Republican Lawmakers Take the Mask Off Over Bondi Beach Shooting

MAGA world is calling for a mass deportation of Muslims, following a mass shooting in Australia—ignoring the reality that it was a member of the local Muslim community who intervened and stopped the violence.

At least 15 people were killed Sunday in a horrific attack at Sydney’s Bondi Beach. Two men—a father-son duo—allegedly opened fire on a crowd of Jewish Australians on the first night of Hanukkah. The country’s leadership has declared the incident a terrorist attack.

The suspects have been identified by authorities as 50-year-old Sajid Akram and his son, 24-year-old Naveed Akram. The elder Akram moved to Australia in 1998, while the junior was born in the country.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the suspects were “driven” by an antisemitic ideology. He also rejected accusations that recent Muslim immigration into Australia was to blame, noting that the pair had engaged in an “extreme perversion of Islam” while underscoring the actions of the day’s hero—Ahmed Al Ahmed—who ran toward the danger and grappled a gun away from one of the attackers.

But halfway across the world, American politicians were more interested in broadcasting a simpler message—even if it didn’t accurately reflect the events. Across social media, Republicans lawmakers issued similar statements suggesting that Muslims are a threat to peaceful society that must be deported.

“The Religion of Peace strikes again,” posted Representative Randy Fine. “How many Muslim attacks do there have to be until we say enough?”

Senator Tommy Tuberville went a step further, claiming that “Islam is not a religion. It’s a cult.”

“Stop worrying about offending the pearl clutchers,” Tuberville wrote. “We’ve got to SEND THEM HOME NOW or we’ll become the United Caliphate of America.”

Even local politicians hopped on the islamophobic bandwagon. Retweeting a message celebrating the “AUSTRALIAN HERO” (but that did not mention his religion), New York City Councilmember Vickie Paladino claimed that the world was suffering from a “global jihad” that “cannot” be ignored.

“We need to take very seriously the need to begin the expulsion of Muslims from western nations, or at the very least the severe sanction of them within western borders,” Paladino wrote.

New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani—the economic powerhouse’s first Muslim mayor—did not take the same approach. In a lengthy missive, Mamdani recognized the “growing pattern of violence targeted at Jewish people across the world,” and implored New Yorkers to follow in Al Ahmed’s footsteps, urging the city to “confront hatred with the urgency and action it demands.”

MAGA Republicans are already pushing conspiracy theories about the shooting at Brown University over the weekend, claiming that one of the victims was targeted for her conservative beliefs.

Sophomore student Ella Cook was one of the two people killed Saturday when a shooter opened fire during a review session for an economics exam. The gunman has not yet been taken into custody or identified, but the victims have—and apparently that’s all MAGA thought they needed to crack the case.

Some Republicans began to claim that Cook, who served as vice president of the Brown chapter of College Republicans of America, was targeted for her politics. Of course, none of them bothered to mention Mukhammad Aziz Umurzokov, an Uzbek student who was studying neuroscience who was also killed Saturday, or the eight others who were injured.

William Branson Donahue, founder and chairman of the College Republicans, claimed to have been “told” that Cook was “allegedly targeted for her conservative beliefs, hunted, and killed in cold blood.”

“Losing Charlie three months ago rocked our worlds. The entire College Republicans community is weeping this evening learning of the news. This was an attack on our family,” he wrote on X Sunday night.

It seems that Donahue quickly realized the story didn’t quite add up, but rather than remove the original post, he just wrote a second post beneath it.

“This was the report I received that came from students immediately after the news broke. The story is evolving. We are waiting for the official police report and receiving updates from the chapter,” Donahue said.

His follow-up post did not receive nearly as much attention as his initial one. At time of publishing, his conspiracy post had received 833 comments, 3,500 reposts, and 13,000 likes. His tepid attempt to walk it back had just 116 comments, 48 reposts, and 644 likes.

It seems clear Donahue did not wait for the official police report before lighting a flare to his fellow conservatives.

Gabe Guidarini, chairman of the Ohio College Republicans Federation who previously thought a very real video of Vivek Ramaswamy was a deepfake, carried the torch. “They have martyred one of our own,” he wrote on X Sunday night. “Pray for every College Republican leader and member.”

Who are “they?” Why, the left of course.

Chaya Raichik of LibsofTikTok posted on X Sunday that Cook’s death meant it was “open season on Conservatives now.”

