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Somewhere today in America, erstwhile CBS anchorman Scott Pelley is chewing the living hell out of the arm of his glasses in a bout of uncontained fury at the way his bosses are fixing 60 Minutes.
Pelley, infamously the most anti-Trump anchor in television history (quite the accomplishment, considering George Stephanopoulos exists), went on a loud, unprofessional rant during a <a href="https://www.mediaite.com/opinion/scott-pelleys-embarrassing-tantrum-proves-bari-weisss-point/">meeting</a>. This memorable moment, sure to be enshrined with a shiny plaque, was reported with glee by reporters at The New York Times, The Guardian, and Puck – who had to work hard to get audio Pelley clearly wanted leaked. Pelley’s spittle-flecked invective against CBS boss Bari Weiss and new 60 Minutes executive producer Nick Bilton included referring to a list of recent firings as “Black Thursday,” as if letting go a list of hacks on a show that survives only based on the fact that it follows the National Football League was a date to be noted in the annals of history.
&#8220;She’s murdering 60 Minutes! … She does not love this place. She was brought in to kill it and is doing exactly that,” Pelley reportedly said, telling his new boss he “would never be welcomed” at the show. “[Weiss] has no qualifications for her job; you have slender qualifications for this job. The changes that she’s made at the ‘Evening News’ have been catastrophic, so why should we expect that any of this is going to be any better?&#8221;
As a former CBS employee for several years, Pelley was infamous for asking the stupidest questions in production meetings, and now he clearly wants the award for “big loud speech that establishes exactly why you’re not a newsman and hopefully gets you a severance package that can help stand up your new Substack.”
What inquiring minds want to know is: Did Pelley walk in already twirling his glasses, or did he wait til he got rolling?
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Scott Pelley rolling into that Bari meeting so hyped he drops his glasses <a href="https://t.co/jjkjLQHtBC">pic.twitter.com/jjkjLQHtBC</a>
— Benjamin Domenech (@bdomenech) <a href="https://x.com/bdomenech/status/2061510920531025923?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 1, 2026</a></blockquote>
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Here’s the real thing that bothers Scott Pelley: the era of the pompous Democrat television anchor is over. That role is filled by John Oliver and Jimmy Kimmel, and was formerly filled in his own house by Stephen Colbert. People don’t want a newsreader who lectures them simply by virtue of their ability to read a prompter. And they certainly don’t want that type of lecture from people who clearly hate half the country they’re reporting on every night.
I don’t know if what Bari Weiss is doing to CBS is going to work. Television is hard – I’ve been in it just as a commentator and contributor for a decade and a half, and I’m still learning. But CBS is a network institution with a wealth of internal value if it can be brought out of the dusty corners of decrepit leftism into the present day, and not just because of Jane Pauley’s CBS Sunday Morning segments on the history of the Erie Canal. The people that won’t be part of it are the Scott Pelleys of the world – people who don’t report, research, or find the news for themselves, but read it on a camera and feel like that gives them <a href="https://www.newsbusters.org/blogs/nb/curtis-houck/2025/05/23/cbss-pelley-gives-hateful-pompous-commencement-speech-smearing">oracular authority</a> over the direction of the world behind the little red light.
Chew on that, Scott.

CBS News

Somewhere CBS Newsman Scott Pelley Is Chewing The Hell Out Of His Innocent Glasses

60 Minutes

Bari Weiss

Scott Pelley

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Where Is God In The Machine?

