Daniel Hampton

President Donald Trump went on a back-to-back Truth Social rampage Friday afternoon, branding both firebrand former ally Candace Owens and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries as "low IQ" individuals within seven minutes of each other.

First in his sights was Owens, the conservative commentator who has become an increasingly sharp critic of Trump and his inner circle. Trump didn't hold back.

"Candace Owens’ stock, which was never very high, has fallen a long way. Her attack on the First Lady of France is despicable. I believe, in this case, without verification, she is an extremely Low IQ individual!" Trump exclaimed at 3:42 p.m.

Seven minutes later, he was back, this time targeting Jeffries.

"Hakeem 'High Tax' Jeffries is a Low IQ individual who is not smart enough to be 'running' the Democrat Party, and certainly not smart enough to be involved in running the United States of America," Trump railed. "It’s people like this who almost destroyed our Nation with their High Tax, Open Border Policies. In the future, Hakeem, a fine American name, will forever be known as HIGH TAX!"

The twin attacks landed as Trump's own approval ratings sit at historic lows and his party faces a brutal midterm environment. The president is polling at 33 percent.

Conservative Wall Street Journal columnist Peggy Noonan has a message for Donald Trump: You took America to war without ever explaining why.

In a column published Thursday, the Reagan speechwriter and longtime conservative voice delivered a pointed rebuke of Trump's failure to make a serious public case for the war in Iran — and didn't spare his vice president either.

"We don’t even know, a month into Iran, why now. Iran has been the world’s fanatic irritant for almost 50 years. What is the plan?" Noonan wrote.

Drawing on two of the most prominent examples of presidential war communication — JFK's Cuban Missile Crisis address in 1962 and Reagan's Grenada announcement in 1983 — Noonan argued that both men shared a quality conspicuously absent from Trump: disciplined, evidence-based, morally serious rhetoric that brought the public along.

"You can’t take a nation to war without this rhetorical predicate," she wrote. "Mr. Trump has failed to provide it. Now and then he announces things behind a podium, and there are regular responses to questions in press gaggles, where he reacts off the cuff. But nothing thought-through, no serious document making the case. And the public is never reassured."

Noonan suggested that someone in the administration needs to intervene and make the case.

"If Donald Trump can’t do this, and his vice president can’t do it sincerely, maybe the secretary of state should step in?"

Noonan concluded that Trump's failure to communicate is "part of why the president's popularity is falling."

Slate legal analysts flagged what they say is one of the most brazen acts of judicial defiance in recent memory: a federal appeals court that broke a Supreme Court rule specifically about breaking Supreme Court rules.

In a 9-8 vote on Tuesday, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld Texas's law requiring the King James Bible's Ten Commandments to be posted in every public school classroom. While that ruling alone was stunning, Slate's Alexis Romero and Mark Joseph Stern say the way the court got there should have every judge in the country doing a double-take.

Three years ago, the Supreme Court issued an unambiguous instruction to lower courts: never assume a precedent has been silently overruled. If a Supreme Court ruling "has direct application in a case," the high court said flatly, the lower court must follow it, leaving it to the Supreme Court alone to overrule its own decisions.

The appeals court proceeded to do exactly what it was told not to do and declared a 1980 Supreme Court ruling, Stone v. Graham, effectively dead without waiting for the high court to weigh in.

"The 5th Circuit defied this command on Tuesday, and its excuse for doing so was rice-paper-thin," the analysts said.

Romero and Stern argue the Supreme Court now faces an uncomfortable choice: bless the defiance and invite every lower court in the country to do the same, or slap down its own conservative allies in Texas.

"... Rewarding the 5th Circuit would be a perilous invitation to further insubordination. If the supermajority blesses the 5th Circuit’s gambit here, it will invite every other lower court to disregard past rulings and dare the justices to call them out," the analysts said.

They concluded: "A court that tolerates such defiance eventually forfeits the right to demand obedience."

The Wall Street Journal's editorial board on Wednesday blamed Donald Trump for the Democratic gerrymander that just cost Republicans up to four House seats in Virginia.

In a sharply critical editorial, the Journal's board laid the Virginia debacle squarely at Trump's feet, arguing that the president "started this rolling rock that has now come down on their heads" by goading Texas Republicans into redrawing their own map last year.

Democrats responded in California, possibly adding five net seats, and Virginia may have added four more, with Utah set to add one. Republicans will likely pick up seats in Missouri, Ohio, and North Carolina. But the Journal's math suggested Republicans are likely to "break even at best" and could end up losing seats if a Democratic wave crashes into America in November.

