Category: Unpresidential

Trump UFC Octagon White House June 14 Freedom

Construction of a UFC Octagon cage has begun on the White House South Lawn for a scheduled June 14 event billed as "UFC Freedom Fights 250," timed to coincide with President Trump's birthday and Flag Day during America's 250th anniversary celebrations. The event will feature a lightweight title matchup between champion Ilia Topuria and interim title holder Justin Gaethje, plus four additional fights, with prize money partially funded by Crypto.com.

Trump claims the venue will accommodate approximately 100,000 spectators across the South Lawn and Ellipse, with 75,000 to 100,000 additional viewers in surrounding parks watching on large screens. The president announced tickets would be free and told reporters he has "never seen anybody want anything so much as people want those tickets," asserting broad public demand for the spectacle.

Visible scaffolding now frames the cage structure and rises above the West Wing and Oval Office, transforming the traditional seat of constitutional democracy into a fighting arena. The staging transforms the nation's symbolic center into a venue for combat sport, with the president positioned as the event's chief promoter and beneficiary of its association.

UFC released renderings showing the cage surrounded by stadium seating and a "UFC Freedom 250 Fan Fest" setup in Ellipse Park. White House spokesperson Davis Ingle called the event "one of the greatest and most historic sports events in history" and framed it as evidence of Trump's "vision to celebrate America's monumental 250th anniversary."

The event underscores the blending of personal presidential interests with official state ceremony. Trump's repeated public promotion of ticket demand, the direct involvement of UFC leadership close to the president, and the appropriation of White House grounds typically reserved for constitutional functions into a combat sports venue reflect a consolidation of entertainment, business, and political authority into a single masculine spectacle centered on executive power.

(Source: https://abcnews.com/Politics/construction-underway-ufc-octagon-white-house-flag-day/story?id=133316489)

Trump Posts Violent RINO Hunting Image Enforcing GOP

President Donald Trump shared an AI-generated image on Truth Social depicting himself riding a rhinoceros while armed, captioned "No RINOs! Repost to make the point clear." The image, originally posted by an account called @1776WeThePeople1776, uses violent imagery to signal intolerance for Republicans who disagree with Trump's positions.

The acronym "RINO" stands for "Republican In Name Only" and has become Trump's favored slur against party members who resist his authority. Trump uses the term to enforce absolute ideological conformity within the Republican Party, targeting anyone who questions his directives or policies.

Trump posted the image amid Memorial Day statements attacking Democrats as "Dumocrats" and dismissing their policy positions. He simultaneously defended his ongoing Iran nuclear negotiations against criticism from Republican hardliners, including former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who argue the proposed deal abandons "America First" principles by not addressing Iran's nuclear program before sanctions relief.

Trump rejected the criticism on Truth Social, claiming his hypothetical Iran agreement would differ from the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) that he withdrew from during his first term. He dismissed critics as "losers" lacking knowledge of negotiations that remain incomplete, using characteristic deflection to avoid substantive engagement with security concerns raised by his own party.

(Source: https://www.newsweek.com/trump-shares-ai-picture-of-him-hunting-rinos-11992729)

White House proposes NDAs for federal workers to crack down on leaks to journalists | Trump administration | The Guardian

The Trump administration's Office of Personnel Management released a draft nondisclosure agreement on Tuesday requiring federal employees to sign NDAs designed to prevent them from sharing information with journalists. The proposed agreement allows the government to pursue civil and criminal penalties against employees who disclose information deemed confidential, and grants the administration rights to all royalties employees receive from such disclosures. Former government employees would need written permission from an authorized agency official to speak to journalists about confidential information after leaving their positions.

This proposal is part of Trump's broader campaign to control the flow of information from federal agencies. Since taking office, Trump has attacked news outlets as "fake news," filed lawsuits against media organizations, banned the Associated Press from the White House press pool, and restricted reporter access at the Pentagon. The administration also enacted a September media policy requiring Pentagon reporters to sign pledges to report only officially released information.

Federal employee unions directly oppose the NDA proposal. Steve Lenkart, executive director of the National Federation of Federal Employees, stated the move is part of an effort to weaken unions that function as internal accountability mechanisms and to silence dissent within government. Everett Kelley, national president of the American Federation of Government Employees, characterized the proposal as an attempt to purge career civil servants and replace them with political loyalists unwilling to report waste, fraud, and abuse. Both union leaders emphasized that federal employees retain constitutional rights and protected whistleblower protections under existing federal law, including the ability to report misconduct to Congress and inspectors general.