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Human Dignity

Weekend Punch

Republican voters made a Texas-sized gamble last night in the Lone Star state, betting that even with the baggage he carries into a general election, Trump loyalist Attorney General Ken Paxton will be able to handle the threat from a strongly backed Democratic effort behind State Rep. James Talarico. We&#8217;ve heard the left’s dreams of turning Texas blue for decades, but even with his defects as a candidate and fundraiser, Paxton still enters the final contest as the favored candidate. The larger question is whether that gamble will cost Texans and Republicans in other races around the country.
As successful as he&#8217;s been politically — with a knack for surviving challenges, lawsuits, and even an impeachment — Paxton has never been an effective individual fundraiser. The biggest gap between him and incumbent Senator John Cornyn isn&#8217;t ideology or even loyalty to the president — it&#8217;s their capability to raise money in a state marketplace that demands it.
Cornyn&#8217;s campaign doomed his effort to hold on this cycle by squandering that money on television ads, poor staffing choices, and adopting a general Washington insider tone in a cycle of voter frustration — but they had plenty of money to dump into the effort. National Republicans are pissed off about the whole situation, understanding that they may now have to push money into a contest that wouldn&#8217;t have needed it if voters had decided differently. If their reluctance to spend big on yet another contest in a critical cycle holds and Paxton&#8217;s past is prologue, he&#8217;ll have to get a leg up from Texas donors called upon to grin and bear it about a candidate they&#8217;ve been reluctant to fund.
The concern among Texas Republican politicos is less about Talarico&#8217;s potential for victory, given his lengthy history of far-Left comments about everything under the sun, and more about the newly drawn redistricted map potentially netting fewer GOP victories than hoped for, given Paxton&#8217;s electoral appeal. While Cornyn and fellow Senator Ted Cruz have consistently held the line among Hispanic voters (in his Senate race, Cruz won Hispanic voters by 6 points over Colin Allred two years ago), Paxton has lagged. The latest polling has Talarico winning Hispanics in the state by almost 30 points, and such turnout from those voters in November could be a major drag on Republican congressional candidates down-ticket.
The fear in Washington is that Texas will now draw resources necessary to hold seats in Maine, North Carolina, and Ohio — potentially detracting from the strong GOP hopes of taking Senate seats in Michigan and Georgia. If Senate Majority Leader John Thune and National Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman Tim Scott decide to keep their focus on those five contests, Texas may be left on its own to get Paxton across the finish line.
The unpredictable element here is how much the national media will play in this contest. In the past, we&#8217;ve seen the national glow-ups for candidates like Beto O&#8217;Rourke totally backfire, turning a fairly middle-of-the-road El Paso Democrat into a progressive wet dream, the skateboard-riding bass player that made Austin swoon but who ultimately had no path to victory statewide. Will Talarico get the same treatment? He already is, though every interview he does betrays that his version of non-binary six gender abortion-loving Christianity is anathema in the Valley.
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Texas state Rep. and Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico responded to GOP attacks over his past remark that God is “non-binary,” telling <a href="https://twitter.com/edokeefe?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@edokeefe</a> that some of his previous comments “missed the mark.”
“There are some statements that I’ve made that I certainly regret,”… <a href="https://t.co/VRsEXHo6ir">pic.twitter.com/VRsEXHo6ir</a>
— CBS News (@CBSNews) <a href="https://twitter.com/CBSNews/status/2059668066741445059?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 27, 2026</a></blockquote>
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Paxton is still the odds-on favorite. To a certain extent, the lengthy catalog of his failings is largely known to voters, while Talarico is still a fresh face who hasn&#8217;t confronted the scrutiny of running statewide in an old-school Texas knife fight. For Republicans who care about holding the Senate against a blue wave, they have hope that Paxton&#8217;s sins are already baked in, and that Talarico&#8217;s approach to running continues to look more like prep for his ideal next job — co-hosting a religion podcast for The New York Times.

