Oliver O'Connell

Trump team looks to Joe Rogan for help amid lingering Epstein fallout: Live updates A strategy dinner hosted by Vice President JD Vance on handling of Jeffrey Epstein case was leaked, denied, said to be canceled, but is now reportedly back on, reports say

www.independent.co.uk/news/world/a...

Kristi Noem’s Homeland Security department considering U.S. citizenship reality show Homeland Security spokesperson denies reports secretary is ‘backing’ project as social media users compare it to ‘Hunger Games’

Social media users are already referring to the idea as “grotesque,” a version of The Hunger Games, or reminiscent of the 1987 dystopian movie The Running Man, in which people compete for freedom by participating in a state-controlled game show.

Enormous brooding banner of Trump hung alongside Lincoln at Department of Agriculture X users are scoffing at the banner, saying it has a ‘North Korean aesthetic’ and gives off ‘Saddam Hussein vibes’

The picture of Trump is reminiscent of portraits of leaders hanging from public buildings, often seen in dictatorships, monarchies, and in descriptions in George Orwell’s 1984 of “Big Brother.”

Trump’s 100-day approval rating at historic low compared to predecessors Previous worst performance for a president at 100 days was...also Trump, in 2017

“These numbers are just horrible, there’s no way to sugarcoat it…”

AOC and Bernie Sanders blast Trump and Elon Musk at largest anti-oligarchy rally yet New York Democrat says Trump's 'tariff shuffle' was market manipulation for billionaire friends

www.the-independent.com/news/world/a...

Donald Quixote and the stock market meltdown: Inside Trump’s failed tariff gamble ANALYSIS: Even the most complex algorithms created by artificial intelligence to predict macro trends are not equipped to account for a president who tries to levy taxes on flightless sea birds, write...

Great stuff from @richardhalljourno.bsky.social my colleague at @the-independent.com
www.independent.co.uk/news/world/a...

Trump administration live updates: Pentagon denies Musk is part of China briefing President attacks New York Times over reporting as backlash over billonaire’s role in administration grows

Follow along live...

We will not be silent in the face of Trump’s assault on truth and democracy Editorial: The US president is pedalling dangerous misinformation about Zelensky and Ukraine – now is the time to tell the truth and stand up to the bully in the White House

EDITORIAL | Why The Independent will not be silent in the face of Trump’s assault on truth and democracy

Analysis: Trump and Elon Musk’s constitutional wrecking ball goes primetime Analysis: The world’s wealthiest man spins his government siege as the will of the people but has no idea how government works

Analysis from @alexwoodward.bsky.social of @the-independent.com on Trump and Elon Musk's primetime interview

Sir Richard Shirreff: Trump’s craven appeasement of Putin spells danger for us all Russia is a cruel, vindictive and murderous state and has Moldova, Georgia and Romania in its sight, says former deputy Supreme Allied Commander Sir Richard Shirreff. Now that Trump has paved the way ...

On ways to describe the "shabby deal" Trump is planning to do with Putin: "Few have captured the emotions of many, more than the words of a British official, who said it had gone down “like a bowl of cold sick”."
From @the-independent.com

‘If they charge us, we charge them’: What is Trump’s goal with his trade war? President’s obsessions with tariffs have been a constant for his entire time in public life, dating back to his emergence as a real estate tycoon in the 1980s and 1990s, write Andrew Feinberg

@the-independent.com's @andrewfeinberg.com looks at Trump's obsession with tariffs

Trump demands ‘Radical Left Reuters’ return the $9 million that he first paid out After Elon Musk first pushed a misleading claim about Reuters, the president raged about the global news agency returning a contract that was awarded under his first administration

So, let's go over this whole $9 million Reuters thing:

-- it was first awarded UNDER TRUMP

-- it wasn't paid to the news agency but rather an entirely different Reuters division that does data analysis

-- it was to help PREVENT phishing and cyber attacks

www.independent.co.uk/news/world/a...

Trump live updates: President details Putin call; Gabbard confirmed as intel head President and Russian leader discussed bilateral relations on Wednesday morning phone call covering Ukraine, Middle East, energy and AI

Follow along for the latest from @the-independent.com www.independent.co.uk/news/world/a...

Noem warns the public that they can’t trust the government - which she is part of DHS chief signals that Musk’s team has access to FEMA systems containing Americans’ private information

Kristi Noem warns the public that they can’t trust the government - and is then reminded that she is the government

A father of five was detained by ICE. Now his family is losing their home Donald Trump’s deportations have created a climate of fear among immigrant communities across the country, Richard Hall writes.

A father of five was detained by ICE on his way to work. Now his family is losing their home
By @richardhalljourno.bsky.social for @the-independent.com
www.independent.co.uk/news/world/a...

Annnnnd now Trump is saying he's going to toss tariffs on pharmaceuticals -- along with oil and gas.

Join my @the-independent.com colleague @richardhalljourno.bsky.social over on Reddit at 12 pm ET for an AMA on what Donald Trump’s second term means for the Middle East: www.reddit.com/r/politics/c...

Trump’s new portrait revealed as he puts ex-allies on White House blacklist: Live President-elect says estranged first-term veterans like Mike Pence, John Bolton, and Nikki Haley will not be welcome in White House

www.independent.co.uk/news/world/a...

Merrick Garland plans to release Jack Smith’s Jan. 6 report. Trump wants to stop him The special counsel handed in his final report days before Trump returns to the White House

Attorney General Merrick Garland will publicly release special counsel Jack Smith’s highly anticipated final report from his investigation into Donald Trump’s attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election.

Here's why and how Trump is trying to stop him:

Trump and Musk put DC in tailspin with spending bill attacks as shutdown nears: Live The proposed continuing resolution, championed by GOP House Speaker Mike Johnson, would have kept agencies running at current funding levels through to mid-March 2025

Trump and Musk blame Democrats for tanking spending bill despite 38 Republicans voting against it as shutdown looms — Follow along live today for all the latest out of Washington, D.C.
www.independent.co.uk/news/world/a...

Opinion | Joel Grey: ‘Cabaret’ Was a Warning. It’s Time to Heed It. (Gift Article) Much has changed since the show debuted on Broadway in 1966, but it’s what hasn’t changed that should worry us.

From Joel Grey: “History is giving us another chance to confront the forces that ‘Cabaret’ warned us about. The question is: Will we listen this time, or will we keep laughing until the music stops?”