Today, the United Kingdom (under Starmer’s Labour Party) is often described by conservatives as “prison island,” where free-speech crackdowns, unchecked mass immigration, economic stagnation, and political turmoil create a crushing dystopia.

Former U.K. Prime Minister Liz Truss tells Glenn Beck that Margaret Thatcher — the conservative prime minister who held office from 1979 to 1990 and was one of the most influential figures in modern British history — would be “horrified” by what the U.K. has become.

“We are now on the verge of a debt crisis. If you remember, she was brought in to solve the debt crisis in the ’70s, and we’re now back to where we were in 1979 when she got into office,” says Truss.

“But she’d also be horrified by what’s happened on immigration, by the way that we have given all these powers on human rights to these unelected international bodies,” she adds.

Glenn wonders who will rise up to defeat the communist takeover of the U.K. “We got Trump. … Who is on the horizon that you see … in Europe who has the skill to be able to stand the heat?” he asks.

Truss says it’s difficult to say because the environment Thatcher was in is completely different than the environment conservative politicians are in today.

“In Britain, there’s obviously Kemi Badenoch, there’s Nigel Farage. Are they tough enough to take on what is an even deeper state than Mrs. Thatcher faced?” she asks, noting that Thatcher “did not face the unaccountable Bank of England” or the “fake Supreme Court” created by former PM Tony Blair.

“[Thatcher] didn’t face all this. So it’s even worse now,” says Truss, “and the bureaucrats have become radicalized. They’re transgender activists, they’re environmental activists. So dealing with that is huge.”

What the U.K. needs, she says, is an “anti-system leader” like Donald Trump to recapture the nation from “the elites who’ve been running [it] into the ground.”

But even a strong leader won’t be enough to reverse course.

“You also need a movement of people,” says Truss, noting that Britain hasn’t experienced the widespread anti-socialist movement the United States has seen, which has allowed the Labour Party to push a radical agenda.

“As soon as Labour got in, it’s like ‘let’s just close the door on all that. We’ve got the money now, we can go back to being socialist. In fact, we can introduce more and more progressive ideology into our state,’ and that’s what’s happened,” she explains.

To hear more, watch the video above.

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​Bank of england, Communist takeover, Debt crisis, Deep state, Economic stagnation, Free speech crackdowns, Glenn beck, Keir starmer, Labour party, Liz truss, Margaret thatcher, Mass immigration, Nigel farage, Political turmoil, Prison island, Radical agenda, Starmers labour party, United kingdom, The glenn beck program 

Mitch McConnell’s latest procedural misstep is giving fresh ammunition to the term-limits movement. Last week during a committee hearing at which Secretary of War Pete Hegseth testified, the 84-year-old Kentucky senator attempted to wrap things up early by thanking attendees and ending the session.

A staffer had to interrupt him to note that several senators still had questions.

The clip has gone viral and sparked more criticism of McConnell’s fitness and acuity.

On a recent episode of “Pat Gray Unleashed,” Pat Gray reacted to the clip.

– YouTube

“I just filled up my Depends,” Pat mocks, imitating McConnell’s raspy Southern drawl.

Co-host Keith Malinak saw the incident as evidence that McConnell is declining cognitively as well as physically.

“His brain was a little scattered,” he says, noting how McConnell’s reasoning for ending the meeting early jumped illogically from letting Senator Murkowski take over to claiming Hegseth had to catch a flight with the president to China.

“I don’t know if McConnell knew what the hell he was trying to say,” he says.

“He didn’t. He doesn’t,” says Pat.

Keith remarks that the staffer who reminded McConnell that several senators still had questions is the one who’s really in charge. “That kid is the senator,” he quips.

“Yes, that’s right,” says Pat. “That’s what happens when you got 85-, 90-, 95-, 100-year-old representatives who are running this country.”

He admits that the nation is in a pickle when it comes to replacing someone like Mitch McConnell because the alternative isn’t much better.

“You can have the Democrat communist … or you can put up with the super-old ancient mariner of a senator,” Pat says, noting that he would “feel really badly for [McConnell] right now if he wasn’t a U.S. senator in high positions running committees and hearings.”

“Go home and enjoy the remaining years that you have,” he pleads.

To hear more, watch the episode above.

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To enjoy more of Pat’s biting analysis and signature wit as he restores common sense to a senseless world, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.

​Mitch mcconnell, Blaze media, Blazetv, John kennedy, Keith malinak, Pat gray, Pat gray unleashed, Pete hegseths nomination, Sen murkowski, Tammy baldwin, Term limits, Termlimits movement, Viral clip 

U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro said the FBI is now involved in the investigation to find the culprits in a teen takeover brawl over the weekend at a Washington, D.C., Chipotle restaurant — and Pirro blasted the brawlers’ parents, WJLA-TV reported.

