By now you’ve probably seen or at least heard about the St. Louis couple that emerged from their home with guns to confront protesters who were walking down the private street. Mark McCloskey spoke out Tuesday night in an interview with Fox News’ Tucker Carlson.

McCloskey, joined by his attorney Albert Watkins, told Carlson he and his wife were having dinner when they saw “a flood of people” marching down the street.

“They’re angry, they’re screaming, they’ve got spittle coming out of their mouth, and they’re coming toward the house,” he said, recalling recent rioting in the area. “When I saw that mob come through the gate with their rage and their anger, I thought that we would be overrun in a second. By the time I was out there with my rifle, the people were 20 or 30 feet from my front wall.”

McCloskey told Carlson he was “literally afraid that within seconds they would surmont the wall come into the house, kill us, burn the house down and everything that I had worked for and struggled for for the last 32 years.”

Carlson asked him to respond to the “attacks” he’s gotten “for doing what we used to believe every homeowner had an obligation to do.”

“Why are they denouncing you as a racist?” he asked.

“I’ve spent my career defending people that are defenseless,” McCloskey responded. “For people that are having a hard time making their miracle happen, for people that don’t have a voice. My black clients love us. The night that this happened, I had some of our black clients calling us up till 2:30 in the morning telling us how wrong it was the way the the press writing us up.”

He told Carlson, “To call us racist is ridiculous and it had nothing to do with race. I wasn’t worried what the race was of the mob that came through my gate, I was worried that I was going to be killed. I didn’t care what race they were.”

You can watch above, via Fox News.

Former Harvard Medical Professor Dr. William Haseltine directly tied the new daily records in positive Covid-19 cases to the decisions by many states across the South and West to reopen their social distancing rules too early: “We’re reaping what we’ve sown over the past months.”

During an appearance on CNN’s Anderson Cooper 360, Haseltine, who has just written the book A Family Guide to Covid, explained that the increasing coronavirus cases seen in dozens of states was an entirely predictable consequence of relaxing lockdowns too early and failing to enforce mask-wearing policies.

“We’re now reaping what we’ve seen over the past months,” Haseltine said when asked about the latest spikes by Cooper. “That is, we failed to control this epidemic in a number of our southern, western, and the south part of California. We just didn’t do what we needed to do. And the moment you relax, there is a big base of infection that’s just exploded and so those places, like New York City, that took it seriously, we’ve gone from 10,000, 11,000 people down to 500, 600 a day. We’re not where we need to be, but we’re doing a lot better. But the whole rest of the country didn’t pay attention, didn’t believe what everybody was telling them, and this is the result. And now we hope people will start behaving more responsibly. We hope that leadership will behave more responsibly and we can begin to put this genie back in the bottle.”

Cooper, however, pushed back on that notion, pointing out that President Donald Trump still refuses to wear a mask and that his administration has said it is “our hope and our prayer” that the spike in cases doesn’t lead to a corresponding explosion in virus-related deaths.

“It seems like the president made a decision early on to wash his hands of this and to for reasons that are pretty obvious just get people, try to reopen stuff so the economy picks up so it reflecting well on him,” the CNN host pointed out. “It takes political courage and will to really make a change and do you believe it’s possible to put the genie back in the bottle?”

“I think it maybe not possible to put our president back in a bottle,” Haseltine conceded, “but it is possible for the American people. We’re smart people. I have great confidence in my fellow Americans and I believe this situation is so grim and is getting worse by the day that everybody is going to begin to understand it’s their responsibility.

“You can already see that happening. The local leadership in this country is saying: ‘Wait a minute. This is my state. This is my city. I’ve got to protect it. I don’t care what the national government is telling me. I’ve got to protect my people.’ And I’m seeing that response, and I’m very heartened by that response. And I think you’re going to see the mayors and the governors singing a very different tune from now on.”

Watch the video above, via CNN.

Fox News’ Tucker Carlson opened his show Tuesday again going after the Republican party for not doing more to serve the interests of their voters, saying they’re “failing” and that “partisan junk food” isn’t going to cut it anymore.

Carlson recalled his heated interview with Senator Mike Braun Monday night to say he’s exemplary of “weak” Republicans who don’t “believe in anything.” And he warned viewers that Republicans “at all levels” could lose in November, and if they do “there will be profound consequences for you.”

“People who supported Donald Trump will be punished, there’s absolutely no question about that,” Carlson said. “There’s never been a political party as radical and as angry as the Democrats are now.”

He told viewers that like it or not, the GOP is their “only shield” no matter how frustrating it can be to voters, and Carlson laid out what he believes the future of the GOP should look like in three points, including “a vigorous defense of total equality under the law.”

“That means that criminals like Jeffrey Epstein must go to jail the first time they are caught molesting children. It means your children must have precisely the same chances of getting into college or getting a job as anyone else’s children. It means fighting to make this a color-blind meritocracy. A color-blind meritocracy. Say it again. The alternative to that is disaster. Slavery and Jim Crow were immoral precisely because they punished people for how they were born.”

