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‘Monster’ Ted Cruz Blasted Over False Terror Attack Claim: ‘Truth Means Nothing to MAGA’

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On the day before Thanksgiving an American and his wife reportedly drove their $300,000 Bentley across the Rainbow Bridge that starts in the U.S from Niagara Falls, New York, and ends on the other side in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada.

They didn’t make it to the other side.

Their “speeding car crashed in flames,” Reuters reported Wednesday. The couple died. The New York Times reported the mayor of Niagara Falls, NY, “said the couple had originally been headed to a concert in Canada, and investigators believe it was a Kiss show that was called off after a band member’s illness.”

The Times adds that the FBI on Wednesday, hours after the crash, concluded it was not related to terrorism. The Reuters headline now also says, “terrorism ruled out.”

“Investigators were looking at the possibility that the driver had a medical incident, or there was a malfunction with the vehicle,” the New York Post reports.

READ MORE: Fox News Host’s ‘$90 Turkey’ Claim Mocked as Prices Plunge in ‘Thanksgiving Miracle’

None of that information, which has now been widely reported, exists in a current social media post U.S. Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) wrote on X (formerly Twitter), Wednesday afternoon, after the crash but before facts were known and widely reported. Cruz’s post has been viewed 4.8 million times.

“This confirms our worst fear: the explosion at Rainbow Bridge was a terrorist attack,” Senator Cruz, who sits on the Foreign Relations Committee, falsely claimed Wednesday afternoon. “Both attackers are dead, and one law enforcement officer is injured. I am praying that officer makes a full recovery and is able to spend Thanksgiving surrounded by family and loved ones. Thank you to our law enforcement officers who are remaining vigilant and working to protect Americans traveling for Thanksgiving.”

It was not a terrorist attack, a fact made clear quickly, despite reports by Fox News portraying it as a terror attack.

Cruz posted his false claims atop a Fox News report posted by far-right political commentator Benny Johnson, once called a “Pizzagate propagandist,” who also works for Charlie Kirk’s far-right group Turning Point USA.

Both Cruz’s post and Johnson’s posts are still up. Johnson’s video has been viewed 2.3 million times. A “readers’ note” was appended to Johnson’s video, pointing to New York Governor Kathy Hochul’s post saying, “No evidence of terrorism indicated at this time.”

READ MORE: Republicans Push to Gut Food Aid Program That Helps Feed Half of All Infants in US

A “Readers’ note” was also appended to Cruz’s post, saying: “The explosion at the bridge Cruz references was determined to not be a terrorist attack, and instead an accident involving reckless driving.”

Senator Cruz, first elected to the Senate in 2012, is an attorney with a law degree from Harvard, and a former Texas Solicitor General. His official congressional biography adds Cruz was a “law clerk to Chief Justice of the United States William Rehnquist,” and, “associate deputy attorney general, U.S. Department of Justice.”

Cruz is very active on social media. Since his false tweet he’s made numerous posts on X, including promoting his podcast (“Stay entertained during your Thanksgiving travels by subscribing to Verdict today,”) five times, and late Friday morning promoting his book: “Perfect Black Friday Christmas Gift—The Bestseller Book Unwoke: How to Defeat Cultural Marxism In America.”

The Texas Senator’s false claim, which he has neither removed nor corrected in any manner, has led to tremendous outrage.

U.S. Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) reposted Cruz’s claim with a screenshot of an FBI statement that reads in part: “FBI Buffalo has concluded our investigation at the scene of the Rainbow Bridge incident. A search of the scene revealed no explosive materials, and no terrorism nexus was identified.”

“This erroneous tweet is still up. Because the truth means nothing to MAGA fascists like Ted Cruz,” wrote former Chicago Tribune and Sun-Times editor Mark Jacob, who now writes a newsletter on politics and the media.

“Ted Cruz tells us it’s too soon to talk about the causes of gun violence in the aftermath of every mass shooting tragedy, but he didn’t hesitate to rashly and wrongly tweet that America was under attack by terrorists earlier today,” wrote gun violence prevention activist and Moms Demand Action founder Shannon Watts.