“This kind of thing is destroying the quality of life in the District,” Pirro said at a news conference Monday, the station reported. “Residents are finding it extremely difficult to enjoy public parks and spaces, as well as waterfront areas. The residents are starting to feel like these out-of-control teens are taking away their happiness and their quiet enjoyment.”

‘It was like an ambush. They looked like ninjas, dressed in black, with ski masks, and they just piled into the main eatery.’

What’s more, Saturday night’s teen takeover brawl occurred just one day after Pirro promised a crackdown on juvenile crime in the District of Columbia by holding parents responsible.

“These teens, they need to find something productive to do,” Pirro said, according to WJLA. “Parents, that’s your job.”

The Metropolitan Police Department said the incident began as a shouting match between two groups of youths and then escalated into a brawl, the station reported.

“It was not just violence occurring between individuals. It was simply destruction of property,” Pirro said, according to WJLA. “It was a takeover of a restaurant by individuals who felt like they could get away with it. Well, they’re not going to get away with it.”

Pirro said she intends to “aggressively” prosecute the teens involved as well as their parents, the station noted.

“If you know where your teen is and what they are doing and allow them to continue their conduct and continue to allow them to flourish, we’re going to prosecute you,” Pirro stated, WJLA reported.

RELATED: ‘Teen chaos in DC’: Brawl with chairs used as weapons erupts in Chipotle after Pirro’s warning to parents of thugs

However, Pirro also said she needs D.C. Public Schools to help by giving her access to truancy records, the station noted.

She also said the Metropolitan Police Department and the Office of the Attorney General of D.C. are in place to assist with the prosecution of parents, WJLA reported.

In addition, Pirro implored the D.C. Council to reinstate a discretionary curfew so police can track and stop teen takeovers before they happen, the station said.

“We are in the most important city in the nation,” Pirro added, according to WJLA. “This is the nation’s capital. This is where the nation’s 250 anniversary will take place on July. This is where we have to make people proud of that city on the hill, and unless we come together and do this together, it will not happen.”

The station said video recorded inside the Chipotle during the brawl shows a man in a red shirt trying to protect his children. WJLA said it spoke to that man — Rafael Jauregui — on Monday, and he shared that he took his seven children to the Nationals-Orioles baseball game Saturday — and then to dinner at Chipotle.

Jauregui’s five youngest kids — who range in age from 4 to 14 years old — were with him inside Chipotle when a brawl erupted, the station said.

“At that point, I tell the children, ‘Get with me, get up, let’s start backing up,'” the dad told WJLA. “And then it was like an ambush. They looked like ninjas, dressed in black, with ski masks, and they just piled into the main eatery.”

More from the station:

Jauregui said he and the kids were backed into a corner. As an Air Force veteran, he said his military training kicked in, and he looked to see if any of the teens were armed with guns or knives, but didn’t see any. Instead they lifted high chairs and other chairs and smashed them over each other while fighting. Rafael says he decided to protect the space around his kids, and not to allow any of the fighting teens to get too close.

He said he’s proud that his two sons who were with him shielded their three younger sisters. But at the same time, he says his kids never should have had to witness what happened.

“My son said on the way home, ‘Papa, I can’t unsee that,'” Jauregui recounted to WJLA. “Those individuals have now directly impacted my security, my life. My children are now talking about [how they never] want to go to Chipotle again. Or at least not that one.”

RELATED: Democratic mayor declares public emergency and reinstitutes juvenile curfew in DC

Jauregui added to the station that he supports Pirro’s plan to crack down and charge parents in some cases.

“[I’m] in line with what the U.S. Attorney is trying to do, saying, ‘Hey, listen, this is not just teenagers messing around, this is next level.’ Where a dad can’t bring … kids to a Nats’ game and grab a bite after,” he noted to WJLA.

Laurie Schalow, Chipotle’s chief corporate affairs officer, told the station in a statement that “the health and safety of our employees and our guests is our highest priority. We have zero tolerance for guests who behave recklessly in our restaurants and put others at risk. No team members or guests were physically injured, and we are actively supporting local law enforcement in their investigation of the incident.”

Pirro said during a news conference on Friday that “parental involvement has been a noted gap in any discussion [about teen takeovers]. That ends today,” WJLA said.

Pirro told the station her office immediately would begin “aggressively prosecuting parents,” and that she would be going after them specifically for “contributing to the delinquency of a minor,” which she said is covered by D.C.’s curfew law.