The editorial didn't spare Virginia Democrats, calling the new map a "race to the bottom" and noting that the new 7th Congressional District has been dubbed the "lobstermander" for its crustacean-like shape stretching across the state.

The Journal also took aim at Barack Obama, who praised Virginia for "standing up for democracy," arguing the comment rang hollow given that the referendum effectively ends competitive congressional elections across most of the state.

The editorial concluded that Congress should ban mid-decade redistricting after 2030, otherwise the House "can barely be called democratic."

Eric Swalwell's legal headaches just got worse, according to a new Fox News report.

A conservative watchdog group filed a formal complaint Wednesday, demanding federal investigators look into whether the former California congressman spent his time on Capitol Hill moonlighting as a salesman for his own private tech company using his congressional seat as a calling card.

The Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust asked the Justice Department to probe whether Swalwell crossed ethical lines by aggressively pitching Findraiser, an AI fundraising tool he co-founded with his own chief of staff, to the very Democratic lawmakers, campaigns and party operatives he worked alongside.

Democratic insiders described the outreach as relentless, with one source telling the New York Post they'd be willing to bet every California congressional office got a call. Another told the Post the only reliable way to get Swalwell's signature on legislation was to take a meeting about his company first.

"One Democratic operative reportedly told news outlet NOTUS that Swalwell was 'peddling the [expletive] out of' Findraiser on Capitol Hill," the report noted.

Federal disclosures show Findraiser pulled in roughly $60,000 from more than a dozen Democratic campaigns, with clients including Sens. Adam Schiff and Ruben Gallego. Swalwell's financial filings put the company's value somewhere between $200,000 and $500,000.

House rules say lawmakers cannot use their official influence to line their own pockets.

The ethics complaint lands as Swalwell is already under investigation by three separate law enforcement bodies over sexual misconduct allegations he has denied.

Comedian Ramy Youssef had a simple response to conservatives melting down over his Sesame Street appearance — take it up with the president.

Youssef guest-starred on the children's classic last week as part of Arab American Heritage Month, spending a few minutes with Elmo learning basic Arabic greetings. The segment was not intended to be threatening, but that wasn't how it was received by the right-wing outrage machine, Variety noted Tuesday.

Fox News contributor Raymond Arroyo took to The Ingraham Angle to sound the alarm and conjure a radically different future for Bert and Ernie.

“I wish ‘Sesame Street’ would stick to teaching kids about letters and numbers and leave the Arabic immersion to someone else. Next, Bert and Ernie will be praying five times a day on Sesame Street, facing east,” Arroyo said.

Appearing on The View, Youssef addressed MAGA backlash by noting that Trump himself signed off on an April 5 social media post about the Iran war with "Praise be to Allah," a detail that conflicts with the conservative case against Arabic words on a children's show.

“I feel for them, right? … I think they’re worried [about] Arabic immersion, and it’s got to be tough, because I think they’re supporters of the President. So imagine your president on Easter is tweeting ‘Praise be to Allah,’ and now Elmo saying ‘habibi’ feels threatening," Youssef said.

The comedian noted he has spent years wading into genuinely divisive political territory without drawing this level of fury.

“There’s been a lot of languages on ‘Sesame Street’ and there’s been no backlash to those. So, it actually really did surprise me,” Youssef said.

He noted he has been outspoken in the past about highly controversial issues, and yet “Elmo saying habibi has set them off in a way that has never happened to me before.”

A conservative broadcaster declared Sen. Cory Booker a servant of darkness this week after the New Jersey Democrat delivered a thunderous speech calling on Americans to fight for democracy, all because of one line about grassroots organizing.

Booker took the stage at the Michigan Democratic Women's Caucus Legacy Luncheon last weekend and delivered a fiery 25-minute speech, imploring Democrats to become "foot soldiers for democracy" and warning of "darkness and wind" facing the nation ahead of the midterms.

But it was one particular moment that sent BlazeTV and YouTube host Pat Gray over the edge: Booker gesturing skyward while declaring that what the country needed was not help "from on high."

Gray played the clip on a recent episode of "Pat Gray Unleashed" and rendered his verdict without much deliberation.

"He's telling you we don't need God. Well, that's an antichrist," Gray declared, throwing up a hand in disbelief. "That is an antichrist. Maybe not the antichrist, but he's an antichrist."

