MAGA Senator Has Dumbest Defense for Trump Wanting to Attack Iran

The White House is prepping for war with Iran—but that outcome is getting more and more difficult to rationalize, even for MAGA loyalists.

Oklahoma Senator Markwayne Mullin flopped and floundered Wednesday night to properly explain the need for another war during a sit-down interview with CNN’s Kaitlan Collins.

“I think people see the risks for sure…. It’s just hard sometimes to get your head around that we were told last summer it was obliterated, and now we’re saying a strike might be necessary if the talks don’t work,” Collins said.

“But obliterated is much different than the rebuilding it. They are purposefully trying to rebuild it,” Mullin replied.

“But how can you rebuild it if it was obliterated?” pressed Collins.

“I’m just saying, why do you think China and Russia—” started Mullin, before Collins interjected to repeat her question.

“But I’m just saying why do you think China and Russia—” Mullin said again.

“But how can you rebuild it if it was obliterated?” Collins asked a third time.

“I’ve already explained that,” Mullin responded. “How do you rebuild your legs after you shatter them? How do you rebuild a house after it’s been knocked down by a tornado or a hurricane? You can rebuild things. The foundation may still be there, you can build a lot back on the foundation once the top of it is removed. If the structure of the foundation is there, they can start rebuilding.”

Donald Trump ordered a strike on Iran’s nuclear sites on June 22 without the express approval of Congress. The attack damaged facilities in Fordo, Natanz, and Isfahan, though a postmortem battle damage assessment by the Pentagon’s intelligence arm determined that the missile barrage only set Iran’s nuclear program back by a few months, rather than the “years” that Trump had advertised.

The topic of striking Iran again has resurfaced amongst the president’s top aides over the last month. Since January 22, the U.S. has built an enormous military presence across a web of U.S. bases in the Middle East for the mere possibility of war, flooding ships—including naval destroyers and aircraft carriers—and more than a dozen jets to the region, reported CNN.

On Monday, Trump announced on Truth Social that the potential for war with Iran is still very much on the table. Top U.S. military officials, meanwhile, have reportedly warned the White House against dragging the country into war with Iran, arguing that it could entangle America in a prolonged conflict.

U.S. officials including Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner—Trump’s son-in-law—met with an Iranian delegation in Geneva early Thursday to discuss the countries’ ongoing standoff.

The talks have paused, though an adviser to Iran’s supreme leader told CNN that an “immediate agreement” could be within reach if the discussions singularly focus on Iran’s “non-production of nuclear weapons.”

Transgender people across Kansas are receiving letters warning them that their driver’s licenses are now invalid due to a new state law.

Senate Bill 244 takes effect Thursday, and requires to transgender people to have licenses corresponding with the sex of their birth. It passed last month, with Kansas legislators overriding Democratic Governor Laura Kelly’s veto. Anyone who receives the letter has to surrender their license and pay for a new one, and if they are caught without a valid license, the penalty is a class B misdemeanor, with a sentence of up to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine.

Gender marker changes had been allowed on Kansas licenses since 2007 despite the efforts of Kansas Republicans. That changed with SB 244, which doesn’t just ban gender changes going forward, but invalidates any changes made in the past. And the bill doesn’t come with a grace period lasting months—it’s taking effect immediately upon publication in the Kansas Register, which is updated on Thursdays.

“The Department is working as quickly as possible to notify individuals whose credentials will be affected under SB 244, ensuring they have sufficient time to update their credentials and avoid any disruption,” Zach Denney, a spokesperson for the Kansas Department of Revenue, told The Topeka Capital-Journal. “Letters are being sent to those impacted, and they should begin receiving them soon.”

About 1,500 people in the state are expected to receive letters, although Denney said that number could go down as the department “continues to look through and refine our records.” In addition to requiring new driver’s licenses, SB 244 also bans transgender people from bathrooms that match their gender identity in public buildings, and even goes as far as to create a bounty system giving people the ability to sue transgender people they see using the “wrong” restrooms for at least $1,000. The bill is written vaguely enough to potentially include private restrooms, too.

It’s a bill designed to appease a right-wing panic about transgender people, hiding behind bathroom safety, even though other states have not had any crimes or issues resulting from transgender people using the restroom of their gender. All it’s going to do is make the lives of many Kansans more difficult and make conservatives feel better about a problem that doesn’t exist.

First Lady Melania Trump will preside over the United Nations Security Council on March 2, addressing “Children, Technology, and Education in Conflict.”

“Mrs. Trump’s leadership will mark the first time a sitting U.S. First Lady presides over the Security Council as members consider education, technology, peace, and security,” a press release from her office read.

While the first lady has shown an interest in children’s welfare, particularly in Russia’s war on Ukraine, it’s hard to imagine her address as any more than a symbolic gesture that will look good in a social media post. U.S. Ambassador Mike Waltz will be in attendance.

Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos will go to the White House Thursday as he looks to push through a merger that even Republicans say presents antitrust concerns.

The proposed deal would see Netflix acquire Warner Bros. Discovery at the cost of $70 billion. Though it’s not clear if Sarandos will be meeting directly with President Donald Trump, he will try to curry favor with his administration, whose Department of Justice has the final say as to whether the merger goes through.

Trump previously said he wouldn’t get involved with the deal, but eventually couldn’t resist trying to leverage his power for political gain. In a Truth Social post on Saturday, he called on Netflix to fire board member Susan Rice, a former Democratic policy adviser.

“Netflix should fire racist, Trump Deranged Susan Rice, IMMEDIATELY, or pay the consequences,” Trump wrote.

Trump’s request was later rejected by Sarandos.

In the meantime, 11 Republican attorneys general have asked the DOJ to block the deal.

The group penned a letter to the DOJ on Wednesday arguing that a Netflix–Warner Bros. merger would give Netflix too much power over its streaming rivals, creating a monopoly that could lead to higher prices and reduced quality.

Adding to the mess is the fact that the chief of the DOJ’s antitrust division, Gail Slater, stepped down recently after feuding with Trump officials. The acting chief is Omeed Assefi, who was previously a criminal prosecutor in the division.

Sarandos tried to downplay the discord in remarks to the BBC. “This is a business deal. It’s not a political deal,” he said.

The U.S. women’s hockey team is telling Donald Trump that they’d love to meet up, they’re just really busy right now.

After both U.S. hockey teams took gold in Milan last week, Trump rhapsodized over the men, personally calling the team up to offer an invitation to his State of the Union address on Tuesday.

As for the women? “I must tell you, we’re gonna have to bring the women’s team, you do know that,” Trump said during the call. “I do believe I probably would be impeached.”

The men’s team erupted in laughter at the remark, but the women didn’t find the mockery too funny, opting not to attend Trump’s address. A spokesperson said that while the women were grateful for the invite, the team would not be attending “due to the timing and previously scheduled academic and professional commitments.”

Whether he was hurt by the idea that anyone might not enjoy his presence or just trying to save some face, Trump then claimed during his State of the Union address that the women’s team would visit the White House “soon.”

This apparently came as news to the team, who proceeded to give an excellent nondenial denial through a spokesperson on Wednesday: “Players are back competing with their professional and collegiate teams and are in the midst of their season. They’re honored and grateful to be invited and any opportunity to visit the White House as a team will be based on their schedules once their seasons conclude.”

The team has better offers on the table, anyway. Following the Trump kerfuffle, rapper Flavor Flav said he’d throw the team a “real celebration” in Las Vegas for them and all female Olympians and Paralympians. “I’ll host them,” the Public Enemy co-founder wrote on social media. “Do some nice dinners and shows and good times.”