Carlson also said Republicans need to be protecting people’s free speech and get back to serving their interests:

“Middle-class families no national spokesman, they have no lobby in Washington. Republicans pretend to be their champion, you know by now they are not. Instead of improving the lives of their voters, the party feeds them a steady diet of mindless symbolic victories, partisan junk food designed to make them feel full even as they waste away. Who cares how many Benghazi hearings we have? We’re supposed to care, why should we? How did Peter Strzok’s text messages become more important than saving American jobs from foreign nationals who are taking them? It is lunacy. We fall for it every time. And to the extent this show has participated in it, we apologize with deepest sincerity.”

You can watch above, via Fox News.

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Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves signed a bill into law on Monday that would remove the Confederate battle symbol from his state’s current flag, which will be replaced by a new design to be decided later.

MSNBC’s Ari Melber played a clip of the Republican governor officially passing the legislation and giving brief comments on the historic move, which was prompted by the nationwide protests over racial injustice ignited by the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police last month. Mississippi’s state flag had incorporate the Confederate battle flag into its upper left corner, or union, since 1896, and it was the last state to still have an element of the rebel flag in its design. Georgia, the last, previous state to remove the Confederate symbol from its state’s flag, did so in 2001.

“A flag is a symbol of our present, of our people, and of our future,” Reeves said during the signing ceremony at the Mississippi state capitol over the weekend. “For those reasons, we need a new symbol. It is now law.”

Melber then played footage of the old Mississippi state flag being lowered for the last time.

“That is the change, and overdue or not, it was one that Mississippi had resisted for a long time,” Melber noted. “It comes in the context of months of national protest. Mississippi actually has the highest percentage of black residents and it was the last state, though, that was having them go to the work in the capitol or go visit the buildings run by the government. Kids growing up with that Confederate symbol flapping on its flag.”

“I can tell you there will be a vote on the new flag design that’s held during these coming November elections in that state.”

Watch the video above, via MSNBC.

Texas Austin Capitol Sergio Flores/Getty Images

Texas protesters took to the streets outside the state Capitol in Austin on Tuesday to protest a new round of closures related to the coronavirus, with at least one wielding a sign that said, “Bar Lives Matter.”

Images posted on social media showed additional signs displaying phrases including “Texas bars fight back,” “Stop the unconstitutional lockdown,” and “This is not Nazi Germany!” Demonstrators were protesting an order from Gov. Greg Abbott (R) that shuttered bars around the state for a second time this year in an effort to diminish a new surge in coronavirus infections. The state reported more than 6,900 new confirmed coronavirus cases on June 30, a one-day record that pushed the state’s total above 160,000.

A Facebook page for the protest showed more than 900 people registered to attend the event.

HAPPENING NOW: The “Texas Bars Fight Back” protest is happening outside the Texas Capitol to protest the closing the bars statewide. pic.twitter.com/NPLen0fFmF

— Kacey Bowen (@KaceyonFox7) June 30, 2020

Protesters are upset @GovAbbott shut down bars in order to help slow the spread of COVID-19. More than 30 bar owners are suing over the executive order. Protesters are demonstrating at the State Capitol and soon at the Governor’s Mansion. @KVUE pic.twitter.com/MaRSILqIxk

— Jenni Lee (@JenniL_KVUE) June 30, 2020

Abbott’s order closed bars deriving more than 50 percent of their revenue from alcohol sales effective June 26 and limited restaurants to 50 percent capacity as of June 29. The move put Texas in line with states including Florida — where the state Department of Health closed bars for a second time on June 26 — and New Jersey, where Gov. Phil Murphy (D) said this week that he was postponing plans to reopen indoor dining due to “knuckleheads.”

More than 30 Texas bar owners announced Monday that they were filing a legal challenge to Abbott’s order. The Houston attorney handling the lawsuit, Jared Woodfill, said Abbott was “acting like a king,” saying in an interview, “He’s sentencing bar owners to bankruptcy.”

Fox News and CNN split the total day and primetime ratings in the coveted 25 – 54 age demographic this past weekend, scoring a full-day sweep on Saturday and Sunday, respectively. In total audience, Fox News swept the weekend across both dayparts and the on Monday it dominated in ratings — overall and in the demo —  and had the top two primetime shows in all of television.

On Saturday, Fox News topped total day ratings with 1.49 million overall viewers and and 262,000 in the demo, according to Nielsen Media Research. That surpassed CNN’s 1.03 million total viewers and 234,000 in the demo and MSNBC’s 837,000 overall and 113,000 in the demo. On Sunday, CNN and Fox News switched places in the A25 –54 rankings, with the former posting 263,000 viewers to the latter’s 225,000. MSNBC trailed behind with 140,000. In overall total day audience on Sunday, Fox News’ 1.31 million beat CNN’s 1.08 million and MSNBC’s 806,000.

