“Wasting Time”: GOP Rep Reamed by Furious Voters as Town Hall Derails

Republican Representative Rob Wittman of Virginia held a virtual town hall Wednesday night, but he couldn’t escape his angry constituents in the comments.

Opting for an hour-long “tele-townhall” on Facebook allowed Wittman to avoid facing his constituents in person, but commenters suggested that he had manipulated the format to only allow certain participants to ask questions, according to RawStory.

Upon signing up for the town hall, some attendees had received a phone number so they could ask questions. But it seems not everyone was invited to participate.

“I am very frustrated to have signed up for both of the last telephone town hall and not to have received a call to participate. Because you aren’t taking questions via the livestream, that means I cannot fully engage as a constituent,” wrote a person named Brittany Rose.

“You’re a fake. You only answer questions you have pre screened. You are not looking out for all the people who depend on you to stand up for them,” wrote a woman named Dr. Susan Hundley.

“Wow so you have pre-screened all of us who call you daily so you don’t actually have a townhall,” wrote constituent Lynsey Miller.

“This isn’t a clean bill, you all are perfectly fine bankrupting Americans over Healthcare and you’re not even trying to negotiate with them,” Miller continued. “How he paid the military was illegal, it’s a misappropriation of funds and you have put our service members (including my spouse) in an absolutely crappy position.”

The questions that did make their way to Wittman highlighted Republicans’ do-nothing strategy to the ongoing government shutdown. One caller named Greg asked why the government wasn’t reopening if Republicans had control of Congress and the White House.

Another caller named Charles asked why the House had not been called back to session to “participate in any negotiations that might be useful to getting to an agreement to open the government.”

Wittman claimed that Republicans were continuing to work while at home in their districts, but also insisted that House Republicans had already done their jobs by voting for a continuing resolution to keep the government open.

In answering callers’ questions, Wittman repeatedly read quotes from Democratic leaders such as former President Barack Obama and Senator Chuck Schumer speaking about the importance of government. His constituents didn’t seem to appreciate it.

“You are wasting time reading quotes instead of answering constituents questions this is only an hour,” wrote voter Rita Mullaly Lysher, who also said she never received a call to ask questions.

Wittman took some heat in the comments for supporting Donald Trump’s behemoth budget and tax bill in July, which would cut nearly one trillion from Medicaid funding over the next 10 years, putting rural hospitals at risk.

“Republicans do not want to take responsibility for the horrendous increase in health care premiums,” wrote a constituent named Erin Rose, adding in another comment: “You took away $150 billion from hospitals!!”

Wittman voted to reduce his own taxes by as much as $59,300, according to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy.

Donald Trump is planning to throw himself another “vanity parade”—and this time, it might include Navy warships hurtling missiles toward the state of California.

California Governor Gavin Newsom is considering whether to shut down sections of the I-5 highway on Friday and Saturday, as reports circulate that the White House intends to shoot live ordinance over the highway at Camp Pendleton in San Diego County, MeidasTouch Network reported Wednesday.

Newsom’s office told the Los Angeles Times that it had “received little information about the event or safety plans.”

Neither the White House or the Marine Corps responded to questions from either publication.

The show of force is intended to commemorate the Marine Corps’s 250th anniversary and will run counter to the nationwide No Kings protests, which uses the visuals of millions of protesters to ideologically challenge Trump’s unopposed rule.

The event, called “Sea to Shore—A Review of Amphibious Strength,” will be led by Vice President JD Vance.

The potential highway closure would affect a portion of the interstate between Orange and San Diego counties, and is expected to affect more than 80,000 daily commuters and could suspend nearly $100 million in freight traffic per day, reported MeidasTouch. That could result in a massive gridlock from Dana Point to below Del Mar, about 20 minutes north of San Diego, with a nearly eight hour delay in both directions.

“Donald Trump and JD Vance think that shutting down the I-5 to shoot out missiles from ships is how you respect the military,” Newsom posted on X Wednesday.

The California governor told MeidasTouch that his office is working to minimize what would be “a massive disruption, and reckless disregard for California’s infrastructure and communities.”

The president’s dangerous intimidation display for the military anniversary will also occur during the government shutdown, forcing thousands of Marines and federal employees to work for free as they support Trump’s vision.

“California always honors our Marines—but this isn’t the right way to go about it,” a Newsom spokesperson told the LA Times. “The White House should focus on paying their military, lowering grocery prices and honoring these soldiers for their service instead of pompous displays of power. The lack of coordination and communication from the federal government on this event—and the overall impact to our society and economy—is evident of the larger disarray that is the Trump Administration.”

President Donald Trump seemed to acknowledge the ghoulishness of White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller in a joke during a Wednesday press conference about crime.

