Republican before," wrote Trump. "Elon probably was, also. I also thought it inappropriate that a very close friend of Elon, who was in the Space Business, run NASA, when NASA is such a big part of Elon's corporate life."

It appears that Musk, who spent more than $270 million last year in hopes of getting Trump elected and lost key tax credits for Tesla as a result of the BBB, has long entertained the idea of forming another party.

While recognizing that it was "not realistic," he suggested in May 2022 that "a party more moderate on all issues than either Reps or Dems would be ideal."

It's clear the billionaire began taking the idea more seriously in recent weeks.

On June 5, he asked his global audience on X, "Is it time to create a new political party in America that actually represents the 80% in the middle?" Of the over 5.6 million people worldwide who responded, 80.4% said, "Yes."

On Independence Day, Musk ran a similar poll, this time asking his followers in and outside of America whether he should create the America Party and promising to do so the day after Trump signed his administration's signature legislative achievement. Over 1.24 million users cast votes, with 65.4% saying, "Yes."

Musk's plan for 2026, he said, is to "laser-focus on just 2 or 3 Senate seats and 8 to 10 House districts. Given the razor-thin legislative margins, that would be enough to serve as the deciding vote on contentious laws, ensuring that they serve the true will of the people."

RELATED: 'There's nowhere to go': Will Elon Musk stop the AI Antichrist — or become it?

 Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images

Tesla investors appear unsettled by Musk's grand strategy. Shares in the company fell nearly 8% in pre-market trading.

"Musk diving deeper into politics and now trying to take on the Beltway establishment is exactly the opposite direction that most Tesla investors want him to take during this crucial period for Tesla," Dan Ives, analyst at Wedbush Securities, wrote. The moves, he added, are "just causing exhaustion from many investors."

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Horror and heroism in Texas as search for flood survivors continues



In the early hours of Independence Day, West Texas and the Hill Country received nearly nearly a foot of rain, which triggered flash floods and sent the Guadalupe River surging 20 feet above flood stage and well over its banks. The rushing waters — fed by continued downpours over the weekend — swallowed homes and vehicles and claimed the lives of scores of Americans.

The death toll rose to 70 on Sunday afternoon, the New York Times reported.

'It doesn't surprise me at all that his last act of kindness and sacrifice was working to save the lives of campers.'

Kerr County Sheriff Larry Leitha said as of 9 a.m. Sunday, 59 victims were confirmed dead in his county — 38 adults and 21 children.

At least five of the 750 girls attending Camp Mystic — the Christian camp in Hunt that Republican Gov. Greg Abbott said was "horrendously ravaged in ways unlike I've seen in any natural disaster" — are confirmed dead. Eleven girls and one counselor from Camp Mystic were still missing as of Sunday afternoon.

Those numbers might have been much higher were it not for the camp's 70-year-old co-owner Dick Eastland, whom U.S. Rep. August Plufger (R-Tex.) indicated "no doubt gave his life attempting to save his campers."

Texas Public Radio reported that Eastland was among the dead. His co-owner and wife Tweety Eastland was found safe at their home.

Paige Sumner paid tribute to Dick Eastland in a column for the Kerrville Daily Times: "It doesn't surprise me at all that his last act of kindness and sacrifice was working to save the lives of campers. He had already saved so many lives with the gift of Camp Mystic."

 

Campers also benefited from the heroism of 400 first responders and 20 agencies at work in Kerr County, including the U.S. Coast Guard, which conducted at least 12 flights near the Kerrville area.

'It severed his artery and his arm — almost cut it clean off.'

While an MH-65 Dolphin helicopter crew worked to whisk away 15 campers on Friday, a Coast Guard rescue swimmer reportedly remained on the ground, providing medical assistance and helping with the evacuation efforts of 230 victims into assisting agencies' air assets.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem later singled out Coast Guard Rescue Swimmer and Petty Office Scott Ruskin, noting he "directly saved an astonishing 165 victims in the devastating flooding in central Texas."

"This was the first rescue mission of his career, and he was the only triage coordinator at the scene. Scott Ruskin is an American hero," said Noem. "His selfless courage embodies the spirit and mission of the USCG."

  Photo by Eric Vryn/Getty Images

President Donald Trump, who declared a major disaster for Kerr County, Texas, on Sunday afternoon, indicated in a corresponding statement that U.S. Coast Guard and Texas first responders have "saved more than 850 lives."

