CNN CEO Orders Shift in Trump Coverage After White House Visit: Report

The head of CNN reportedly wants his network to tone down its coverage of President Trump destroying the White House’s East Wing as he builds his enormous ballroom.

Status reports that CNN CEO Mark Thompson told his staffers on a conference call Thursday to reduce the network’s coverage of the White House’s destruction, one day after he had paid a visit to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

The Wednesday meeting at the White House was supposedly about CNN’s upcoming streaming product and an opportunity for Trump administration officials to appear on the network, but Thompson’s words to CNN employees raise the question of whether Trump officials told him to alter the network’s coverage. Staffers at the network are suspicious, according to Status, especially considering that CNN anchor Jake Tapper has been trying to get an interview with the president.

CNN has denied the report. “This is reckless and irresponsible conjecture without any fact checking done prior to publication,” a spokesperson said in a statement to The New Republic.

The network has a historically bad relationship with Trump, with its correspondents often butting heads with the president going back to before his first term, and its parent company, Warner Bros. Discovery, is up for sale with Trump ally David Ellison among the leading suitors. During his second term as president, Trump has made no secret of his grudges against media outlets, seeking to punish them through the FCC and defamation lawsuits. Despite Thompson’s reported words during the editorial call, the outlet has still covered the destruction of the East Wing since Thursday.

Could Trump be trying to take advantage of CNN and engineer softer coverage? Is Thompson trying to save his own job in the event Ellison acquires CNN? Either way, it’s another example of the Trump administration infringing on the freedom of the press.

This story has been updated.

Senator Rand Paul is on a campaign to knock President Donald Trump off of his warpath.

During Paul’s appearance on Fox News Sunday, host Shannon Bream asked the Kentucky Republican what information he wanted the government to provide about its military strikes in the Caribbean Sea. But Paul said that a briefing wasn’t what he was after.

“A briefing’s not enough to overcome the Constitution,” Paul said. “The Constitution says that when you go to war, Congress has to vote on it. And during a war then, [there are] lower rules for engagement and people do sometimes get killed without due process.

“But the drug war, or the crime war, has typically been something we do through law enforcement. And so far they have alleged that these people are drug dealers. No one said their name, no one said their evidence,” Paul said. “So, at this point, I would call them extrajudicial killings.

“This is akin to what China does, to [what] Iran does with drug dealers; they summarily execute people without providing evidence to the public, so it’s wrong,” Paul said.

Both Iran and China have been known to secretly execute drug dealers, without providing due process. Paul, a Libertarian, has been an outspoken critic of the Trump administration’s policy on the strikes, pointing to the military’s likely illegal drones, as well as the statistical likelihood that some of its targets are mistaken.

The U.S. conducted its tenth strike on a foreign vessel on Friday, killing another six people without providing any actual evidence linking the boats to any drug cartel. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth claimed the ship was operated by Tren de Aragua, a Venezuelan gang.

Trump also ordered an aircraft carrier strike group to the Caribbean, in a major escalation of military tension between the U.S. and Venezuela. Last week, Trump stated his intention to expand his lawless strikes to dry land—bragging that Congress wouldn’t stop him.

Donald Trump’s latest doctor visit turned out to be a fairly serious medical evaluation.

The president stopped by Walter Reed Medical Center earlier this month, but the president’s team refused for days to explain why. Apparently it was for MRI scans, a medical tool typically used to assess tumors, joint injuries, or heart conditions. Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One Monday, Trump claimed the visit was little more than a “routine yearly checkup”—despite the fact that he had his annual physical just six months ago.

“I got an MRI,” he said before touching down in Japan. “It was perfect.”

The president did not elaborate on what the doctors were looking for or what they had found, though the 79-year-old did emphasize that the doctors allegedly told him he had “some of the best reports” they had ever seen.

“You can ask the doctors,” he said. “Nobody has ever given you reports like I give you.”

Trump then went on to brag about his IQ, claiming that “aptitude tests” he received at Walter Reed proved he was superior to his political opponents—especially compared to a couple of healthy young women.

“You give her an IQ test. Have her pass, like, the exams that I decided to take when I was at Walter Reed,” Trump said referring to Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. “I took—those are very hard—they’re really aptitude tests, I guess, in a certain way.”