“This statute makes it unlawful for an adult to enable, facilitate, or permit a minor to engage in delinquent acts,” Pirro noted to WJLA. “The penalty is up to six months imprisonment.”

She also said parents could face fines and mandatory classes in addition to jail time, the station said. Pirro also said parents could be charged even if their children involved in a takeover aren’t prosecuted, WJLA reported.

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​Dc chipotle restaurant, Fbi investigation, Juvenile crime, Metropolitan police department, Prosecution of parents, Quality of life, Teen takeovers, Us attorney jeanine pirro, Washington dc, Crime 

Vice President JD Vance revealed Tuesday that Democrat Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota is currently under investigation by the Department of Justice.

Omar has faced several accusations related to a previous marriage and her possible role in the Feeding Our Future scam, as well as her financial disclosures about investments that grew exponentially once she got into office.

‘You read the things about Ilhan Omar and about who she married and whether she didn’t marry this person or that person.’

On Tuesday, Vance appeared to refer to allegations that Omar committed fraud involving her brother. The vice president is leading the Task Force to Eliminate Fraud for the Trump administration.

“You previously mentioned that Ilhan Omar seemed to have committed immigration fraud. Do you anticipate an indictment against her? An indictment related to that situation,” asked a reporter.

“So I don’t want to prejudge an investigation. I mean you read the things about Ilhan Omar and about who she married and whether she didn’t marry this person or that person,” Vance responded.

“It certainly seems like something fishy is there, but everybody’s entitled to equal justice under the laws, so we’re going to investigate it,” he added. “We’re gonna take a look at it. If we think that there’s a crime, we’re gonna prosecute that crime. And that’s something the Department of Justice is looking at right now.”

Vance was far more certain about the congresswoman’s alleged fraud when he spoke on a podcast in March.

“Ilhan Omar definitely committed immigration fraud against the United States of America,” Vance said at the time. “She has been at the center of a lot of the worst fraudsters at the center of the Somali community.”

Omar responded to that claim soon afterward.

“This is rich coming from someone who literally said they were willing to ‘create stories’ to redirect the media,” read a statement from Omar to Fox News.

She was referring to an admission by Vance that he had “created stories” in order to get media coverage to help advance his political agenda.

RELATED: Omar claims Trump wants to sleep with his daughter and calls MAGA ‘stupid’ in crazed rant

“This is a ridiculous lie and desperate attempt to distract from the pedophile protection party’s unpopular war of choice, increasing gas prices, and rapidly dropping polling numbers,” she added.

Omar has also been accused of allegedly financially benefiting from her position in Congress after she reported a massive increase in the valuation of her assets in a financial disclosure. Months later, she filed a correction that indicated an error by tens of millions of dollars — spurring on even more suspicion.

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​Jd vance fraud, Ilhan omar marriage scandal, Ilhan omar fraud, Marriage immigration fraud, Politics 

President Donald Trump claims that the Democratic governor of Maryland has been caught in a massive scheme to rig the election, but the state’s top election official called the claims “misinformation.”

About 500,000 mail-in ballots were sent out to voters of the wrong party, according to Maryland officials, but they cannot determine who received them so they’re sending out entirely new ballots.

‘This was done by the Corrupt Governor of the State, Wes Moore. He allowed this to happen in order to make sure that Democrats win.’

Officials blame a printer error, but the president called for an investigation into Gov. Wes Moore (D) because of the incident.

“In Maryland, they sent out 500,000 Illegal Mail In Ballots, and they got caught!” the president wrote on Truth Social.

“So now, they’re going to send out 500,000 more Mail In Ballots, but nobody knows what’s happening with the first 500,000 they sent. In addition, many of these Ballots went to Democrats, so any Republican running in Maryland doesn’t have a chance!”

The State Board of Elections said in a statement Monday that there was no chance of fraud because of precautions already in place.

“There is no risk of duplicate voting as a result of this issue,” the statement read. “Election officials have safeguards in place to ensure that only one ballot can be accepted per voter. Every return envelope/oath has a unique identifier to ensure that a voter can only vote one ballot. SBE has implemented additional safeguards to ensure only the correct ballot is counted for each voter.”

The president called on the Justice Dept. to immediately investigate the alleged voter fraud.

Jared DeMarinis, Maryland’s top election official, denied the president’s accusations in a post on social media.

“It bears repeating that no fake OR illegal mail-in ballots were distributed,” he wrote. “The wording in President Trump’s continued posts about Maryland’s elections creates an environment of misinformation on a voting right. Mail-in voting is not a partisan issue. Mail-in voting is legal.”

Officials said the printing company would pay for the new ballots.