'He died a hero.'

About a half hour east of Camp Mystic, Julian Ryan lost his life in a similar exhibition of American greatness and virtue, trying to save his mother, his fiancée, and his 6-year-old and 13-month-old sons from drowning when the Guadalupe River rapidly poured into their trailer home in Ingram.

Ryan went to bed after finishing a long night shift as a dishwasher at a local restaurant. But both he and his fiancée, Christinia Wilson, had a rude awakening, finding that ankle-deep waters chased their 6-year-old into their bedroom along with Ryan's mother.

Shortly after powering through the front door, the river sealed the family inside Ryan's bedroom, where the water quickly began to rise above their waists, reported the New York Times.

When the mattress began to float, the parents put the boys atop it then looked for a way to get everyone out.

Desperate to get his family onto the roof of the trailer as the waters rose, Ryan smashed a window with his bare hand, mortally wounding himself in the process.

Wilson told KHOU-TV, "It severed his artery and his arm — almost cut it clean off."

"He had lost all of it, all his blood," said Wilson. "He looked at me and the kids, and my mother-in-law, and said, 'Sorry, I'm not going to make it. I love you all.'"

 

Wilson, her boys, and her mother-in-law managed to survive, even though the trailer was torn in half.

Connie Salas, Ryan's sister, tearfully told KHOU, "He died a hero."

The GoFundMe for the family, which had raised over $71,000 as of Sunday afternoon, emphasized that "Julian gave his life for his family, passing as a true hero."

Kerr County Sheriff Larry Leitha indicated that those wishing to support relief and rebuilding efforts should donate to the Kerr County Flood Relief Fund.

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

'Incomprehensible tragedy': Dozens dead, 27 girls from Christian camp missing amid deadly Texas floods



Texas officials prepared early last week for heavy rainfall and possible flash flooding, ensuring that local first responders had what they needed to act quickly and decisively. They were, however, met with a downpour far worse than expected.

Officials in West Texas and the Hill Country momentarily were put on the back foot in the early hours of Independence Day by nearly a foot of rain, which triggered flash floods; Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said that reportedly caused the Guadalupe River to rise at least 26 feet in a matter of 45 minutes.

'So many people have been swept up into an extraordinary catastrophe.'

Among the settlements swept by the floods was Camp Mystic — a Christian camp for girls near the Guadalupe River in Hunt. Of around 750 campers, 27 were still reported missing as of Saturday afternoon. The mother of 9-year-old Janie Hunt told CNN that her daughter, who was among the missing, has been confirmed dead.

In addition to the more than 1,000 responders and 800 vehicles the state has deployed, an army of local, federal, and volunteer rescuers have been working around the clock to save victims from the waters, reunify families, clear debris, and tend to the injured.

 

The Kerr County Sheriff's Office indicated that as of Saturday morning, first responders had evacuated over 850 uninjured people, including eight injured people. They also recovered the bodies of 27 people who perished in the floods.

Among the dead were nine children, one of whom has not yet been identified.

Shortly after signing a disaster declaration on July 4 for 15 counties the flooding has impacted, Republican Gov. Greg Abbott told reporters, "This is a time when we as a state, we as a community, need God more than ever."

"Little kids off at camp joyfully excited about the upcoming day to celebrate the Fourth of July; campers alongside the [Guadalupe] River doing the same thing and enjoying one of the beautiful spots in the State of Texas — asleep, probably just a few hours from waking up," said Abbott. "So many people have been swept up into an extraordinary catastrophe."

While emphasizing the need for prayer, Abbott indicated that search-and-rescue operations were underway and would continue as flooding continues across the state.

— (@)  
 

President Donald Trump said on Truth Social that his administration was working with state and local officials and added, "GOD BLESS THE FAMILIES, AND GOD BLESS TEXAS!"

Lt. Gov. Patrick said Friday, "I've talked to several people at the White House. The president sent the message, 'Whatever we need, we will have.'"

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on Friday activated the U.S. Coast Guard and Federal Emergency Management Agency resources and was working to get the Camp Mystic girls to safety, Department of Homeland Security assistant secretary Tricia McLaughlin said on social media.

 Photo by Eric Vryn/Getty Images

There also has been an outpouring of support and prayers for the victims of the floods and their families.