Trump also derided Texas Representative Jasmine Crockett, suggesting that she too should grapple with the “very hard” tests, which he said included questions about “tigers, an elephant, a giraffe.” It’s unclear what test this could be referring to, but it sounds remarkably similar to Trump’s infamous “person, woman, man, camera, TV” test—which health experts have revealed is a test to check for signs of dementia, Alzheimer’s, or other cognitive issues.

The White House said that the president was in “excellent overall health” after his October 10 visit, referring to the testing as “advanced imaging.” Press secretary Karoline Leavitt refused to clarify that language during a White House press briefing last week, rejecting a reporter’s query as to whether that meant Trump had received MRI scans.

“Advanced imaging is something that presidents receive and people receive when they go to the doctor, and so we provided a detailed readout of that physical, and I would encourage you back for that,” she said.

When pressed again on the matter, Leavitt said: “I don’t know the exact imaging that took place, but as the physician’s note said, the president is in incredibly good shape and I think that’s evidenced here every single day.”

Trump’s health has been a topic of concern since he was on the campaign trail, when reports circulated that he couldn’t remember the contents of the cognitive exams he claimed to ace. Since then, the president has been spotted with odd discolorations on his hand, routinely appears discombobulated and lethargic during critical meetings with world leaders, and had a drooping expression during 9/11 ceremonies in September that onlookers suggested could be a sign of a stroke.

It looks like President Donald Trump’s family is once again using the White House as a personal piggy bank.

A Florida-based drone manufacturer linked to Don Trump Jr. just received its largest ever contract to supply parts to the Pentagon, the Financial Times reported Friday.

Unusual Machines, a company that builds and sells drones, said that the U.S. Army had contracted it to make 3,500 drone motors, among other parts, and the Pentagon indicated that it would order an additional 20,000 components in 2026. CEO Allen Evans said that he believed it was the largest order the company had ever received from the U.S. government, but he did not disclose the value of the contract. The Defense Department appears to have stopped posting daily contract notices since the government shutdown began on October 1.

Trump Jr. joined the company’s advisory board in November 2024, shortly after his father became commander in chief of the U.S. military. Trump Jr. previously disclosed that he owned a roughly $4 million stake in the company, although it’s unclear whether he has retained his shares. Earlier this month, Evans told Bloomberg that the president’s son had continued to participate in fundraising rounds.

There are obvious conflicts of interest that surround the president’s son being positioned to profit off the defense industry—and the Trump administration has already done plenty to pave the way for buying more American-made drones. In June, Trump signed an executive order to “unleash American drone dominance,” and in July, the Pentagon removed restrictions in order to accelerate drone procurement.

Trump Jr.’s involvement immediately boosted Unusual Machines’ beleaguered stock, and Evans said that the first son’s public endorsement made it easier to get meetings with potential partners, allowing the company to raise more than $80 million from investors this year.

But Evans insisted that Trump Jr. wasn’t involved in the massive deal, and a spokesperson for Trump Jr. said that “Don has never communicated with anyone in the administration on behalf of Unusual Machines or about the contract in question.”

The president’s family has pocketed more than $1.8 billion in cash and gifts since Trump’s return to the White House, according to the Center for American Progress. That figure includes more than $1.2 billion from their cryptocurrency side hustle. On Thursday, Trump pardoned the founder of Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, who helped launch his family’s cryptocurrency platform, World Liberty Financial, with a massive $2 billion favor for its stablecoin.

The ballroom replacing the White House East Wing will share Donald Trump’s name.

The $300 million project has yet to receive a formal designation, but it is already being referred to as the “President Donald J. Trump Ballroom,” a moniker that will likely stick, senior administration officials told ABC News Friday.

Practically every detail that has emerged about the ballroom—and the East Wing’s complete destruction this week—has been uncovered by media outlets that refused to take the administration’s plan at face value.

After promising Americans in July that his ballroom proposal would “be near but not touching” the historic building, Trump plowed ahead without prerequisite approval from the National Capital Planning Commission (which has been closed since the government shutdown began earlier this month) and without the express permission of Congress.

The project’s price tag also inexplicably grew by 50 percent over the last week. What Trump had pitched as a $200 million project was instead referred to this week as a $300 million development plan that the White House suggested would be funded, in part, by some of the country’s wealthiest families and biggest corporations, including the likes of Apple, Google, Amazon, Microsoft, and Meta.