In weekend primetime, Fox News pulled far ahead of its rivals on Saturday with 2.56 million overall viewers and 363,000 in the demo. The network’s Saturday win was paced by The Greg Gutfeld Show, which notched the best total and A25 – 54 audience in cable news across the entire weekend, with 2.62 million total viewers and 418,000 in the demo. CNN’s Saturday primetime numbers were almost exactly half of Fox’s in overall audience, with 1.29 million, and the network also came in second with 283,000 in the demo. MSNBC’s ratings came in a distant third with 741,000 overall and 140,000 in the demo. On Sunday, however, CNN scored a strong primetime victory in the demo with 347,000, outdistancing Fox’s 254,000 and MSNBC’s 144,000.

On Monday, Fox News won both overall and A25 – 54 viewers across total day and primetime, thanks to Tucker Carlson Tonight (4.28 million; 802,000) and Hannity (4.15 million; 691,000), which ranked number one and two in both cable news and all of television. The network averaged 2.11 million in total viewers and 367,000 in the demo from 6:00 a.m. to 2:00 a.m. on Monday, and soared to 3.93 million total viewers and 674,000 in the demo in primetime. CNN came in second in the demo across total day and primetime with 294,000 and 422,000, respectively, beating MSNBC’s 247,000 and 401,000 figures. In overall viewers, however, MSNBC turned the tables with 1.66 million in total day and 2.75 million in primetime, beating out CNN’s 1.19 million and 1.71 million, respectively.

Mark Wilson/Getty Images

President Donald Trump’s “White Power” retweet on Sunday morning prompted a frantic, White House crisis response as the racist phrase ignited outrage across the political spectrum. But key Trump advisers were reportedly unable to reach Trump for roughly three hours, as he was at his Virginia golf club and had stopped looking at his phone.

According to NBC News, the mad scramble to do damage control began almost immediately after  Trump characterized as “great people” a video of Trump supporters shouting “white power” at anti-Trump protestors. Condemnation of the white supremacist tweet was swift and bipartisan. But the “five alarm fire,” as NBC News puts it, was hampered by the fact that Trump was unreachable by White House officials.

“Aides also tried unsuccessfully to reach deputy chief of staff Dan Scavino to ask him to delete the retweet,” NBC reported, alluding to the president’s social media manager who often tweets from Trump’s @realdonaldtrump account. “Once officials were able to reach the president, he agreed to delete it.”

After finally reaching the president and informing him of Sen. Tim Scott’s calls to take it down, Trump agreed to delete the offensive tweet. But neither he nor the White House has yet to apologize for endorsing people using a white supremacist chant. Kayleigh McEnany has since defended Trump by claiming the president did not listen to the audio of the original tweet before sharing it with his 82 million Twitter followers.

Fox News’ Laura Ingraham opened her show Monday going after “conservatives on the sidelines” while the U.S. “is under attack.”

She brought up everything from the civil unrest going on in the country to riots to the toppling of monuments and how “people are being threatened with having careers ruined.”

Ingraham recalled how “it was easy to be conservative” years ago when “America won the Cold War and the government was putting up statues of Ronald Reagan and Marxism appear to be actually defeated.”

“But where are those people now?” she asked, before showing clips of Steve Schmidt, John Kasich, and Bill Kristol slamming the president.

“We have conservatives on the sidelines in this battle or worse. The people you just heard, NeverTrumpers, who are raising money to help these vindictive extremists win in November? Are you kidding me?” Ingraham continued.

She went after “the folks in Washington who make money, meanwhile, from Conservatism Inc.” for not stepping up and instead waiting until this moment passes:

“We’re seeing more and more American families and American students finally starting to see what’s at stake in this current crisis. A lot of very clever people who’ve gone to a lot of fancy schools will some day be very sorry that when the time came for them to speak for America, they were nowhere to be found. Because we’re going to beat the left either now or in the near future. And someday, the riots will stop. Someday, law and order will really be restored. And someday, American heroes will be celebrated again. And when that happens, we’ll remember those who deserted their colors when times got tough. We know who they are and they know who they are. And we will never forget them.”

You can watch above, via Fox News.

CNN’s Chris Cuomo opened his show on Monday with a series of mocking jabs at Florida Governor Ron DeSantis for attacking the press and prematurely boasting about how well his state has handled the coronavirus pandemic.

On May 20, after a White House meeting, DeSantis memorably lashed out at the press over his decision to quickly re-open his state, taunting the media that worries over a possible spike in coronavirus rates in his state had never materialized.

“You got a lot of people in your profession who waxed poetically for weeks and weeks about how Florida was going to be just like New York,” DeSantis said, angrily gesturing at the press corps as Vice President Mike Pence silently stood alongside him. “Wait two weeks, Florida’s going to be next. Just like Italy, wait two weeks. Well, hell we’re eight weeks away from that and it hasn’t happened.”

Seven weeks later, however, Florida is suffering from the surge in Covid-19-related hospitalizations and positive cases that many feared, and rolling back beach openings and re-closing restaurants as it set a singly-day record on Saturday with nearly 10,000 new coronavirus cases.

After playing the clip of DeSantis’ White House tirade, Cuomo mimicked the Florida governor’s gesticulations before calling out the premature victory lap. Cuomo is the younger brother of New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, who has also sparked outrage and sharply criticized for how he handled the outbreak in that state.

