The hosts of ABC&#8217;s &#8220;The View&#8221; elevated Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) to &#8220;MENSA&#8221; status during Wednesday&#8217;s broadcast, drawing a bizarre comparison between the Democratic socialist darling and President Donald Trump.
Led by Whoopi Goldberg and Joy Behar, the ABC midday talk show&#8217;s hosts argued that Trump&#8217;s occasional verbal gaffes — including one recent instance in which he mentioned Iceland in place of Greenland — stand as incontrovertible evidence that Ocasio-Cortez is a certifiable genius by comparison.
WATCH:
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After playing soundbites of Trump mispronouncing words, Joy Behar tries to claim AOC&#8217;s rambling answer on Taiwan was &#8220;Mensa&#8221; material. 
Savannah Chrisley immediately counters: &#8220;Mispronouncing a word is totally different than not knowing your position on Taiwan.&#8221; <a href="https://t.co/702X6SOJNY">pic.twitter.com/702X6SOJNY</a>
— Nicholas Fondacaro (@NickFondacaro) <a href="https://twitter.com/NickFondacaro/status/2024155209220464949?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 18, 2026</a></blockquote>
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The hyperbolic comparison came after the Bronx congresswoman made several statements over the weekend that spotlighted her ignorance of both world history and current U.S. foreign policy. The first was a statement she made criticizing Secretary of State Marco Rubio for claiming that horses and the idea of American &#8220;cowboys&#8221; were originally brought to the United States by Spanish explorers and conquistadors. Of course, Rubio was correct. And the second was a rambling, incoherent response to a question about whether or not American troops should defend Taiwan in the event of a Chinese invasion.
Goldberg responded to the brouhaha regarding Ocasio-Cortez by playing a brief clip of Trump clearly saying &#8220;Iceland&#8221; when he meant to say &#8220;Greenland.&#8221;
&#8220;So, clearly &#8230;&#8221; she said, letting her voice trail off.
&#8220;My mother used to say, &#8216;Don&#8217;t spit up in the air, it comes back in your face,'&#8221; Behar added. &#8220;Okay? Check him out before you start attacking AOC, who, by the way, it sounded a little &#8216;homina, homina, homina,&#8217; but you know, compared to him it&#8217;s like MENSA.&#8221;
Guest Savannah Chrisley stepped in to defend the president, saying that his &#8220;mispronouncing a word&#8221; was a far cry from having no idea what a policy was or how to articulate it.
&#8220;[It&#8217;s] totally different than not knowing your position on Taiwan,&#8221; she said. &#8220;And what&#8217;s important is how you recover from something.&#8221;
Trump followed his gaffe by meeting with world leaders and discussing global affairs and American interests, while Ocasio-Cortez went to The New York Times to complain that conservatives were sharing unflattering clips of her saying exactly what she&#8217;d said.
&#8220;The recovery is what mattered, and AOC just didn&#8217;t have a recovery,&#8221; Chrisley said.
&#8220;But he does it over and over again,&#8221; Behar complained. &#8220;How about the quantity of times?&#8221;
Goldberg then interrupted to point out that Trump is the current president, which obviously made his verbal gaffes a bigger deal than AOC&#8217;s, but made no effort to explain why she&#8217;d been silent while former President Joe Biden — while in office — was often unable to complete a sentence without mumbling something unintelligible or saying something staffers would have to clean up later.
&#8220;My point is, I can take &#8216;homina, homina&#8217; from congresspeople and stuff, you don&#8217;t have your stuff together, that&#8217;s on you,&#8221; Goldberg declared. &#8220;Can&#8217;t take it from the guy who says he&#8217;s the leader of the free world.&#8221;