And New York City Councilwoman Vicky Paladino wrote Sunday on X that it was “very clear now that the attack at Brown was perpetrated by the leftist activist and targeted Republicans.”

For now, it seems that the only substantive similarity between this shooting and the assassination of Charlie Kirk, besides that they both took place at universities, is just how quickly MAGA has moved to exploit violence for its own political purposes.

The far right is claiming that Ahmed Al Ahmed, the bystander who intervened in the deadly, antisemitic mass shooting at a Hanukkah celebration in Bondi Beach, Australia, this weekend was a Christian—and not a Muslim—to justify its Islamophobia.

“The media keeps saying the man who disarmed the Muslim terrorist in Australia today is also a Muslim who owns a fruit stand,” far-right commentator Laura Loomer wrote Sunday on X. “Credible reports suggest the man is actually a Lebanese or Coptic Christian. Don’t fall for the propaganda.”

“He is a Christian Maronite! The hero that stopped one of the terrorists in Australia is called Ahmad Al Ahmad. The Anti-Israel mobs celebrated him being a Muslim, as if that made the terror attack less terrible,” a large account called “Hamas Atrocities” wrote. “But he is not a Muslim! He is a Christian Maronite!”

“The hero who disarmed the T*rrorist in Australia is a Christian. NOT a muslim,” said another account.

This was debunked quickly. In reality, Al Ahmed—who tackled and disarmed one of the gunmen in a shocking act of heroism—is a Muslim immigrant from Syria who owns a fruit shop, as confirmed by The Jerusalem Post and Al Ahmed’s family.

“He’s been here since 2006, and he’s an Australian citizen.… My son is a hero. He served with the police and the central security forces,” Al Ahmed’s father told an Australian news broadcast. “His conscience and his soul compelled him to pounce on one of the terrorists and rid him of his weapon.”

The 43-year-old father of two was shot twice after disarming one of the shooters and is currently in the hospital recovering.

House GOP moderates are breaking away from their party leader.

At least four Republican representatives—Brian Fitzpatrick, Jen Kiggans, David Valadao, and Mike Lawler—have decided to bypass House Speaker Mike Johnson altogether amid a disagreement on extensions for Affordable Care Act premium subsidies.

There are just 17 days left on the clock before the premium subsidies expire altogether. They assist individuals making upward of 400 percent of the federal poverty level. Without them, health insurance premiums for more than 20 million Americans are expected to double.

But that 17-day deadline is effectively nil. Even if the House manages to pass a package, the Senate isn’t expected to follow suit.

What’s more, Monday is the final day for people to register for ACA open enrollment—something many may be hesitant to do if they’re not sure whether the premiums will expire, sending health care costs skyrocketing.

Last week, Johnson granted Fitzpatrick and Kiggans an opportunity to vote on an amendment to extend the subsidies. But differing opinions over the amendment’s text have effectively crumbled the deal, and the cohort of moderate Republicans are expected to go their own way, Punchbowl News reported Monday.

“Fitzpatrick, Kiggans, and Reps. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.) and David Valadao (R-Calif.) will go to the House Rules Committee Tuesday to offer their amendment, which would extend the subsidies for two years alongside income caps and anti-fraud reforms,” the digital outlet reported. “They expect it to be rejected. It’s unclear what the moderates will do after that. They’d effectively be free agents.”

Being free could put them in a position to side with Democrats, who have pitched a three-year extension to the Obamacare tax credits. The GOP representatives’ collective signatures would push the liberal party’s discharge petition over the finish line.

Without the subsidies, policy analysts expect a mass exodus from Obamacare plans altogether that could leave roughly four million Americans completely uninsured. The spike in uninsured Americans will spur a nationwide public health problem that has historically made premiums more expensive for the insured as hospitals look to recoup the lost cash.

But have no fear, Republicans have said they’ll focus on health care policy in the coming year—after millions of Americans lose their coverage.

Donald Trump has responded to the tragic death of director Rob Reiner and his wife, Michele, with an unhinged Truth Social post attacking Reiner for criticizing him in the past. 

Trump called Reiner “a tortured and struggling, but once very talented movie director and comedy star,” and made the wildly insensitive claim that the pair died due to Reiner’s “anger he caused others through his massive, unyielding, and incurable affliction with a mind crippling disease known as TRUMP DERANGEMENT SYNDROME, sometimes referred to as TDS.” 