"Our nation's heart breaks for the victims in Texas and their families. Just an incomprehensible tragedy," wrote Vice President JD Vance. "I hope everyone affected knows they're in the prayers of my family, and of millions of Americans. Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. May the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace."

 

The NFL's Houston Texans are among the organizations that have shelled out hundreds of thousands of dollars to provide support and resources to those impacted by the floods.

This is a developing story.

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Trump triumphs: Paramount, CBS settle over Kamala Harris' '60 Minutes' interview



Ahead of the 2024 presidential election, the liberal media pulled out all the stops to portray President Donald Trump in a negative light and to present his Democratic opponent as halfway intelligible.

According to an October report from the Media Research Center, the broadcast evening news coverage of the race was the most lopsided in history, with ABC, CBS, and NBC treating Kamala Harris to 78% positive coverage and Trump to 85% negative coverage.

Late in the media's partisan persuasion campaign, Harris sat down for an interview with CBS News' "60 Minutes." The heavily edited version of the interview that aired on Oct. 7 proved to be a complete disaster not only for the Democratic candidate but for the liberal network and its parent company, which now has to pay a steep price to the great displeasure of liberal media personalities.

Trump sued CBS News over the interview on Oct. 31, 2024, accusing the network of "partisan and unlawful acts of election and voter interference through malicious, deceptive, and substantial news distortion calculated to (a) confuse, deceive, and mislead the public, and (b) attempt to tip the scales in favor of the Democratic Party as the heated 2024 Presidential Election — which President Trump is leading — approaches its conclusion."

Trump initially sued for $10 billion but then increased his claim in a subsequent filing to $20 billion.

'CBS and Paramount Global realized the strength of this historic case and had no choice but to settle.'

Paramount, CBS News' parent company, announced late Tuesday that it will settle the action, which CBS said in a court filing just days earlier was a "meritless lawsuit" that takes aim at a news organization "for editorial decisions Plaintiffs dislike."

RELATED: CNN's fake news fumble: Shaky anonymous sources backfire as Trump's Iran strike proves devastating

 Photo by BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images

Under the agreement — which the Freedom of the Press Foundation pre-emptively threatened to sue Paramount over — $16 million will be allocated to Trump's future presidential library and to the president's fees and costs, reported CBS News.

Blaze News has reached out to the White House for comment.

"With this record settlement, President Donald J. Trump delivers another win for the American people as he, once again, holds the Fake News media accountable for their wrongdoing and deceit," a spokesperson for Trump's legal team told Fox News Digital. "CBS and Paramount Global realized the strength of this historic case and had no choice but to settle. President Trump will always ensure that no one gets away with lying to the American People as he continues on his singular mission to Make America Great Again."

This outcome greatly resembles Trump's settlement with ABC.

Trump sued ABC and George Stephanopoulos last year over a March 10, 2024, interview wherein the ABC News host falsely stated that the Republican had been found liable by multiple juries for the rape of E. Jean Carroll.

To the great chagrin of liberal talking heads, ABC settled the action in December, agreeing to pay both $15 million to Trump's future presidential library and $1 million in legal fees to Trump's attorneys.

The big difference between the two settlements appears to be that CBS will not apologize for its Emmy-nominated interview, whereas ABC appended an editor's note to the bottom of the article corresponding with its offending interview that expressed regret for the false statements.

Paramount did, however, agree that moving forward, "60 Minutes" will release transcripts of interviews with presidential candidates in the future, "subject to redactions as required for legal or national security concerns."

'CBS and 60 Minutes defrauded the public by doing something which has never, to this extent, been seen before.'

CBS initially refused to release the unedited transcript of its Harris' "60 Minutes" interview, prompting complaints and finally an intervention by the Federal Communications Commission.

The FCC, which received a formal complaint on Oct. 16 from the Center for American Rights requesting an investigation into possible news distortion, released the raw footage and full transcript on Feb. 5.

The footage confirmed critics' suspicions and demonstrated the great lengths taken by the network to make Harris appear intelligible and concise.

RELATED: When the mainstream media's left-wing bias costs them credibility

 Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images

For instance, Bill Whitaker of CBS News' "60 Minutes" asked Harris at one stage in the interview whether America lacked influence over Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his strategic decisions in the Middle East. Whitaker then stated, "It seems that Prime Minister Netanyahu is not listening" to the Biden-Harris administration.