In Gray's reading, Booker was telling Americans to abandon God entirely, with Democrats positioning themselves as a replacement for divine authority.

"It's really not good. I'm serious about this being antichrist," Gray added. "It's despicable. It's anti-American. It's anti-Christian. It's anti-God."

His panel agreed, with co-host Jeffy diagnosing the Democratic Party with Trump Derangement Syndrome, warning the "infection" had spread.

Donald Trump melted down on Truth Social Tuesday in a sprawling tirade that started as an attack on Democratic strategist James Carville and ended with the president torching his own Supreme Court picks as traitors who "totally misrepresented who they were."

The post began with Trump dismissing Carville as a "wacko" and "Country Destroying Sleazebag" for floating the idea of expanding the Supreme Court and adding Washington, D.C. and Puerto Rico as states.

His rant quickly turned inward.

Trump complained that his own Republican-appointed justices were letting Democrats "push them around" and accused them of caring more about being "popular" and "politically correct" than staying loyal to the man who put them on the bench.

"I put certain people on the United States Supreme Court who totally misrepresented who they were, and the true ideology for which they stand," Trump fumed.

He complained about Republican justices' questioning in the birthright citizenship case, predicting he would lose, and pointed to a near-miss on tariffs where a Brett Kavanaugh dissent came agonizingly close to saving American taxpayers $159 billion.

Trump reserved his warmest words for the Democratic justices he was attacking, praising them for sticking "together like glue" and saying "I respect that, a lot."

"They are an immovable force, and there is nothing that can be done to change that," he wrote.

The meltdown comes after the same justices Trump is calling disloyal handed his administration numerous victories last year, with the LA Times reporting the court "broadly expanded Trump's power" throughout 2025.

Alan Dershowitz announced Monday he is leaving the Democratic Party after 67 years and Democrats couldn't be happier to see him go.

The Harvard Law professor emeritus wrote in a Wall Street Journal op-ed that he is registering as a Republican, citing the Democratic Party's stance on Israel as a bridge too far. He acknowledged he still disagrees with Republicans on abortion, immigration, healthcare, taxes and the separation of church and state, but said he was going "whole hog" anyway.

"By registering as a Republican rather than an independent, maybe I can have some influence on moving some Republican policies toward the center. I have given up on trying to change the Democratic Party," he lamented.

The response from the left was swift, gleeful and almost entirely devoid of regret.

"I can't think of anything better for the Democratic Party than Alan Dershowitz not being a part of it," former Obama national security adviser Ben Rhodes wrote on X.

"Good riddance to bigoted Epstein Air frequent flier and atrocity denier Alan Dershowitz," wrote Dylan Williams, vice president for government affairs at the Center for International Policy.

Progressive commentator Zaid Jilani landed perhaps the sharpest jab, noting the irony of a man who spent his career decrying the "dual loyalty" trope, announcing he would vote Republican solely because of another country's interests.

"Maybe the Republicans will proudly tout the endorsement of Epstein's lawyer," Jilani added. "Who knows?"

Even some on the right weren't exactly rolling out the welcome mat. Conservative activist Christopher Rufo called Dershowitz another entry in what he described as "the Right is a dumping ground for failed celebrities and MeToo cases."

Dershowitz, who defended Jeffrey Epstein and was accused by one of Epstein's victims of sexual misconduct — accusations he has vigorously denied — said he hopes to move the Republican Party toward the center from within.

A Florida Democratic congresswoman facing a mountain of federal charges and ethics violations resigned from Congress Monday just hours before the House Ethics Committee was set to announce sanctions against her.

Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick's chief of staff confirmed the resignation to NOTUS, which came after months of mounting pressure from both parties to step down.

In March, a House Ethics panel found her guilty of more than two dozen violations related to accusations that she funneled Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA, funds into her 2021 congressional campaign. She was also indicted in November on 15 felony counts.

Rep. Greg Steube (R-FL) had already drafted an expulsion resolution and was waiting for the Ethics Committee to finish its work before filing it.

“She stole $5 million, she’s been indicted with 15 felonies. If she was found guilty of 25 different ethics violations, I think it’s incumbent on the House to expel her from the body,” Steube said. “I’m shocked that she hasn’t retired.”

Cherfilus-McCormick had previously refused to resign, arguing that due process required a formal finding before any punishment.

Alaska Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-AK) had a simple answer when a constituent confronted him about a broken campaign promise at a public forum this month — he ran.

