Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) claimed President Donald Trump listens to him the “vast majority of the time” on foreign policy as he was pressed about a potential 2028 run.

Cruz joined Patrick Bet-David on The PBD Podcast on Wednesday, where Bet-David pushed Cruz for an answer on 2028 and asked him multiple times to lay out the differences in policy between him and two other rumored 2028 candidates, Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

Cruz took some subtle shots at Vance, calling him more “isolationist” in his foreign policy and arguing Vance would likely not have the same foreign policy measures as Trump in office.

Cruz then placed blame on a now-abandoned MOU (Memorandum of Understanding) between the U.S. and Iran which controversially included a framework for $300 billion in funding for reconstruction, though the money would not have been tax dollars, but rather private investment.

“That was a terrible deal,” Cruz said.

He put responsibility for the negotiations on Vance and added, “That would have been staggeringly foolish.”

Cruz went on to say he talks to Trump at least weekly and suggested he has the president’s ear when it comes to foreign policy. The president and Cruz have of course had a tense relationship at times, going all the way back to Trump throwing out personal insults when they ran against each other in 2016.

“I spend a lot of time talking to President Trump. I talk to President Trump every week, sometimes every day and on foreign policy I will say he has listened to me the vast majority of the time. Not all the time, but a great deal of [the] time,” the senator said.

He took another jab at the MOU, calling it a “serious policy mistake” and arguing it would have led to Iranian terrorists killing Americans.

“The MOU thankfully collapsed. Had the MOU gone into effect, Americans would have died. That money would have been used by Iranian terrorists to murder Americans so I’m glad we’re not sending them the money,” he said.

When asked about a potential run by Cruz in 2028 last week, Trump called him a “talented guy” and “friend” and predicted he could do well.

“I would say that he’s very talented. He’s a very good friend of mine. I think he might do good, yeah. He’s a talented guy,” the president said.

Watch above via The PBD Podcast.

Jason Cohen contributed to this report.

The post Ted Cruz Claims Trump Listens to Him ‘Vast Majority of the Time’ on Foreign Policy first appeared on Mediaite.

(AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

President Donald Trump warned Iran the USA’s latest strikes are nothing compared to the fury he is ready to unleash if it dares to retaliate against America’s “justified attack.”

The president told Iran to think long and hard about its next moves in a Tuesday post on Truth Social, shortly after U.S. Central Command announced the military had conducted airstrikes.

“If the failed Nation of Iran retaliates for this very justified attack, they will be hit again at a much harder and higher level, but it will not be the biggest attack of them all, that is waiting in the wings and, when it is over, there will be very little left of the Islamic Republic of Iran!” Trump posted.

Trump wrote that the U.S. was conducting the strikes “as we speak,” and the military was pummeling Iranian targets near the Strait of Hormuz.

He said the “large and powerful” strikes were payback for Iran’s “failed attempt at adding sea mines to the Strait, which currently has no mines (They have been completely removed or detonated!), and the Iranians shooting eight missiles, all successfully knocked down, at our Military Base in Jordan.”

The president was referring to Iran’s missile attack at dawn on Monday, which Trump vowed to to hit the country “hard”  for soon after. Later in the day, Trump ripped a reporter who asked if he had “ruled out” using a nuclear weapon on Iran.

“I would never say that, but yes, there’s no reason for it. What a stupid question that is, actually,” Trump vented. “Here they are, they’re totally defeated militarily. So now I defeat ’em and now I should use a nuclear weapon on top of ’em? What a stupid question!”

All of this follows the U.S. resuming strikes on Iran for the first time in a few weeks on Sunday.

Those strikes coincided with the Washington Post reporting top generals recently warned Pete Hegseth about extending the war, but Trump told Fox News that same day he had no choice but to launch Operation Epic Fury because Iran was on the verge of getting a nuclear weapon. He said Iran’s theocratic leaders would have certainly used it against Israel.

“We would probably be next,” Trump added.

The post Trump Issues Stern Warning to Iran: The ‘Biggest Attack’ of Them All Is ‘Waiting in the Wings’ first appeared on Mediaite.

