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Trump Gets Iran News via Disturbing Videos of U.S. Blowing Stuff Up

Those close to the president worry he’s not receiving the bigger picture of what’s happening in the war.

President Donald Trump looks at his phone while sitting in the Oval Office of the White House.
Samuel Corum/Sipa/Bloomberg/Getty Images
President Donald Trump signs executive orders in the Oval Office of the White House, on May 23, 2025.

Every day for the last 25 days, President Donald Trump has sat comfortably in his office and watched a glorified highlight reel of his destruction in Iran.

The daily video compilation is about two minutes long and shows the largest and most pulverizing strikes on Iranian targets over the previous 48 hours, NBC reported Wednesday.

Three U.S. officials and one former official told NBC the video update—which one described as a series of clips of “stuff blowing up”—is raising alarms among the president’s allies that he’s  not receiving a “full scope” of what’s happening in Iran, distorting his view of the nearly month-long conflict that’s wreaked havoc across the globe. 

Though he does receive other verbal updates from officials, the daily sizzle reel of bombs has also made Trump even more furious with the media’s negative coverage of the war, which, in his eyes, has apparently been a success. He’s questioned why the public narrative isn’t reflecting the highly curated, crowning moments of U.S. military power he’s seeing on-screen, the officials and former official told NBC.

That’s because what’s happening in Iran over the last month has been disastrous. More than 1,500 Iranians and 13 U.S. soldiers have been killed, gas prices have skyrocketed, Trump’s goal of reopening the Strait of Hormuz is looking increasingly fantastical, and public opinion of his handling of the war is at an all-time low. 

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt denied that the president doesn’t have a total picture of the war. 

“That’s an absolutely false assertion coming from someone who has not been present in the room,” she said in a statement to NBC. “Anyone who has been present for conversations with President Trump knows he actively seeks and solicits the opinions of everyone in the room and expects full throated honesty from all of his top advisors.” 

Full-throated honesty apparently means showing the president an edited montage of bombing another country over and over again.

Bombshell Jack Smith Report Reveals Why Trump Hoarded Classified Docs

One of the documents Trump kept was so sensitive that only six people were authorized to view it.

Jack Smith holds a folder while in a congressional hearing
Al Drago/Getty Images
Former special counsel Jack Smith testifies in a hearing before the House Judiciary Committee, on January 22.

When the FBI raided Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in 2022 and found that the former president had stolen hundreds of classified documents from the White House, stashing them in the club’s closets and showers, one question stood out: Why? Was Trump coordinating with Russian intelligence? Hiding proof of aliens?

As it turns out, the answer was more self-serving: Former special counsel Jack Smith concluded that Trump took the documents to help advance his business interests, according to case records obtained by Democrats and reviewed by MS NOW.

“Trump possessed classified documents pertinent to his business interests—establishing a motive for retaining them,” one memo from Smith’s office read. “We must have those documents.”

The documents Trump kept included a classified map he showed to passengers on his plane, and one document so sensitive that only six people were allowed to view it.

Following the FBI raid of Mar-a-Lago, Judge Aileen Cannon, who has a history of ruling in Trump’s favor, dismissed the federal lawsuit against him by arguing that Smith’s appointment was unconstitutional. Cannon slapped a gag order on Smith and most of the documents related to the investigation. The special counsel resigned after Trump was reelected in 2024.

The top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, Jamie Raskin of Maryland, sent Attorney General Pam Bondi a letter Tuesday pressing her to investigate the president for his corruption and release all files relating to the case.

“These new disclosures suggest that Donald Trump stole documents so sensitive that only six people in the entire U.S. government had access to them, that the documents President Trump stole pertained to his business interests,” Raskin wrote. “This glimpse into the trove of evidence behind the coverup reveals a President of the United States who may have sold out our national security to enrich himself.”

Of course, it will be a cold day in hell before Bondi does anything that hurts Trump. The White House sent a typically petulant response in a message to MS NOW: “It’s pathetic that Democrats with zero credibility like Jamie Raskin are still clinging to deranged Jack Smith and his lies in 2026. President Trump did nothing wrong.”

Desperate Trump Sends Peace Plan to Iran

The president has sent over a 15-point plan by way of Pakistan addressing Iran’s nuclear program.

Donald Trump, wearing a blue suit and blue tie, stands with his hands open in front of Air Force One.
Roberto Schmidt/Getty Images
Donald Trump speaks to reporters before boarding Air Force One on March 23.

President Donald Trump has sent a peace plan to Iran—but is anyone actually reading it?

The United States transmitted a 15-point peace plan to Iran through Pakistan, betraying the president’s eagerness to build an off-ramp from the spiraling conflict he helped launch in the Middle East, The New York Times reported Wednesday.