WHOOPI GOLDBERG, SARA HAINES, JOY BEHAR, SUNNY HOSTIN, ALYSSA FARAH GRIFFIN

‘The View’ Elevates AOC To ‘MENSA’ Status In Bizarre Trump Comparison

‘The View’ Elevates AOC To 'MENSA' Status In Bizarre Trump Comparison

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

Donald Trump

Media

Politics

The View

A new CNN documentary traces the &#8220;activation&#8221; of Christian nationalists in the United States back to the assassination of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk, suggesting that Kirk&#8217;s message — and his subsequent murder — had &#8220;radicalized&#8221; American Christians into believing that they are being &#8220;persecuted.&#8221;
CNN anchor Pamela Brown announced the project exposing &#8220;Christian Nationalism,&#8221; which she said she&#8217;d been working on for several months, and framed the documentary as an investigation into a perceived threat against the United States.
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CNN&#8217;s Pamela Brown announces she&#8217;s been working on a &#8220;special project&#8221; warn against &#8220;Christian nationalism&#8221; and portrays them as a radicalized threat to the country.
She then launches into a report where she fears the assassination of Charlie Kirk uniting Christians and scoffs… <a href="https://t.co/1J63ta6EIO">pic.twitter.com/1J63ta6EIO</a>
— Nicholas Fondacaro (@NickFondacaro) <a href="https://twitter.com/NickFondacaro/status/2023785142230122696?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 17, 2026</a></blockquote>
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&#8220;For the past several months, I&#8217;ve been working on a special project, examining the growing influence of Christian Nationalism in America,&#8221; Brown explained. She went on to describe Christian Nationalism as an ideology unto itself that was rooted in the &#8220;belief&#8221; that the United States was founded to be a &#8220;Christian nation&#8221; and as such, should reflect &#8220;Christian values&#8221; in its laws and institutions.
Brown then said that her documentary started with Kirk&#8217;s assassination: &#8220;Experts say it was a pivotal moment for the movement, and an occasion where the tragedy of his loss unified Christian nationalists and the Trump administration as they honored him.&#8221;
After a brief clip of President Donald Trump&#8217;s remarks at Kirk&#8217;s memorial service, Brown added, &#8220;Charlie Kirk, a conservative activist and prominent Christian nationalist, was assassinated. It became a rallying call for those who believed in his message &#8230; and it was a call to action.&#8221;
Brown then cut to comments from Matthew Taylor, of the Georgetown University Center of Faith and Justice, who said, &#8220;[The] memorial service was one of the most potent examples of this shift in our culture that we&#8217;re experiencing right now, where a large segment of American Christians are being activated by these ideas, radicalized by these ideas that say that they are the persecuted ones and that they need to stand up for Christians rights.&#8221;
In a second clip, Taylor suggested that there was something insidious in President Trump&#8217;s promise to &#8220;protect Christians.&#8221;
&#8220;Trump has never explicitly said he believes the country should be a Christian nation,&#8221; Brown added. &#8220;But he is aligned with Christian nationalists and wants their support, and after an assassination attempt during his campaign, Trump said he believes God saved his life so he can lead the country.&#8221;
TPUSA&#8217;s Andrew Kolvet responded to the coming documentary on Tuesday, saying, &#8220;Consider this: so CNN does a piece — talking about the radicalization of people at Charlie&#8217;s memorial. Charlie was assassinated by a radical, by somebody that was animated, at least in part, by his love affair with somebody that was trans. And instead of burning down the country, like the real radicals did, we held vigils and memorials, and people bought Bibles, and they got baptized.&#8221;
&#8220;How is that a bad thing? What are we even talking about here?&#8221; he asked.
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CNN BACKLASH IS MOUNTING: They just announced a documentary covering the &#8220;rise of Christian Nationalism&#8221; in America, and it&#8217;s not going how they expected it to go.<a href="https://twitter.com/AndrewKolvet?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@AndrewKolvet</a> let the TRUTH about America&#8217;s spiritual revival and the role Charlie Kirk has in it:
&#8220;Consider this:… <a href="https://t.co/moi2PwF17c">https://t.co/moi2PwF17c</a> <a href="https://t.co/isO2nt4bHi">pic.twitter.com/isO2nt4bHi</a>
— Gunther Eagleman™ (@GuntherEagleman) <a href="https://twitter.com/GuntherEagleman/status/2023828795958964451?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 17, 2026</a></blockquote>
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Presidential Candidate Donald Trump Addresses Turning Point USA Summit

CNN Doc Suggests Charlie Kirk Assassination ‘Activated’ Christian Nationalists

assassination

Charlie Kirk

Christian Persecution

Christians

Judeo-Christian Values

Longtime Democratic strategist Dan Turrentine laid into Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) on Tuesday, saying that she was undermining her own reputation in her efforts to pivot away from gaffes at the weekend&#8217;s Munich Security Conference.
Turrentine explained on &#8220;The Huddle&#8221; that Ocasio-Cortez had built an image of herself as social-media-savvy and adept at taking her message directly to the people, so it did not look good when she turned to The New York Times for a bailout.
WATCH:
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🚨NEW: <a href="https://twitter.com/danturrentine?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@danturrentine</a> on AOC whining to NYT over scrutiny of her overseas gaffes🤣
&#8220;It’s now getting to the point where the cover-up is worse than the initial crime. It&#8217;s PATHETIC &amp; EMBARRASSING! This now has more &amp; more people LAUGHING AT HER within the party.&#8221;<a href="https://twitter.com/DailyCaller?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@DailyCaller</a> <a href="https://t.co/TqqRu9IXZr">pic.twitter.com/TqqRu9IXZr</a>
— Jason Cohen 🇺🇸 (@JasonJournoDC) <a href="https://twitter.com/JasonJournoDC/status/2023798540179587149?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 17, 2026</a></blockquote>
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&#8220;It was a horrible idea. It’s now getting to the point where the kind of cover-up is worse than the initial crime,&#8221; Turrentine said. &#8220;Start with who she — she called the New York Times, right? We talked about how her brand is social media savvy. She’s young, she constantly is online, kind of giving and taking, and just in the game.&#8221;
&#8220;And next to [California Democratic Governor] Gavin Newsom, it’s who people said gets this modern world better than anyone else,&#8221; he continued. &#8220;To argue that basically it’s unfair that people are taking clips and sending them around in short snippets — duh! It&#8217;s pathetic and embarrassing for her to make this kind of whining argument that — when your calling card is that you&#8217;re kind of the party queen of social media.&#8221;
&#8220;I don&#8217;t understand what she was doing,&#8221; he added.
Ocasio-Cortez delivered a full weekend&#8217;s worth of gifts to her conservative critics, from a nearly incoherent response to a question about whether American troops should ever defend Taiwan to her objectively false claim that Venezuela was below the equator. She also raised eyebrows when she attempted to engage Secretary of State Marco Rubio in a battle of historical trivia — a battle in which she was unsuccessful.
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AOC mocks Marco Rubio for saying cowboys can be traced back to Spain.
Fun immutable fact: cowboys can be traced back to Spain. <a href="https://t.co/WvQXGVI2mr">pic.twitter.com/WvQXGVI2mr</a>
— Brittany Hughes (@RealBrittHughes) <a href="https://twitter.com/RealBrittHughes/status/2023199816910516344?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 16, 2026</a></blockquote>
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But Rubio was, in fact, correct in his assertions. &#8220;American&#8221; cowboys were modeled after the vaqueros — horse-mounted livestock herders from Spain&#8217;s Iberian peninsula — after Christopher Columbus brought Iberian horses to the New World in 1493. Spanish explorers and conquistadors also brought horses with them; some were traded to Native Americans, and others escaped and ran free. By 1525, horses were being bred in Mexico — but they were not, as Ocasio-Cortez suggested, native to the Americas.
When clips of her missteps began making the rounds on social media, she <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/aoc-mocked-for-global-stage-disaster-then-phones-a-friend">responded</a> by running to The New York Times for help.

Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

‘Pathetic And Embarrassing’: Dem Strategist Trashes AOC’s Attempt To Clean Up After Munich Gaffes

'Pathetic And Embarrassing': Dem Strategist Trashes AOC's Attempt To Clean Up After Munich Gaffes

Congress

Munich

New York Times

Social Media

&#8220;The View&#8221; host Whoopi Goldberg attempted to shrug off her own appearance in recently-released documents related to the late convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, claiming during a Tuesday broadcast that she was &#8220;too old&#8221; for his tastes.
Goldberg, who reportedly reached out to the disgraced financier with a request to borrow his jet, argued on Tuesday that she &#8220;wasn&#8217;t his friend&#8221; and complained that people were making claims linking her to Epstein without first getting all the facts.
WATCH:
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After two weeks of silence, The View finally addresses Whoopi Goldberg being in the Epstein files and seemingly requesting to borrow his jet.
JOY BEHAR: Anybody can be on this list.
WHOOPI GOLDBERG: Anybody. Well, this is my point. Because, I&#8217;m telling you when I tell you… <a href="https://t.co/7vBqpKFTHD">pic.twitter.com/7vBqpKFTHD</a>
— Nicholas Fondacaro (@NickFondacaro) <a href="https://twitter.com/NickFondacaro/status/2023796105427759321?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 17, 2026</a></blockquote>
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&#8220;Now, in the name of transparency &#8230; my name is in the files,&#8221; Goldberg said, beginning the segment by showing an email that linked her to Epstein. &#8220;Yes! And what does it say? It says, &#8216;Whoopi needs a plane to get to Monaco.'&#8221;
She explained that she&#8217;d been trying to get to a charity event and had simply needed to find transportation.
&#8220;So, in other words, anybody can be on this list,&#8221; co-host Joy Behar said.
&#8220;Anybody — well, this is my point. Because I&#8217;m telling you when I tell you people are trying to turn me into — I wasn&#8217;t his girlfriend. I wasn&#8217;t his friend,&#8221; Goldberg said.
&#8220;You were too old for him,&#8221; co-host Sara Haines joked.
&#8220;I was not only too old, but it was at a time, you know, where this is just not — you used to have to have facts before you said stuff,&#8221; Goldberg — who was suspended for saying that the Holocaust was &#8220;not about race&#8221; and suggested Dr. (Ed.) Jill Biden would be an excellent Surgeon General — complained.
Behar quickly flipped the conversation to attack President Donald Trump, adding, &#8220;But Trump is on the list 38,000 times. Come on!&#8221;
&#8220;Well, I can&#8217;t speak to him, but I&#8217;m speaking about me because I&#8217;m getting dragged,&#8221; Goldberg continued. &#8220;People actually believe that I was with him. It&#8217;s like, honey, come on.&#8221;
Haines suggested that people were just looking for scapegoats in the list of names recently connected to Epstein — some of whom, such as Elvis Presley and Marilyn Monroe, were already dead.
&#8220;They dropped like 300 names and it&#8217;s like flood the zone because when you look in there, there&#8217;s people like Marilyn Monroe, who was dead &#8230; because a lot of the reasons your name can be mentioned are news articles, third party emails, contacts, again, wealthy, famous people often cross in professional and social circles, so that&#8217;s not the surprising part,&#8221; she said.
Despite defending Goldberg&#8217;s connection to Epstein as simply the result of &#8220;wealthy, famous people&#8221; traveling in similar orbits, it did not appear to occur to anyone at the table that Trump — who also qualifies as a &#8220;wealthy, famous&#8221; person — might be able to explain his own appearance in the Epstein documents the same way.

