‘Morning Joe’ Hosts Come Back Alive after Meeting with Trump for First Time in Years

Julianna Frieman
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‘Morning Joe’ Hosts Come Back Alive after Meeting with Trump for First Time in Years

(Julianna Frieman, Headline USA) Morning Joe hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski revealed Monday that they met with President-elect Donald Trump for a “personal” sit-down at Mar-a-Lago following his historic election victory.

The MSNBC hosts, who have not spoke face-to-face with Trump in seven years, said they traveled to Florida on Friday to “restart communications” with the incoming Republican president.

“Joe and I realize it’s time to do something different, and that starts with not only talking about Donald Trump, but also talking with him,” Brzezinski said.

Brzezinski did not go without mentioning Morning Joe’s “deep concerns” relating to Trump’s impact on public debate.

However, to justify their pursuit for access, the MSNBC host acknowledged the American people resoundingly voted Trump in for a second term.

“For nearly 80 million Americans, election denialism, public trials, January 6th, were not as important as the issues that moved them to send Donald Trump back to the White House with their vote,” she commented.

The issues discussed at their meeting, according to Scarborough, included abortion, mass deportation and the idea that Trump’s administration would enact “political retribution” on those who pursued the president-elect as a Republican candidate.

“It will come as no surprise to anybody who watches this show, has watched it over the past year or over the past decade, that we didn’t see eye-to-eye on a lot of issues, and we told him so,” Scarborough said.

The Morning Joe hosts said they last spoke to Trump on the phone in March 2020.

Scarborough and Brzezinski’s decision to talk with Trump like a normal person was a stark departure from the rhetoric both MSNBC pundits pushed leading up to Election Day.

On Oct. 18, Scarborough took to Real Time with Bill Maher and suggested Trump and his team would “arrest [his] producers” in a lengthy rant warning Republicans would come back with a political vengeance.

Morning Joe hosts have regularly compared Trump to Hitler as well, blasting those who disagree as “stupid.”

Julianna Frieman is a freelance writer published by the Daily Caller, Headline USA, The Federalist, and The American Spectator. Follow her on Twitter at @JuliannaFrieman.

Report: Trump May Court-Martial Military Officials Responsible for Disastrous Afghanistan Withdrawal

Ken Silva
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Report: Trump May Court-Martial Military Officials Responsible for Disastrous Afghanistan Withdrawal

(Ken Silva, Headline USA) NBC News reported Sunday that the Trump transition team is compiling a list of senior U.S. military officers involved in the disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan—exploring whether they could be court-martialed.

“Officials working on the transition are considering creating a commission to investigate the 2021 withdrawal from Afghanistan, including gathering information about who was directly involved in the decision-making for the military, how it was carried out and whether the military leaders could be eligible for charges as serious as treason,” NBC reported, citing an unnamed U.S. official and “a person familiar with the plan.”

One of the officials allegedly involved in the plan is Matt Flynn, a former deputy assistant secretary of defense for counternarcotics and global threats. However, Flynn’s lawyer—who, bizarrely, is Democratic operative Mark Zaid—denied rumors of his client’s involvement.

“Matt Flynn has nothing to do with the Trump transition team, much less leading any review concerning military justice matters,” Zaid said, reportedly adding that “no one has sought out Mr. Flynn’s views on this hypothetical legal scenario.”

Biden’s disastrous withdrawl entailed pulling military personnel before all civilians were evaculated, and it saw the Pentagon leaving billions of dollars in equipment behind. Tragically, it also saw 13 U.S. service members and 10 Afghan civilians killed.

Biden administration and Defense Department officials have tried to whitewash their culpability for the fiasco.

After the 13 U.S. service members were killed, for instance, the Pentagon retaliated with a drone strike that slaughtered the above-mentioned 10 Afghans. For days after that attack, Pentagon officials lied to the public and insisted they killed legitimate terrorists instead of civilians.

But after a Sept. 10, 2021, New York Times investigation raised doubts about the veracity of the military’s claims, the Department of Defense admitted that the drone strike killed innocents.

“We now assess that it is unlikely that the vehicle and those who died were associated with ISIS-K or were a direct threat to U.S. forces,” Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Mark Milley admitted a week later.

“I offer my profound condolences to the family and friends of those who were killed. This strike was taken in the earnest belief that it would prevent an imminent threat to our forces and the evacuees at the airport.”

Earlier this year, Milley changed his story about when he knew he was responsible for killing civilians. In 2021, he said he learned of it within hours of the drone strikes—but earlier this year he said he didn’t know until about four days later.

Ken Silva is a staff writer at Headline USA. Follow him at x.com/jd_cashless.