“I want to thank Stephen Miller, who is right back in the audience right there,” Trump said. “I’d love to have him—I love watching him on television. I’d love to have him come up and explain his true feelings. Maybe not his truest feelings. That might be going a little too far.”

Miller, the chief architect of Trump’s cruel immigration agenda, is known for his cruel policies, like family separation—as well as rhetoric so rabid that it’s been reasonably compared to that of Nazi propagandist Joseph Goebbels.

The White House aide has called the Democratic Party a “domestic extremist organization,” immigration a “mass invasion of our country,” and judges who rule against Trump “communist” and “Marxist.” He has suggested suspending habeas corpus for immigrants and claimed the president has “plenary authority” to send the National Guard to American cities.

Miller’s white nationalist sympathies, if not evident in his public statements and apparent espousal of the “great replacement” theory, were revealed in leaked emails he sent to the staff at the far-right site Breitbart back in 2015–16, in which he shared content from white supremacist websites and elevated a book that’s popular among white nationalists for its xenophobic portrayal of a refugee invasion.

So, while a joke, Trump’s remark Wednesday hinged on the fact that he knows Miller to be an extremist through and through.

Trump has once again called for anyone who ever investigated him to be politically attacked, referencing his power as “chief law enforcement officer.”

“I’m the one that had to suffer through [investigations] and ultimately win. But what they did was criminal. Deranged Jack Smith, in my opinion, is a criminal. And I noticed his interviewer, I think that was [former federal prosecutor Andrew] Weissman. And I hope they’re gonna look into Weissman too, Weissman’s a bad guy, and he had somebody in [former Deputy Attorney General] Lisa [Monaco] who was his puppet, worked in the office really as the top person,” Trump said during a press conference Wednesday with FBI Director Kash Patel and Attorney General Pam Bondi. “I think that she should be looked at very strongly. It was tremendous criminal activity.”  

He then went on to ramble about how fair elections, fair press, and borders are the most important issues in America right now, before moving back to his political enemies. 

“They have committed massive political crime. I hope they’re looking at Shifty [Adam] Schiff, I hope they’re looking at all these people. And I’m allowed to find out, I’m allowed, in theory, the ‘chief law enforcement officer.’… I hope they’re looking at political crime, because there’s never been so much political crime against a political opponent as what I had to go through.” 

These so-called “criminals” Trump is referring to—Jack Smith, Lisa Monaco, Andrew Weissman, and Adam Schiff—are all people who rightfully and legally investigated a variety of alleged crimes, including Trump’s mishandling of classified documents, Trump’s role in instigating January 6 insurrection, and Russian interference in the 2016 election. 

And for what it’s worth, Trump is very much not the chief law enforcement officer of the United States—the attorney general is (although Bondi has proven willing to agree with the president). Not only is Trump continuing to attack people on baseless accusations of crime, he is misrepresenting the power he has to do so.  

New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani gave a strong interview on Fox News Wednesday—but the same can’t be said for the host Martha MacCallum.

During the interview on Fox’s The Story, MacCallum posed a variety of questions echoing far-right talking points. But if MacCallum was hoping to catch Mamdani out on his leftist policies, she got something else entirely. 

While asking Mamdani whether his socialist politics were at odds with New York City’s reputation as the finance capital of the world, MacCallum revealed that she’d gotten a little help with her interview prep from AI. 

“Last night, I ChatGPT’d, ‘Where is the capitalist and global finance center of the world?’ and it said New York City, which made me feel good as someone who loves New York City,” MacCallum said. “Is that a moniker you’re proud of, and one that you want to continue for this city?”

“Well, you should be proud of it. And, that is one thing you have in common with Andrew Cuomo, because he also uses ChatGPT to answer many questions including how to actually resolve the housing crisis in this city,” Mamdani said, referring to Cuomo’s April housing plan that had clearly been made with the help of a large language model.  

He added that he hoped to make NYC the capital of “where working people could afford to live in this city.”

MacCallum then noted that Mamdani had no experience as a businessperson—though why that would be necessary for a civil servant is unclear—and asked him what experience gave him the “confidence” to run for mayor. 

Mamdani cited his nearly six years as a New York state assemblymember, representing 130,000 residents in Queens. “I’ve not only delivered more than $100 million in increased bus and subway service, I’ve also secured half a billion dollars in debt relief for working class taxi drivers,” he said.

MacCallum’s condescending question seems to echo President Donald Trump, who on Tuesday had criticized Mamdani, claiming he had “never worked a day in his life.”

The Fox News host appeared uncomfortable while pressing Mamdani on his view on law enforcement, and when she challenged him to publicly apologize for calling the New York City Police Department racist and corrupt, he launched into an apology—which MacCallum quickly interrupted. In fact, she interrupted Mamdani several times throughout the interview.

The interview also opened with a lengthy segment where McCallum probed Mamdani for his opinions about Hamas, following the tenuous peace agreement with Israel. Mamdani, whose potential position has little to do with foreign affairs, refused to take the bait.