“What now? Not going to hear him here. You won’t see him here. Why? Because he’s got nothing to say,” Cuomo snarked. “When he had a chance to speak, he spoke too soon, he did too little, and now his state is suffering too much. New York’s peak and daily cases was in what, April? The five-day average of daily cases hit almost 10,000. Terrible. Things here still aren’t great. We’re just moving in the right direction. Florida health officials reported nearly 10,000 new coronavirus cases on Saturday, its highest single day since the start of the pandemic.”

“He made Trump happy, Governor DeSantis did, and now more Floridians than they can count accurately appear to be sick,” Cuomo added, alluding to a claim from the state’s former top Covid-19 scientist that the DeSantis administration is “cooking the books” on the outbreak. “More than half our states have growing cases now. Sixteen are currently having to pause or roll back re-openings because they did not do the right things the right ways. Texas, parts of California, bars have been directed to close back down. The Secretary of Health and Human Services says the window is closing for us to get this right. Even Pence, who you saw silently by Desantis’ side as he spewed nonsense — seems to be his strongest asset as an ally — even he is now saying you should wear a mask. That’s good since he’s the head of the coronavirus task force. It’s bad that he is only saying so now.”

“But the really ugly reality is that Pence still sat there and enjoyed this maskless choir of more than 100 singing on Sunday,” Cuomo noted. “It doesn’t matter if you’re singing songs to the Lord. There is no commandment that ‘Thou shalt do stupid things in my name and get Covid.’ The main commandment, if you care, if you believe, was to ‘Love one another as I have loved you.’ Keep your distance. If you can’t, keep your mask on. Wash your hands. At this rate, there is a real chance that quarantine may become the reality for more of us in this country. And for many of us, here is the scary part, a second time. It is possible you may see me in my basement once again. Why? Because this isn’t about being scared, this is about scaring us straight with the facts.”

Watch the video above, via CNN.

Samuel Corum/Getty Images

The past few days have been dominated by multiple reports that Russia offered bounties to Taliban-linked militants to kill U.S. troops. President Donald Trump has denied that he was briefed and tweeted Sunday night the intel agencies “did not find this info credible.”

On Monday night, the Director of National Intelligence and the head of the CIA both put out statements decrying intelligence leaks.

DNI John Ratcliffe, who said Saturday that the president was not briefed “on any intelligence alleged by the New York Times in its reporting,” put out a new statement saying:

“U.S. and coalition force protection is a critical priority for both the President and the Intelligence Community. The selective leaking of any classified information disrupts the vital interagency work to collect, assess, and mitigate threats and places our forces at risk. it is also, simply put, a crime.”

Ratcliffe says they’re still “investigating the alleged intelligence referenced” in the reports before adding, “Unauthorized disclosures now jeopardize our ability to ever find out the full story with respect to these allegations.”

DNI Ratcliffe issues statement on impact of unauthorized disclosures on force protection pic.twitter.com/Pr7PbWk443

— Office of the DNI (@ODNIgov) June 30, 2020

Around the same time, CIA Director Gina Haspel put out a statement that also criticized intel leaks:

“When developing intelligence assessments, initial tactical reports often require additional collection and validation. In general, preliminary Force Protection Information is shared throughout the national security community — and with U.S. allies — as part of our ongoing efforts to ensure the safety of coalition forces overseas. Leaks compromise and disrupt the critical interagency work to collect assess, and ascribe culpability.”

Just in: New statement from CIA Director Gina Haspel pic.twitter.com/e3JQ1EcH7N

— Natasha Bertrand (@NatashaBertrand) June 30, 2020

Fox News edged out CNN in Friday primetime ratings in the coveted 25 –54 age demographic, despite its night-time lineup having guest hosts for all three hours. Meanwhile, The Five pulled the best ratings outside of primetime and ranked second in all of cable news in both overall viewers and in the demo as the network took the total day ratings title as well.

Across all of Friday, Fox News attracted 1.88 million total viewers and 322,000 in the demo, which was just enough to beat CNN’s 314,000 A25 –54 viewers and MSNBC’s 1.52 million overall viewers, according to Nielsen Media Research. CNN’s 1.17 million total viewers and MSNBC’s 212,000 A25 – 54 viewers placed third, respectively. Fox News’ The Five led all programming outside of primetime’s Tucker Carlson Tonight and ranked second overall with 3.06 million total viewers and 492,000 in the demo.

In primetime, the line-up of Fox News fill-in hosts Brian Kilmeade, Jason Chaffetz, and Tammy Bruce, respectively, experienced notably lower ratings, but the network still narrowly swept to 8:00 – 11:00 p.m. ratings in the demo. Kilmeade, guest hosting for Tucker Carlson Tonight, easily topped all of cable news with 3.19 million total viewers and 510,000 in the demo. At 9:00 p.m., however, the ratings battle was much closer. Chaffetz, subbing for host Sean Hannity, won in both the demo, with 483,000 viewers, and overall audience, with 3.02 million viewers. But MSNBC’s The Rachel Maddow Show, achieved a tie for first Hannity in the latter with 3.02 million, while placing third in the demo with 400,000. CNN’s Cuomo Prime Time also came close among A25 – 54 viewers, but fell short with 470,000, while in overall audience, the CNN program had 1.83 million viewers.