Blaze News previously reported that the version of the interview that went to air and was reflected in CBS News' official transcript was edited so that Harris appears to say in response, "We're not going to stop pursuing what is necessary for the United States to be clear about where we stand on the need for this war to end."

It's clear from the raw footage that Harris actually responded with one of her signature word salads:

Well, Bill, the work that we have done has resulted in a number of movements in that region by Israel that were very much prompted, or a result of many things, including our advocacy for what needs to happen in the region. And we're not going to stop doing that. We're not going to stop pursuing what is necessary for the United States to be clear about where we stand on the need for this war to end.

There were multiple cases of similar edits made with the apparent intention of making Harris appear more coherent.

After the FCC released the full interview in February, Trump stated, "CBS and 60 Minutes defrauded the public by doing something which has never, to this extent, been seen before. They 100% removed Kamala's horrible election changing answers to questions, and replaced them with completely different, and far better, answers, taken from another part of the interview. This was Election changing 'stuff,' Election Interference and, quite simply, Election Fraud at a level never seen before."

The settlement is not the only cause for demoralization at CBS.

Wendy McMahon stepped down as president of CBS News in May, noting in a statement, "It's become clear the company and I do not agree on the path forward."

The previous month, longtime "60 Minutes" executive producer Bill Owens resigned, stating in a memo, "Over the past months, it has become clear that I 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."

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Trump says Israel has agreed to 60-day ceasefire — and warns Hamas to take deal 'because it will not get better'



President Donald Trump announced that he reached an agreement with Israel to accept a ceasefire deal for 60 days, and he offered a warning to Hamas terrorists to take the deal.

The president posted the announcement on Truth Social on Tuesday just as the White House prepares to receive a visit from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday.

'I hope, for the good of the Middle East, that Hamas takes this Deal, because it will not get better — IT WILL ONLY GET WORSE.'

"My Representatives had a long and productive meeting with the Israelis today on Gaza. Israel has agreed to the necessary conditions to finalize the 60 Day CEASEFIRE, during which time we will work with all parties to end the War," the president wrote.

Trump had previously announced a ceasefire between Israel and Iran after a military strike took out much of Iran's nuclear weapon development capabilities. That ceasefire is in question since both combatants continued their military operations after the deadline passed.

"The Qataris and Egyptians, who have worked very hard to help bring Peace, will deliver this final proposal. I hope, for the good of the Middle East, that Hamas takes this Deal, because it will not get better — IT WILL ONLY GET WORSE," he added.

RELATED: USA Today tries to garner sympathy for family of suspect in horrific Boulder attack and gets obliterated online

  Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images

 

It's believed that Hamas still has about 50 hostages they seized during a horrendous attack on southern Israel in Oct. 2023. About half of the hostages are believed to be alive.

Earlier on Tuesday, the president expressed hope in ceasefire negotiations while answering questions from the press.

"We hope it's going to happen, and we're looking for it to happen sometime next week," said Trump.

"We want to get our hostages back. We want to get the hostages back," he repeated.

Gaza’s Health Ministry has said that more than 65,000 Palestinians have died in the attacks from Israeli forces, though they do not distinguish between combatants and civilians.

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

CNN's fake news fumble: Shaky anonymous sources backfire as Trump's Iran strike proves devastating



Following President Donald Trump's strike on Iran's nuclear enrichment facilities, CNN hastily seized an opportunity to criticize the administration by reporting a leaked early assessment, leaning on several anonymous sources who incorrectly claimed the attack caused minimal damage. Subsequent findings of widespread destruction revealed CNN's misstep and further highlighted legacy media's over-reliance on shaky insiders, desperate to downplay conservative wins.

On June 25, CNN published an "exclusive" article from correspondent Natasha Bertrand and two other network reporters questioning Trump's claims that the strike "completely and totally obliterated" Iran's sites, citing "seven people briefed" on a top-secret early Defense Intelligence Agency assessment.

'Why did you hire someone so patently averse to the facts, considering she claimed Hunter Biden's laptop is Russian disinformation?'

One source told CNN, "So the (DIA) assessment is that the U.S. set them back maybe a few months, tops."

Two unnamed individuals told the news outlet that the strike did not destroy Iran's enriched uranium stockpile, one claimed that the centrifuges were still "largely 'intact,'" and another alleged that the uranium was moved before the attack.