Right now, police have not publicly confirmed any details as to the circumstances of the pair’s death, although People magazine reports that their son, Nick, killed them and is being questioned by law enforcement. Nick co-wrote the film Being Charlie with his father, who also directed it, and has spoken extensively about his struggles with drug addiction.   

All that is known right now is that Sunday afternoon, the Los Angeles Fire Department was called to provide medical aid to the Reiners’ home and found the couple dead. 

Trump has a history of undignified responses to the deaths of people who have criticized him, most notably Senator John McCain. Reiner was very popular in Hollywood and well known for his liberal activism, earning him posthumous tributes from former President Barack Obama, former Vice President Kamala Harris, California Governor Gavin Newsom, and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass. Even MAGA-supporting actor James Woods offered his “love and respect” to Reiner in a tribute on X.

Trump is receiving a backlash on Truth Social for his remarks, with replies from his fans criticizing his insensitivity. 

Following Jimmy Kimmel’s suspension from ABC over his comments on Charlie Kirk in September, Reiner criticized Trump and FCC Chairman Brendan Carr and noted that “there’s only a couple of us that are speaking out in this hard way.” He added, “This may be the last time you ever see me.” 

This story has been updated.

Guests at the White House Christmas reception fell silent Sunday as President Donald Trump veered way off topic to deliver a cozy holiday tale about … poisonous snakes?

“Tale” is probably giving him too much credit. During his address, 79-year-old Trump turned his attention to Peru, which he said “is known to be a rather rough place in terms of physical creatures crawling around.”

“Twenty-eight thousand people die a year from a snake bite, a certain snake. It’s a viper. It’s said to be the most poisonous snake in the world,” Trump said. “But the venom rarely works, it’s so powerful, the snake. It’s said to be the most poisonous. That, the black mamba, the brown mamba, and the viper from Peru.”

Trump tried to explain that he was telling this “story” because his son Donald Jr. was sitting in the audience, but he didn’t end up telling any story at all.

“And so, he’s being read his rights and his—this is, they thought he was dead three times, three different times, they carried him out, feeding him the anti-venom, and over a period of months he was unconscious for a long time, many weeks, and he made it. I asked him, ‘How ya doing today?’ And he said, ‘Is it perfect?’” the president rambled incoherently.

Suddenly, Trump seemed to notice that he’d lost his audience.

“Look how quiet everybody is,” the president said. “You know, it’s funny when you talk about snakes and things like that, people find it interesting.”

Interesting? No. Deeply concerning? Yes.

The son of Representative Ilhan Omar was caught up in the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown in Minnesota.

In an interview with local TV station WCCO on Sunday, Omar said that federal agents pulled over her son on Saturday and demanded proof of citizenship.

“Yesterday, after he made a stop at Target, he did get pulled over by [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] agents, and once he was able to produce his passport ID, they did let him go,” Omar said, adding that her son always carries his passport. According to the Somali American congresswoman, it’s not her son’s first brush with ICE: In the past, agents entered a mosque where he and others were praying but left without incident.

After ICE had visited that mosque, she said she “had to remind him just how worried I am, because all of these areas that they are talking about are areas where he could possibly find himself in and they are racially profiling, they are looking for young men who look Somali that they think are undocumented.”

Earlier this month, President Trump launched an immigration crackdown targeting the local Somali American community in the Minneapolis-St. Paul metro area, the largest in the country. The president said he did not “want them in our country,” calling Omar and the rest of the community garbage.

On Friday, Omar sent a letter to Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem and acting ICE Director Todd Lyons accusing the government of “blatant racial profiling” and “an egregious level of unnecessary force” in Minnesota.

“It is clear to me that this surge came in direct response to Trump’s racist comments about Somali people, and about me in particular,” Omar wrote.

Kash Patel celebrated too early again.

On Sunday, the FBI director made a lengthy post boasting about the bureau’s efforts to detain a person of interest in the Brown University shooting on Saturday night that killed two and wounded nine.

“Early this morning, FBI Boston’s Safe Streets Task Force … detained a person of interest in a hotel room in Coventry, RI, based off a lead by the @ProvidenceRIPD. We have deployed local and national resources to process and reconstruct the shooting scene—providing HQ and Lab elements on scene,” Patel wrote, attaching pictures. “We set up a digital media intake portal to ingest images and video from the public related to this incident. And the FBI’s victim specialists are fully integrating with our partners to provide resources to victims and survivors of this horrific violence. This FBI will continue an all out 24/7 campaign until justice is fully served.”