Sullivan was wrapping up a Zoom session at ComFish, Alaska's commercial fishing conference, when someone on the call put him on the spot.

"Hey Senator, do you have a second for one more question?" asked Jacob Carlson.

"Nope, I've got to run, I've got a 5 o'clock press conference. And I've got to prepare for it," Sullivan said.

"Oh but why did you break your pledge to return the money you took from the Pebble Mine CEO?" Carlson asked.

Sullivan's response was swift.

"I gotta run. Thanks!" he said — and disappeared.

"Why did you break your pledge? To return the money?" Carlson demanded to know.

But the senator had already left.

"Ok. With that ..." an organizer of the forum said, trailing off as the audience chuckled.

The recorded exchange is making the rounds in Alaska political circles, according to Alaska Public Media's Alaska At-Large newsletter, and is expected to feature prominently in upcoming anti-Sullivan ads as his Senate race against Democrat Mary Peltola heats up.

In 2020, Sullivan pledged to donate all campaign contributions from Pebble Mine's then-CEO Tom Collier to charity after secret recordings surfaced of Collier bragging that he had Sullivan "sitting over in a corner and being quiet." Sullivan called Collier's behavior "unethical practices."

Sullivan is still accepting contributions from Pebble's current CEO John Shively, who gave $500 in December and another $500 in February.

One of the sharpest legal minds ever to stand before the Supreme Court decided to have a little fun with the justices Monday — and got a pointed reminder from the bench that daring the nation's top judges is a risky game, Courthouse News Service reported.

Lisa Blatt has argued more cases before the Supreme Court than any other woman in American legal history. On Monday she was back at the podium, this time defending a Maryland hospital system in a dry but consequential fight over the boundaries of federal court power.

The dispute centered on whether to expand or discard the Rooker-Feldman doctrine, a legal principle that limits federal courts from second-guessing state court decisions. Justice Neil Gorsuch pressed opposing counsel Elizabeth Prelogar to make the case for scrapping it entirely, asking her to "sing a few bars for me."

Prelogar, the former top government lawyer who once argued — and lost — the case that ended federal abortion rights, obliged. But when the argument turned to whether the doctrine could realistically be overturned, Blatt stepped in with a verdict of her own.

"Not in an April case," she told the justices. "Not happening." Laughter rippled through the courtroom.

Justice Samuel Alito, appointed by George W. Bush, was unmoved.

"Don't dare my colleagues," he said flatly.

Justice Elena Kagan had already signaled skepticism toward Blatt's position, warning that a ruling in her favor would effectively tell lower courts that the doctrine was "alive and well" — a message she called "very odd."

Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson pressed Prelogar from the other direction, worrying that her proposed rule would give state court losers little incentive to exhaust their appeals before running to federal court.

Together Blatt and Prelogar have racked up nearly a century's worth of Supreme Court appearances between them. When the sparring was finally over, they hugged.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune is getting eaten alive by his own base after quietly shelving Donald Trump's signature voter fraud legislation — and the knives are out.

Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) lit the fuse Friday with a single scorched-earth post: "Just so America knows, after two weeks in recess, John Thune is no longer considering the SAVE America Act."

The SAVE America Act, Trump's prized legislation requiring proof of citizenship to register to vote, has been a cornerstone of the MAGA election integrity agenda. It follows years of GOP lies pushing widespread voter fraud claims.

Thune's decision to drop it after a two-week congressional recess left true believers feeling blindsided and betrayed by the man the party put in charge of the Senate.

The announcement triggered an immediate meltdown across MAGA world, with Trump loyalists turning their fury on the Senate's top Republican with a ferocity usually reserved for Democrats.

"John Thune is pathetic," wrote one user. "Traitor to the republic," fumed another, adding a call for "tar and feathers."

Georgia state Sen. Greg Dolezal, a self-described Trump conservative running for lieutenant governor, called it "the largest blown political trifecta in history" and demanded Thune be replaced.

"Absurd. Replace Thune. This is the largest blown political trifecta in history. Y’all have a mandate-get it done," he wrote on X.

Others called for his resignation outright.

"The American people are being betrayed," wrote one account. "This will not stand," echoed another.

Some are already calling for primary challengers. Others are demanding Sens. Mike Lee (R-UT) and Ted Cruz (R-TX) force Thune out.

Jeannette Garcia of Turning Point USA added, "Unacceptable. Pass The Save Act NOW!"