Mamdani has previously faced wildly racist comments from right-wing media and lawmakers including Trump, who accused Mamdani of being in the country “illegally” and promised to have the local lawmaker arrested if he should follow through on defying ICE.

President Donald Trump has secretly escalated his already hawkish policy toward Venezuela, reveals a new report from The New York Times.

On Wednesday, the Times reported—and the president seemed to confirm—that Trump has signed what’s called a “presidential finding,” or a classified directive authorizing covert action, against the regime of Venezuelan ruler Nicolás Maduro.

This would allow the CIA to conduct “lethal operations in Venezuela” as well as “a range of operations in the Caribbean,” according to the Times. Covert action could be taken “either unilaterally or in conjunction with a larger military operation.” It’s unclear whether the CIA has specific operations planned in the country, or if the finding is simply to serve as a “contingency.”

After being asked at a press conference why he authorized the CIA to go into Venezuela, Trump told reporters that the country has sent drugs as well as “thousands of prisoners” and “people from mental institutions” into the United States. Referring to his administration’s recent lethal strikes on Venezuelan boats, which he has claimed were all trafficking narcotics, Trump vowed “to stop them by land also.”

Asked whether the CIA has the authority to “take out” Maduro, Trump refused to answer, saying it would be a “ridiculous question for me to answer”—though, he ominously added, “not really a ridiculous question” per se.

The Trump administration has taken an aggressive posture toward the Maduro regime, primarily under the guise of a war on drugs. This includes the legally dubious strikes on Venezuelan vessels, a military buildup in the Caribbean, the posting of a $50 million reward for information leading to Maduro’s arrest, and a recent halt on diplomatic talks.

The U.S. has an extensive history of interventions and destabilization campaigns in Latin America, often via covert CIA operations. Despite having campaigned in 2024 on minimizing foreign entanglements, the new report shows that Trump is open to continuing this sordid tradition.

The first order of business in Fox News’s sit-down interview Wednesday with New York City Democratic mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani: trying to goad the Muslim assemblyman into opining on the Middle East.

Rather than ask the mayoral frontrunner to explain his stances as they relate to the city he’s running to govern, host Martha MacCallum opted to grill Mamdani on a series of issues not related to Gracie Mansion whatsoever.

First, MacCallum wanted to know if Mamdani would give “credit” to Donald Trump for arranging a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, to which Mamdani responded it was “too early to do so.”

“But if it proves to be something that is lasting, something that is durable, then that’s where you give credit,” Mamdani said.

The next critical query: the mayoral candidate’s thoughts on Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack and the undelivered hostage remains.

“What is your response to what Hamas is doing now?” MacCallum asked.

“I think those are bodies and remains that should absolutely be returned,” Mamdani said. “And I have no issue with critiquing Hamas or the Israeli government, because my critiques all come from a place of universal human rights.”

Mamdani tried to squeeze details actually pertaining to New York City into this answer, acknowledging the city’s rampant affordability crisis. But MacCallum had no interest.

“Do you believe that Hamas should lay down their weapons and leave the leadership in Gaza?” she said, steamrolling past the detail.

“I believe that any future here in New York City is one that we have to make sure is affordable for all. And as it pertains to Israel and Palestine, that we have to ensure that there is peace, and that is the future we have to fight for,” Mamdani said.

“But you won’t say that Hamas should lay down their arms and give up leadership in Gaza?” MacCallum reiterated.

“I don’t really have opinions about the future of Hamas and Israel beyond the question of justice and safety,” Mamdani laughed. “And that applies to Hamas, that applies to the Israeli military, it applies to anyone you could ask me about.”

Mamdani has taken the Big Apple by storm. After a tight Democratic primary (and stunning upset victory) this summer, the Ugandan-born New Yorker has gained citywide appeal. He is leading the mayoral race by double digits, garnering 46 percent support in the wake of Mayor Eric Adams’s withdrawal, according to a Quinnipiac poll published Thursday.

The 33-year-old has also caught the eye and ire of the White House. Trump has spent months openly browbeating Mamdani, accusing the local lawmaker of being in the country “illegally” while promising to arrest Mamdani if the mayoral hopeful follows through on defying ICE.

The president has also posed direct threats to the denizens of New York, claiming that he would leverage the power of the executive branch to choke funding from the country’s wealthiest metropolis unless it rejects Mamdani’s bid come election day next month.

Donald Trump has reportedly become consumed by his large-scale remodeling at the White House, wandering away from his presidential duties to survey renovations.  

The president has repeatedly derailed visits from foreign dignitaries to give lengthy tours of his new digs, Axios reported Wednesday. Following a joint press conference two weeks ago to tout his tenuous peace plan between Israel and Hamas, Trump led Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on a 40-minute walk-through of his latest renovations. And Finnish Prime Minister Alexander Stubb was given a similar tour last week. 