RELATED: Joy Reid blames Israel for Iran seeking nukes in shouting match on CNN

  Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told CNN that the initial assessment was "flat-out wrong" and torched "an anonymous, low-level loser in the intelligence community" for leaking the top-secret report to the network.

Still, after later assessments confirmed the administration's claims that the facilities were significantly damaged, CNN clung to its initial narrative and defended its journalists.

"We stand 100% behind Natasha Bertrand's journalism and specifically her and her colleagues' reporting of the early intelligence assessment of the U.S. attack on Iran's nuclear facilities," CNN stated. "CNN's reporting made clear that this was an initial finding that could change with additional intelligence. We have extensively covered President Trump's own deep skepticism about it."

"However, we do not believe it is reasonable to criticize CNN reporters for accurately reporting the existence of the assessment and accurately characterizing its findings, which are in the public interest," CNN's statement added.

Conservative media critics slammed CNN's strike coverage, blasting the network and other legacy media outlets for their pattern of leaning on dubious, left-leaning sources who consistently miss the mark, as seen during the COVID-era alarmism, the suppression of Hunter Biden's laptop story, and the downplaying of former President Joe Biden's obvious cognitive decline.

'They should be prosecuted!'

Curtis Houck, managing editor of Media Research Center's NewsBusters, responded to CNN's statement.

"Why did you hire someone so patently averse to the facts, considering she claimed Hunter Biden's laptop is Russian disinformation?" Houck wrote, referring to Bertrand. "Or perhaps it's because you know she's a partisan who will take whatever the Deep State hands her and run with it?"

Chad Prather, host of "The Chad Prather Show," asked CNN, "How bout all the other things you've lied about?"

Conservative commentator Vince Dao wrote, "Firstly, you blatantly misrepresented what that report even said. Secondly, [you're] literally spreading Pentagon propaganda to justify a war. How does it feel to abandon everything the 'free press' stood for 20 years ago? Pathetic."

RELATED: Pete Hegseth obliterates media over leaked assessment of US strike on Iran

  Photo by John Greim/LightRocket via Getty Images

As recently as Monday, CNN was still trying to push the narrative that the Trump administration's attack on Iran was largely unsuccessful.

The outlet published a report stating that Rafael Grossi, the United Nations' nuclear watchdog chief, claimed it would take Iran only "a matter of months" to restart enriching uranium.

The article reads, "Rafael Grossi's comments appear to support an early assessment from the Pentagon's Defense Intelligence Agency, first reported on by CNN, which suggests the United States' strikes on key Iranian nuclear sites last week did not destroy the core components of its nuclear program, and likely only set it back by months."

The article cited Grossi's comments to CBS' "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan," during which he explained that the strikes caused "severe" but "not total damage."

"They can have, you know, in a matter of months, I would say, a few cascades of centrifuges spinning and producing enriched uranium, or less than that. But as I said, frankly speaking, one cannot claim that everything has disappeared and there is nothing there," Grossi said.

On Friday, a CNN spokesperson told the New York Post that the outlet had received a letter from Alejandro Brito, Trump's attorney, accusing it of defamation and demanding a retraction. CNN defended its reporting.

Trump called for those who leaked the assessment to be prosecuted.

Last week, in a post on Truth Social, Trump wrote, "The Democrats are the ones who leaked the information on the PERFECT FLIGHT to the Nuclear Sites in Iran. They should be prosecuted!"

A CNN spokesperson confirmed to Blaze News that the outlet received a letter from Trump's lawyer, responded to it, and rejected the claims made.

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

'51st state': Trump teases annexation again after Canada quickly caves on major tax



President Donald Trump threatened U.S.-Canada trade talks on Friday over the northern nation's digital services tax, which required foreign and domestic large businesses such as Netflix, Amazon.com's Prime Video, and Spotify to pay a levy of 3% on revenue earned from offering online services to users in Canada.

"We have just been informed that Canada, a very difficult Country to TRADE with, including the fact that they have charged our Farmers as much as 400% Tariffs, for years, on Dairy Products, has just announced that they are putting a Digital Services Tax on our American Technology Companies, which is a direct and blatant attack on our Country," Trump noted in a Truth Social post.

"They are obviously copying the European Union, which has done the same thing, and is currently under discussion with us, also," continued the president. "Based on this egregious Tax, we are hereby terminating ALL discussions on Trade with Canada, effective immediately."