Those time-slot wins helped Fox News to eke out a narrow ratings victory in Friday primetime in the demo with 462,000 viewers. In total audience, Fox News easily outdistanced its cable news rivals with 2.96 million. CNN came up just short in the demo with 439,000 but placed third in total viewers with 1.59 million. MSNBC turned in a runner-up performance with 2.40 million overall viewers, but trailed both CNN and Fox News with 316,000 A25 – 54 viewers.

Fox News’ Tucker Carlson got heated with Senator Mike Braun (R- IN) Monday night confronting him on his proposed legislation to reform qualified immunity.

Braun previewed his appearance by tweeting that his bill would “help strengthen trust in our law enforcement, hold government officials who break the law accountable, and finally make mostly-Democrat city governments liable for their failures.”

Carlson started out by pressing Braun on an interview he gave saying he supports the Black Lives Matter movement, asking the senator, “Why do you support it and are there any other race-specific revolutionary movements that you support?”

Braun said that he believes when “a certain sector of society has a grievance” they should be able to say so, before talking about his bill and how he’s been speaking with law enforcement in his state.

Carlson brought up his specific invocation of the Rayshard Brooks shooting in a previous interview and repeatedly questioned Braun on what he believes about the case and what the officer should have done.

As Carlson confronted him, Braun said “I think you probably should’ve had the judgment that in a traffic stop like that, you don’t shoot somebody in the back.”

They went back and forth, and Braun went back to his bill to say that Republicans need to be a part of this conversation, saying “Chuck Schumer’s already decided he can make hay of it in the election.”

“Who controls the Senate?” Carlson asked. “You’re taking your cues from Chuck Schumer?”

“Tucker, you know you have to have 60 votes in the Senate to get anything done,” Braun said.

Carlson asked him what law enforcement groups are endorsing his bill. Braun said, “They’re not endorsing it, but they said it was a good template to work from.”

Carlson also asked how he could think “the morally culpable party” that needs to be held accountable amid the unrest of the past few weeks is the police. “So you’re making it easier for left-wing groups to sue them.”

Braun told Carlson he’s “trying to put words in my mouth” before saying they need to be addressing the “underlying issue.”

You can watch above, via Fox News.

Washington Post Global Opinions editor Karen Attiah on Sunday deleted a pair of Twitter messages suggesting “white women” were “lucky” no one was calling for “revenge.”

“White women are lucky that we are just calling them ‘Karen’s.’ And not calling for revenge.” Attiah wrote on Sunday evening, after citing “the 1921 Tulsa Massacre,” the “murder of Emmet Till,” and “53 percent of white women voting for Trump.” She added in a follow-up tweet, “Be happy we are calling for equality. And not actual revenge.”

Attiah, who was Jamal Khashoggi’s editor, subsequently deleted both messages.

On Monday morning, Attiah retweeted a message that said, “When I tweet something and then delete it, it’s not because I regret it.” She added the comment “Same,” but did not offer further explanation.

The Washington Post did not respond to requests for comment, though its social media policy prohibits employees employees from weighing in on matters that might reveal racial bias, stating, “Post journalists must refrain from writing, tweeting or posting anything – including photographs or video – that could objectively be perceived as reflecting political, racial, sexist, religious or other bias or favoritism.”

Congressman Will Hurd (R-TX) expressed dismay and frustration at the news that the purported Russia-Taliban bounty killings program was included in the Presidential Daily Brief months ago but was never verbally briefed to President Donald Trump.

Speaking with CNN’s Erin Burnett, Hurd reacted a breaking news report from that network’s Pentagon correspondent, Barbara Starr, that intelligence officials failed to orally discuss the bounty killings program with Trump, even though it was added to the PDB book that is circulated to all top cabinet officials, including the president. It’s well known that Trump skips out on reading the PDB and instead prefers to a short verbal summary of its highlights.

“So you understand this in a way that pretty much no one else does,” Burnett noted to Hurd, who was a former undercover CIA agent. “You heard Barbara’s reporting. It was in the president’s daily brief, he may not have been audibly briefed about it, but it was there for him to read. What is your response?”

“I think your reporter had it right. Why wasn’t it escalated to an in-person brief versus just a physical document?” Hurd asked. “I can’t confirm or deny whether it was in the PDB, but this would be information that should get escalated to the senior levels of government and even if there was some kind of question about intelligence, like something like this, then you would still, you know, put caveats around the information.”

“They’re not our allies, they’re our adversaries and we should be doing everything we can to stop them,” Hurd added, alluding to the Russians. “This is important that the timing of this kind of information is why we’re trying to negotiate a peace process. And can you trust a peace process, people supposed to be involved in supporting the peace process if you know this type of stuff is happening? And guess what the Russians have done this kind of stuff before. We know all the cases of what they have tried to do in Europe. But unfortunately what is happening right now is that the Russians are winning because now we’re continuing to sow mistrust and lack of trust in all our institutions and the questions around this.”