Whoopi Goldberg

Whoopi Responds After Name Surfaces In Epstein Docs — See How She Explains It

Whoopi Shrugs Off Appearance In Epstein Docs, Claims She Was 'Too Old' For Him

Jeffrey Epstein

Actor Ted Levine apologized recently for his iconic turn as cross-dressing serial killer Jame Gumb in the 1991  horror classic &#8220;The Silence of the Lambs,&#8221; saying that it was &#8220;f*cking wrong&#8221; that the film had &#8220;vilified&#8221; the apparent gender confusion of his character.
Levine told The Hollywood Reporter that his intent had always been to play Gumb — nicknamed &#8220;Buffalo Bill&#8221; — as a &#8220;f*cked-up heterosexual man&#8221; despite the fact that the character dresses in women&#8217;s clothing, wears makeup, and skins his female victims in an effort to make himself a suit of female flesh.
&#8220;There are certain aspects of the movie that don’t hold up too well,&#8221; he said. &#8220;We all know more, and I’m a lot wiser about transgender issues. There are some lines in that script and movie that are unfortunate.&#8221;
Levine said that when they were making the film — based on the 1988 Thomas Harris novel by the same title — he had not been particularly concerned, but that &#8220;over time and having gotten aware and worked with trans folks, and understanding a bit more about the culture and the reality of the meaning of gender — it’s unfortunate that the film vilified that, and it’s f*cking wrong. And you can quote me on that.&#8221;
&#8220;I didn’t play him as being gay or trans. I think he was just a f*cked-up heterosexual man. That’s what I was doing,&#8221; Levine explained.
Director Jonathan Demme offered a <a href="https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/silence-of-the-lambs-lgbt-criticism_n_5609372">similar take</a> on Buffalo Bill&#8217;s motivations, arguing during a 2014 interview that the character was drowning in self-loathing and that turning himself into a woman was a means of escape from who he was rather than an effort to become something he specifically wanted to be.
&#8220;He didn&#8217;t wish to be another gender. He didn&#8217;t really have a sexual preference. He loathed himself — he wanted to transform himself so that there was no sense of him in the &#8216;new&#8217; him [and] becoming a woman &#8230; that was his method of doing it.&#8221;
&#8220;We were really loyal to the book. As we made the film, there was just no question in our minds that Buffalo Bill was a completely aberrant personality — that he wasn’t gay or trans,&#8221; producer Edward Saxon <a href="https://pagesix.com/2026/02/16/celebrity-news/silence-of-the-lambs-star-ted-levine-denounces-his-legendary-villain-role-after-transgender-criticism/?utm_term=Autofeed&amp;utm_campaign=pagesix&amp;utm_medium=social&amp;utm_source=twitter#Echobox=1771222232">added</a>. &#8220;He was sick. To that extent, we missed it. From my point of view, we weren’t sensitive enough to the legacy of a lot of stereotypes and their ability to harm.&#8221;
&#8220;There’s regret, but it didn’t come from any place of malice. It actually came from a place of seeing this guy. We all had dear friends and family who were gay. We thought it would just be very clear that Buffalo Bill adapts different things from society, from a place of an incredibly sick pathology,&#8221; he continued.
Despite the confusion surrounding Buffalo Bill, &#8220;The Silence of the Lambs&#8221; became the <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0102926/awards/">third film</a> in Academy history to sweep all five major awards: Best Picture, Best Actor (Anthony Hopkins), Best Actress (Jodie Foster), Best Director (Demme), and Best Screenplay (adapted). The other two films to do so were &#8220;It Happened One Night&#8221; (1934) and &#8220;One Flew Over the Cuckoo&#8217;s Nest&#8221; (1975).

“Child Of Grace” – Los Angeles Premiere

‘Silence Of The Lambs’ Actor Apologizes To ‘Trans Folks’ For Iconic Cross-Dressing Role

'Silence Of The Lambs' Actor Apologizes To 'Trans Folks' For Iconic Cross-Dressing Role

Celebrities

Hollywood

Movies

Transgender

Woke Culture

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton got into a heated spat with Czech Foreign Minister Petr Macinka during a panel discussion at the Munich Security Conference on Saturday.
Clinton and Macinka, a right-leaning populist, disagreed on a number off issues — but the trouble really began when Clinton accused President Donald Trump of effectively conspiring with Russian President Vladimir Putin to exploit Ukraine.
&#8220;I think that the effort to force Ukraine into a surrender deal with Putin is shameful. I think that the effort that Putin and Trump are making to profit off the misery and death of the Ukrainian people is a historic error, and corrupt to the nth degree,&#8221; she said, adding, &#8220;I believe Ukraine is fighting for our democracy and our values of freedom and civilization on the front lines, losing thousands of people, and having their country destroyed by one man’s mania to control them, and I think Trump either doesn’t understand or could care less about that suffering.&#8221;
Macinka, when asked whether he would agree with Clinton&#8217;s assessment, turned to the former Secretary of State and said, &#8220;I think you really don’t like him.&#8221;
WATCH:
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REALITY CZECH: Hillary Clinton clashes with Czech Deputy PM Petr Macinka after he says President Trump reacted to policies that went &#8220;too far.&#8221;
MACINKA: &#8220;We saw the woke revolution. I don&#8217;t agree with the gender revolution, the climate alarmism&#8230;&#8221;
CLINTON: &#8220;Which gender? Women… <a href="https://t.co/bCCYKXqvWa">pic.twitter.com/bCCYKXqvWa</a>
— Fox News (@FoxNews) <a href="https://twitter.com/FoxNews/status/2023159967310590332?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 15, 2026</a></blockquote>
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Clinton gave no argument to that: &#8220;That is absolutely true. Not only do I not like him, I don’t like him because of what he’s doing to the United States, and the world, and I think you should take a hard look at it if you think there is something good that will come out of it.&#8221;
Macinka defended Trump then, arguing that he was only attempting to push back against policies that the people believed had gone too far to the Left — &#8220;too far from regular people, too far from reality.&#8221;
&#8220;We saw the cancel culture, we saw the woke revolution, I don’t agree with the gender revolution, the climate alarmism,&#8221; Macinka offered examples when asked, but then Clinton interrupted him.
&#8220;Which gender revolution? Women having their rights?&#8221; Clinton asked, apparently misunderstanding his comment.
Macinka explained that he was not talking about women&#8217;s rights, but radical gender ideology, replying, &#8220;I think there are two genders.&#8221;
Clinton once again attempted to commandeer the narrative: &#8220;How about half of us, can we have our rights?&#8221;
Macinka was undeterred, however, and continued, &#8220;Some of us think there is more than two genders. I think there is male and female, and the rest, probably, is a social construct. This is something that went too far.”
“But does that justify selling out the people of Ukraine who are on the front lines dying to save their freedom and their two genders, if that’s what you’re worried about?” Clinton tried once more.
&#8220;Can I please finish my point? I’m sorry that it makes you nervous‚&#8221; Macinka shot back.
Clinton protested, &#8220;It doesn’t make me nervous, it makes me very, very, unhappy.&#8221;