Tree stump at DC golf course

The default approach to any news story since last January is that if President Trump does something, it must be wrong. Dismissing conflicting data and facts has been the reporting code during Trump-2.0, and at the Washington Post, they hold to this standard, even with the most innocuous of stories.

Now Trump is chopping down cherry trees, like he is George Washington going off his meds. This weekend we were all supposed to feel the outrage, courtesy of sports reporter Rick Maese.

It may seem odd that Maese is on the tree-felling beat, but since most of the alleged arboreal murder takes place along a golf course, it may be justified. The horror detailed is that improvements have been taking place along the course of the East Potomac Golf Links.

The president has pledged that he would begin improvements on the course with a start date of September 1; however, dozens of trees have been seen cut down and removed. This would be where the Washington Post suggests we are to become enraged.

Of course, since the administration is undertaking – well, anything – there has been a lawsuit brought forward. This, even as Maese asserted that tree removal is a common practice with course renovations. Regardless, a legal challenge was brought in February to halt any progress on the plans.

Initially, the filing was about debris from the White House East Wing being placed in the park where the course rests, but it also addressed the plans to renovate the three courses and bring those up to championship standards. This…was considered bad.

The group also argues that the administration’s plans to convert East Potomac into a golf course suitable for professional tournaments would produce a venue with inflated maintenance costs that is beyond the skill of most recreational players. The envisioned course would be of a piece with the numerous championship-style golf courses that President Trump, who fancies himself an avid golfer, owns elsewhere, the lawsuit states. “Predictably, the cost of a tee time at such a venue would inflate accordingly.”

This has already been swept aside. A new agreement was forged so the trust that operates the golf courses would remain in control, and the price point for hacks on the links would not spike.

The other dose of outrage concerns the removal of trees in the process. But even in presenting this upfront as a problem, Maese eventually concludes much of the work was justified. “Tree removal is common in major golf course renovations, often to widen playing corridors, improve sight lines, and allow more sunlight and air to reach the turf.”

An administration official also noted that many of the trees were problematic. They asserted it was “selective removal of hazard trees, non-native invasive trees, and declining and dying trees that cannot be brought back to good health through any degree of intervention.” Rick Maese even confirmed this to be the case.

Many of the remaining stumps were visibly hollow or showed signs of decay. In other areas, the stumps had already been ground down, leaving only circles of dirt. On the 13th hole of the Blue Course, a crew took down a large tree that showed clear signs of decay.

The press has been excitable over the removal of the famed cherry blossom trees, and Maese somewhat confirms this to be the case. “Among the most conspicuous was a cherry tree near the 14th green of the Blue Course.” That would be – one. And as the press this summer had been rather frothing over the timber attacks, what was rarely, if ever, noted were the details, of course.

The supposed historical offense committed by the president had to elide the small detail that cherry blossom trees carry an average lifespan of 30-40 years. So no, any trees planted by First Lady Helen Taft cannot be affected. There is one additional fact that every one of these barking bromides from the press had to avoid.

The nation had been gifted 250 new cherry blossom trees from the nation of Japan for our nation’s 250th celebrations. The Washington Post has known this.  That sure sounds like welcome, beneficial, and positive news on the landscape. But as we know, that type of reporting concerning this administration is not permitted.

The post Washington Post Uprooted by Trump Cutting Down Trees for DC Golf Course Improvement first appeared on Mediaite.

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The Blink Battery Doorbell 2K+ and Blink Chime bundle is currently $59.99, down from $109.98 as part of Amazon’s early Labor Day sale. That works out to a 45% discount and brings the bundle to its lowest price yet, according to price trackers. For someone who wants to keep an eye on the front door without running new wiring or spending much upfront, this is a fairly simple setup: The doorbell can run on batteries, the included Chime lets you hear visitors inside the house without checking your phone, and the Sync Module Core ties everything together.