NYT Details Stunning Harris Campaign Expenditures: $100M Per Week

Ken Silva
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NYT Details Stunning Harris Campaign Expenditures: $100M Per Week

(Ken Silva, Headline USA) In the wake of Vice President Kamala Harris’s failed 2024 presidential election run, numerous observers expressed bewilderment at how her campaign could have spent a reported $1 billion in about 15 weeks.

But it turns out, that $1 billion estimate was incorrect. The Harris campaign actually spent $1.5 billion—or roughly $100 million per week, according to a Sunday report from the New York Times.

“Her cash-rich campaign spared no expense as it hunted for voters—paying for an avalanche of advertising, social-media influencers, a for-hire door-knocking operation, thousands of staff, pricey rallies, a splashy Oprah town hall, celebrity concerts and even drone shows,” the Times reported.

“The frenzied spending has led to second-guessing among some Democrats, including whether investing in celebrity-fueled events with stars such as Lady Gaga and Beyoncé was more ostentatious than effective.”

The Times’s report detailed some of the expenditures that have already been reported, such as the $1 million payment to Oprah Winfrey’s production firm, Harpo Productions. Winfrey has claimed that the $1 million was to cover the costs of setting up the town hall with her, and the Times corroborated that claim, reporting that the full cost of her event was $2.5 million.

One of the more surprising revelations from the Times report was Harris’s $12 million expenditure on polling, which was apparently necessary because incumbent President Joe Biden didn’t do any of that for her.

“Though Ms. Harris had been on the ticket from the start, her advisers discovered that the Biden operation had done virtually no research on her strengths and weaknesses,” the Times reported.

“Other major costs, according to records and campaign officials, included $111 million in online ads seeking donations, at least $100 million transferred to battleground-state parties, $70 million on mail and nearly $28 million to produce the merchandise that people were ordering,” the Times added.

“And for all the focus on her volunteer program, the campaign spent a significant sum — about $50 million — for paid door-to-door canvassers.”

Despite that, Harris was trounced by Trump. The Times noted that Harris’s performance could have been even worse if not for her $1.5 billion war chest.

“Even as Ms. Harris ran notably stronger in battlegrounds such as Pennsylvania, Georgia and North Carolina than in surrounding areas, those results were double-edged, politically. They suggested that the ticket she led was so unpopular that it took an enormous campaign just to limit her losses,” the Times reported.

Ken Silva is a staff writer at Headline USA. Follow him at x.com/jd_cashless.

DOJ Quietly Dropped Case against Illegal Immigrants Who Breached U.S. Military Base

Ken Silva
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DOJ Quietly Dropped Case against Illegal Immigrants Who Breached U.S. Military Base

(Ken Silva, Headline USA) In May, the Justice Department announced charges against two Jordanian nationals illegally present in the United States, who were arrested after attempting to breach Marine Corps Base Quantico in early May.

At the time, the Jordanians—Hasan Yousef Hamdan and Mohammad Khair Dabous—were allowed to post bail and were subsequently released from federal prison, despite Hamdan reportedly being on a terror watch list.

And now, the two men are apparently free. The DOJ filed a motion on Oct. 3 to dismiss charges against them, and the motion was granted on the same day. The motion didn’t explain why the DOJ was dropping the case.

According to the Washington Times, the DOJ now says Hamdan wasn’t actually on a terror watchlist. And the defendants’ attorneys said they were making legitimate deliveries, and were only arrested due to communications issues.

“Prosecutors, in court documents filed in September, said neither man is actually on a watchlist and neither the FBI nor U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has national security concerns or other derogatory information,” the Washington Times reported Friday.

“Lawyers for the men, in their court filings, blamed the incident on language barriers, saying Mr. Dabous was making legitimate deliveries in Quantico but didn’t understand the sentry’s directions about stopping.”

According to initial media reports, the illegal immigrants drove a truck to the military installation’s main gate, telling guards they were making a delivery to Quantico Town’s post office.

They allegedly ignored guards’ orders to stop when they could not provide credentials required to gain access to the facility, and they were arrested and charged with misdemeanor trespassing on military property.

The non-profit transparency watchdog Judicial Watch obtained and released documents in August about Hamdan’s presence on the terror watchlist.

“An ICE officer, whose name is redacted in the document, ‘telephonically confirmed’ to the Marine Criminal Investigations Division (CID) that ‘Hamdan was on a terror watch list,’ the report says, further revealing that ICE personnel assumed custody of Hamadan and Dabous for further processing,” Judicial Watch said in August.