Hillary Clinton Appears At Women Transforming Global Security Event

Watch Hillary Clinton Panic When Czech Leader Declares There Are Only Two Genders

Global Politics

Hillary Clinton

Ukraine-Russia War

Academy Award-winning actor Robert Duvall died on Sunday, a Facebook post from his wife confirmed on Monday. He was 95 years old.
Luciana Duvall, 54, an Argentine actress and director who has been married to the actor since 2005, shared the news in a post including a photo of them in days past.
&#8220;Yesterday we said goodbye to my beloved husband, cherished friend, and one of the greatest actors of our time. Bob passed away peacefully at home, surrounded by love and comfort,&#8221; she wrote in a statement.
&#8220;To the world, he was an Academy Award-winning actor, a director, a storyteller. To me, he was simply everything,&#8221; she continued. &#8220;His passion for his craft was matched only by his deep love for characters, a great meal, and holding court. For each of his many roles, Bob gave everything to his characters and to the truth of the human spirit they represented. In doing so, he leaves something lasting and unforgettable to us all. Thank you for the years of support you showed Bob and for giving us this time and privacy to celebrate the memories he leaves behind.&#8221;
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After a short attempt at the military life, Duvall made a go at acting — and eventually became friends with a few others who were also struggling to break into the business around the same time — Gene Hackman, Dustin Hoffman, and James Caan.
Duvall won the coveted Best Actor Oscar in 1984 for &#8220;Tender Mercies,&#8221; and was nominated in the same category for 1980&#8217;s &#8220;The Great Santini&#8221; and for &#8220;The Apostle&#8221; in 1997. He was nominated for Academy Awards for supporting roles in 2014&#8217;s &#8220;The Judge,&#8221; 1998&#8217;s &#8220;A Civil Action,&#8221; 1979&#8217;s &#8220;Apocalypse Now,&#8221; and 1972&#8217;s &#8220;The Godfather.&#8221;
Duvall&#8217;s acting career ran for well over half a century, from episodes of &#8220;Alfred Hitchcock Presents&#8221; in the early 1960s to &#8220;The Pale Blue Eye&#8221; in 2022, that latter of which also featured a cameo from Senator <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/yes-thats-john-fetterman-in-christian-bales-new-movie-thats-a-face-that-fits-in-the-1830s">John Fetterman</a> (D-PA). His first big-screen role was the reclusive Boo Radley in the 1962 film &#8220;To Kill a Mockingbird.&#8221;
Although he tried to keep his distance from politics in more recent years, Duvall was well-known in Hollywood for his conservative views. A lifelong Republican, he was awarded a National Medal of Arts by former President George W. Bush in 2005.

CANADA-ENTERTAINMENT-FILM-CINEMA-FESTIVAL

Robert Duvall, Star Of ‘Apocalypse Now’ And ‘The Godfather,’ Dead At 95

Academy Awards

U.S.