'Canada is a very tough country to deal with.'

Canada — the top buyer of American goods, importing $349.4 billion last year, and 75.9% of whose total exports went to the U.S. — made abundantly clear that it wasn't too attached to the tax, which the Parliamentary Budget Office estimated would increase federal government revenues by over $5.2 billion over five years.

Within hours of Trump's post, the Department of Finance Canada announced that it was rescinding the digital services tax to advance broader trade negotiations with the United States.

Canadian Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne noted that "rescinding the DST will allow the negotiations to make vital progress and reinforce our work to create jobs and build prosperity for all Canadians."

U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick thanked Canada on Monday for removing the tax, noting that it was "intended to stifle American innovation and would have been a deal breaker for any trade deal with America."

RELATED: Canada's solution to reliance on US? Increasing commitments in Europe

 Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

"In our negotiations on a new economic and security relationship between Canada and the United States, Canada's new government will always be guided by the overall contribution of any possible agreement to the best interests of Canadian workers and businesses," said Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney. "Today’s announcement will support a resumption of negotiations toward the July 21, 2025, timeline set out at this month’s G7 Leaders’ Summit in Kananaskis."

The Canadian Liberal Party under former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau first promised the tax ahead of the 2019 federal election, saying it would "make sure that multinational tech giants pay corporate tax on the revenue they generate in Canada," even though critics indicated that Canadian consumers would end up paying the taxes.

The Digital Services Tax Act went into force on June 28, 2024, prompting condemnation stateside as well as an official complaint under the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement from former U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai.

John Dickerman, vice president of the Washington, D.C.-based Business Council of Canada, suggested to Canadian state media days after Trump's re-election that the tax was likely doomed.

"The first Trump administration ... was very clear on digital services taxes. They believed that digital services taxes were a very clear indication that a country was specifically targeting the U.S. and targeting U.S. companies. It will be a 'with us and against us' scenario," said Dickerman. "I think there will be very little room for negotiation on DST."

Trump leaned on Canada to axe the tax just in the nick of time. The first payments were due on Monday and retroactive to 2022, meaning a number of American corporations were on the hook for billions of dollars.

The Canadian government indicated that Carney and Trump have agreed to resume negotiations "with a view towards agreeing on a deal by July 21, 2025."

"Canada is a very tough country to deal with, I will say that," Trump told Fox News' "Sunday Morning Futures." "Hopefully we'll be fine with Canada. I love Canada. Frankly, Canada should be the 51st state."

Blaze News has reached out to the White House for comment.

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

President Trump goes SCORCHED-EARTH on AOC



Beloved member of “the Squad” Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) has reignited the impeachment discussion that President Donald Trump has been embroiled in since his first term as president for launching a military strike on Iran without congressional authorization.

"The President’s disastrous decision to bomb Iran without authorization is a grave violation of the Constitution and Congressional War Powers," Ocasio-Cortez wrote on social media, charging that Trump "has impulsively risked launching a war that may ensnare us for generations. It is absolutely and clearly grounds for impeachment."

Trump, appearing unscathed, then went scorched-earth on AOC on Truth Social.

“Stupid AOC, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, one of the ‘dumbest’ people in Congress, is now calling for my Impeachment, despite the fact that the Crooked and Corrupt Democrats have already done that twice before. The reason for her ‘rantings’ is all of the Victories that the U.S.A. has had under the Trump Administration,” Trump wrote on the app.


“The Democrats aren’t used to WINNING, and she can’t stand the concept of our Country being successful again. When we examine her Test Scores, we will find out that she is NOT qualified for office but, nevertheless, far more qualified than Crockett, who is a seriously Low IQ individual, or Ilhan Omar, who does nothing but complain about our Country,” he continued.

Trump then took it even farther, adding that “AOC should be forced to take the Cognitive Test that I just completed at Walter Reed Medical Center, as part of my Physical.”

“I think the one thing we’ve learned from Truth Social is that there’s no character limit,” comedian Derek Richards laughs on “Sara Gonzales Unfiltered.”

“That is perfection, though,” BlazeTV contributor Matthew Marsden chimes in. “He slammed everyone.”

Want more from Sara Gonzales?

To enjoy more of Sara's no-holds-barred take to news and culture, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.