But it wasn’t clear that the deal would be accepted, or even entertained, by Iran.

Iranian representatives have submitted their own conditions for a ceasefire deal, including demands for the closure of all American bases in the Gulf, lifting sanctions, and reparations for the war, according to The Wall Street Journal. The officials also demanded that Tehran be permitted to keep its missile program and be allowed to collect fees from ships that pass through the Strait of Hormuz.

While the exact details of Trump’s plan are unknown, it addressed Iran’s ballistic missile and nuclear programs, the targets of much of Israel and America’s bombing campaign, as well as maritime routes, the officials told the Times.

Iranian officials have struggled to safely communicate or meet amid threats against their lives, U.S. officials told the Times. Iranian officials have previously flat-out ignored requests to negotiate with the United States, and denied having entered talks.

It also wasn’t clear whether Israel was on board with the proposal. The Israeli military announced Wednesday morning that it had launched a new series of strikes against Tehran. Israel said that it had fired more than 15,000 since the war started. Iran continued its retaliatory strikes against Israel. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps demanded assurances that the war would not restart, and requested that Israel stop strikes against Hezbollah, the Iran-aligned Lebanese militia.

Despite Trump’s claim that U.S. officials have held productive conversations with Iran, the Pentagon is planning to deploy some 2,000 troops from the 82nd Airborne Division to the Persian Gulf.

Democrat Dismisses Trump After Winning His District

Emily Gregory defeated the president’s preferred choice by focusing on affordability.

Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago mansion is visible behind water and palm trees, with a parking lot to its right.
Octavio JONES/AFP/Getty Images
Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence in Palm Beach, Florida, is part of Emily Gregory’s district.

Democrats have successfully flipped a Florida state House seat blue in the same district where President Trump’s sprawling Mar-a-Lago estate lies.

First-time candidate Emily Gregory defeated Trump-backed Jon Maples—a former council member and self-described “conservative outsider,” by just over two percentage points in a special election for Florida’s 87th district House seat on Tuesday. The victory is a significant development in the deep-red district that Trump seems to spend half of his time in.

“I think it demonstrates where the Florida voter is,” Gregory said to Politico after the victory. “They want someone who is focused on solutions and the issues and not focused on the noise.”

Gregory’s campaign focused more on affordability, housing, and health care, and less on Trump, her most famous constituent, telling MS NOW she doesn’t “think all of that much about it.” She’ll likely run again in the general election in November.

“He’s one of 115,000 registered voters in District 87,” Gregory said. “My opponent made, you know, him forefront in his campaign, and I focused more on the voters in District 87.”

“Floridians are tired of the chaos, corruption, and sky-high prices on everything from groceries to gas and health care,” Florida Democratic Party Chair Nikki Fried said in a statement. “They are voting for trusted leaders like Emily to steady the ship and return commonsense, people-centered solutions back to our communities.”

With Gregory’s win, Democrats have now flipped over two dozen seats in either fully red or purple states—and are gaining momentum for what will likely be a very successful midterm election in November.

Hegseth: We Negotiate With Bombs

The secretary of defense made a new threat in the Oval Office while Trump spoke of peace talks.

Pete Hegseth stands on the right behind a lecturn with the presidential seal, with President Trump standing behind him to his left.
Jim WATSON/AFP/Getty Images
President Donald Trump and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth just perfectly summed up Donald Trump’s reckless military campaign in Iran.

Speaking in the Oval Office alongside Trump Tuesday, Hegseth insisted that the Pentagon had established its own role in ongoing negotiations.

“The air campaign that we’ve conducted, that Israel’s conducted alongside us, was one for the history books, truly. And it’s because we have a president of the United States that, when he sends his warfighters out to fight, he unties their hands to actually go out and close with and destroy the enemy as viciously as possible from moment one,” Hegseth said.

“And that’s why we see ourselves as part of this negotiation as well. We negotiate with bombs.”

How exactly is that working out for Hegseth? Not so great.

The Pentagon is reportedly planning to deploy 3,000 troops from the 82nd Airborne Division to the Middle East, despite Trump’s claim that U.S. officials have held productive conversations with Iran. Iranian officials have flat-out ignored requests to negotiate with the United States, and denied having entered talks. Some have speculated Trump’s surprise announcement was merely an attempt at market manipulation.

As Iran sent another wave of attacks across the Middle East Tuesday, Trump insisted they wanted to “make a deal.” Meanwhile, the Strait of Hormuz is still closed under threat of attack from Iran, halting global trade and sending energy prices soaring.

Still, Hegseth suggested that the U.S. keeping its finger on the big red button is helping things. “You have a choice as we loiter over the top of Tehran, as the president talked about, about your future. [The] president has made it clear that you will not have a nuclear weapon, the war department agrees. Our job is to ensure that.”