Government officials are still trying to ascertain whether Trump’s sudden, unauthorized decision to demolish the White House was legal, but at least two Americans have already opted to sue him over it in an attempt to suspend the construction.

The White House’s partial destruction is, ultimately, another illustration that the country’s constitutional system of checks and balances has eroded. The international real estate mogul’s desire to destroy the government—and with it, the architectural face of American democracy—has received practically zero pushback from his allies in Congress, who appear all too willing to sit back as Trump courts billionaires to fund his golden banquet hall.

Resisting Trump’s drafts for the East Wing would require someone in power to actually hold the president accountable. But his desire to destroy and redevelop the White House as he sees fit should come as no surprise, since he’s never appeared to be a fan of the national symbol. During his first term, Trump reportedly called the White House “a dump” (an allegation that he has publicly refuted), and he has spent no small part of his second term living and dining at his own properties rather than the executive mansion.

An anonymous ally of Donald Trump is donating $130 million to pay members of the military during the government shutdown.

The Department of Defense confirmed Friday that “the donation was made on the condition that it be used to offset the cost of service members’ salaries and benefits,” spokesperson Sean Parnell told CNN. Trump had announced the donation the day before.

The move is unprecedented, as the military has always been funded by American taxpayers. According to CNN, the White House referred questions about the donor’s identity and possible ties to foreign interests to the Defense Department, which then referred questions back to the president. Both Democrats and Republicans in Congress told the news outlet that they were out of the loop.

It’s the latest example of the Trump administration touting an influx of private cash. Trump has bragged that his White House ballroom is being funded entirely with private donations, but seems unconcerned about the appearance of bribery or corruption. The fact that this donation, ostensibly to military personnel, is coming from an anonymous donor also raises the question of legality, as it could come from a foreign entity or government looking to curry favor with Trump or his business interests.

The Trump Organization, which the president claims is being run by his children during his presidency, has expanded its business interests dramatically in the past year. One foreign leader, the president of Indonesia, was caught asking the president to speak with his son about a deal earlier this month.

Is this donation to the military coming with strings attached for government policy? Or is it benefiting the president’s personal interests in some way? Thanks to a lack of transparency, no one outside of the president’s inner circle has a clue.

Canada seems to be caving to President Trump, pulling a TV ad featuring former President Ronald Reagan’s criticism of tariffs. The ad originally began airing in Ontario last week, thanks to Doug Ford, the province’s conservative premier.

The ad featured a clip of Reagan’s 1987 radio address in which the conservative icon argued that tariffs undermine economic prosperity and that they only serve to “hurt every American.”

The one-minute ad cuts portions of Reagan’s five-minute speech so that Reagan is saying several sentences in succession that were actually separate during the original address. As edited, Reagan says:

When someone says, ‘Let’s impose tariffs on foreign imports,’ it looks like they’re doing the patriotic thing by protecting American products and jobs. And sometimes, for a short while, it works—but only for a short time.

But over the long run such trade barriers hurt every American worker and consumer. High tariffs inevitably lead to retaliation by foreign countries and the triggering of fierce trade wars. Then the worst happens: Markets shrink and collapse, businesses and industry shut down, and millions of people lose their jobs. Throughout the world, there’s a growing realization that the way to prosperity for all nations is rejecting protectionist legislation and promoting fair and free competition. America’s jobs and growth are at stake.

While the clip is edited, Reagan certainly was not pro-tariff, and the ad Ford posted is not that far off from how the former president felt, much to the chagrin of Trump. Watch the ad in full here:

New York State Attorney General Letitia James warned Friday that President Donald Trump is using the American justice system as a “tool of revenge.”

After pleading not guilty to charges related to committing mortgage fraud and making false statements to a financial institution, James delivered remarks outside of the federal courthouse in Norfolk, Virginia.

She thanked her supporters, who cheered her as she spoke. “But this is not about me, this is about all of us,” James said. “And about a justice system which has been weaponized. A justice system which has been used as a tool of revenge.”

James added that the president was using the justice system as a “vehicle of retribution” against his perceived political enemies.