Members of Congress have written to several government agencies, demanding answers about the incident. But they apparently haven’t received any. House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Mark Green told The Washington Times the administration has been “delinquent” in getting him answers about the matter.

Ken Silva is a staff writer at Headline USA. Follow him at x.com/jd_cashless.

NYT’s Epic Fail: Tries to Debunk RFK Jr., Proves Him Right Instead

Luis Cornelio
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NYT’s Epic Fail: Tries to Debunk RFK Jr., Proves Him Right Instead

(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) The New York Times attempted to fact-check Robert F. Kennedy Jr. but ended up validating his concerns that American foods contain too many chemicals. 

RFK Jr.—President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee to lead HHS—previously pointed out that the Froot Loops sold in the U.S. have far more ingredients than the ones made in Canada.

The Times’s Christina Jewett and Julie Creswell wrote Friday that RFK Jr. was “wrong” about the ingredient comparison. The problem? RFK Jr. wasn’t wrong—and Jewett and Creswell inadvertently admitted it. 

“He was wrong on the ingredient count, they are roughly the same,” Jewett and Creswell wrote. 

In the very next sentence, the duo added, “But the Canadian version does have natural colorings made from blueberries and carrots while the U.S. product contains red dye 40, yellow 5 and blue 1 as well as Butylated hydroxytoluene, or BHT, a lab-made chemical that is used ‘for freshness,’ according to the ingredient label.”

 

X user Brad Cohn first called out The Times’s absurd fact-check in a viral tweet mocking their conclusion. “As you see, the ingredient list is just completely identical, except the US product contains formaldehyde, cyanide, and nearly undetectable levels of saxitoxin” Cohn joked, garnering over 10 million views in the first post.

In 2022, the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment studied the links between red dye 40 and hyperactivity in children. 

“The researchers concluded that the FDA’s current standards for how much red dye 40 is safe are based on outdated data, and that the allowed amount is too high,” GoodRx wrote. 

According to VeryWellHealth, Yellow 5 has been “suspected of being linked to health problems ranging from allergies to hyperactivity in kids to cancer.” Meanwhile, Blue 1 “may cause allergic reactions in sensitive individuals,” Healthline reported. 

Butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) is used to treat herpes. However, some studies have linked it to cancer, developmental and reproductive toxicity, endocrine disruption, and lung and skin irritation, according to WebMD.

GoodRx, VeryWellHealth, Healthline and WebMD noted that some of these side effects are based on limited research. The outlets stated that some scientists have called for more studies before drawing definitive conclusions.

Bill ‘Slick Willie’ Clinton Lets It All Out on Monica Lewinsky—Yet Again

Luis Cornelio
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Bill ‘Slick Willie’ Clinton Lets It All Out on Monica Lewinsky—Yet Again

(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) Former President Bill Clinton is still reminiscing about his affair with Monica Lewinsky, a White House intern 27 years his junior. 

Clinton was asked during an interview on CBS News Sunday Morning about his decision to once again revisit the sex scandal in his new memoir, Citizen—set to be released on Nov. 19.

Referring to the affair in the book, Clinton reportedly said, “I live with it all the time,” and praised Lewinsky’s work on bullying. “I wish her nothing but the best.” 

On Sunday, CBS journalist Tracy Smith asked Clinton why he decided to bring up Lewinsky nearly three decades after the affair and his subsequent impeachment. 

In response, Clinton said he “thought” he needed to speak up about the fling. 

“I wanted to be as helpful as I could to let her turn the page,” the 42nd president said paradoxically as mentioning the scandal only reignited public attention to it. 

“And I think she should be given a chance to build a life that is about her and the future and not you know being whiplashed into an old story,” Clinton continued. 

According to The Guardian’s review of the book, Clinton also described his frustration during a 2018 NBC News interview when pressed on whether he had apologized to Lewinsky directly. 

“I said, ‘No, I felt terrible then.’ ‘Did you ever apologize to her?’ I said that I had apologized to her and everybody else I wronged,” Clinton wrote.  

“I was caught off guard by what came next,” he added, “‘But you didn’t apologize to her, at least according to folks that we’ve talked to.’ I fought to contain my frustration as I replied that while I’d never talked to her directly, I did say publicly on more than [one] occasion I was sorry.” 

Pollster Behind False Kamala Iowa Prediction Retires in Disgrace

Luis Cornelio
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Pollster Behind False Kamala Iowa Prediction Retires in Disgrace

(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) J. Ann Selzer, the infamous pollster who inaccurately predicted Kamala Harris would win Iowa, is calling it quits. 

Selzer announced her retirement in a guest column for the Des Moines Register on Sunday, just two weeks after her ridiculed poll claimed that Harris led then-candidate Donald Trump by a 47-44 margin. 