“Again, if it’s in the presidential daily briefing, I’m going to say in my view, if it’s handed to you and you choose not to read it, that’s still on you. I understand he did not get verbally briefed,” Burnett responded, alluding to Trump’s angry dismissal of the corroborated report as “fake news” in a tweet on Sunday. “What do you say to that, that his response isn’t ‘I want to know what the heck happened, I want to know why I wasn’t briefed, and I want to do something about it,’ but instead is to be yelling about fabricated hoaxes and fake news?”

“I’m not going to confirm or deny intelligence, but if something this sensitive was out there, I would be pissed that nobody brought it to me or didn’t raise their hand and be, like, ‘Hey, boss, read in that, there is some information you need to read today, make sure we cut out time in your calendar in order to do that,'” Hurd responded, before listing a number of points that the White House should have been seeking to address in the past few months. “So these are the kinds of questions we should be asking to make sure that our men and women that are serving, in order to make sure we don’t have Al Qaeda coming back, that we don’t have ISIS plotting and planning threats on our homeland, why this is important to bring civility to Afghanistan, in the middle of an alleged peace process, these are some of the questions that we should be getting answers to. And it shouldn’t take months to try to figure out answers to those questions if there is months gone by between collecting this information and having debates around it.”

Watch the video above, via CNN.

Over the weekend, Fox Business’ Charles Gasparino posted a Twitter thread reporting that there are GOP operatives raising the possibility President Donald Trump “could drop out of the race if his poll numbers don’t rebound.”

Gasparino said, “I’m not convinced yet; he’s got time and he’s running against an opponent who is literally hiding in his basement.”

But, he added, “The speculation indicates how tense GOP operatives are about Trump losing and the party losing the senate and having their entire agenda abolished in a leftist wave election.”

BREAKING— (thread)GOP operatives are for the first time raising the possibility that @realDonaldTrump could drop out of the race if his poll numbers don’t rebound. Over the weekend I spoke to a sample of major players; one described Trumps current psyche as “fragile.” I’m

— Charles Gasparino (@CGasparino) June 28, 2020

That said the speculation indicates how tense GOP operatives are about Trump losing and the party losing the senate and having their entire agenda abolished in a leftist wave election. Again lots of time and Trump has endured a horrible couple of months but that’s the snap shop

— Charles Gasparino (@CGasparino) June 28, 2020

The report got some attention in the past day, and on Monday night Fox Business’ Lou Dobbs alluded to that speculation in speaking with Trump senior legal adviser Jenna Ellis.

Dobbs first mentioned how campaign manager Brad Parscale “has created a bit of a kerfuffle” but added that despite speculation, he’s safe in his job.

“All of this nonsense talking — in the left-wing media — talking about this president would quit or, you know, not want to run for re-election,” Dobbs continued, “I had recently the opportunity to talk with him. Anybody who talks to the president knows better than any of that nonsense, knows it’s all claptrap as usual. The man I talked to is fired up, he is in great spirits, and ready to raise a lot of hell on the campaign trail.”

“Yes, he is. He’s a fighter,” Ellis agreed.

You can watch above, via Fox Business.

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The latest anti-Trump video ad from The Lincoln Project — with a tribute to the American veterans who fought during World War II and slam on President Donald Trump‘s handling of the coronavirus pandemic that has put these oldest generations at risk — was created by someone with a deep knowledge and appreciation of WWII veterans: John Orloff, one of the writers of HBO’s critically acclaimed miniseries Band of Brothers.

The ad, called “Debt,” begins with video footage from the attack on Pearl Harbor, as President Franklin D. Roosevelt‘s voice is heard speaking about the “day that will live in infamy.”

“In 1941, America’s leaders asked a generation to go to war,” the narrator begins. “They did nothing less than save the world. It didn’t come easy. It didn’t come quickly. And it didn’t come without great sacrifice.”

The ad then cuts to Trump speaking at a recent press briefing about the coronavirus pandemic, as a soft beeping noise begins.

“America will again and soon be open for business,” says Trump. “We cannot let the cure be worse than the problem itself, we’re not going to let the cure be worse than the problem.”

“Haven’t we asked enough of the Greatest Generation?” the narrator asks, as the video shows the source of the beeping noise: an old man lying on a hospital bed, as a ventilator and other machines keep him alive.

The ad’s message was emphasized in a Lincoln Project tweet. “The Greatest Generation sacrificed everything for our country. But [Trump] wants to sacrifice them for the economy when they’re in their greatest time of need.”

The Greatest Generation sacrificed everything for our country. But @realDonaldTrump wants to sacrifice them for the economy when they’re in their greatest time of need. pic.twitter.com/tWrQ7CT0Op

— The Lincoln Project (@ProjectLincoln) June 28, 2020

The ad launched Sunday online and with a targeted digital buy focusing on select states like Florida, Texas, Arizona, and South Carolina — all of which voted for Trump in 2016, and also have significant military and veteran populations.