Trump claimed the voter fraud had been going on for years in Maryland.

“This was done by the Corrupt Governor of the State, Wes Moore. He allowed this to happen in order to make sure that Democrats win. It never made sense to me that Maryland was considered an automatic Democrat State, but now I see why. I’m sure this has gone on for years.”

RELATED: Maryland prosecutor EXPOSES what is causing the growing blue-state exodus

The governor’s spokesman Ammar Moussa called the president’s claims “false and irresponsible” in a statement to NBC News.

“Marylanders should look to the State Board of Elections for accurate information — not social media misinformation designed to undermine confidence in our elections,” he added.

Trump lost Maryland in the 2024 presidential election to Kamala Harris by 28.7% of the votes, or about 900,000. In 2020, he lost Maryland to then-candidate Joe Biden by 33.4% of the votes, or more than a million votes.

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​Maryland voter fraud, Maryland gov wes moore, 2024 election fraud, Trump voter fraud, Politics 

A May 2026 AtlasIntel national poll found that Secretary of State Marco Rubio is now leading the 2028 Republican field with 45% support, ahead of Vice President JD Vance (30%), who was leading the same poll by 24 points in December 2025.

On a recent episode of the “Steve Deace Show,” Deace and his panel of co-hosts Todd Erzen and Aaron MacIntyre along with Rob Eno, Blaze News managing editor, addressed the legitimacy of the “Rubio surge” and what it means for the MAGA movement.

“Are we buying the Rubio surge?” Deace asks the group.

Erzen believes the Vance vs. Rubio conversation is really just an attempt to “make people care” again.

“They’re clearly both decent men, capable men. But we’ve got a hundred other things that should be priorities other than turning this into sports radio, but this is what the entire movement does because it’s not good at really doing anything else,” he sighs.

Eno speculates that Rubio’s visibility is a likely contributor to the polling numbers.

“Do I think that Rubio has surged a little bit because he’s gotten the spotlight? Probably. … Do I think that it matters right now before the midterms? Probably not,” he says.

AtlasIntel’s new polling results, he argues, are likely influenced by the age and media consumption of the voters.

Pointing to a Quantus poll that exposed a massive age split among GOP primary voters in the Thomas Massie race, Eno says there’s an “insane” difference between “old Boomers that watch Fox News and the younger, Vance-type, America First, MAGA people.”

Given Rubio’s high polling numbers, he believes that older Republicans likely dominated the survey population. But as they “age out,” we might see Vance’s number swell, as younger audiences begin to make up a larger share of the Republican primary electorate.

MacIntyre expresses skepticism about Rubio’s 15-point lead over Vance.

“I don’t think that Marco Rubio is 15 points ahead at this point. I think it’s closer than maybe a lot of people who think that Vance is a shoo-in would like to admit,” he says.

Deace believes that the AtlasIntel poll is less about genuine Rubio vs. Vance support and more about “dissatisfaction with the direction of the Trump administration as a whole.”

He explains that with Trump pouring almost all his “political capital” into foreign policy (Rubio’s domain as secretary of state), Rubio benefits from a clear, high-visibility message that makes him look strong, while Vance is left handling the tougher, less popular domestic issues like cutting waste and fraud. The poll, therefore, is less about the two individual men and more about where the administration is focusing its energy.

Deace reiterates Eno’s point about the deep divide among the conservative base regarding what it means to be “America First.”

“We’re determining what is the base right now,” says Deace.

“This time last year, we were coming on the tail end of Trump’s offensive right out of the inauguration gate. We were all very united. There was an agenda. Right now, nobody knows what the agenda is,” he continues.

But a year and a half into Trump’s second term, the conservative base is confused and deeply divided over domestic and foreign priorities.

“We’re spending way more political capital on Iran and the Middle East than we were willing to spend to clean up Minneapolis, our own borders, mass deportations, or anything else, and so this has created a mass schism right down the middle,” says Deace.

“All I think this [poll] is right now is a snapshot that shows this space is very divided overall on what our priorities ought to be.”

To hear more, watch the episode above.

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​2028 election, Blaze media, Blazetv, Divided maga, Jd vance, Maga movement, Marco rubio, Polling numbers, Republican primary electorate, Rob eno, Steve deace, Trump administration, Steve deace show 

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) and incumbent Sen. John Cornyn (R) are gearing up for a primary runoff later this month, and President Donald Trump has finally given his endorsement in the race.

The president wrote in a Truth Social post on Tuesday that Paxton would push many of Trump’s priorities in the Senate, including ending the filibuster rule and passing the SAVE Act for voting integrity.

‘Ken Paxton has my Complete and Total Endorsement to be the next United States Senator from the Great State of Texas.’

