UFC boss Dana White said critics who brand President Donald Trump a racist don’t know what the hell they’re talking about because Trump had a great relationship with one of the most famous Black men in history — Michael Jackson.

White defended his old pal during a podcast interview with The New Yorker editor David Remnick on May 22.

“These things that he’s a racist and he’s a Nazi and he’s this and that — I mean, Donald Trump, all this stuff’s coming out now,” White said. “You know, the Michael movie just came out, and you see all these videos now popping up of Trump defending Michael Jackson and the type of person that he was and that Michael Jackson was around his children and around his family a lot.”

Remnick raised his hands in disbelief at that example.

“But wait a minute, Dana! Michael Jackson — as talented as he was, as brilliant as he was — was a deeply, deeply flawed human being, to say the least,” Remnick said. “And was abusive [from] everything we know about him.”

White said there was “no doubt” the “King of Pop” was flawed, before asking “he was abusive?”

“To kids, yes. It’s terrible,” Remnick said.

He was obviously referring to Jackson being accused of sexually abusing multiple children, including claims made against the “Beat It” singer in 1993 and a criminal trial against him a decade later. Jackson was acquitted on all counts in 2005.

“I don’t know if that’s true, but I can tell you the president had a very good relationship with Michael Jackson and had Michael Jackson around his kids all the time,” White responded. “And you know, defended him when that stuff was going down. So to call the guy a racist is crazy. He’s not a racist.”

Remnick said he didn’t want to push the topic too much more, but he asked White if he got “the willies” from Trump posting a video depictinng ex-President Barack Obama as an ape earlier this year.

“If he was that type of person, I never would associate with that type of a person, no matter who he was,” White said.

” But if he does that, how is he not that kind of person?” Remnick followed up.

“He’s not,” White told him.

Watch above via YouTube.

The post Dana White Argues Trump Isn’t Racist Because He Was Pals With Michael Jackson: Pop Star Was Around His Kids ‘All the Time’ first appeared on Mediaite.

Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) gave an awkward response when Face The Nation’s Nancy Cordes asked how he would explain away President Donald Trump’s sweetheart deal with the IRS to his constituents.

“How are you explaining to your constituents this new settlement that prevents the IRS from auditing any Trump family documents prior to this year?” Cordes asked on Sunday’s show.

“Well, I think when it comes to any agreements that the president has made with the IRS, from my vantage point, you know, I think looking back at what the Biden administration did, they certainly weaponized the government and were targeting the president,” Lawler said. “And I think he obviously had claims that he brought against the government as a result of that.”

Lawler gave no further explanation and Cordes didn’t push him.

Other GOP lawmakers have vehemently opposed the fund, with Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) calling it “stupid on stilts.”

Trump sued his own IRS for $10 billion after an employee leaked Trump family tax returns to the press during the president’s first term in office. The Department of Justice announced last week that Trump essentially settled with himself, agreeing to drop the suit in exchange for a $1.8 billion “Anti-Weaponization Fund” for anyone who felt persecuted by the federal government during the Biden administration. Critics were quick to call the arrangement a “slush fund” and warned that January 6 rioters who were found guilty on various charges before being pardoned by Trump, could cash in for millions.

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche justified the fact that rioters who harmed Capitol police could end up millionaires, telling CNN’s Paula Reid, “People that hurt police get money all the time.”

He added, “There’s a process where … if you believe you have your rights violated, you can apply for funds, you can sue, you can file a claim, you can go to court. In some of those cases, the state, the government, the federal government settles those cases.

“It’s abhorrent to ever, ever touch a law enforcement officer, which is why anytime anybody does that and it’s a federal officer, we’ll prosecute them. But that’s a completely different question than whether an individual is allowed to apply for a claim.”

One rioter named Brandon Fellows, who broke into the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, told CNN he was claiming $30 million for wrongful imprisonment after serving more than 1,000 days behind bars. Other MAGA notables who’ve said they plan to file claims included MyPillow guy Mike Lindell, Trump campaign manager Michael Caputo, and former Trump fixer Michael Cohen.

Watch the clip above via CBS News’s Face the Nation.

The post WATCH: House Republican Delivers Awkward Defense of Trump’s IRS Deal By Blaming Biden first appeared on Mediaite.

(AP Photo/John Minchillo, File)

Donald Trump’s Department of Justice has erased hundreds of press releases from its website that detailed the charges against January 6 Capitol rioters — information the DOJ deemed “partisan propaganda.”

“We are proud to reverse the DOJ’s weaponization under the Biden administration. We will do everything in our power to make whole those who were persecuted for political purposes. This includes stripping DOJ’s website of partisan propaganda,” the DOJ Rapid Response X account declared Friday.

The move came just days after the DOJ announced it was creating a $1.8 billion taxpayer-backed “Anti-Weaponization Fund” to pay restitution to anyone who felt they were wronged by the federal government. Critics, including congressional Republicans, have called it a “slush fund” for Trump allies, including the rioters that he pardoned.