But Trump’s crusade against his critics is far from over. U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi admitted Friday that the Trump administration had already set its sights on another of the president’s foes: former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. That announcement follows the federal indictments of James, former FBI Director James Comey, and former national security adviser John Bolton.

The DOJ effort against James, led by inexperienced Trump-appointed interim U.S. attorney Lindsey Halligan, accused New York state’s chief legal officer of duplicitously acquiring a second home. James is accused of renting the home out as an “investment property,” collecting “thousands” in rent money, and saving over $17,000 in the process. But prosecutors charged with investigating James discovered evidence that undermined the government’s allegations that James collected significant rent from her niece Nakia Thompson.

James’s ethics disclosures revealed that she had previously collected rent on the property—but only once in 2020, and for a sum between $1,000 and $5,000. Prosecutors found that James allowed Thompson and her family to live in the house rent-free in 2020, and James only reported collecting $1,350 in rent money on her tax return from that year. After prosecutors warned U.S. Attorney Erik Siebert, and he declined to take up the case, he was summarily sacked and replaced by Halligan, Trump’s former personal lawyer.

Thompson had previously testified before a grand jury that “she had lived in the house for years and that she did not pay rent.” However, that wasn’t the grand jury that indicted her aunt, and Thompson was not asked to testify again in the case.

The Department of Defense is sending even more troops to the Caribbean and Latin America to combat “illicit actors.”

Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell announced on X Friday that Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth ordered the USS Gerald R. Ford, an aircraft carrier, and its strike group to deploy to the U.S. Southern Command from the Mediterranean Sea “to bolster U.S. capacity to detect, monitor, and disrupt illicit actors and activities that compromise the safety and prosperity of the United States homeland and our security in the Western Hemisphere.”

The move adds to the many U.S. ships and fighter jets already deployed to the area, and comes just hours after the Trump administration announced a tenth strike on a ship it claims was being used for drug trafficking. Even Fox News’s chief national security correspondent Jennifer Griffin noted Friday afternoon that the move looks like a “major military buildup for what many fear is an undeclared war.”

Griffin said that the aircraft carrier’s new deployment would mark the first time the U.S. wouldn’t have an aircraft carrier in the Middle East, and that 14 percent of the U.S. Navy’s fleet would now be in the Caribbean Sea.

President Trump’s strikes have attracted criticism and controversy, with one military leader even likely resigning because of the bombings. The strikes have expanded to the Pacific Ocean and are taking place extrajudicially, with no proof that the people killed in the strikes are even connected to drug trafficking. Some of them have been identified as fishermen.

The administration is responding to criticism of its bombings, which is even coming from other Republicans, by increasing its military buildup and making crass jokes. They are ignoring the fact that the strikes are likely illegal, and seem to be ratcheting up the possibility of war, breaking the president’s campaign promise to end endless wars.

President Trump’s Department of Justice is sending election monitors to “protect the votes of eligible American citizens” in six different blue districts this November.

The poll monitors will focus on California, which is set to vote on a ballot measure known as Proposition 50 that would redraw the state’s congressional districts to help Democrats, and New Jersey, where Republicans have a real shot at winning the governorship.

“Transparency at the polls translates into faith in the electoral process, and this Department of Justice is committed to upholding the highest standards of election integrity,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi Friday. “We will commit the resources necessary to ensure the American people get the fair, free, and transparent elections they deserve.”

The effort will be coordinated by the Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department. The districts that will be surveilled are Passaic County, New Jersey, Kern County, California, Riverside County, California, Fresno County, California, Orange County, California, and Los Angeles County, California.

The DOJ is also taking open requests and complaints at a tip line: VEM@usdoj.gov.

“The Department of Justice will do everything necessary to protect the votes of eligible American citizens, ensuring our elections are safe and secure,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Civil Rights Division. “Transparent election processes and election monitoring are critical tools for safeguarding our elections and ensuring public trust in the integrity of our elections.”

Further details are sparse at the moment, and poll monitors are nothing new, but in this current climate one can imagine that this decision may lead to intimidation, draconian surveillance, and arrests of anyone suspected to be an immigrant at polling places in deep blue areas in November.

This faux concern about “election integrity” is rich coming from a president who can’t even admit that he lost an election fairly, and who has openly mused about breaking the law to run for a third term.