Sunday evening, Mediaite reached out Orloff, the creative mind behind the ad, and asked how he got involved in the project and what messages he was trying to convey.

In addition to his work on Band of Brothers, which earned him a Christopher Award and an Emmy nomination, Orloff adapted the screenplay for A Mighty Heart, from Mariane Pearl‘s memoir about her husband, the Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl who was kidnapped and murdered by Al Qaeda terrorists.

Orloff told Mediaite that he had what he called a “slightly unique background” for a Hollywood screenwriter. During the 1990s, before he became a screenwriter, he worked for a political media consultant and “learned a little bit about about political advertising: the form, the messaging, etc.”

“Over the years, I’ve become very passionate about veteran affairs,” Orloff continued, “and especially the World War II vets, many of whom I’ve known, interviewed, and become friends with over the years.”

Orloff described his reaction as the anniversary of D-Day — the June 6, 1944 Allied invasion of Normandy credited with laying the foundations for the eventual victory over Hitler’s Nazi regime — approached, and how the Trump administration’s response to the coronavirus pandemic was progressing.

“I watched the Trump administration — and its enablers — argue that they were quite willing to sacrifice the health and lives of our senior citizens, I was — and still am — shocked that this was an actual, real rationalization they were making.”

“And who are those senior citizens?” Orloff continued. “Well, a whole bunch of them saved the world. Literally. At great and terrible sacrifice.”

“And how does our society reward them in their final days? It offers these same men and women a lonely, possibly early, death, away from their families and loved ones, and often even away from medical staff. Why? Because of the economy? Because of masks? It seemed to me that we needed to be reminded exactly who these ‘old people’ are that some of us are so quick to sacrifice.”

“So I got pissed,” Orloff concluded, “and the fine folk at The Lincoln Project let me channel all of that into the ad we dropped today.”

Orloff shared the ad on his Twitter page, writing that the ad “came from the heart,” and asking his followers to share it.

Here’s a new ad I helped make withe fine folk at @ProjectLincoln. Came from the heart. Please share. https://t.co/TXcuvNwIuG

— John Orloff (@johnorloff) June 28, 2020

It appears Orloff’s followers did just that. By the end of the evening on Sunday, the video had racked up approximately 3 million views on YouTube and Twitter. Orloff’s tweet alone had about 13,000 retweets.

Watch the ad, “Debt,” above, via The Lincoln Project.

President Donald Trump appeared in a Fox News Channel special Sunday evening with Brian Kilmeade and discussed the recent efforts by protesters to take down statues and other monuments of Confederate leaders, as well as other American historical figures who had owned slaves. When Kilmeade asked Trump what his message was for African-Americans whose ancestors were enslaved, Trump said that America had a “great history” and people needed to learn from that history and “if you don’t understand your history you will go back to it again.”

Kilmeade mentioned past leaders like Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, who were “brilliant” but also owned slaves.

“So how do we grow as a country and yet not forget our past?” asked Kilmeade.

“You have to understand history, and you have to understand the culture,” Trump replied, saying that we should not take down statues of George Washington, noting that “half of our country is named after Washington.”

“We have to remember the heritage and the culture of our country,” Trump continued. “Here is the other problem that I have — a lot of these people don’t even know what they are taking down. I see what’s happening on television, and they are ripping down things they have no idea what they are ripping down, but they started off with the Confederates and now go to Ulysses Grant so what is that all about?”

Kilmeade then asked Trump for a message to African-Americans. “Since you have done a lot for the African-American community, what is your message to them when their ancestors were enslaved because of [these leaders who are commemorated on these monuments]?”

Trump’s answer, to what should have been a softball question, was to offer advice that many Blacks may not find helpful or reassuring: that they need to learn history.

He talked about how America is the “greatest country on Earth,” and we have a heritage and a history, and say it was important to learn from that history, or “if you don’t understand your history, you will go back to it again.”

It’s not clear if the president meant that Blacks who did not learn history would go back into slavery or what fate would await them, but he did repeatedly emphasize the importance of heritage and learning history — things he has often said before in interviews and tweets.

Kilmeade did not follow up to Trump’s response and switched topics.

A transcript of Trump’s full answer to the question:

My message is that we have a great country, we have the greatest country on Earth. We have a heritage, we have a history and we should learn from the history, and if you don’t understand your history, you will go back to it again. You will go right back to it. You have to learn. Think of it, you take away that whole era and you’re going to go back to it sometime. People won’t know about it. They’re going to forget about it. It’s okay.

Now what I do like, I like the idea of building new statues to people, to great people. People that have done something. And I think that’s okay.

But you don’t want to take away our heritage and history and the beauty, in many cases, the beauty, the artistic beauty. Some of the sculptures and some of this work is some of the great — you can go to France, you can go anywhere in the world and you will never see more magnificent work. And that’s a factor. It’s not the biggest factor but it’s a factor.