“What a monster is Ted Cruz,” wrote The Atlantic Norman Ornstein in response to Watt’s tweet.

READ MORE: ‘Denying Career Advancement to White Straight Men’: Stephen Miller’s Law Group Targets Macy’s

“This is embarrassing for you, Ted. Why not just delete this now that it’s completely bogus and wrong? Why prove to everyone you have zero sense of responsibility to the truth?” asked Christian conservative and attorney Heath Mayo.

“This is reckless lie by a member of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, who followed Fox News as it careened off the speculation cliff,” noted Brandon Wolf, the national press secretary for the Human Rights Campaign.

A former prosecutor for the New York Attorney General’s Office, Tristan Snell, served up this warning:

“By the way, anyone who continues to say the Rainbow Bridge crash was a ‘terrorist attack’ is potentially now liable for defamation by the families of the deceased. Ted Cruz, among others, should be looking for a lawyer.”

See the social media posts above or at this link.

 

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‘Sovereignly Appointed’: Trump Praised in Pentagon Prayer Event Led by Hegseth and Pastor

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May 21, 2025

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U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, an Evangelical Christian whose religious tattoos drew scrutiny during his confirmation hearings, led a Christian prayer service in the Pentagon auditorium during official working hours on Wednesday. The event featured Secretary Hegseth’s personal pastor from Tennessee, Brooks Potteiger, and included remarks describing President Donald Trump as “sovereignly appointed,” according to The New York Times.

“This morning at 9:00 AM the Office of the Secretary of Defense sent out what appears to be a building wide email to the entire Pentagon inviting everyone to a ‘Christian prayer service and worship’ in the Pentagon auditorium,” wrote Fred Wellman, who writes “On Democracy” at Substack. Wellman is a graduate of West Point and the Harvard Kennedy School, an Army veteran of 22 years who served four combat tours, and a political consultant. “Not the chapel. The auditorium.”

“This is a clear and direct violation by a Cabinet member of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment and is a direct violation of military norms, traditions, and regulations by the senior official of the entire military,” Wellman alleged.

“The defense secretary said that attendance at the prayer service was voluntary,” the Times added, “but encouraged the uniformed military personnel and civilian employees there to tell their co-workers about it.”

READ MORE: ‘Get Out of Here’: Trump Erupts, Calls for NBC Probe After Reporter Asks About Qatari Jet

Politico Pentagon and national security reporter Paul McLeary noted that there was even an official government email address on the invitation, “to RSVP to this 30 minute event in the middle of a workday.”

The Atlantic’s Tom Nichols, a retired U.S. Naval War College professor and expert on national security, added: “The RSVP is a nice touch, so that they know who’s on board.”

He also weighed in more broadly:

“Not sure of the constitutionality here – not a lawyer! – but years ago, one of the War Colleges used to do this with ‘voluntary’ Bible study opportunities that had the same kind of roster-taking, and that went away pronto after complaints and an investigation,” Nichols wrote.

Last week, the Freedom From Religion Foundation published a report stating that Pastor Potteiger is “known for promoting Christian nationalist views,” and claimed that Wednesday’s event “is expected to be a monthly prayer gathering. According to Potteiger, the event will include Christian preaching, proselytizing and the recitation of the Lord’s Prayer — all within one of the most powerful institutions of the U.S. government.”

“This is a blatant violation of the First Amendment and its proscription of religion in government,” FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor said in a statement. “Assuming the pastor’s boast is true, these prayer meetings would not only exclude and marginalize the significant number of nonreligious and non-Christian service members, they will send the impermissible message that Christianity is the Pentagon’s preferred faith.”

“Turning the Pentagon into a church service during duty hours isn’t just inappropriate — it’s unconstitutional,” FFRF also said. “We’ve sent a letter demanding an end to this blatant breach of the First Amendment.”