Rep. Ken Paxton, and U.S. Senate candidate watch party

Voters Make A Texas-Sized Gamble On Ken Paxton

James Talarico

John Cornyn

Ken Paxton

Texas Elections

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The Elite Left’s War Against The Working Class

Alex Soros

interview

Jason Miyares

Steve Descano

Since Tulsi Gabbard&#8217;s arrival on the political scene in Washington, D.C., she has proven to be a force against the unrestricted power of the deep state. Her appointment as Director of National Intelligence was a statement by President Trump about his commitment and trust in her to bring transformative change to the office. Gabbard&#8217;s role became one focused on accountability, declassification, and efficiency — cutting a bloated staff, riling the intelligence agencies who balked at her reforms, and serving as a loyal advocate for the president&#8217;s agenda.
Today, she met with President Trump to inform him of her decision to resign. The reason in this case is deeply personal and presents a tragic challenge: her husband, Abraham, has been diagnosed with a rare bone cancer. His treatment will force her family to embark on another mission, a fight that requires her full attention.
Read Tulsi Gabbard&#8217;s letter to the president below:
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Tulsi Gabbard
Director of National Intelligence
[May 22, 2026]
The President
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, D.C. 20500
Dear Mr. President,
I am deeply grateful for the trust you placed in me and for the opportunity to lead the Office of the Director of National Intelligence for the last year and a half.
Unfortunately, I must submit my resignation, effective June 30, 2026. My husband, Abraham, has recently been diagnosed with an extremely rare form of bone cancer. He faces major challenges in the coming weeks and months. At this time, I must step away from public service to be by his side and fully support him through this battle.
Abraham has been my rock throughout our eleven years of marriage — standing steadfast through my deployment to East Africa on a Joint Special Operations mission, multiple political campaigns, and now my service in this role. His strength and love have sustained me through every challenge. I cannot in good conscience ask him to face this fight alone while I continue in this demanding and time-consuming position.
While we have made significant progress at the ODNI — advancing unprecedented transparency and restoring integrity to the intelligence community — I recognize there is still important work to be done. I am fully committed to ensuring a smooth and thorough transition over the coming weeks so that you and your team experience no disruption in leadership or momentum.
Thank you for your understanding during this deeply personal and difficult time for our family. I will remain forever grateful to you and to the American people for the profound honor of serving our nation as DNI.
With love and aloha,
Tulsi Gabbard
Director of National Intelligence
&#8212;

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Read Tulsi Gabbard’s Heartfelt Letter On Why She Chose To Resign

Tulsi Gabbard

Last night’s primary election news was all about dominance.
It’s worth pausing in this news-filled political season to appreciate just how dominant President Donald Trump’s political operation has become. They have, over the past month, racked up a litany of wins in Indiana, Louisiana, and Georgia, and last night cemented things in Kentucky by having Trump’s favored candidate easily outpace Mitch McConnell’s chosen heir.
The nuking of Thomas Massie, who exited stage left complaining about Jews, was just the icing on the cake. As CNN quoted a Senior White House adviser yesterday: &#8220;It’s not a retribution campaign, it’s a send a message campaign. It&#8217;s about reminding people of the political power. It&#8217;s not about retribution. This is basic political management of a party. You have to keep everybody on the reservation. Occasionally, you have to shoot a hostage. The next one is Thomas Massie.&#8221;
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Here&#8217;s what one official told me on the President&#8217;s revenge tour and Massie ahead of tonight:
&#8220;It’s not a retribution campaign, it’s a send a message campaign,&#8221; a Senior White House adviser told CNN. &#8220;It&#8217;s about reminding people of the political power. It&#8217;s not about…
— Kristen Holmes (@KristenhCNN) <a href="https://twitter.com/KristenhCNN/status/2056861347368116525?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 19, 2026</a></blockquote>
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While the White House has to be pleased to have eliminated an irritating House member, the statewide choices are far more important. In Louisiana, Trump’s pick to replace incumbent Bill Cassidy, Julia Letlow, came in first by a wide margin. Burt Jones, Trump’s pick for governor, topped the field in Georgia. And after clearing a path for him by offering Nate Morris an ambassadorship, Andy Barr won easily in Kentucky.
It wasn’t always this way. The long-tenured Republican establishment used to have the ability to pick winners and losers, long past the point where Trump had become president the first time around. Now he and his team are paying a lot more attention to which loyalists can win and where, and in most cases, they’ve timed his endorsements for outsized impact.
It didn’t look like Trump was going to weigh in on the Texas Senate runoff, but a day after early voting began, he dropped John Cornyn like a rock. The Ken Paxton endorsement is one that Republicans in Washington, D.C. had strongly opposed — partially out of loyalty to Cornyn, but as much out of fear that Paxton could weigh down their efforts to keep the House in newly drawn Texas districts.
There’s also the fact that Paxton has struggled to raise money over the course of his career and may need more money from the national party, which is already facing tough contests in Maine, North Carolina, Ohio, and Michigan. But the Trump team, and the man himself, are feeling confident enough to make the call for a lockstep loyalist, no matter how flawed.
Why shouldn’t they be confident? After all, even when the Trump political team loses, they snatch victory from defeat. Gripes about insufficient spending on what turned out to be a very winnable Virginia redistricting battle at the ballot box had barely started when the Virginia Supreme Court bailed them out with a (justified) constitutional ruling. Sometimes you just get lucky.
This is all momentary, and the candidates in question are entering a cycle in which the headwinds against Republicans are still very strong. But this is an indication of Trump’s unprecedented dominance over a party that now operates according to his priorities. The idea that lasted far too long in some shrinking Republican circles is that there would be a reversion to a vague mean, some political reset that takes place when Trump is no longer in the White House. There is no point in holding on to that fantasy any longer. The party is his, and his alone.
&#8220;There&#8217;s only one rule in the jungle — when the lion&#8217;s hungry, he eats.&#8221;