President Donald Trump is barely into his second year of his second term, and Democrats and the legacy media are still pulling out all the stops to cast doubt on the people he has chosen to serve as Cabinet members across his administration.
For those who don&#8217;t spend their Sunday mornings glued to the television — and their Sunday afternoons attempting to dig through a week&#8217;s worth of network and cable news media spin — The Daily Wire has compiled a short summary of what you may have missed.
There was no shortage of breaking news on Sunday — from coverage of the Winter Olympics to the latest on the suspected kidnapping of Nancy Guthrie — but that didn&#8217;t stop the Sunday political talk shows from focusing on a few key members of the president Trump&#8217;s Cabinet. Several high profile politicians took to the airwaves to express their concern in the ability of certain Cabinet members to carry out their responsibilities.
On ABC&#8217;s &#8220;This Week,&#8221; host Martha Raddatz spoke with Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) about a combative exchange he&#8217;d had with Attorney General Pam Bondi earlier in the week, and asked whether he still had &#8220;confidence&#8221; in her ability to serve in that particular role.
&#8220;I don’t think Pam Bondi has confidence in Pam Bondi,&#8221; Massie said. &#8220;She wasn&#8217;t confident to engage in anything but name-calling in the hearing, so no, I don&#8217;t have confidence in her. She doesn&#8217;t have any sort of accountability there at the DOJ.&#8221;
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When asked by ABC News’ Martha Raddatz whether he has confidence in Pam Bondi as attorney general, Rep. Massie responded: “I don’t think Pam Bondi has confidence in Pam Bondi.” <a href="https://t.co/v6q311NGOu">https://t.co/v6q311NGOu</a> <a href="https://t.co/vqhcQ9kV3r">pic.twitter.com/vqhcQ9kV3r</a>
— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) <a href="https://twitter.com/ThisWeekABC/status/2023055290904543673?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 15, 2026</a></blockquote>
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At Raddatz&#8217;s suggestion, Massie went on to criticize Bondi for failing to address the victims of convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, some of whom were present in the Capitol Hill hearing — and he argued that it was &#8220;cold&#8221; on her part and that she may have been afraid to do so.
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Rep. Thomas Massie reacts to the image of Attorney General Pam Bondi not looking at the Epstein victims behind her during a hearing: “I think she was afraid to.” <a href="https://t.co/eiC9PK4xdH">https://t.co/eiC9PK4xdH</a> <a href="https://t.co/FgRK4lyPiS">pic.twitter.com/FgRK4lyPiS</a>
— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) <a href="https://twitter.com/ThisWeekABC/status/2023052573532447151?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 15, 2026</a></blockquote>
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On CBS News, &#8220;Face the Nation&#8221; host Margaret Brennan pressed Rep. Robert Garcia (D-CA) to weigh in on discrepancies between previous admissions made by Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and information that has come out of the recently-released Epstein-related documents.
Garcia said that he and some others in Congress would like to speak with Lutnick — who has conceded that he had &#8220;limited interactions&#8221; with Epstein — but that he&#8217;s gotten no response from Republicans on how and when that might come about.
&#8220;Not only did [Lutnick] visit the island, he had tons of communication with Jeffrey Epstein after it was already known that Jeffrey Epstein was essentially convicted for preying on children. So, it is shameful that he is actually in our government. He should not be the commerce secretary. He should come talk to the Oversight Committee,&#8221; Garcia said.
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Rep. Robert Garcia (D-CA) says the House Oversight Committee has asked Republican Chairman James Comer (R-KY) to “bring in [Commerce Secretary] Lutnick” for questioning on his relationship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, but “have had no response.”
“Not only did… <a href="https://t.co/PSkJpmwOpN">pic.twitter.com/PSkJpmwOpN</a>
— Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) <a href="https://twitter.com/FaceTheNation/status/2023094193409646947?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 15, 2026</a></blockquote>
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Credit: @FaceTheNation/X.com
CNN anchor Jake Tapper raised the question regarding Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, asking several guests about recent comments she made on making sure &#8220;the right people&#8221; were voting in American elections.
Noem herself explained that she was talking about the role played by the Department of Homeland Security in ensuring that elections were secure — primarily by preventing illegal aliens from remaining in the United States and voting in American elections — and accused media personalities of &#8220;manufacturing&#8221; outrage over something that should have been straightforward.
&#8220;It must be exhausting to regularly manufacture outrage even over the most commonsense statement,&#8221; she said.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer responded to Noem&#8217;s statement, saying, &#8220;That&#8217;s a lot of bull.&#8221;
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&#8220;That&#8217;s a lot of bull.&#8221;
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer reacts to DHS Secretary Kristi Noem&#8217;s comments about making sure &#8220;we have the right people voting, electing the right leaders.&#8221; <a href="https://t.co/6bjFePUPBr">pic.twitter.com/6bjFePUPBr</a>
— State of the Union (@CNNSOTU) <a href="https://twitter.com/CNNSOTU/status/2023039537056788898?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 15, 2026</a></blockquote>
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Credit: @CNNSOTU/X.com
Tapper pressed Border Czar Tom Homan to answer for Noem as well, but he wasn&#8217;t having it. Instead, he told Tapper that he&#8217;d have to ask Noem directly if he wanted to know what she&#8217;d meant.
&#8220;That would be a question for the secretary&#8230; That would be something she&#8217;d have to answer,&#8221; Homan said, later adding, &#8220;Do me and Secretary Noem agree on everything? No &#8230; It&#8217;s one team, one fight. I&#8217;m not going to divide this administration.&#8221;
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TAPPER: &#8220;What does [Noem] mean when she says &#8216;electing the right leaders&#8217;? That&#8217;s not really immigration enforcement or DHS responsibility.&#8221;
HOMAN: &#8220;I don&#8217;t know. That would be a question for the secretary&#8230; That would be something she&#8217;d have to answer.&#8221; <a href="https://t.co/Btz1dpSf0i">pic.twitter.com/Btz1dpSf0i</a>
— State of the Union (@CNNSOTU) <a href="https://twitter.com/CNNSOTU/status/2023068352369803597?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 15, 2026</a></blockquote>
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Credit: @CNNSOTU/X.com
Tapper also raised the same question with Governor Andy Beshear (D-KY), who called Noem&#8217;s comments &#8220;un-American.&#8221;
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Gov. Beshear says DHS Secretary Kristi Noem&#8217;s comments about &#8220;electing the right leaders&#8221; are &#8220;wild and they are un-American.&#8221; <a href="https://t.co/EOW55pqBAv">pic.twitter.com/EOW55pqBAv</a>
— State of the Union (@CNNSOTU) <a href="https://twitter.com/CNNSOTU/status/2023070275126853884?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 15, 2026</a></blockquote>
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Credit: @CNNSOTU/X.com