“Ken is a true MAGA Warrior who has ALWAYS delivered for Texas, and will continue to do so in the United States Senate,” wrote the president.

“Ken Paxton has gone through a lot, in many cases, very unfairly, but he is a Fighter, and knows how to WIN. Our Country needs Fighters, and also Loyalty to the Cause of Greatness,” he added.

The endorsement is a big blow to Cornyn’s chances and will test the control the president has over the Republican Party. Trump went on to say that Cornyn was a “good man” but accused him of not being supportive enough of the president’s campaign.

The winner of the runoff election on May 26 will face 37-year-old Democrat candidate James Talarico in November. Talarico defeated Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas) in the Democrat primary.

Paxton responded in a post on social media.

“I am incredibly honored to have President Trump’s COMPLETE AND TOTAL ENDORSEMENT,” he wrote on social media. “No one has ever fought harder for the American people than President Trump, and I look forward to championing his America First agenda in the Senate! Texas, get out and VOTE!”

RELATED: Texas lt. governor sounds the alarm about GOP’s chances in his state in midterm elections

“LET’S GOOOOOOOO TEXAS!” responded BlazeTV host Sara Gonzales.

“WE HAVE ALREADY MADE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN, BUT NOW, WE WANT TO MAKE OUR NATION BETTER THAN EVER BEFORE. Therefore, Ken Paxton has my Complete and Total Endorsement to be the next United States Senator from the Great State of Texas,” the president concluded.

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​Us senate texas race, James talarico, Ken paxton, Midterm elections, John cornyn, Sara gonzales, Endorsement, Donald trump, Politics 

Actor Javier Bardem is bringing “toxic masculinity” back.

At the Cannes Film Festival Sunday, the Oscar winner revived the oh-so-2021 talking point as way to explain current geopolitical tensions.

‘I’m going to bomb the s**t out of you.’

Bardem was at the fest to promote his new Spanish-language flick, “The Beloved,” in which he plays an aging film director dealing with his fractured relationship with his daughter.

No country for feminists

The Spanish star, who rocketed to international fame after playing sociopathic killer Anton Chigurh in 2007’s “No Country for Old Men,” said he had no problem bringing his flawed character to life, thanks to the “toxic masculinity” instilled by his “bad education” in his ultra-macho home country.

I’m 57 years old, coming from a very machista [machismo] country called Spain, where there is an average of two women killed monthly by their ex-husbands or ex-boyfriends, which is horrible. Just that amount of women being murdered, it’s unbelievable.

Bardem went on to blame male toxicity for current global tensions involving Israel, Russia, and the United States.

“That problem also goes to Mr. Trump and Mr. Putin and Mr. Netanyahu,” he continued, launching into a foul tirade that was anything but gentlemanly.

“The big-balls man saying my d**k, my c**k is bigger than yours, and I’m going to bomb the s**t out of you is a f**king male toxic behavior that is creating thousands of [dead] people. So yeah, we have to talk about it,” he urged.

RELATED: Our local Catholic school sent everyone home for 2 days. You’ll never guess why.

–

Facts of fury

Bardem further argued that his country “kind of normalized” male entitlement to the point that everyone takes it for granted. “Are we f**king nuts?” he asked rhetorically.

“We are killing women because some men think they own them. They possess them,” he said. The Spaniard then explained that “it’s good” that his movie features three women.

Bardem later moved his discussion to Gaza and Palestine, where he said a “genocide has been committed and is still being committed.”

“Genocide is a fact,” he stated, noting that if you disagree with him you are “pro-genocide.”

“You can try to justify it, explain it, that is a fact. … If you justify it with your silence or with your support, you are pro-genocide. Those are facts for me.”

RELATED: Pete Hegseth SAVES America’s military from woke nonsense

Chris J Ratcliffe/Getty Images

Power play

The “Skyfall” villain thanked the media for giving him the opportunity to speak his mind, which he described as the only “power” that he has.

“My statement is this one … the power that you all gave me.”

Bardem encouraged others to speak out about their beliefs in the hope that it would create “mobilization.”

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​Align, Cannes, Cannes film festival, Film festival, France, Oscar winner, Trump, Global conflict, Woke, Toxic masculinity, Spain, Entertainment 

The Democratic Party’s best chance to unseat longtime Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) is in the midst of yet another scandal tied to his old social media posts.

Graham Platner, the Marine veteran who is all but guaranteed to win the Democrat Senate primary in Maine on June 9 now that Gov. Janet Mills has bowed out, made other posts on Reddit that have raised eyebrows.

Platner ‘is someone whose instincts appear crude, reckless, and deeply unserious.’