Venezuelan Man Sues U.S. Over “Total Hell” He Endured in CECOT Prison

Neiyerver Adrián Leon Rengel is the first person to sue after being deported to the notorious prison in El Salvador.

A prison officer guards a cell at CECOT with dozens of men wearing masks sitting on large four-level bunk beds.
Alex Pena/Anadolu/Getty Images
A prison officer guards a cell at the Terrorism Confinement Center, or CECOT, in El Salvador, on April 4, 2025.

Neiyerver Adrián Leon Rengel, a 28-year-old Venezuelan man deported by the Trump administration to CECOT prison in El Salvador, is trying to make sure what happened to him will never happen again.

CBS News confirmed Leon Rengel had filed a first-of-its-kind federal lawsuit on Tuesday against the United States, seeking $1.3 million in damages for false imprisonment and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

Leon Rengel was one of hundreds of immigrants deported to CECOT, a notoriously inhumane institution, for four months, before being released in a prisoner swap in July 2025. He alleges that he was beaten and abused by guards, and forced to drink the water that he and other prisoners had washed themselves in.

“There came a point when I thought about hanging myself with the sheet they gave us,” Leon Rengel told CBS News in Spanish.

A report from Human Rights Watch has documented how Venuezelans endured “arbitrary detention,” “torture,” and sexual abuse at CECOT.

The lawsuit also alleges that Leon Rengel, who had an active asylum case at the time of his deportation, had no criminal record besides one misdemeanor—in which he paid a small fine for possession of drug paraphernalia—and that the Department of Homeland Security incorrectly determined he was a gang member because he had a tattoo of a lion and a hair clipper.

Leon Rengel told CBS News he was a barber and was not part of any gang. Others at CECOT have also said they were told their tattoos were the reason they were detained.

DHS continues to claim Leon Rengel was a gang member, though it told CBS that providing any proof of this would “undermine” national security.

Regardless of whether you think immigrants should be allowed to cross the U.S.-Mexico border, the federal government is meant to abide by due process laws and wait for deportation cases to be heard before taking action. The Trump administration not only illegally sent people out of the country but sent them to prisons to be tortured. It amounts to one of the cruelest of the many crimes committed by the Trump regime. We can only hope Leon Rengel gets his day in court.

Republican Rep. Caught Admitting SAVE Act Is Bad for Married Women

Leaked footage shows Representative Chip Roy admitting the truth about how the SAVE Act undermines voting rights.

Representative Chip Roy puts his thumb on his mouth
Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images
Representative Chip Roy listens during a House Rules Committee hearing, May 21, 2025.

Texas Representative Chip Roy knows exactly how his own bill, the SAVE America Act, could make it harder for married women to prove their identity.

“We’ve got some folks out there that are trying to stir the pot on this allegation that it somehow is a barrier for married women to be able to vote because they’ve got to deal with getting IDs with name changes and all those things,” Roy said in newly released footage from a February 2025 Zoom meeting with the Election Integrity Network. The secretly recorded footage was obtained and released by the media group Called to Activism.

“Although frankly I’m trying to not to elevate the issue too much, my chief of staff had to go get a new ID in Virginia. Virginia’s adopted the REAL ID system, so she had to go through a bunch of hoops. She’s gonna have to go back to the DMV twice because they want the paperwork for it.”

The SAVE America Act would require that Americans present proof of citizenship like a passport or birth certificate to register to vote. If a person’s current name does not match their document, they would have to provide extra documentation to provide their identity. (The REAL ID system has similar requirements to obtain state identification.)

Roy and other Republicans claim the bill will fight against voter fraud—which is exceedingly rare—but it will likely just make it harder for the some 69 million married American women who have changed their names to vote, as well as trans voters who have changed their names.

“That’s just part of the issue with how we try to set up the ability to identify people,” Roy continued in the video. Despite describing in detail the very challenge married women would face if the SAVE Act passes, he then denied the bill would create any voting hurdles for married women.

“But there’s no barriers at all to married women being able to vote,” he nonsensically concluded, failing to hear his own ignorance.

Though he had just highlighted a potential hurdle that married women may face when they register to vote, Roy claimed that “there’s no barriers at all to married women being able to vote” with the SAVE America Act.

Trump Sending Troops to the Gulf Despite Claiming He Wants a Deal

The 82nd Airborne Division could be deployed very soon.

A group of U.S. solidiers in fatigues and berets stand while listening to a speech from the president.
Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
U.S. Army troops listen as U.S. President Donald Trump addresses a rally on June 10, 2025 at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

If Donald Trump says he’s ready for peace with Iran, why is the Pentagon planning to deploy thousands of troops from the 82nd Airborne Division to the Middle East?