Kristi Noem

Spin Cycle: In Shocking Twist, Dems And Media Still Don’t Like Trump’s Cabinet

Spin Cycle: In Shocking Twist, Dems And Media Still Don't Like Trump's Cabinet

ABC News

CBS News

Epstein Files

Pam Bondi

CNN&#8217;s Kaitlan Collins may often find herself at odds with President Donald Trump, but during a recent interview, she conceded that it was White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt who stepped in to defend her rights as a journalist.
Collins explained the situation to &#8220;Absolutely Not&#8221; podcast host Heather McMahan, which unfolded when Collins traveled with the president to Saudi Arabia. She explained that the Saudi Royal Guard attempted to bar her from attending an event with Trump, and Leavitt lobbied for her to be allowed in the room.
WATCH:
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CNN’s Kaitlan Collins Says Karoline Leavitt Defended Her Free Press Rights
“The Saudi Royal Guard freaked out because I dared to ask a question … and said, you can&#8217;t come into the next event … Karoline, to her credit said, no Kaitlan&#8217;s coming in with the rest of the U.S.… <a href="https://t.co/uhB9al4GVX">pic.twitter.com/uhB9al4GVX</a>
— Chief Nerd (@TheChiefNerd) <a href="https://twitter.com/TheChiefNerd/status/2021943212605165863?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 12, 2026</a></blockquote>
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&#8220;When we were in Saudi Arabia, we were on a foreign trip with the president, and [Trump] came in with all the other leaders, including the Saudi Crown Prince,&#8221; Collins said, setting the scene for McMahan. &#8220;They famously do not like the media there, to put it lightly.&#8221;
&#8220;[I] shouted a question to President Trump, who had seen me when the U.S. press came in,&#8221; she continued. &#8220;He didn&#8217;t answer, which is, I mean, that&#8217;s how it works: you shout questions, they either answer or they don&#8217;t, it&#8217;s their prerogative. And then the world leaders left the room.&#8221;
That, Collins said, was when things started to get sticky for her. The Saudi Royal Guard, unaccustomed to reporters being allowed to shout questions at their leaders, attempted to bar her from entering the room ahead of the next event.
&#8220;The Saudi Royal Guard kind of freaked out because I dared to ask a question, and they&#8217;re not used to that there because they don&#8217;t have a free press,&#8221; she explained. &#8220;And so they came up, and they said, &#8216;Okay, well, you can&#8217;t come into the next event,&#8217; which was like two minutes later.&#8221;
Collins said she attempted to explain &#8220;that&#8217;s not how this works,&#8221; but gained little ground with the Royal Guard.
&#8220;I could see them whispering and pointing about me,&#8221; she added. &#8220;Some of the younger White House press weren&#8217;t really sure what to do, and they went to Karoline. And, to her credit, she said, &#8216;No, Kaitlan&#8217;s coming in with the rest of the U.S. press&#8217; &#8230; which I do think is important, in that moment.&#8221;
Collins noted that similar incidents had happened on foreign trips before, such as when President Trump visited the DMZ and met with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un.

President Trump And French President Macron Hold News Conference

Trump Foe Kaitlan Collins Recalls Time Karoline Leavitt Defended Her From Saudis

Regular CNN Trump Foil Admits Karoline Leavitt Defended Her Rights As Journalist

Freedom of the Press

Kaitlan Collins

Karoline Leavitt

Saudi Arabia

NewsNation anchor Chris Cuomo called on Democrats to resist the temptation to impeach President Donald Trump if they win control of either the House or the Senate in the fast-approaching 2026 midterm elections.
Cuomo addressed the issue during Tuesday&#8217;s broadcast of &#8220;The Chris Cuomo Project,&#8221; saying that however likely it seemed that Democrats might come out ahead, it would be in the country&#8217;s best interest for them to show a little restraint.
WATCH:
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🚨NEW: Chris Cuomo implores Dems to *RESIST IMPEACHING TRUMP* if they regain power🚨
&#8220;It is a political process &#8230; You do not have the votes you need to remove him. It will not happen. So why put us through it?&#8221;<a href="https://twitter.com/DailyCaller?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@DailyCaller</a> <a href="https://t.co/bKG2sWDar2">pic.twitter.com/bKG2sWDar2</a>
— Jason Cohen 🇺🇸 (@JasonJournoDC) <a href="https://twitter.com/JasonJournoDC/status/2021223501613388137?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 10, 2026</a></blockquote>
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&#8220;Where is he in terms of how he should be feeling about the midterms?&#8221; Cuomo asked in reference to the president — and then pantomimed something apparently intending to show nerves or panic.
&#8220;Did you hear what Ted Cruz said to him reportedly, allegedly?&#8221; Cuomo continued. &#8220;‘You’re going to lose House seats and Senate seats and they’re going to impeach you every day.’ Now, I really hope that last part doesn’t happen. Why? You don’t have the votes to remove him.”
&#8220;It is a political process — impeachment. Okay? Removal is a straight up and down vote, you do not have — not up and down, it&#8217;s not 50 plus one,&#8221; he said. &#8220;You do not have the votes you need to remove him. It will not happen. So, why put us through it? And any high-minded idea you give us, I just point you to the last two and see if that helped the country in any way.&#8221;
Cuomo is not the only one talking about impeachment as Democrats ramp up the fight for congressional control.
Rep. Al Green (D-TX) has already filed articles of impeachment, as has Rep. Shri Thanedar (D-MI) — and The Hill ran an <a href="https://thehill.com/opinion/white-house/5726969-trump-impeachment-restore-constitutional-faith/">opinion piece</a> on Monday calling not only for impeachment, but for Democrats to pack the Supreme Court as well.
Former House Speaker <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/nancy-pelosi-says-democrats-shouldnt-try-to-impeach-trump-again">Nancy Pelosi</a> (D-CA) walked a finer line on the issue during a recent interview, cautioning members of her party to make sure that they only proceeded on a possible impeachment if they had good reason to do so. Pelosi did not indicate what constituted a good reason.
&#8220;That’s not an incidental thing you say — ‘We’re going to [impeach].’ No, there has to be cause,” Pelosi said at the time. “There has to be reason.”