In January, before he was confirmed, The Guardian reported that in “a series of newly unearthed podcasts, Pete Hegseth, Donald Trump’s pick for defense secretary, appears to endorse the theocratic and authoritarian doctrine of ‘sphere sovereignty’, a worldview derived from the extremist beliefs of Christian reconstructionism (CR) and espoused by churches aligned with far-right Idaho pastor Douglas Wilson.”

READ MORE: ‘It’s a Nightmare’: Trump’s ‘Beautiful’ Bill Slashes $500B From Medicare, Dems Say

Others are also blasting the decision to hold a Christian prayer service inside the Pentagon.

“Hegseth continues to propagate christian white nationalism, while undermining the separation of church and state and the norms of civil-military relations,” wrote retired U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Vindman, the former Director of European Affairs for the U.S. National Security Council, whose whistleblower efforts led to the first impeachment of Donald Trump.

“This is what Christian nationalism looks like: the government using its power to push religion from the top down, said Max Flugrath, Communications Director for Fair Fight Action.

In February, author Brian Kaylor, a Baptist minister with a Ph.D. in political communication, posted a video from a Pentagon town hall where Secretary Hegseth began his remarks by declaring, “All glory to God.”

Watch the video below or at this link.

READ MORE: ‘Full MAGA Lobotomy’: Rubio Rebuked by Senate Dem — ‘I Regret Voting for You’

 

Image via Reuters

 

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‘Get Out of Here’: Trump Erupts, Calls for NBC Probe After Reporter Asks About Qatari Jet

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8 hours ago

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May 21, 2025

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President Donald Trump called for an investigation into NBC News and the CEO of its parent company after one of the network’s top reporters pressed him on the Pentagon’s Wednesday afternoon acceptance of a $400 million luxury airliner from Qatar—a gift some legal scholars warn may violate the Constitution without congressional approval.

“The secretary of defense has accepted a Boeing 747 from Qatar in accordance with all federal rules and regulations,” Chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said in a statement on Wednesday, as The New York Times reported. “The Department of Defense will work to ensure proper security measures and functional-mission requirements are considered for an aircraft used to transport the president of the United States.”

Estimates range as high as one billion dollars for work that would be required to make the luxury jetliner capable of acting as a mission center to not only transport the President but protect them and other top officials in the event of crisis or war.

Experts “said that accepting the 13-year-old jet would likely cost U.S. taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars over time, noting that refurbishing the commercial plane would exceed its current value of $400 million,” NBC News reported last week. “The project might also not be completed by the end of Trump’s term in 2029, at which time the plane is expected to be handed over to Trump’s presidential library foundation.”

READ MORE: ‘It’s a Nightmare’: Trump’s ‘Beautiful’ Bill Slashes $500B From Medicare, Dems Say

But when confronted with a question about the jet, President Trump appeared combative and visibly angered.

“What are you talking about?” Trump asked NBC News Chief White House Correspondent Peter Alexander during an Oval Office meeting with the President of South Africa. “You know, you ought to get out of here.”

“What does this have to do with the Qatar jet? They’re giving the United States Air Force a jet, okay? And it’s a great thing. We’re talking about a lot of other things. It’s NBC trying to get off the subject of what you just saw. You are a real — You know, you’re a terrible reporter,” Trump charged.

“Number one, you don’t have what it takes to be a reporter. You’re not smart enough, but for you to go into a subject about a jet that was given to the United States Air Force, which is a very nice thing, they also gave $5.1 trillion worth of investment in addition to the jet. Go back, you ought to go back to your studio at NBC because [Comcast CEO] Brian Roberts and the people that run that place, they ought to be investigated.”

“They are so terrible, the way you run that that. And you’re a disgrace. No more questions from you.”

Moments later, the President of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa, jokingly remarked, “I’m sorry I don’t have a plane to give you.”

READ MORE: ‘Shameless Liar and Insane Conspiracy Theorist’: RFK Jr. Slammed by Democratic Senator

“I wish you did,” Trump replied, also saying he would accept it.

HuffPost White House correspondent S.V. Dáte remarked: “And there you have it. If Palestinians want their own state, they need to come up with a half billion dollar luxury jet to give Trump. Same with Zelenskyy, if he wants US help.”

