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Red flags raised as Trump appears 'confused' over which Iranian island he attacked
Concerns were raised on Monday morning that 80-year-old President Donald Trump is having problems understanding what is going on in his war on Iran.Sunday evening, the Pentagon confirmed an attack on Larak Island in the Gulf of Hormuz, reportedly taking out Iranian rocket launchers designed to disperse sea mines into the waterway.According to the Washington Post, “The exchange of fire was the first in a month between the two sides as the Trump administration seeks to navigate a ceasefire.”Hours later, Trump posted an AI “slop” video of the attack on his Truth Social account; however, he identified the besieged island as Kharg Island, home to the vast majority of the country’s oil exports.According to MS NOW’s Vaughan Hillyard, that led to some distress over a possible major escalation — but now there is a belief that the president did not comprehend what is going on.Speaking with MS NOW host Stephanie Ruhle, he explained, ”I think it's worth noting there, you mentioned the AI video of attempting to bomb Kharg Island that the president posted overnight. We were actually just messaging, a few of us on our team, and we believe that the president of the United States has conflated Kharg Island with Larak Island, which is where the launchers that IRGC launchers were struck.”‘"They are 410 miles away, for another geography lesson, Kharg Island from Larak Island. But it seems like perhaps the president of the United States got confused which islands his military generals were talking to him about here.” - YouTube youtu.be
'Natalie got confused': Trump aide hit as admin official denies Truth Social AI slop
President Donald Trump's executive assistant Natalie Harp faced criticism over a Truth Social post claiming a critical Iranian oil island was being destroyed, which a U.S. official said was not targeted.A U.S. official said the overnight strikes did not target Kharg Island, Reuters correspondent Idrees Ali reported Monday morning. A post claiming the Island had been blown to "smithereens" went up on Trump's Truth Social account at 10:08 p.m. Eastern on Sunday, hours after American forces struck Iran.A 10-second video of a burning refinery complex paired with the post included the caption, "Kharg Island being blown to smithereens!!!"Phillips P. O'Brien, a professor of strategic studies at the University of St Andrews, aimed his response at Harp rather than at the president."Poor Natalie got confused between Kharg Island and Larak Island--worshipping can be such exhausting business," O'Brien wrote on X Monday morning.Harp has been reported for months to be the aide who physically publishes material to the president's account. The Wall Street Journal reported in May that Harp supplies Trump with stacks of printed drafts and waits for his approval before posting, often during overnight hours.The 34-year-old is a former conservative television anchor who joined Trump's circle ahead of the 2024 election. Colleagues have nicknamed her the "human printer" for the portable printer she carries, the Journal reported.Harp "plays into the less productive and more troublesome parts of his nature, putting things in front of him that aren't vetted," one of those four people told MS NOW.One national security official raised concerns that Harp's proximity to Trump gave her access to more sensitive information than anyone else in his orbit, MS NOW reported. Colleagues had made "subtle moves" to create distance between Harp and the president, another of the four people told the outlet.The criticism resumed Monday morning, hours after the post appeared, as commentators connected it to that earlier reporting."Trump is winning the Iran War in the AI world Natalie Harp has created for him," MeidasTouch editor-in-chief Ron Filipkowski wrote on X.Marcy Wheeler, a national security journalist, tied the post directly to the question of who is running the war."How does the Commander in Chief post AI slop claiming to have 'blown to smithereens' a sensitive island when that's not what was struck at all?" Wheeler wrote. "What OTHER key actions in this war is he entirely confused about? Is the Commander in Chief even in charge? If not, who is?"American forces did strike an Iranian island on Sunday, but it was not the one named in the post.U.S. Central Command announced strikes on two Iranian rocket launchers on Larak Island, a U.S. official said, marking the first American strikes on Iran in more than a month.Analysts have long treated a strike on Kharg's oil facilities as a far greater escalation than one on a launcher site, AP reported, because it would cut off the revenue that funds the Iranian government.Harp's role became a public argument two weeks ago, when a single line from a Democratic senator drew a sustained response from the White House.Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA) named Harp during a rally in Atlanta on Aug. 16, in a passage otherwise devoted to the president's priorities."He doesn't want to do the job. He wants to build his ballroom and travel with Natalie on their apparently defenseless flying palace, gifted by the Emir of Qatar," Ossoff said, according to Forbes.Outrage from the White House reached a fever pitch for more than a week, involving the president, his spokespeople, and his family. Trump called Ossoff a "Pee-wee Herman look-alike" when a reporter asked about the remark and did not address Harp directly, Forbes reported. The White House then attacked the reporter who asked the question, CNN's Kristen Holmes.White House spokesperson Davis Ingle called Ossoff's comments "cringeworthy" and criticized the senator's voting record, he told TIME."It's been amazing to watch this White House melt down over this all week," Ossoff later told MS NOW.The response generated weeks of coverage examining Harp's access that the original remark had not. Posts from Trump's account have been deleted before after drawing complaints, including two involving artificial intelligence.Harp posted a video containing racist imagery depicting Barack and Michelle Obama as apes, along with an AI-generated image portraying Trump as a Christ-like figure, MS NOW reported.Both posts were deleted following bipartisan backlash, and Trump told reporters on Feb. 6 that he did not post the Obama video, saying "somebody else" did and that it was "slipped and missed" during review.Twelve days later, press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters that Trump's posts "should be taken as the policy of the Trump administration" because they came "straight from the horse's mouth," The Independent reported."When you see it on Truth Social, you know it's directly from President Trump," Leavitt said at the Feb. 18 briefing.