The draft NDA explicitly states it would not apply to lawful disclosures of fraud, abuse, and misconduct to internal government watchdogs and Congress, as prohibited by federal law. However, legal experts and union leadership argue that agreements designed to suppress lawful disclosures lack legitimate governmental purpose and are constitutionally suspect. Federal employees do not surrender First Amendment rights upon accepting government employment, according to union statements.

The OPM spokesperson McLaurine Pinover justified the proposal as addressing concerns that unauthorized disclosures disrupt agency operations, but the timing aligns with Trump's pattern of attacking press freedom and independent government institutions. Trump has previously attempted to silence government insiders through litigation, using legal threats against former officials who published accounts of his conduct, illustrating the administration's longstanding hostility toward public disclosure of government activities.

(Source: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/may/26/federal-workers-ndas?utm_term=Autofeed&CMP=fb_us&utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Facebook&fbclid=IwdGRjcASC05NleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZAo2NjI4NTY4Mzc5AAEe5Rmh4RqgHIrUPmZ6FJZ2vQkc06d102xkDcnGTwBel7cXhDDcM71T8WPqHAo_aem_F2rmbphOg6PMqplupHvCBw#Echobox=1779812330)

Trump Aide Steven Cheung Criticizes Mike Pompeo Over Iran Deal Comments

White House Communications Director Steven Cheung attacked former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Saturday for criticizing Trump’s proposed Iran nuclear agreement, posting vulgar criticism on X stating that Pompeo “has no idea what the f*ck he’s talking about” and demanding he “shut his stupid mouth.” Cheung claimed Pompeo lacked access to current negotiations and therefore possessed no legitimate basis to comment on the still-developing framework.

Pompeo had posted hours earlier that the reported Iran deal follows patterns from the Obama administration that he characterized as capitulation to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, stating it would enable Iran to develop nuclear weapons and maintain control of shipping lanes. He called for the U.S. to instead blockade Iran’s access to funds and eliminate Iranian military capability threatening regional allies.

Conservative critics including Senator Ted Cruz joined Pompeo’s opposition, warning the agreement would deliver billions to an Islamist regime while permitting uranium enrichment and nuclear weapons development. Pompeo has faced prior conflicts within Trump’s orbit, including efforts to prevent his appointment to cabinet positions.

Cheung’s public assault on Pompeo reflects the Trump administration’s pattern of attacking dissenting voices within its own party and former appointees. The dispute demonstrates how Trump administration officials deploy aggressive rhetoric and personal attacks to suppress criticism rather than address substantive policy disagreements about Iran negotiations.

Trump previously praised Pompeo for combating press scrutiny, and the current conflict underscores how Trump demands absolute loyalty from current and former officials, moving to silence former Secretary of State Pompeo when his views diverge from administration positions on foreign policy.

(Source: https://www.mediaite.com/media/news/wh-spox-excoriates-trumps-fmr-secretary-of-state-for-criticizing-iran-deal-no-idea-what-the-fck-hes-talking-about/)

HUD Moves to Limit Assistance Animals for Disabled Tenants – The New York Times

The Trump administration's Department of Housing and Urban Development issued an internal memo on Friday that immediately narrows the definition of assistance animals permitted for disabled tenants, potentially triggering thousands of evictions. The memo, obtained by The New York Times, directs HUD's fair housing office to exclude emotional support animals and impose stricter scrutiny on service animal designations when approving disability accommodations. Under the Fair Housing Act, disabled renters can request waivers of no-pet policies, but HUD now characterizes emotional support animals as a loophole, claiming "an entire industry has emerged to convert pets into emotional support animals."

The policy shift represents a reversal from the first Trump administration, when HUD issued guidance affirming that emotional support animals and other assistance animals were protected accommodations under fair housing law because they provided therapeutic support for people with disabilities. Under the new rule, only animals trained to perform specific disability-related services qualify as presumptively reasonable accommodations, while requests for untrained emotional support animals are deemed unreasonable.

Erik Heins, a former HUD fair housing enforcement attorney, warned that the policy will devastate tenants relying on assistance animals for psychiatric and mental health conditions, including military veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder. Heins stated that such cases represent a significant portion of HUD's fair housing investigations and that the department could now dismiss or shelve thousands of pending disability accommodation appeals under the new standard.

HUD, under the leadership of Scott Turner, has moved aggressively to tighten rules on public housing, including increased scrutiny of tenants' immigration status. The memo's framing of emotional support animals as circumventing pet policies contradicts the therapeutic function these animals provide for disabled individuals managing invisible disabilities that do not appear on medical imaging.

(Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/22/us/politics/hud-assistance-animals-disabled.html)

Trump Sells ‘Four More Years’ Merchandise, Promotes Extended Presidency

President Donald Trump promoted merchandise bearing the slogan "Four more years" at a rally in Rockland County, New York on Friday, declaring the merchandise "drives the radical left lunatics crazy." Trump used the event to repeat claims about economic performance, including stock market figures, and to attack Democratic positions on taxes, immigration, and transgender athletes in sports.

During his remarks, Trump made explicit references to serving multiple presidential terms, stating "we're a three-term president" and "my first term of numerous terms," language consistent with his prior promotion of a third presidential term despite the constitutional ban imposed by the 22nd Amendment. The crowd responded with repeated chants of "Four more years" to his statements about extended tenure.

Trump attributed tax deductions to Republican legislation, claiming New Yorkers saved between $10,000 and $40,000 annually and that over one million New Yorkers claimed the deduction that year. He stated the deduction averaged $22,000 per filer and characterized Democratic opposition to these tax cuts as uniform.

Trump continued attacking Democrats on border policy, wall construction, and regulations on transgender participation in women's sports. He recounted an anecdote about a male athlete competing in women's weightlifting to illustrate what he described as the "ridiculous" nature of transgender sports participation policies.

The rally merchandise and Trump's repeated invocations of extended presidential terms align with prior Trump Organization efforts to secure trademark rights on property bearing his name, extending his commercial exploitation of the presidency to political merchandise and branding infrastructure.

(Source: https://www.mediaite.com/media/news/trump-crows-about-his-4-more-years-merch-drives-radical-left-lunatics-crazy/)

Trump Posts AI Video of Colbert in Dumpster After Show Ends

President Trump shared an AI-generated video on Truth Social depicting him throwing former late-night host Stephen Colbert into a dumpster and dancing to "YMCA," posted after Colbert's final "Late Show" episode aired Thursday. The White House account also distributed the video on X with the caption "Bye-bye," amplifying Trump's mockery of the comedian across federal platforms.

Trump celebrated Colbert's departure by attacking him personally, writing that the host was "like a dead person" with "no talent, no ratings, no life" and stating that "any person off of the street" would be better. Trump declared Colbert's exit the "beginning of the end" for other late-night hosts critical of Trump, stating "Others, of even less talent, to soon follow. May they all Rest in Peace!"

The cancellation of Colbert's 11-year run on CBS occurred after Trump championed Trump's campaign to target late-night hosts using regulatory power and publicly pressured media executives. Paramount, CBS's parent company owned by Trump allies Larry and David Ellison, cited financial reasons for the cancellation, but critics identified it as capitulation to Trump administration pressure following Paramount-Skydance merger approvals under Trump's control.

Trump has systematically weaponized his platform and regulatory authority against late-night comedians critical of his administration. His use of AI-generated violence to mock Colbert extends a documented pattern of attacking late-night hosts through Truth Social posts and direct calls for their removal, including demands that networks fire specific personalities.

In his final episode, Colbert avoided political commentary and featured celebrity appearances and a performance with Paul McCartney, who referenced democracy and freedom as enduring American values during the sign-off.

(Source: https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5892405-trump-shares-ai-video-colbert/amp/)

Trump Targets Late-Night Hosts Using FCC Regulatory Power

President Donald Trump declared victory over Stephen Colbert's departure from CBS, stating on Truth Social that the late-night host's firing marked the "Beginning of the End" for late-night television and predicting others would follow. Trump has systematically pressured the Federal Communications Commission to strip broadcast licenses, directly called on Disney to fire ABC host Jimmy Kimmel, and demanded NBC terminate Seth Meyers, making clear his intent to eliminate critical voices from television.

CBS cancelled Colbert's top-rated show last year citing financial reasons, but the timing exposed the administration's pattern of regulatory retaliation. The cancellation occurred days after Paramount settled a $16 million lawsuit Trump filed against CBS over editing of a "60 Minutes" interview with then-Vice President Kamala Harris, and immediately preceded FCC approval of Paramount's $8 billion Skydance merger, leading critics to identify the decision as quid pro quo silencing of political satire in violation of First Amendment protections.

FCC Chairman Brendan Carr has weaponized his regulatory authority against networks that air criticism of Trump. Carr ordered an unusual early license review of ABC's eight television stations after Trump cited a Kimmel joke as grounds for his dismissal, and in September 2025 pressured broadcasters to remove Kimmel entirely after comments about conservative activist Charlie Kirk. When Trump demanded Meyers' firing in November, Carr reposted the demand on X, demonstrating direct coordination between the executive branch and the FCC to suppress dissent.