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The 2K camera also gives you a head-to-toe view, which is more useful in practice than another long list of camera specs. You can see who’s standing at the door while still keeping packages near the ground in frame, and two-way audio lets you speak to a delivery driver when you’re upstairs or away from home. PCMag’s review of the Blink Battery Doorbell 2K+ highlighted the sharper video and wider framing, although battery life will depend heavily on how busy your doorway is and how often the camera records.

The bigger consideration is Blink’s subscription model. You can still use live view and get basic motion notifications without paying every month, but cloud recording and more specific person or vehicle alerts require a paid plan (starting at $3.99 per month). That makes the ongoing cost worth factoring in, especially if you want to keep a history of what happened at your door instead of just checking it in real time. For someone who mainly wants an inexpensive way to see and speak to visitors, though, the basic features may be enough.

When do Labor Day sales start?

Early Labor Day sales have already started. More retailers are likely to start their own sales leading up to the holiday on Monday, Sept. 7.

Are Labor Day sales worth it?

Labor Day has traditionally been a good time to find deals in many categories, but whether they're worth it or not depends entirely on what you're looking for. Compared to sales like Black Friday or Prime Day, Labor Day falls short on volume and quality of discounts, but you might still find a good price on tech or kitchen appliances that will match those holiday prices—or even beat them. (We use price-tracking tools to let you know if a deal is worth it or not.)

What other stores have Labor Day sales?

So far, Home Depot, Amazon, and Wayfair have started their early Labor Day sales. Target, Walmart, and Best Buy are likely to follow. (Lifehacker will be rounding up deals for all of these sales.)

Ontario Premier Doug Ford declared “no one” will be following President Donald Trump’s lead and calling it Lake America — even though Google just changed the name and many Americans seem to be digging the rechristening of Lake Ontario.

The Canadian politician griped about the name swap during a Sunday interview on ABC’s This Week. Ford vented he didn’t see the “purpose” in Trump signing an executive order on Thursday, directing the Interior Department to make the name change official on government systems.

“It’s absolutely backwards. It was like something out of Saturday Night Live when he signed documents saying change it to Lake America,” Ford said. “No one is going to call it Lake of America. It’s been Lake Ontario for hundreds of years, it’s going to continue being Lake Ontario, and it’s just so, so disappointing.”

One person who apparently agrees with him: This Week co-host Martha Raddatz. She introduced Ford by saying he was joining the show “from the shores of Lake Ontario.”

But Google went ahead and changed the name for American users late on Saturday — a move which was celebrated by members of the White House. And while the name change has riled up many liberals over the last week, a ton of MAGA fans hailed the move by saying it was elite trolling by Trump. So it’s tough to imagine “no one” will be calling it Lake America from now on, as Ford insisted.

The whole Lake America-Lake Ontario hubbub started after a trade deal between the two nations collapsed last week. Trump kept the jabs at Canada coming on Saturday by posting a video of machine gun-wielding Canadian geese patrolling the lake on his behalf; the president dubbed the birds “Donald Ducks.”

He followed the geese video up a bit later with an AI clip of himself kicking over a sign reading “Lake Ontario” and planting a Lake America sign in its place. The president then broke into his trademark “YMCA” dance in the video.

Watch above.

The post Ontario Premier Doug Ford Declares ‘No One’ Is Going to Call It Lake America… Right After Google Changed the Name first appeared on Mediaite.

Rep. James Clyburn (D-SC) said he regrets supporting Clarence Thomas after he publicly lobbied for the conservative judge to join the Supreme Court back in 1991, with Clyburn suggesting Thomas has betrayed his Black ancestors with his high court decisions.

Clyburn made the remark after being asked during a Sunday interview on Meet the Press whether he stood by his decision to vote to confirm Thomas.

“Absolutely not. I have made mistakes in my life,” he told moderator Kristen Welker. “And that’s one that I made, and I will own up to that mistake.”

Clyburn continued:

“The fact of the matter is, I had faith and confidence in the fact that his background and experiences would instruct him in his professionalism, especially sitting on the bench. We had worked together when he was chair of the Equal Opportunity Commission and of course I was running the state agency here in South Carolina.