Rioter Brandon Fellows told CNN this week that he was requesting $30 million from the fund for “wrongful imprisonment.” Also seeking compensation were MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell, who said he lost $400 million from “persecution” while trying to prove the 2020 election results were rigged, as well as former Trump campaign adviser Michael Caputo, who’s seeking a $2.7 million payout.

NBC News reported that the vast majority of press releases on the defendants had been removed by Friday evening. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche has not ruled out paying J6ers over their incarcerations.

Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) and Tom Suozzi (D-NY) introduced a bill Wednesday to prohibit taxpayer dollars from being used to pay anyone claiming money from the fund.

Fitzpatrick said in a statement, “Taxpayer dollars will not become a discretionary payout fund. Transparency is not optional. Accountability is not negotiable.”

Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) said in a statement, “So, the nation’s top law enforcement official is asking for a slush fund to pay people who assault cops? Utterly stupid, morally wrong — Take your pick.”

Other Republicans who have come out against the “slush fund” are Sen. Katie Britt (R-AL), Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA), and Rep. Julia Letlow (R-LA).

The post DOJ Website Erases Detailed Charges Against J6 Rioters In Push To Remove ‘Partisan Propaganda’ first appeared on Mediaite.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Saturday he hopes some major “news” comes out of meetings about the ongoing Iran war, just days after President Donald Trump revealed he postponed an attack.

Rubio spoke to reporters while in India on Saturday amid negotiations between White House and Iran officials about the ongoing Iran conflict. The president changed his schedule on Friday to remain at the White House after saying he was skipping his son Donald Trump Jr.’s wedding due to Iran and other situations needing his attention.

Rubio told reporters:

I don’t have news for you at this very moment, but there might be some news a little later today. There may not be. I hope there will be, but I’m not sure yet. The question is about the Iranian issue. And as I said, there’s been some progress done, some progress made, even as I speak to you now, there’s some work being done. There is a chance that whether it’s later today, tomorrow, in a couple of days, we may have something to say. But this issue needs to be solved, as the president has said, one way or the other. Iran can never have a nuclear weapon. The Strait needs to be open without tolls. They need to turn over their enriched uranium. They need to turn over their highly enriched uranium.

Rubio added that the president prefers to deal with Iran in a “diplomatic” way over militarily.

“That’s what we’re working on, and perhaps there’ll be something to talk about on that topic while I’m here on this visit at some point,” he said.

Trump is reportedly speaking with Gulf and other regional leaders on Saturday by phone to discuss the state of the Iran war and proposals to bring it to a close. Iran has continued targeting and charging tolls to ships in the Strait of Hormuz, where roughly 20% of the world’s oil supply moves through.

Trump and other officials have spoken about negotiations being made more difficult thanks to Iran’s fractured leadership structure after strikes from the United States and Iran.

During a press conference this week, the president said he stopped a planned attack on Iran after allies convinced him to give more time to negotiations.

“I was an hour away. We were all set to go. You’re talking about yesterday? We were going to be striking very– it would have been happening right now. Yeah, it was all done. The boats, the ships were all loaded. They were all loaded to the brim and we were all set to start,” he said.

He also took to Truth Social on Saturday to post a map showing Iran with America’s flag. The message above the post read: “The United States of the Middle East?”

He said on Saturday we are “getting a lot closer” to a deal with Iran.

“I will only sign a deal where we get everything we want,” he told CBS News. “We’re going to have a deal, or we’re going have a situation where no country will ever be hit as hard as they’re about to be hit.”

Watch above via MS NOW.

The post Marco Rubio Drops Iran Update as Trump Says We’re ‘Closer’ to a Deal: ‘This Issue Needs To Be Solved’ first appeared on Mediaite.

Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call via AP Images

Tulsi Gabbard is reportedly resigning as President Donald Trump’s Director of National Intelligence amid her husband’s battle with “an extremely rare form of bone cancer,” Fox News Digital first reported on Friday.

The exclusive report from Fox’s Brooke Singman and Robert Schmad added that “Gabbard notified President Trump during a meeting in the Oval Office Friday.”

Fox obtained Gabbard’s resignation letter to Trump, which said she was “deeply grateful for the trust you placed in me and for the opportunity to lead the Office of the Director of National Intelligence for the last year and a half.”

“Unfortunately, I must submit my resignation, effective June 30, 2026. My husband, Abraham, has recently been diagnosed with an extremely rare form of bone cancer,” she wrote in the letter, adding:

At this time, I must step away from public service to be by his side and fully support him through this battle. Abraham has been my rock throughout our eleven years of marriage — standing steadfast through my deployment to East Africa on a Joint Special Operations mission, multiple political campaigns and now my service in this role.

Trump confirmed the news on social media and named her replacement. “Tulsi has done an incredible job, and we will miss her. Her highly respected Principal Deputy Director of National Intelligence, Aaron Lukas, will serve as Acting Director of National Intelligence,” Trump wrote.

Gabbard has long been believed to be one of the most likely top officials next to leave Trump’s administration, following the high-profile firings of ex-Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and ex-Attorney General Pam Bondi.

Gabbard, a former progressive, anti-war House Democrat, raised eyebrows in March when she refused to say during a Congressional hearing whether or not she believed Trump’s war in Iran was legal.