South African airline defends dramatic low-level flyby before rugby union clash
Cape Town stunt sparks major debate over safety risksAirlink insists flyby conducted according to regulationsA pre-game stunt involving two passenger jets flying dramatically low over a stadium in South Africa drew huge cheers from the estimated crowd of 56,000 people, but also sparked a major debate over safety risks. The flyby by two Embraer jets, operated by the local airline Airlink, happened on Saturday before the second rugby union Test between South Africa and New Zealand in Cape Town.The flight tracking service Flightradar24 estimated that the lead jet passed just 41-46 feet (12-14 metres) above the roof of Cape Town Stadium, with the crowd and the world’s top-ranked rugby teams below. The second jet, which was very close behind, flew through a cloud of pink dust that shot up from the stadium roof as part of the show. Continue reading...
Desperate Trump ‘gamble’ to salvage midterms may result in violent October surprise
Outside of an exchange of fire early Sunday morning, the U.S. war against Iran has been in a weeks-long lull since July as part of an apparent effort by President Donald Trump to “push the conflict out of the minds of voters,” but that strategy may very well invite attacks on U.S. forces just ahead of the midterms, one expert warned.“Trump appears to be pursuing a very different gamble: maintaining a low-level conflict until the midterms — neither securing a diplomatic deal nor allowing the situation to deteriorate into full-scale war,” wrote foreign policy expert Trita Parsi in an analysis published Sunday in Responsible Statecraft.“A period of relative tranquility that pushes Iran out of the headlines and, in the run-up to the elections, weakens the connection between rising inflation and gas prices, on the one hand, and Trump’s foolish war of choice, on the other.”Instead of direct military action, the Trump administration has leaned into economic sanctions, revealing a string of secondary “D-Day” sanctions last week designed to further cause havoc to Iran’s economy. While Trump may very well hope to avoid escalations in the conflict until after the midterms, Tehran might have other plans.“If Washington wants to keep things quiet until the midterms, Tehran may conclude that the optimal moment to strike back is two or three weeks before the Congressional elections, maximizing the political damage to Trump,” Parsi wrote.“If sanctions weaken Iran over time while the global economy recovers and adjusts to the new reality in the Strait [of Hormuz], a prolonged pause will work against Tehran. Iran may therefore decide to escalate dramatically, taking full advantage of Trump’s perceived vulnerability in the run-up to the elections.”Parsi warned, however, that Iran’s own alleged gamble — that stripping the GOP of its control of Congress may “restrain Trump in 2027” — may be “misplaced.”“A Trump humiliated at the polls and potentially facing a third impeachment attempt may be forced to play defense at home, but precisely because of his domestic troubles, he may also be incentivized to lash out abroad,” Parsi wrote. “Freed from electoral constraints, Trump may be willing to take risks he previously eschewed, including deploying ground troops.”
Cursing Trump calls for war crime tribunals: 'They must be tried!'
President Donald Trump called for war crime tribunals to be held against Iranian officials Monday in a curse-laden statement published on social media, while also touting unverified claims to support his claims of war crimes.“Iran is officially a Failed Nation. IT IS DEAD! They have no Navy, they have no Air Force, they have no currency, they are not paying their soldiers or police, Inflation is at 300%, and their leadership is in total disarray and incapable of properly representing the country,” Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social. “The only thing they have is FAKE NEWS from the USA, a willingness to kill their protesters (now over 100,000 people dead. They must be tried for war crimes against humanity!), and a good line of ‘BULLS---.’”Iran did execute what’s believed to be as many as 30,000 protesters in early 2026 amid civil unrest, though no evidence exists to support Trump’s claim that as many as 100,000 protesters were killed by the Iranian government.Protests broke out in Iran in January amid an economic crisis, though Iran has accused Israel of stoking dissent within its borders. Israel has not admitted to its involvement, though its intelligence agency, the Mossad, admitted it had agents among protesters “in the field.” Israel’s far-right Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu admitted as much as well, as did former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
Trump's fraud crusader caught promising foreign nationals green cards and US 'welfare'
Acting Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling, who in May vowed to “eliminate waste, fraud and abuse,” was exposed Sunday for having pitched foreign nationals a real estate investment opportunity with the promise of green cards and access to “America’s Comprehensive Welfare” for their entire families.The revelation was unearthed in a report from Popular Information, which details two trips Sonderling took to China in 2015 before joining the Trump administration.Working at the time with the Florida law firm Gunster, Sonderling delivered multiple presentations on behalf of Premier Capital Group, an international real estate consulting and investment company. One presentation promised Chinese nationals, in exchange for investing in a U.S. resort hotel condominium project, that they could “get a green card in a short time,” and that after “one person applies, the whole family immigrates," according to banners at the event reviewed by Popular Information. Once immigrated, the Chinese nationals and their families were promised access to U.S. welfare, including “unemployment benefits,” “food stamps,” “low-cost public housing,” “Medicaid” and “retirement benefits.”“The China trips were documented extensively by Sonderling in hundreds of photos reviewed by Popular Information that were published to two public Flickr accounts,” Popular Information’s report reads.The pitch to Chinese nationals would utilize the United States’ EB-5 visa program, a program that grants foreign nationals green cards for foreign investors. That same program has been criticized by the Trump administration, with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick calling it “full of nonsense, make believe and fraud” in 2025.“The photos document that Sonderling participated in at least five speaking engagements touting EB-5 visas in China,” Popular Information’s report reads. “Most of these seem to be connected to the same hotel and condo project.”Sonderling was tapped by Trump to lead the Labor Department in June, and also sits as a member of the White House Task Force to Eliminate Fraud. He did not respond to a request for comment from Popular Information, the outlet reported.
Sep 20, 2024
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