The Register poll provided Democrats a lifeline in the final days of the 2024 election, even as a national Trump victory seemed all but inevitable. However, the poll failed to reflect the reality, as Trump carried Iowa by more than 13 percentage points.  

Selzer claimed she had previously informed the Register that she would not renew her contract as she sought “other ventures and opportunities”

Selzer continued, “Would I have liked to make this announcement after a final poll aligned with Election Day results? Of course. It’s ironic that it’s just the opposite. ”

Selzer also addressed critics, claiming that “integrity means a lot to me.” She added, “To those who have questioned it, there are likely no words to dissuade.” 

Trump, one of Selzer’s most vocal critics, called for an investigation into the infamous poll on Truth Social, accusing her of causing “great distrust and uncertainty at a very critical time.” 

The now-president-elect said, “She knew exactly what she was doing.”

He continued, “Thank you to the GREAT PEOPLE OF IOWA for giving me such a record breaking vote, despite possible ELECTION FRAUD by Ann Selzer and the now discredited ‘newspaper’ for which she works.” 

Illegal Immigrants Froze to Death Trying to Cross the Northern Border

Editor 5
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Illegal Immigrants Froze to Death Trying to Cross the Northern Border

(Headline USA) On the last night of their lives illegal immigrants from India tried to slip across a near-empty stretch of the Canadian border.

Wind chills reached minus 36 Fahrenheit that night as the family from India set out on foot to meet a waiting van.

They walked amid vast farm fields and bulky snowdrifts, navigating in the black of an almost-moonless night.

The driver, waiting in northern Minnesota, messaged his boss: “Make sure everyone is dressed for the blizzard conditions, please.”

Coordinating things in Canada, federal prosecutors say, was Harshkumar Patel, an experienced smuggler nicknamed “Dirty Harry.” On the U.S. side was Steve Shand, the driver recently recruited by Patel at a casino near their Florida homes, prosecutors say.

The two men, whose trial is scheduled to start Monday, are accused of being part of a sophisticated human smuggling operation feeding a fast-growing population of Indians living illegally in the U.S. Both have pleaded not guilty.

Over the five weeks the two worked together, documents filed by prosecutors allege they spoke often about the bitter cold as they smuggled five groups of Indians over that quiet stretch of border.

“

On the last night of their lives illegal immigrants from India tried to slip across a near-empty stretch of the Canadian border.

Wind chills reached minus 36 Fahrenheit that night as the family from India set out on foot to meet a waiting van.

They walked amid vast farm fields and bulky snowdrifts, navigating in the black of an almost-moonless night.

The driver, waiting in northern Minnesota, messaged his boss: “Make sure everyone is dressed for the blizzard conditions, please.”

Coordinating things in Canada, federal prosecutors say, was Harshkumar Patel, an experienced smuggler nicknamed “Dirty Harry.” On the U.S. side was Steve Shand, the driver recently recruited by Patel at a casino near their Florida homes, prosecutors say.

The two men, whose trial is scheduled to start Monday, are accused of being part of a sophisticated human smuggling operation feeding a fast-growing population of Indians living illegally in the U.S. Both have pleaded not guilty.

Over the five weeks the two worked together, documents filed by prosecutors allege they spoke often about the bitter cold as they smuggled five groups of Indians over that quiet stretch of border.

“16 degrees cold as hell,” Shand messaged during an earlier trip. “They going to be alive when they get here?”

On the last trip, on Jan. 19, 2022, Shand was to pick up 11 more Indian illegal immigrants. Only seven survived.

Canadian authorities found the illegals that morning, dead from the cold.

,” Shand messaged during an earlier trip. “They going to be alive when they get here?”

On the last trip, on Jan. 19, 2022, Shand was to pick up 11 more Indian illegal immigrants. Only seven survived.

Canadian authorities found the illegals that morning, dead from the cold.

Adapted from reporting by the Associated Press

President Trump Attended a UFC Fight After Electoral Victory

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President Trump Attended a UFC Fight After Electoral Victory

(Headline USA) President Donald Trump walked out to a roaring standing ovation just ahead of the start of the UFC pay-per-view card at Madison Square Garden on Saturday night, combining two things close to his heart: fierce battles inside the octagon and New York City.

Trump was accompanied by UFC President Dana White and the pair headed to their cageside seats to Kid Rock‘s “American Bad Ass.”

UFC aired a video package of Trump’s road to reclaiming the White House, calling it, “The great comeback in American History,” while fans stood and applauded. Trump, wearing a suit and red tie, pumped his fist toward the crowd when the video ended.