The president’s rambling answer to what, again, should have been a softball question, was reminiscent of an answer he gave to another Fox News host, Sean Hannity, earlier this week.

Hannity had asked Trump what his priorities would be if he were elected to a second term, and Trump failed to name even one, instead chatting about how he had only visited Washington a few times before becoming president but now he knew a lot of people, and other random topics unrelated to the question.

Like Kilmeade, Hannity also failed to ask for any sort of clarification or follow up.

Watch the video via Fox News, above.

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EVA MARIE UZCATEGUI/AFP via Getty Images

As the spike in coronavirus cases in Florida continues, local government officials in South Florida took steps to close down their popular beaches ahead of the Fourth of July weekend.

Florida has seen thousands of new Covid-19 cases this past week, with a single-day record of 9,585 new cases on Saturday and an additional 8,530 on Sunday. These numbers are similar to New York’s daily peaks back in early April, according to CNN.

Earlier this week, Florida shut down bars again statewide in response to the spike in cases.

Most of the new cases are concentrated in South Florida, especially Miami. During a Sunday press briefing, Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) said that the past three weeks had seen a surge in positive tests among those aged 18 to 44. Socializing at graduation parties and other events had contributed to the virus’ spread among younger people, said DeSantis.

Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez announced an emergency order in a press release posted by his office on Sunday, closing all beaches in the county starting Friday, July 3 through Tuesday, July 7.

The order also banned all gatherings, including parades, of more than 50 people during this period, as well as public viewing of fireworks from county parks or beaches. Fireworks were only allowed to be observe from residents’ homes or parked vehicles.

The press release also emphasized the importance of “New Normal rules requiring masks to be worn always inside commercial establishments and outdoors when social distancing of at least 6 feet is not possible.”

Violations of the requirements to follow social distancing and wear masks will face criminal penalties of up to $500 and 180 days in jail.

“As we continue to see more COVID-19 positive test results among young adults and rising hospitalizations,” said Gimenez, “I have decided that the only prudent thing to do to tamp down this recent uptick is to crack down on recreational activities that put our overall community at higher risk…I have been seeing too many businesses and people ignoring these lifesaving rules. If people are not going to be responsible and protect themselves and others from this pandemic, then the government is forced to step in and restore common sense to save lives.”

Concluded Gimenez, “This new order will be targeting those who are being most irresponsible and endangering our community’s health and our economic recovery.”

The city of Fort Lauderdale took a similar approach, announcing that Fort Lauderdale Beach would be closed July 3 through 5, although restaurants and businesses would be allowed to remain open.

Due to the spike in COVID-19 cases, Mayor @DeanTrantalis announces that Fort Lauderdale Beach will be closed July 3-5 for the safety and protection of the public. Beach restaurants and businesses will remain open. pic.twitter.com/doRjjQh0sl

— City of Fort Lauderdale (@FTLCityNews) June 28, 2020

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In an appearance on CNN’s Newsroom with Ana Cabrera, Congressman Joaquin Castro (D-TX) expressed his frustration Sunday with the surge in coronavirus cases in Texas, saying that he felt that people had made major sacrifices to fight the pandemic, but that leaders like President Donald Trump and Gov. Greg Abbott (R-TX) had “squandered people’s sacrifices.”

Cabrera played a video clip of Vice President Mike Pence visiting a church in Dallas, Texas earlier Sunday, in which Pence wore a mask but the church choir was shown singing very close together, not wearing masks.

“How concerned are you,” Cabrera asked Castro, to see images like this when coronavirus cases are surging in Texas?

Castro said it was “alarming,” and added that from the beginning of the pandemic, Abbott had “basically followed the see no evil, hear no evil, do as little testing as possible philosophy of Donald Trump.”

Castro added that text alerts were going out in multiple cities in Texas, because hospitalizations were “skyrocketing” and ICUs were filling up, expressing concern that hospitals could be overcrowded if these trends continued another week or two.

Cabrera mentioned that Abbott had said that he regretted reopening the bars so quickly, and asked Castro if Abbott deserved credit for taking responsibility and admitting he made a mistake.

Castro replied that he was “glad” Abbott was able to say that but said that he believed that Abbott had still put “politics over science,” and “bowed” to “folks on the right who didn’t want him to follow the science, who didn’t want a mask police statewide so he buckled and gave into that rather than doing what he should have done.”

The congressman urged Texans to “step up and be good fellow residents, fellow Texans,” by taking recommended steps to reduce transmission of the coronavirus.

“Wearing a mask shouldn’t be something that’s either liberal or conservative,” said Castro. “It’s just way for all of us to combat this virus, and also the longer we don’t do things like wear a mask, the longer this virus is going to continue.”

“People of Texas and other places, most of them made sacrifices, stayed at home,” he continued. “A lot of people lost their job. People got sick. Some people died. But the leaders like Donald Trump and Greg Abbott, unfortunately, squandered people’s sacrifices. They didn’t do their part. So our leaders have to do their part, and fellow Texans also have to be responsible.”

Watch the video above, via CNN.