The Department of Defense is plotting to deploy 3,000 members of the U.S. Army’s 82nd Airborne Division, two U.S. officials told The Wall Street Journal. The orders are expected to be signed Tuesday afternoon.

While the decision to put boots on the ground has not been made, the officials told the Journal, deploying the elite, rapid-response paratrooper division does expand the range of options Trump can take in Iran. The decision comes just days after Trump announced that the U.S had held “productive talks” with Iranian officials moving closer to a “complete and total resolution of our hostilities in the Middle East, with a five-day pause on strikes against energy infrastructure.

Iranian officials have denied that the country is in talks with the United States, and some have speculated Trump’s announcement was merely an attempt at market manipulation. At the same time, Israel launched fresh attacks on Tehran Monday despite Trump’s gesture at peace.

The 82nd Airborne Division, comprising up to 5,000 soldiers, specializes in missions that include parachute assault, reinforcing U.S. embassies, and enabling emergency evacuations. Earlier this month, the U.S. Army spontaneously canceled a training exercise for the elite division, sparking concerns that they would be deployed to the Middle East. It seems now that those concerns were well-founded.

Trump Says He Changed His Mind After Iran Gave “Very Big Present”

The president was asked about his sudden announcement that he’s interested in a peace deal.

President Donald Trump speaks at the presidential podium in the West Wing of the White House.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
President Donald Trump speaks during a ceremony for newly sworn in Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin in the Oval Office at the White House, on March 24.

President Trump took questions after Markwayne Mullin was confirmed as homeland security secretary on Tuesday, and dropped a strange detail about the ongoing negotiations to end the war in Iran.

After a journalist asked Trump why he would bother trying to negotiate with Iran if, as the president has claimed, he doesn’t trust their leadership, Trump replied:

“Because they’re going to make a deal. They did something yesterday that was amazing, actually. They gave us a present. And the present arrived today. And it was a very big present worth a tremendous amount of money. And I’m not going to tell you what that present is, but it was a very significant prize.… That meant one thing to me—we’re dealing with the right people.”

It is simultaneously funny and depressing to hear that Iranian leaders have realized they can essentially just bribe Trump with an expensive gift. It’s a similar strategy to that recently employed by María Corina Machado, the Venezuelan opposition leader who presented her Nobel Peace Prize to Trump in January, sparking allegations that she was trying to curry favor with the president. (Trump was thrilled by the gift but later snubbed Machado anyway.)

Reporters prodded Trump about what the present was. The president wouldn’t say exactly but hinted that it “was oil and gas related” and “related to the flow, and to the Strait [of Hormuz].” Perhaps an agreement giving Trump and his cronies exclusive access to an oil field?

Negotiations to end the war have gotten off to a rocky start. After Trump claimed on Monday that Iran and the U.S. had held “productive conversations regarding a complete and total resolution of our hostilities,” Iranian officials came out and said the talks had never happened.

Despite the fact that U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran are very much ongoing, as is Iranian retaliation, Trump also claimed in his remarks that the “war has been won” and “the only one that likes to keep it going is the fake news.”

Judge Orders Trump to Bring Back Deported DACA Mom ASAP

The Trump administration seems to think Dreamers have no legal status.

A group of protesters hold up banners against the Trump administration's immigration policies, with one banner reading "I have a dream! Protect Dreamers and TPS!"
Joel Angel Juarez/Getty Images
People gather in protest against Immigration and Customs Enforcement before marching toward the South Texas Family Residential Center on January 28, 2026 in Dilley, Texas.

The Trump administration suffered another loss in court after a federal judge ordered them to bring a Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals recipient they deported to Mexico while she was in the process of applying for lawful permanent residency.

Maria de Jesus Estrada Juarez came to the U.S. from Mexico in 1998 when she was 15 years old and received DACA protection in 2013. Last month, the Sacramento, California, resident showed up at an immigration hearing with her 22-year-old U.S. citizen daughter, only to be greeted by federal agents, detained, and deported.

But on Monday, U.S. District Judge Dena Coggins declared Juarez’s deportation unlawful and demanded that the Trump administration return her to the United States by March 30, calling it a “flagrant violation of the regulatory protections afforded to her under DACA.”

“It is difficult to argue that Petitioner’s removal constitutes anything less than an ‘extreme circumstance,’” Coggins wrote in her order. “Less than 24 hours after Petitioner’s good faith appearance to pursue lawful permanent resident status in this country — she was removed to a nation where she had not lived in over 27 years pursuant to an order purportedly entered against her when she was fifteen years old.”

The Justice Department claims that Juarez’s DACA status did not exclude her from deportation, while the Department of Homeland Security has yet to publicly comment. In the past, DHS has tried to argue that DACA status is not protection from deportation, even though the status of the program is tied up in court.