The president-elect also had his clenched fists pumping back and forth and briefly danced to the Village People’s “YMCA” just outside the cage. He later again thrust his fist skyward as “Takin’ Care of Business” played.

Elon Musk, picked by Trump to lead a new Department of Government Efficiency, and House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., joined the president-elect and White at the Garden, as did Robert Kennedy Jr., Trump’s choice to lead the Department of Health and Human Services in his incoming administration.

Trump was flanked on his front-row seat by White on his right and Musk on his left and politely applauded the fight winners. Besieged by photographers and nearby fans, Trump stood to pose for pictures with White, Musk and other associates in breaks between fights. Trump even had a brief conversation with country singer Jelly Roll after the pair shook hands.

UFC fans wore red Trump hats and some waved flags emblazoned with his image during breaks in the action.

Trump shook hands with the UFC broadcast team that included Joe Rogan. Rogan hosted Trump on his podcast for hours in the final stages of the campaign ahead of his election win last week. The announcers for the pay-per-view audience later declared, “Festive doesn’t even begin to describe” the scene before later proclaiming, “47’s in the building. Let’s go.”

The MSG crowd chanted “USA! USA!” right before the main card was about to start and then again throughout the action. After a year delay, Stipe Miocic is getting his shot at a third heavyweight championship reign when he battles current champion Jon Jones in the main event at UFC 309.

Trump is a longtime UFC enthusiast and frequent attendee of major fights. He made promoting masculinity a signature of his campaign.

“This is what happens when the machine comes after you,” White said then. “What you’ve seen over the last several years, this is what it looks like: couldn’t stop him. He keeps going forward. He doesn’t quit.”

Adapted from reporting by the Associated Press

Texas Again Breaks Its Own Jobs Records

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Texas Again Breaks Its Own Jobs Records

(Bethany Blankley, The Center Square) Texas continues to break jobs records every month and October was no different.

Texas again grew jobs at a faster annual rate than the national job growth rate over the year in October. It also set a new record high for the greatest number employed in the civilian labor force and a new record high for total Texans working, including the self-employed, according to new data from the Texas Workforce Commission.

Over the year, from October 2023 to October 2024, Texas added 274,600 jobs. Its annual nonfarm growth rate was 2%, outpacing the national growth rate by 0.6%.

In October, Texas reached a new record high recording the largest labor force in state history of 15,497,100, after adding 47,300 workers over the month. This marks the 10th consecutive month of growth for Texas’ civilian labor force, the TWC said. Over the year, Texas’ civilian labor force added 360,800 workers, according to TWC data.

Texas also reached a new high for Texans working, including the self-employed, of 14,858,700.

“Texas grows jobs at a faster annual rate than the U.S. because Texas moves at the speed of business,” Gov. Greg Abbott said. “Meeting the changing needs of Texas entrepreneurs and businesses is paramount to ensure ongoing job growth across industries. That is why the state of Texas invests in workforce development and career training to prepare our young and growing labor force for high-demand, good-paying jobs. With more than four million Texans participating every year in those skills training programs and Texas removing regulatory roadblocks that burden small businesses and job growth, we will build a bigger, better Texas for all.”

The Financial Activities industry reported the largest over-the-month increase in October, adding 6,200 jobs. It grew by 3.1% over the year, outperforming the national growth rate by 2.8%. Not far behind was the Leisure and Hospitality industry, which added 4,900 jobs over the month, followed by Information, adding 1,900 jobs and Manufacturing industry adding 1,900 jobs.

Texas’ seasonally adjusted total nonfarm employment dropped slightly to 14,276,300 after reporting 10,600 fewer jobs over the month, according to the data.

Since Gov. Abbott’s been in office, Texas has added more than 2.4 million jobs.

The not seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in Texas was 4.1%, higher than the national rate of 3.9%.

Of Texas’ Metropolitan Statistical Area not seasonally adjusted unemployment rates, Beaumont-Port Arthur reported the highest of 5.8%, followed by McAllen-Edinburg-Mission’s 5.5%, and Brownsville-Harlingen’s 5.1%.

Midland reported the lowest of 2.8%, followed by Amarillo’s 3.1%, and College Station-Bryan’s 3.1%.

“Texas has experienced remarkable workforce growth, with over 360,000 people joining the civilian labor force in the past year,” TWC Commissioner Representing Labor Alberto Treviño III said. “TWC offers a wide variety of training programs and resources to help Texans gain new skills and achieve their career goals in our robust Texas economy.”

The TWC offers free in-person and online learning programs and resources through local Workforce Solutions offices, which can be found here.

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