Under the now-deleted username “P-Hustle” — which, according to Fox News, he has previously acknowledged as his — Platner strangely sexualized porta-john visits and graffiti. These posts are not unearthed, offhand comments from decades ago. Some are as recent as March 2021, when Platner was 36 years old.

In a thread entitled “GWOT D*ck Art,” Platner recalled a “Hot Rod C*ck” he saw graffitied on the inside of a portable restroom while he was in Manas, an Afghanistan War-era U.S. military transit hub in Kyrgyzstan.

“It was beautiful. Engorged and veiny, it rode towards its penetrative glory upon two smoking hot rod wheels, smoke and fire enshrouding its tumescence, winged like Nike as it pushed ever forward towards its conquests,” Platner wrote on March 11, 2021, according to the archives provided by the Maine Monitor.

“I sat there in sheer awe, my feelings of happiness to be going home washed aside by the soul filling joy to be allowed to witness such glory.”

Four years earlier almost to the day, in a thread in which a military vet discusses “aromatherapy,” Platner confessed to regularly masturbating in a porta-john on account of the “blue water smell” there. “I still have to jerk off every time I sit in a portas**tter….that blue water smell conditioned me,” he posted on March 8, 2017.

RELATED: Susan Collins reveals health condition ahead of likely matchup against Democrat enmeshed in Nazi scandal

Kent NISHIMURA/AFP/Getty Images

Platner has already spent months playing defense about other bizarre posts from the “P-Hustle” Reddit account. In September 2020, Platner wrote that white people “actually are” as racist and stupid “as Trump Thinks.”

In September 2012, Platner characterized himself as “crudely atheist” and joked that Jesus was a “zombie” and the Virgin Mary a “skank.”

For years, Platner also apparently had tattooed on his chest an image that highly resembled a Nazi SS guard “totenkopf” skull. He denied being a “secret Nazi” and recently had the tattoo covered over.

GOP strategist Mehek Cooke noted that these latest revelations from the “P-Hustle” account demonstrate that Platner has left a “years-long trail of vulgar, sexually degrading, and slur-filled commentary.”

“Platner is not a truth-teller,” Cooke said, according to Fox News. “He is someone whose instincts appear crude, reckless, and deeply unserious.”

Cooke also noted: “If they were really ‘jokes,’ why delete the posts? That sounds less like humor and more like a CYA cleanup operation.”

Graham’s campaign did not respond to a request for comment from Blaze News.

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​Senate, Graham platner, Susan collins, Maine, Democrat, Democratic party, Politics 

Remember around 2018 or so, when reviews on Rotten Tomatoes suddenly became suspicious?

Like movies that hit all the left-wing, DEI talking points would get 98% Fresh ratings from the critics, but then when regular people started weighing in, the audience meter would drop precipitously?

Paul Dano’s Baranov is fascinating. He’s the opposite of a typical Russian movie character. He’s sensitive, intelligent, creative, and socially aristocratic.

Or when a movie like “Sound of Freedom” came out and all the critics panned it because it was produced by a non-Hollywood Christian studio. But then, everyone who saw it loved it?

Generally, I still consult Rotten Tomatoes. But in any situation where a film can be seen as “political” or might touch on a controversial subject, I become skeptical.

Such was the case with “The Wizard of the Kremlin.” It was already getting roasted months before its release. Apparently, our brave American critics wanted to virtue signal their personal animosity toward Putin.

Because of this, I became interested in the film. If the critics hate it, it’s probably good.

RELATED: MacIntyre: The real reason journalists hate ‘Sound of Freedom’

Getty Images

Vive le cinéma!

Another aspect of the film I was excited about: It was made by French filmmaker Olivier Assayas. Not that the French are so independent-minded, but Hollywood filmmakers are literally incapable of addressing international politics above a sixth-grade level.

The French though. They’ve been through some stuff. They’re not afraid to talk about international affairs in a serious, adult manner.

Another thing that recommended the movie: the casting of Jude Law as Putin and Paul Dano as Baranov, his close personal adviser. (Baranov is a fictional character, almost everyone else is real.)

When I heard this, I thought: “Oh my goodness, this movie is going to be brilliant.”

Another good sign: The film was adapted from an acclaimed French novel by the same name. So the story was already established. The film just had to follow it.

Story of my life

The movie begins in the present, with an American journalist traveling to Russia to interview Baranov (Paul Dano) about his former role in the Putin administration.

Through this interview, Baranov tells the story of his life, which begins in the ’80s and moves through the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the emergence of Putin.

The film’s portrayal of life at the end of the Soviet Union was super interesting, in part because we rarely see this in films.