Before the announcement that the U.S. has formally accepted the jet, U.S. Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD), a former constitutional law professor, wrote: “I’ve introduced an amendment to block Trump from accepting his $400 million Bribe Force One from Qatar, a jumbo global scandal. It’s unconstitutional to take a foreign present ‘of any kind whatever’ from a foreign state, but House Republicans won’t even give me a vote. They don’t give a flying Emolument.”

Critics blasted and mocked the President.

“Someone’s getting testy about his Flying Bribery Palace,” wrote civil liberties and national security journalist Marcy Wheeler.

“Donald Trump has put a ‘for sale’ sign on the White House,” charged U.S. Rep. Brad Sherman (D-CA). “He’s accepting a $400 million jet from Qatar – rubber stamped by AG Pam Bondi, a registered foreign agent for Qatar. He’s accepting $300 million from a company tied to the PRC and TikTok. This is corruption, plain and simple.”

[Bondi is a former registered foreign agent for Qatar.]

Watch the video below or at this link.

READ MORE: ‘Full MAGA Lobotomy’: Rubio Rebuked by Senate Dem — ‘I Regret Voting for You’

 

Image via Reuters

 

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‘It’s a Nightmare’: Trump’s ‘Beautiful’ Bill Slashes $500B From Medicare, Dems Say

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12 hours ago

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May 21, 2025

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President Donald Trump and his White House have repeatedly vowed to protect Medicare and block any cuts to the vital health care program that serves 67 million Americans—most of them seniors. But according to top Democrats citing a report from the Congressional Budget Office, his so-called “Big, Beautiful Bill” would force Medicare to be slashed by roughly $500 billion.

“I have breaking news for you tonight that literally just came out in the last few minutes, as I’ve been sitting here,” U.S. Rep. Brendan Boyle (D-PA), the Ranking Member of the House Budget Committee, said on MSNBC late Tuesday night.

“The nonpartisan congressional Budget Office, the official authority on these figures, has now confirmed this bill, in addition to Medicaid cuts, in addition to Obamacare cuts, includes $500 billion worth of cuts to Medicare,” Boyle said. “That is now in this bill, as well.”

READ MORE: ‘Shameless Liar and Insane Conspiracy Theorist’: RFK Jr. Slammed by Democratic Senator

President Donald Trump, less than one month after being sworn in this year, told Fox News, “Medicare, Medicaid — none of that stuff is going to be touched.”

Trump’s “One Big, Beautiful Bill” — the GOP budget, or reconciliation bill, reportedly includes cuts of over $800 billion from Medicaid, and $500 billion from Medicare.

U.S. Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA), the Ranking Member on the House Rules Committee, asked Congressman Boyle about the $500–$535 billion cuts to Medicare during Republicans’ middle-of-the-night hearing on Trump’s budget legislation.

READ MORE: ‘Full MAGA Lobotomy’: Rubio Rebuked by Senate Dem — ‘I Regret Voting for You’

“Well, here we are tonight,” Boyle told McGovern, “because, as you explained, because of the size of the deficits, because of the PayGo, or ‘Pay As You Go Act,’ that would trigger sequestration of Medicare, and it would total over $500 billion. The official figure that CBO confirms, is $535 billion in cuts to Medicare.

“This Republican budget bill is one of the most expensive—and dangerous—bills Congress has seen in decades,” Ranking Member Boyle said in a statement. “The nonpartisan CBO makes it clear: the deficit will explode so badly it will trigger automatic cuts, including over half a trillion dollars from Medicare.”

U.S. Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández (D-NM) at 4:00 AM called the legislation, “the biggest transfer of wealth from the poorer, working families and middle class to the wealthiest.”

“Americans might have just woken up and they don’t know what’s happening, but let me tell you, it’s a nightmare,” she warned. “Republicans are taking from the poor and giving to the rich.”

Watch the videos above or at this link.

READ MORE: Vulgar Trump Boast Claims Credit for Olympics—and Blames ‘Rigged’ Race for Comeback

 

Image via Reuters

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