President Trump Holds “Make America Wealthy Again Event” In White House Rose Garden

Last Night Proved Trump’s Political Team Has A Lock On The GOP

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Weekend Punch: Michael Sobolik On Defeating Red China

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Taiwan

In a very literal sense, Taiwan is moving westward toward China, and there’s nothing that can be done about it. The tectonic plates that have shifted over millions of years, creating the island’s mountain terrain, are also driving it slowly and irrevocably toward the mainland. That notoriously craggy terrain is expected to act as a deterrent to any attack from the People’s Liberation Army from across the Taiwan Strait, a lane of the Pacific which runs as narrow as 100 miles and for the most part shallower than 100 meters. For the People’s Republic of China, Taiwan lies just out of reach. It is the military equivalent of skipping a smooth rock.
Taiwan’s position as a locus of China’s ambitions go beyond the temptation of seizing hold of the island’s burgeoning chip industry. It is the path to becoming a true ocean-ruling power, breaking out of the chain of Western-allied archipelagos that run along the Pacific Ring of Fire. To extend the PLA’s untested forces and grasp Taiwan isn’t just a matter of national pride to further the One China policy. It is a giant step toward the global dominance China’s leader, Xi Jinping, wants to transform into an inevitability — his lifetime’s legacy for the PRC.
For critics who have questioned the interests of the United States in its military support for Taiwan, the explosion of the semiconductor industry came at an unfortunate time. Beyond the obvious American interest in defending against the expansion of China’s brutal communist regime, Taiwan is now dominating the global foundry of chips — including more than 60 percent of the market overall, and 90 percent of the most advanced versions, central to the pursuit of artificial intelligence dominance. Taiwan&#8217;s innovations made their independence essential at exactly the same time protectionists and isolationists wanted to press the case the island is utterly dispensible.
How very inconvenient.
The question that confronts Donald Trump now as he wings his way to the long-anticipated meeting with Xi Jinping is how clearly he will make that importance known. There is no security, market, or historical incentive at this point to concede the long-held position of the United States toward Taiwan — bolstered most recently in a December package that included $11 billion in weapons for the island. But there is the question of how dedicated the Taiwanese are to their own defense, after the opposition to Taiwan’s president — who holds the largest portion of legislative seats — nixed a major package that would’ve significantly increased their defense spending, opting for a half measure that cut back on domestic drone production and their air defense systems. The opposition’s leader, Cheng Li-wun, has courted accusations that she’s working to diminish the island’s deterrence capability — a storyline that only grew after she chose to <a href="https://breakingdefense.com/2026/05/taiwans-parliament-passes-pared-back-supplementary-defense-budget/">meet</a> with Xi Jinping in person last month.
For the people of Taiwan, there is also the question of time. Opposition to the acceptance of China taking over their republic is largely the view of older members of society, and the youngest people on the island seem increasingly open to the idea. The constant influence of PRC-backed social media campaigns and outreach efforts to exert soft power over the minds of youths absolutely has something to do with this. For a population that is facing a gargantuan decline — their fertility rate fell to the lowest in the world last year at 0.7 — perhaps all China will have to do is wait them out.
The PRC has telegraphed its Taiwan-related intent for this meeting all along. It wants to tempt Donald Trump by appealing to his personal vision as a peacemaker — particularly in the context of the Iran conflict — by asking for an alteration to stated U.S. policy, or just to have the president declare publicly that he opposes Taiwan’s independence. The propaganda victory alone would send a shudder through the island’s political leadership and would be a coup for Xi Jinping, even if it may seem like a low-cost offering from President Trump for potential economic gain.
In this context, the meeting this week takes on a whole new importance when it comes to dictating the future — not just for AI in the West, but for Donald Trump’s legacy as a world leader. He has restored a hardened focus on America’s interests, particularly in the Western Hemisphere. As dedicated as he is to ending Iran’s chances at becoming a nuclear power, some of his advisors might use that effort’s uncertainty as a justification for sacrificing America’s interests in Taiwan.
If there’s one thing we know about this president, it’s that, as much as he listens to those around him, he keeps his own counsel on the right path forward. There is no wisdom in being remembered as the president who gave China what it craves most. And in a brutal sense, so long as the PRC’s energy is directed at this one infuriatingly productive mountainous island the size of West Virginia, it is spending less time on everything else it would like to do to become the global superpower of Xi Jinping’s dreams. Trump is a gambler, wagering the cost of breaking norms and diplomatic rituals on his, and America’s, strength. Today, that is a cost worth paying.