2017 Turner Upfront

‘Why Put Us Through It?’: Chris Cuomo Begs Dems Not To Impeach Trump Again

'Why Put Us Through It?': Chris Cuomo Begs Dems Not To Impeach Trump Again

Chris Cuomo

Impeachment

Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson suggested on Tuesday that her decision to attend the star-studded 2026 Grammy Awards was really just her way of getting &#8220;out into the community&#8221; while the Court was on hiatus.
Jackson joined the cohosts on ABC&#8217;s midday talk show &#8220;The View,&#8221; where she was primarily promoting the young adult version of her memoir, but the conversation turned to her appearance at the awards show and Republicans who&#8217;d criticized her for attending.
WATCH:
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Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson defends her appearance at the Grammys after a GOP senator called for an investigation: &#8220;When the justices are on recess, which is what we are doing right now, we really have an opportunity to go out into the community in various different ways.&#8221; <a href="https://t.co/kVUMxIEoIK">pic.twitter.com/kVUMxIEoIK</a>
— The View (@TheView) <a href="https://twitter.com/TheView/status/2021264308802376185?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 10, 2026</a></blockquote>
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&#8220;Some Republicans have criticized the fact that you were even there, given the sort of hot potato political thing with Bad Bunny, et cetera,&#8221; cohost Joy Behar pointed out. &#8220;They didn&#8217;t think you should be there. In fact, Senator Blackburn, Marsha Blackburn, has called for an investigation into your impartiality. So — do you have any response to that?&#8221;
&#8220;Well, I mean, when you are in public life, criticism, you know, is part of the job. I&#8217;m sure all of you have faced it,&#8221; Jackson replied, prompting laughter from everyone around the table.
&#8220;Another part of the job, actually, my job, is public outreach and education,&#8221; Jackson continued. &#8220;When the justices are on recess, which is what we are doing right now, we really have an opportunity to go out into the community in various different ways.&#8221;
Jackson went on to explain that she&#8217;d been in Los Angeles for a moot court — an educational simulation of the appellate court process — &#8220;and it just so happened that I got nominated for this Grammy, and I was already going to be there, and I thought this is great opportunity to highlight my work in this way and to see what&#8217;s happening at the Grammys.&#8221;
Jackson was nominated in the Best Audio Book, Narration and Storytelling Recording category for her memoir “Lovely One,&#8221; but ultimately lost to the Dalai Lama.

Justice Kentanji Brown Jackson

Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson Suggests Attending Grammys Was Basically Community Outreach

Courts

Ketanji Brown Jackson

An elected Democrat who is still facing federal charges for assaulting federal law enforcement officers sat opposite acting ICE Director Todd Lyons on Tuesday and demanded to know whether he believed he would &#8220;go to hell.&#8221;
Rep. LaMonica McIver (D-NJ) addressed Lyons directly during a Tuesday hearing of the House Committee on Homeland Security on Capitol Hill, and she quickly crossed the line to such a degree that Committee Chairman Andrew Garbarino (R-NY) had to step in and admonish her.
WATCH:
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WOW.
McIver to Lyons: “How do you think Judgment Day will work for you with so much blood on your hands?&#8221;
“Do you think you&#8217;re going to hell, Mr. Lyons?&#8221;
*Chamber groans*
Democrats again sail right over the sanity cliff. <a href="https://t.co/WT3MSG238t">https://t.co/WT3MSG238t</a> <a href="https://t.co/7kRHVcoEcJ">pic.twitter.com/7kRHVcoEcJ</a>
— Western Lensman (@WesternLensman) <a href="https://twitter.com/WesternLensman/status/2021285298911494610?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 10, 2026</a></blockquote>
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&#8220;Mr. Lyons, do you consider yourself a religious man?&#8221; McIver asked, and when Lyons replied in the affirmative, she continued: &#8220;Oh, yes, okay, well, how do you think Judgment Day will work for you with so much blood on your hands?&#8221;
Lyons, momentarily taken aback, said, &#8220;I&#8217;m not going to entertain that question.&#8221;
In sarcastic tones, McIver mused, &#8220;Oh, okay, of course not. Do you think you&#8217;re going to hell, Mr. Lyons?&#8221;
&#8220;I&#8217;m not going to entertain —&#8221; Lyons repeated.
&#8220;Of course not,&#8221; McIver said again, her words drawn out and exaggerated. &#8220;How many government —&#8221;
&#8220;The gentlelady will suspend. The gentlelady will suspend. As I — the gentlelady will suspend,&#8221; Garbarino interjected as McIver attempted to talk over him. &#8220;As I said, the issues that we&#8217;re debating here are important ones that members feel deeply about. While vigorous disagreement is part of the legislative process, members are reminded that we must adhere to established standards of decorum and debate.&#8221;
Garbarino went on to remind McIver that the witnesses testifying at Tuesday&#8217;s hearing were there voluntarily and should be treated with respect.
&#8220;Oversight is important,&#8221; he continued, adding, &#8220;Aggressively attacking those witnesses personally is inappropriate and not in keeping with the traditions of our committee.&#8221;
McIver, instead of taking the exit ramp, opted to dig the hole deeper: &#8220;Mr. Chairman, I&#8217;m just asking a question. You — all you guys — are always talking about religion here and the Bible. I mean, it&#8217;s okay for me to ask a question, right? But let me continue on, I got your notes.&#8221;
Turning back to Lyons, McIver asked for the number of government agencies that &#8220;routinely kill American citizens and still get funding.&#8221;
&#8220;Ma&#8217;am, I&#8217;m not going to entertain that —&#8221; Lyons replied.
&#8220;Of course you&#8217;re not,&#8221; McIver stretched her words again for emphasis. &#8220;Exactly. Once again, questions that you cannot answer.&#8221;
McIver then ran out the clock with a stump speech on all the reasons she believed ICE should be abolished in its entirety.
The New Jersey Democrat still <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/feds-charge-new-jersey-democrat-over-clash-with-agents-at-ice-facility">faces federal charges</a> for assault and for impeding federal law enforcement. McIver, along with several other New Jersey Democrats, was caught on video getting into a physical altercation with federal law enforcement officers outside an ICE detention facility in Newark, New Jersey, in May 2025.

US-POLITICS-CONGRESS

Dem Indicted For Assaulting Federal Officers Asks Acting ICE Director If He’ll ‘Go To Hell’

Dem Indicted For Assaulting ICE Asks Acting Director If He Thinks He'll 'Go To Hell'

Illegal Immigration

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)

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Virginia Kruta