The avant-garde theater scene in Moscow in the late 1980s? Could you even picture that? I couldn’t. Until I saw it.

All the Russian interiors were super interesting. And the clothes. And the nightclubs. The supporting actors all looked very Russian. The whole thing was fun to look at. This was the end of the dowdy Soviet Union and the beginning of the reign of the gangster oligarchs.

No rush

It took 40 minutes for Putin to appear. This built suspense. You’re sitting there enjoying Paul Dano as Baranov, and then you remember Jude Law is still to come. Jude Law as Putin!

Meanwhile, Paul Dano’s Baranov is already fascinating. He’s the opposite of a typical Russian movie character. He’s sensitive, intelligent, creative, and socially aristocratic (his father and grandfather were high-level Communist Party members).

He speaks in a soft, unhurried voice. But with his big, wide, puffy face, he still looks totally Russian!

The whole “you’re in Russia” conceit was great. I don’t know if this was actually filmed in Russia, but it sure felt like Russia. (I noticed in the credits there were a few mentions of Latvia. So maybe they shot some of it there.)

Putin on the Ritz

So finally, 40 minutes in, we get our first look at Putin. In the beginning, it’s Baranov and his boss (they both work for Russian TV) who are recruiting the reluctant KGB agent.

They think Russia needs a new style of leader, someone young and energetic. They’ll help him. They’ll guide him. They’ll make sure he wins.

But Putin isn’t receptive. He’s happy where he is.

But once he gets a sniff of power, Putin rises quickly. Only Baranov is able to remain in his good graces, due to his low-key, soft-spoken manner.

Jude Law as Putin was hilarious. I laughed to myself when he first appeared. Not that it was intentionally funny. It was just a relief, and a little bit shocking, to finally see him.

It was actually a very good rendition. It was not politicized. Jude Law did the Putin scowl and facial and body expressions. It was really good. I was kind of blown away.

Smart art

Honestly, I was blown away by the whole movie. It was funny, moving, smart. It did have moments where plot points had to be explained to the audience, forcing characters to make little speeches of exposition. But that always happens when you adapt from a book.

There were also some historical/political plot points that I would maybe question. But this movie is designed for a European/American audience and has to adhere generally to our Western understanding of Putin and his crew. Because of this, Putin is ultimately “the bad guy.”

But he’s definitely a fully fleshed-out character in the film. When they show him hanging out with his old KGB buddies, you get a sense of the man behind the scenes.

“The Wizard of the Kremlin”: It was the most intelligent movie I’ve seen in years. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Highly recommend.

A version of this review originally appeared on the Substack Travels to Distant Cities.

​Jude law, Paul dano, Sound of freedom, French filmmaker oliver assayas, Culture, Movies, The wizard of the kremlin, Vladimir putin, Rotten tomatoes, Review 

Much of the internet is advertising in disguise, according to digital marketers who have worked with some of the biggest names in entertainment.

The information backs the popular Dead Internet theory, which alleges that most of what is seen online is populated mostly by bots, not actual human accounts.

‘Popular opinion is being formed, measured, and manipulated all at once.’

A recent interview with Joe Lim revealed the disturbing truth about the online marketing industry. Lim told Vulture that he ran a company called Floodify, which positioned itself as an agency that spreads content “organically.”

However, Lim told the outlet that 90% of online content is advertising, a lot of which he did himself. At his company’s peak, he controlled 65,000 dummy accounts on social media in order to fake trending content for paid clients.

Lim said he promoted music for all the major record labels and worked with top celebrities, saying that he garnered 40 million views for an artist who only had 100,000 followers.

A Billboard interview from late March revealed much of the same. Co-founders of digital promotion agency Chaotic Good Projects Jesse Coren and Andrew Spelman said they promoted artists’ songs by getting them plugged into fan pages, meme pages, and sports clips as the background music.

Spelman called the tactic “trend simulation” and used the motto “everything on the internet is fake.”

At the same time, Coren added, “I don’t know if this will make anyone feel better, but a lot of what we do on the narrative side is controlling the discourse. … That first comment [users] see becomes their opinion, even when they haven’t heard the whole album.”

RELATED: Trump phones begin shipping as liberal media melts down: ‘You got scammed’

Xinhua/Chen Junqing/Getty Images

New York Magazine noted that a writer named Lane Brown has been monitoring paid campaigns for artists like Justin Bieber. Lane said the idea or the “feeling” that everyone is talking about or seeing the same thing organically is a product of online manipulation.

“On social media, popular opinion is being formed, measured, and manipulated all at once, and every signal the platforms produce — a trending song, a backlash, a talking point, the feeling that ‘everybody’ is suddenly talking about the same thing — can now be fabricated by unseen actors with hidden agendas,” Brown said.