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Trump Holds The Future Of Taiwan In His Hands

Foreign Policy

In a massive blow to Virginia Democrats and the national party&#8217;s hopes for the midterms, the Virginia Supreme Court threw out the 10-1 gerrymander passed narrowly by voters last month as unconstitutional, finding its result &#8220;null and void.&#8221;
The Court&#8217;s 4-3 ruling is a vindication for critics like former attorneys general Jason Miyares and <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/gerrymandering-democrats-taken-to-court">Ken Cuccinelli</a>, both of whom were loud critics of the process that put the referendum on the ballot in the first place.
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If Abigail Spanberger and Virginia Democrats had paid attention my October 2025 AG’s Opinion that made clear this scheme was unconstitutional and illegal, they could have saved more than $70 million, countless headaches, and months of obnoxious television ads defending the… <a href="https://t.co/787vvZRHZD">https://t.co/787vvZRHZD</a>
— Jason Miyares (@JasonMiyaresVA) <a href="https://twitter.com/JasonMiyaresVA/status/2052756571243909513?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 8, 2026</a></blockquote>
This wasn&#8217;t even about the bizarre nature of the Democrat-favoring map itself, with its now notorious lobster-shaped district. The court ruled that the General Assembly failed to meet the Commonwealth&#8217;s constitutional requirements, which include an intervening election. The fact that early voting had already led to almost half of Virginia voters casting their ballots meant the session that General Assembly Democrats used to spark the referendum process in an October 31 vote didn&#8217;t pass muster.
&#8220;While the Commonwealth is free by its lights to do the right thing for the right reason, the Rule of Law requires that it be done the right way,&#8221; Justice Arthur Kelsey wrote for the majority.
Everyone involved on the Democratic side now has egg on their face. The 10-1 redistricting referendum dominated the political conversation of Gov. Abigail Spanberger&#8217;s first months in office, squandering any goodwill among independents toward the faux-moderate. It set a pile of money on fire to the tune of more than $70 million from Democrats nationwide pouring into ads, promotions, and social media.
Spanberger isn&#8217;t the only victim of this hubris, caught as she was in an immediate flip-flop on the issue and forced by state Senate President pro tempore Louise Lucas — the most powerful Democrat in Richmond, who this week had her offices and businesses raided by the FBI — to accept such an extreme map. National Democrats flocked to push for the measure, including noted constitutional scholar Barack Obama.
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Virginia, if you haven’t done it already, make a plan to vote YES on the redistricting referendum.
You can vote early by April 18 or on Election Day, April 21. Find your polling place at <a href="https://t.co/vsawTNnoax">https://t.co/vsawTNnoax</a>. <a href="https://t.co/NiCTBpS10I">pic.twitter.com/NiCTBpS10I</a>
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) <a href="https://twitter.com/BarackObama/status/2045138583934447660?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 17, 2026</a></blockquote>
The Democrats still have major backing heading into the midterms, and history says they should sweep into power in the House of Representatives. But their biggest investment and most extreme move in the redistricting game blew up in their faces, and Virginians can rejoice that the state Supreme Court found their methods to violate the rules and the law.
As for House Democrats, this <a href="https://www.axios.com/2026/05/08/virginia-supreme-court-redistricting-democrats">statement</a> to Axios, offered on condition of anonymity, is a good summary of their mood: &#8220;F*****ck!!&#8221;