Local authorities even confirmed that the person of interest was detained off of a tip obtained by Patel’s FBI.

The person of interest was released hours after Patel’s announcement.

This blunder from Patel reeks of the same overeagerness that led to this same outcome in the Charlie Kirk shooting.

In September, he drew the ire of the left and right for his premature social media post the day of the shooting, declaring that “the subject for the horrific shooting” was in custody—a claim almost immediately contradicted by local officials. Patel later backtracked, and the manhunt ensued for another 27-plus hours before the suspect, Tyler Robinson, was turned in by a family member.

“I’m grateful that Utah authorities have captured the suspect in the Charlie Kirk assassination, and think it is time for Republicans to assess whether Kash Patel is the right man to run the FBI,” right-wing culture warrior Chris Rufo posted then. “He performed terribly in the last few days, and it’s not clear whether he has the operational expertise to investigate, infiltrate, and disrupt the violent movements—of whatever ideology—that threaten the peace in the United States.”

It’s clear that these questions still apply—and that the FBI director is still more concerned with looking tough and being celebrated than he is with actually being good at his job.

At a White House Christmas reception on Sunday, President Donald Trump made clear what he wants from Santa this year.

“We’re building an arc, like the Arc de Triomphe,” he said during a rambling speech, after spending 10 minutes talking about golf. “And we’re building it by the Arlington Bridge … opposite the Lincoln Memorial.”

Trump’s “triumphal arc” (yes, “arc”) is the latest construction project on his list, which also includes the 90,000-square-foot, $250 million ballroom he’s tearing down the East Wing of the White House for, and his Rose Garden renovation, in which he paved paradise and put up a parking lot—sorry, a “club.”

“I put Vince in charge of the triumphal arc,” Trump said, referring to his former speechwriter and the current director of the Domestic Policy Council, Vince Haley. “Vince came in one day, and his eyes were teeming. He couldn’t believe how beautiful. He saw it, and he wanted to do that,” the president continued, intelligibly.

“It will be like the one in Paris, but to be honest, maybe it blows it away—it blows it away, in every way,” Trump said.

But the president wasn’t quite finished gushing about his plans. He called Memorial Circle, the site across from Lincoln Memorial right on the border with Virginia, “a circle that’s been waiting to have the arc built on it.” Apparently, Memorial Circle was asking for it.

Trump then asked Vince to show the plans to the National Trust. “I’ve always gotten really along well with the National Trust, so take a look, show it to them, maybe they’ve got some good ideas.” (The National Trust is currently suing the president to block construction of his ballroom.)

While Trump gilds the Oval Office and plans his next vanity project, Americans are struggling to pay for necessities like groceries and doctors’ visits. Trump’s legacy will be one of staggering economic inequality—but at least we’ll have an “arc” to remember him by.

President Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday intended to stop states from regulating AI—an idea that had received a lot of pushback from members of his base.

The order didn’t emerge out of a vacuum, of course. MAGA Republicans and Silicon Valley leaders have been locked in a battle for influence over the White House on tech policy for some time, The Washington Post reported on Sunday.

Trump’s tech advisers seem to be winning.

Let’s back up a few months: over the summer, the Senate killed a bill that would have imposed a 10-year moratorium on AI laws from states. Then, when a draft version of the just-signed executive order leaked last month, many Republicans, who traditionally support states’ rights, tried to stop the president from going forward with it.

GOP members including Georgia Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene decried the idea, writing on X that “states must retain the right to regulate and make laws on AI and anything else for the benefit of their state. Federalism must be preserved.”

Conservative groups, members of Congress, and governors all reportedly reached out to the White House to raise the alarm about the draft as well.

The Post spoke to more than a dozen people familiar with the administration’s AI policies and White House officials and concluded that this moment was emblematic of a wider struggle between Trump’s base and his tech advisers and industry leaders who used their money and sway to help put him in office.

“It feels like millions of votes across the country just got traded for thousands of [venture capitalist] and tech rich votes in regions Republicans will never win,” one source said.

Compromises were made to the draft to bring Republicans on board, and silence critics, the Post reported, and Trump ended up signing the order this week.

The tension between what Big Tech and the president’s populist supporters want isn’t likely to disappear overnight, though. And as the midterm elections loom, more and more cracks are appearing among Trump’s MAGA base.