Trump also interrupted a meeting with Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg last month to show off his sound system being installed outside. 

In September, GOP lawmakers from Florida were trapped with the president for well over an hour as he showed off the new marble tiles he’d selected for the floors in the washroom of the Lincoln Bedroom—where DOGE czar Elon Musk once stayed at Trump’s behest. Trump led the lawmakers through the iconic Rose Garden, which he had partially paved over with stones, and asked them for their opinions. “He asked me to pick a tile,” one lawmaker told Axios.

One Trump adviser proudly admitted that the president raised exterior decorations with everyone who passed through his office. “He asks everyone for a vote on everything,” the adviser told Axios. “We vote. Anybody that walks through gets a vote. He cares so deeply about perfection that this is what he does.”

Trump’s changes have been extensive. First it was filling the Oval Office, which was refitted with ornate crown molding and gaudy golden decor, including a golden Trump crest above the door and golden cherub statues straight from Mar-a-Lago. The president also added a copy of the Declaration of Independence, though later revealed he had no idea what it said. 

Then it was the massive $200 million ballroom that looks like it will dwarf the White House; the demolished Rose Garden, where Trump will host MAGA elites; and the infamous autopen photograph Trump used to replace a portrait of former President Joe Biden. Now it seems the president has turned his attention to an “Arc de Trump” monument. 

One White House aide said the sweeping renovations were Trump’s “artistic outlet.”

“President [George W.] Bush liked to paint. Trump likes to build and design,” they said. 

While Trump explores his creative side, his White House has directed hundreds of federal workers to be fired amid an ongoing government shutdown with no end in sight. Meanwhile, federal forces are waging war on Democratic cities, and immigration authorities are scouring the land for undocumented immigrants to rip out of their communities. 

U.S. District Judge Susan Illston has temporarily blocked the Trump administration from carrying out its mass firing of federal workers during the government shutdown.

This Wednesday ruling comes on day 15 of the shutdown, as thousands of federal workers have already been fired and thousands more remain on edge. The district judge in San Francisco said the mass firings appear to be politically motivated.

“I am inclined to grant the plaintiff’s motion,” said Illston during a hearing on the matter. “The evidence suggests that the Office of Management and Budget, OMB, and the Office of Personnel Management, OPM, have taken advantage of the lapse in government spending, in government functioning to assume that all bets are off—that the laws don’t apply to them anymore, and that they can impose the structures that they like on the government situation that they don’t like. And I find, I believe, that the plaintiffs will demonstrate, ultimately, that what’s being done here is both illegal, and is in excess of authority, and is arbitrary and capricious.”

The case was brought forth by the American Federation of Government Employees and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, which represent a combined 800,000 federal workers.

This story has been updated.

One day after Donald Trump celebrated a multibillion-dollar bailout for Argentina, his administration moved to double the ante.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told reporters at the Treasury building Wednesday that the United States is “working on a $20 billion facility that would be adjacent” to the $20 billion credit swap line Trump already approved, totaling $40 billion in assistance for the economically fragile South American country.

“Many banks are interested in it, and many sovereign funds,” Bessent said. “It is a private-sector solution to Argentina’s upcoming debt payments.”

The aid is intended to salvage Argentina’s collapsing economy ahead of the country’s October 26 midterm elections. That vote will determine if Argentine President Javier Milei, one of Trump’s international allies, will maintain the ability to pursue his dramatic cost-cutting agenda.

But there’s another notable beneficiary of the Trump admin’s Argentina bailout package: major hedge funds led by Bessent’s friends. Several major investment funds, including BlackRock, Fidelity, and Pimco, stand to significantly gain from the aid transfer, as do several independent investors with ties to Bessent, The New York Times reported earlier this month.

Bessent described the exchange Wednesday as an “economic Monroe Doctrine,” referring to the 1823 policy that rejected European intervention and colonialism in the Western hemisphere.

“Much better to use the heft of the U.S. economic power rather than have to use military power,” Bessent continued, comparing the situation to the supposed “narco traffic coming out of Venezuela.”

But the White House’s planned Argentina bailout is remarkably hypocritical for an administration that has axed critical executive agencies under the auspice of slashing spending.

Stateside, the government is still shut down over how to fund Trump’s “big, beautiful” budget, which included cuts of billions from Obamacare subsidies and Medicaid—a shutdown that Bessent himself claimed Wednesday was costing America “$15 billion a day.”

And the U.S. will likely need a bailout of its own very soon. American soybean farmers have been pummeled by Trump’s tariff policies, which have ripped the Chinese market from their grasp. However, after it came to light that Argentina had replaced the U.S. as China’s top soybean supplier, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNBC that the anticipated Argentina-bound cash infusion had morphed into a “credit swap line.”