Supreme Court

The Virginia Supreme Court Just Nixed The Spanberger Gerrymander

gerrymandering

Virginia Democrats

House Lawmakers Work On Funding Deal As Possible Government Shutdown Looms

Kevin McCarthy Tells The GOP How To Not Get Crushed In 2026

Kevin McCarthy

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For the ninety seconds when members of the media were diving under tables at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, watching as politicians and cabinet members were yanked from the room by security, you have to wonder how many had the honest thought: did we do this?
The repeated media normalization of assassination fantasies on the American left hasn&#8217;t been a quiet trend. A decade after Kathy Griffin posed with Donald Trump&#8217;s severed head, their attitude is the same as Steve Schmidt&#8217;s in the immediate aftermath of this latest attempt: to the extent anyone is to blame for repeated attempts at Trump&#8217;s assassination, it&#8217;s the man himself — and then maybe his supporters for having the audacity to elect Orange Hitler twice.
Remember the Rutgers study that found more than half of Left-of-center respondents said it would be at least somewhat justified to murder Donald Trump? When the &#8220;radical Left&#8221; describes such a vast portion of the Democratic electorate on the question &#8220;should the president be unalived,” believe them.
The legacy media has declared who they want dead. They continue to platform the Left&#8217;s voices who urge his death. They rely on the violent Left&#8217;s bark being worse than their bite — even as those who bay for blood continually show their eagerness for the exact outcome that motivates the president&#8217;s would-be murderers.
Hasan Piker&#8217;s call to murder capitalists and drench the streets with their blood gets the New York Times and Conde Nast imprimatur. &#8220;Your cool murderous communist message is such a song of the summer vibe, tell me more, lol.&#8221; That casual endorsement of bloodshed isn’t fringe — it’s increasingly mainstream by the same people who claim democracy dies in darkness. Well, it almost died in the sun in Butler and West Palm and the bowels of the Washington Hilton. How many more cracks does the media want their psychotic fellow travelers to take at this? How long will they stand by Senate Democrats who have blocked security funding in the midst of war and blatant terror threats? Or should we just get used to a political reality where we refuse to treat violent rhetoric as the incitement it is?
The WHCD attack was not an isolated incident of random violence. It was the predictable outcome of years of rhetoric, glorified in newsrooms, popularized on campuses, featured on podcasts, and given serious, intoned consideration in the pages of glossy magazines by the same people who claim to be standing against hate. The Left’s open celebration of political murder did this, and it will continue to do it, fueled by a legacy media that knows a click is a click, no matter the motivation.

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Ben Domenech