“We had differences over how that agency should run, but I also thought that he believed in precedence of the law. And I felt sure that he would be there upholding those precedents set down in 1954 in the Brown v. Board of Education decision. I thought he would follow those court decisions that upheld the Voting Rights Act, the Civil Rights Act.”

He then said, “I had no idea that Clarence Thomas would rebel the way he has against his own background and experiences. He was raised by his grandfather and he has shown very little sensitivity to the environment his grandfather grew up in Pin Point, Georgia.”

Clyburn’s condemnation came a moment after Welker played a clip of the lawmaker advocating for Thomas to make the Supreme Court in ’91.

“It’s a pleasure for me to be here today to present testimony in favor of my good friend Clarence Thomas,” Clyburn told a panel of senators at the time. “I have known Clarence for 10 years, and I consider him to be a personal and professional friend, in spite of the fact that he shares a conservative Republican philosophy.”

Clyburn then went on to say he supported expanding the Supreme Court to having a “baker’s dozen” justices. Other Democrats like ex-Vice President Kamala Harris have recently called for adding more justices to the Supreme Court as well.

Watch above.

The post James Clyburn Regrets Confirming Clarence Thomas: I Had No Idea He Would ‘Rebel’ Against ‘His Own Background’ first appeared on Mediaite.

New York Times journalist Maggie Haberman responded to President Donald Trump’s personal insults over the upcoming ceremony to mark the 25th anniversary of 9/11 — dismissing the White House’s denial that he was skipping the New York City event because he wouldn’t be allowed to make a speech.

Haberman joined MS NOW’s The Weekend where Jacqueline Alemany brought up Trump’s Truth Social post this week blasting Haberman. Alemany would not repeat the president’s insults, saying she refused to “dignify” them.

Haberman said she and the Times were “transparent” about their reporting on Trump skipping a 9/11 ceremony in New York in part due to his desire to give a speech. Speeches are barred at the annual event.

She said:

Look, we stand by the reporting and the Times put out a statement explaining that this is based on multiple sources. We went to the White House. We were quite transparent with them about what we were reporting, including the part about that part of the reason why he was not going to New York was because he did want to speak, and the White House did not say anything, pushing back on what we were reporting. And then 24 hours later, the president started attacking the piece. You know, so readers can make their own assessment about a denial that comes a day later.

The White House claimed in a statement to MS NOW that Trump was only skipping the ceremony because Vice President JD Vance is attending, and they cannot be in the same place at the same time. Trump will mark the somber occasion instead at the Pentagon.

Haberman, author of Regime Change, a behind the scenes look at the start Trump’s second administration, dismissed the statement and argued Trump skipping the event on the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks is “objectively news.” She also noted he attended the event in 2024 shortly after he was shot during an assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania.

Haberman said:

It’s not because, Jacqui, Vance is going to New York. That plan changed. Vance was not — you know, Trump was going to New York. That was everybody’s understanding. And then he wasn’t. And there may be multiple reasons why. Obviously, they’re all very security-minded right now. I know that the White House, amid all the threats from Iran and its proxies, the White House is very, very rattled, understandably, by the video about Barron Trump and the threats against him. And so I do understand all of that.

Trump blasted Haberman as a “fake reporter” in his Truth Social tirade.

“Maggot Hagerman, the Fake Reporter from The Failing New York Times, an unattractive person both inside and out, and who knows less about me than most reporters on the beat (She’s a SCAMMER!), made up a story that on September 11th, I’m not going to the World Trade Center, in New York City, because they won’t let me make a speech, and I’m going to the Pentagon in D.C., because I’m a featured speaker,” he wrote. “This is more Corrupt News, I’ve been to New York many times over the years, and no one ever speaks, it’s a ‘solemn ceremony!”

Watch above via MS NOW.

The post Maggie Haberman Hits Back at Trump’s Personal Insults By Tearing Apart WH Claim About Her 9/11 Report first appeared on Mediaite.