Democratic FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez documented the administration's systematic assault on free speech, stating that Trump cannot tolerate critics and is deploying "every regulatory lever" to target content he dislikes, from late-night comedy to political programs. Trump has publicly attacked multiple late-night hosts as "deranged" and "untalented" while simultaneously using state power to force them from the air, treating television criticism as a threat requiring government elimination rather than democratic discourse.

Colbert responded by naming the threat directly, stating that "Donald Trump's administration wants to silence anyone who says anything bad about Trump on TV, because all Trump does is watch TV." The coordinated campaign against late-night hosts represents authoritarian suppression of political speech through regulatory capture and merger leverage, dismantling constitutional protections for satire and criticism that have defined American media since the 1950s.

(Source: https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/trump-says-more-night-talk-154303498.html?link_source=ta_first_comment&taid=6a10cd35c6ff4c00012b7467&fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQKNjYyODU2ODM3OQABHu9KHF8av5yRtOq_NNxcMcNficKGS5jg4DreLVWYgXOWETNQ-oTh8Bt-tMTj_aem_SzS3k30dy53tiPTZv2_Zcw&guccounter=1)

Gabbard Forced Out as Trump Intelligence Director After Policy

Tulsi Gabbard, Director of National Intelligence, resigned from her position effective June 30, citing her husband Abraham Williams' recent diagnosis with a rare form of bone cancer. In her resignation letter, Gabbard stated she could not "in good conscience" ask her husband to face the illness alone while remaining in the demanding role. Trump publicly accepted the resignation on Truth Social, saying Gabbard had done "a great job" and that her decision to prioritize her husband's health was appropriate.

Multiple sources told Reuters that Gabbard was forced out by the White House rather than departing voluntarily. A source familiar with the matter stated "She was pushed out by the White House" and that "The White House has been unhappy with her for quite some time." Trump had previously expressed displeasure with Gabbard in recent months, and in April, he reportedly asked allies for names of potential replacements for his intelligence chief.

Friction between Gabbard and Trump's team stemmed from her leadership of the Director's Initiatives Group, which worked to declassify documents related to President John F. Kennedy's death, investigate election machine security, and probe COVID-19 origins. In August, Gabbard revoked security clearances for 37 current and former U.S. officials, an action that exposed the name of an undercover intelligence officer serving overseas. Trump had also hinted at policy disagreements, saying in March that Gabbard was "softer" than him on curtailing Iran's nuclear program.

Gabbard's absence from key national security deliberations signaled deepening White House displeasure. She was excluded from discussions between Trump and his top national security advisers regarding the U.S. military operation that ousted Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, Iran strategy, and Cuba policy. Aaron Lukas, Principal Deputy Director of National Intelligence, will serve as acting director.

Senator Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, stated that the position had become "too politicized" under Gabbard's tenure. Warner said the next intelligence leader should be "an independent, experienced intelligence professional" focused on foreign intelligence, not domestic election matters, directly addressing Gabbard's involvement in the Georgia election hub investigation and her management of classified intelligence reports.

(Source: https://www.reuters.com/world/us/gabbard-resigns-trumps-national-intelligence-director-fox-news-digital-reports-2026-05-22/)

Trump Tells Security Not to Harm Rally Protestor For “Legal” Reasons

President Donald Trump held a rally in Rockland County, New York, on Friday for Rep. Mike Lawler, where security removed two hecklers from the crowd. Trump characterized the interruptions as rare, stating it was "the first time it's happened in a long time," and claimed that protesters at his rallies had learned such disruptions were "dangerous" and stopped occurring after his initial months in office.

When security rapidly removed the second protester, Trump publicly instructed his security detail not to harm the individual, stating "Don't hurt him! Don't hurt him! Don't hurt him — I do that for legal reasons!" He then claimed this instruction allowed him to say "I'm innocent," framing his vocal concern for a protester's safety as legal protection for himself rather than genuine concern for the person's welfare.

Trump's explicit invocation of "legal reasons" for publicly demanding restraint reveals the transactional nature of his statements. His framing transforms a basic instruction against assault into a self-protective legal maneuver, suggesting that public declarations of non-violence serve his legal defense rather than reflecting actual values or policy.

This moment contrasts sharply with Trump's 2016 rhetoric at another rally, when he stated about a protester: "The guards are being very gentle with him. I'd like to punch him in the face, I'll tell you that." The shift from openly expressing violent desires to publicly demanding restraint for legal cover illustrates how Trump deploys rhetoric strategically to manage legal exposure while maintaining his aggressive stance toward opponents and critics.

(Source: https://www.mediaite.com/media/news/dont-hurt-him-trump-quips-he-tells-security-not-to-harm-rally-protestors-for-legal-reasons/)

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