“Congressman, thank you for the question. The cost of war weighs very heavily upon me and my colleagues here, especially for those of us who have experienced and seen the cost of war firsthand. My own personal and political views—as I mentioned earlier, I was asked and required by Congress and by the president in this role as the Director of National Intelligence to check those views at the door—to ensure that the intelligence assessments are not colored by my personal views. And that’s exactly what I am responsible to deliver,” Gabbard replied when asked if Trump’s attack on Iran was “illegal and unconstitutional.”

A few weeks later, Trump was asked if he still had “confidence” in Gabbard, to which he replied, “Yeah, sure.”

“I mean, she’s a little bit different in her thought process than me, but that doesn’t make somebody not available to say it, Trump continued, adding, “I would say that I’m very strong in the fact that I don’t want Iran to have a nuclear weapon. Because if they had a nuclear weapon, they’d use it immediately. I think she’s probably a little softer on that issue, but it’s okay.”

This is a developing story and has been updated.

The post BREAKING: Tulsi Gabbard Resigns From Trump’s Cabinet first appeared on Mediaite.

(AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

President Donald Trump’s White House sent a letter Thursday to Senate Republicans on the main talking points in support of the $1.8 billion “weaponization fund.”

The Department of Justice announced the fund as a way to pay back those who were victims of the supposed weaponization of the legal system. The fund came on the heels of Trump — along with his Trump Organization and his sons — reaching a settlement in the president’s highly unusual lawsuit against the IRS. It was widely believed the fund would primarily benefit those who were convicted for their roles in the January 6 Capitol riot.

On Wednesday morning, Punchbowl News reporter Andrew Desiderio obtained a letter sent from the White House to the officers of GOP senators. The letter included multiple benefits explaining who can receive compensation. It read:

What is the Anti-Weaponization Fund?

• The Anti-Weaponization Fund was created to hear and redress claims of Americans who suffered from lawfare and weaponization, defined as the use of government power to target them for “improper and unlawful” reasons.
• The Fund results from the settlement of a case involving unlawfully leaking tax returns, unlawfully searching the President’s home, and improperly targeting/investigating the President.

Who will benefit from the Fund?

• This is about seeking accountability for all Americans who were victims of lawfare and weaponization: millions of Americans whose online speech was censored at the behest of the government, parents silenced at schoolboards, Senators whose records were secretly subpoenaed, churchgoers targeted by the FBI, and so on.
• Submission of a claim is voluntary—nobody is required to do so. That is why court approval was not required.
• There is no partisan restriction: Democrats can submit claims, too.
• As part of the settlement, the President, his sons, and the Trump Organization, LLC will receive a formal apology but no monetary payment or damages of any kind. They cannot receive any money from the Fund, either.

The letter also detailed the structure of the committee that will oversee the fund. The members of the committee will be appointed by Attorney General Todd Blanche.

The post Trump White House Hands Out ‘Weaponization Fund’ Talking Points to GOP Senators first appeared on Mediaite.

Flipper Devices, the company behind the semi-infamous Flipper Zero "hacking" multi-tool, is developing a Linux-powered mini-PC with the goal of creating a "truly open hardware platform." The Flipper One is described as a pocket-sized ARM device for high-performance computing, IP networking, and on-device AI use. The device is in development, so there is no price or release date as yet.

The Flipper One is being built on a Rockchip RK3576 processor and the modular design means it can be expanded. "Flipper Zero taught us how much you can do with a tightly scoped, open product and a community that pushes it further than you can. Flipper One is what happens when we apply the same approach to a much bigger problem—building a fully open ARM Linux device that doesn't go obsolete the moment it ships," Pavel Zhovner, Co-founder and CEO of Flipper Devices, said in a press release.

In keeping with the Flipper "open everything" ethos, the Flipper One is a community developed project, and anyone who wants to can check in and/or help out through the Developer Portal.

What you will be able to do with a Flipper One

Network debugging: The Flipper One will feature high-speed connectivity, including Ethernet, wi-fi 6E, and optional 5G, allowing it to function as an advanced network debugging tool.

On-Device AI: The Flipper One will have local AI hardware acceleration, so it will be able to handle compute-heavy tasks without needing a cloud connection.

Wireless analysis: The device will capture and analyze wireless traffic and network signals in real time.

Who is the Flipper One for?

If you work in network administration, you probably already know why you need or don't need a Flipper One, but if you're just a casual tech enthusiast or tinkerer, it might provide a powerful sandbox. Here are some potential uses:

• As a retro console: Presumably, it will have enough power to run Linux video game emulation software, so you could connect a Bluetooth controller, plug into a TV, and have a powerful portable gaming rig in your pocket.

• As a home server: You could use this to run a network-wide ad-blocker, or use it as a portable media server that could be accessed by any device on your wifi.

• As private AI: Since it can run artificial intelligence, you can experiment with LLMs in complete privacy.

• To learn about the devices around you: We are surrounded by Bluetooth beacons, wifi probes, and radio signals we never think about. This will give you some insight into that invisible world.