According to Vulture, these campaigns come from the labels or studios and even political operatives; it could be anyone. They hire a company to turn their content into clips by sending it out to a network of editors, who then push the material out to “normal-looking accounts.”

RELATED: Swedish government wants tracking devices on children — and it’s already watching them

Andrey Rudakov/Bloomberg/Getty Images

All of this lends credence to the Dead Internet theory, which has its basis in the fact that internet traffic from bots surpassed human traffic in 2016. That view has been perpetuated well into the modern era, with some now stating that simple bots have been taken over by AI bots, with AI bots reportedly growing by more than 8,000% since 2025.

As for Lim, he shut down his company after he accidentally posted the same video to 7,000 accounts, which he said got them all banned.

Lim said people will soon stop trusting social media — he claims in three to five years — and his plan is to start distributing content through AI, which he believes will find a way to convince humans of what they want.

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​Ai, Ai chatbots, Online bots, Online marketing industry, Social media, Tech, Trend simulation tactic, Ai bots growth, Trends, Online trends, Online advertising, Return 

With so much bad news in the world, it is worth pausing for one encouraging development: Marty Makary finally resigned as commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration last week.

Makary’s tenure at the FDA was marred by internal scandals, forced resignations, dreadful morale, and record staff turnover. More important, he actively sandbagged President Trump’s push to expand clinical trials for rare diseases through the aptly named “right-to-try” framework.

Trump’s next appointee should restore the spirit of right to try and make safe, effective treatments available to children as quickly as possible.

The idea behind right to try is straightforward. Patients with rare conditions, especially those for whom conventional medicine has failed, should have the freedom to pursue experimental treatments that have not yet received full FDA approval. Families fighting the clock have little left to lose. Government should not stand between them and a potentially lifesaving breakthrough.

Makary did.

Members of the MPS community sent more than 10 letters asking Makary for a meeting. They got a form letter in return. Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) later announced an investigation into the FDA’s denials. Makary’s agency responded by claiming approvals were already “at their peak.” The Wall Street Journal took notice of the FDA’s foot-dragging last year, yet the agency kept rejecting relevant rare-disease treatments in early 2026, including RGX-121 and drugs from Biohaven and Saol Therapeutics.

That stonewalling forced families to escalate.

In March, more than 100 mothers and other advocates staged a mock funeral outside FDA offices. Dressed in black and carrying a real coffin, they sought to draw attention to a group of rare metabolic disorders known as mucopolysaccharidoses. These disorders can show up as mild symptoms such as depression or hyperactivity, or as devastating conditions such as heart disease and skeletal abnormalities.

Many MPS disorders still have no approved treatments, even though they can severely diminish children’s quality of life or kill them outright. The FDA’s regulatory process serves a legitimate purpose. But when a bureaucracy grows so rigid, self-protective, and arrogant that it blocks desperately ill children from access to promising therapies, it stops functioning as a safeguard and starts functioning as a death sentence.

Mark Dant of the Ryan Foundation told Newsweek that some of these drugs were denied because of the FDA’s institutional “dislike” of the accelerated-approval pathway. “For decades we waited for science to find our tomorrows,” he said. “Now it has, and bureaucrats within the agency we pay for are keeping those treatments from our children. We know they are there. … We just cannot reach them.”

RELATED: The FDA seems to care more about celebrities than sick Americans

Valerie Plesch/Bloomberg/Getty Images

Makary’s resignation will not undo the damage. But it does create an opening. We may not yet know what the FDA’s next leadership will look like, but Trump’s appointee should restore the spirit of right to try and make safe, effective treatments available to children as quickly as possible.

Across the world, in the nation of Georgia, parents have staged a protest lasting more than 500 consecutive days, maintaining a round-the-clock presence outside the main government building in Tbilisi. They are willing to risk everything to give their children the best chance at life. Americans should not have to camp outside federal offices for 500 days to get their government to listen.

The new FDA leadership must explain denials of right-to-try clinical trials with enough specificity that sponsors and families understand what evidence could change the decision. Patient and caregiver testimony should shape decisions early, not get folded in at the end as a token gesture. And Congress must demand transparency without turning each drug review into a partisan circus.

Children’s lives are not bargaining chips. The FDA exists to serve the public, not to protect its own bureaucracy from embarrassment. If Makary’s departure opens the door to that truth, families battling ultra-rare diseases may finally have reason to hope.

​Bureaucracy, Drug approval, Fda, Marty makary, Mps, President trump, Science, Transparency, Opinion & analysis