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Jul 23, 2026 - World

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt ignited an internet firestorm Thursday after commenting that the new Saudi nuclear deal would put America First.During a White House press conference, a reporter pressed her to explain why this negotiation was underway."Why does Saudi Arabia get a civilian nuclear deal but Iran doesn’t get a civilian nuclear deal?" the reporter asked."This agreement in particular, as it's been discussed thus far, does give priority access for American companies and the Saudi nuclear energy program, which will ultimately benefit American industry workers and supply chain," Leavitt said. "So, the deal that has been discussed thus far and will continue to be discussed absolutely puts America first, and that's obviously very important to this president."Political experts and commentators weighed in on Leavitt's remarks."Remind me again, where 15th (sic) of the 19 9/11 hijackers were from? Remind me again of which government was known and found to have been associated with the 9/11 attacks? Oh! That’s right, Saudi Arabia. But yep it’s about ‘Murica 1st!" Democratic strategist Corbin Trent, former communications director for Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and former Sen. Bernie Sanders (D-VT) team member who now runs the Super PAC A Fight Worth Having, wrote on X."15 of the 19 9/11 terrorists were from Saudi Arabia? As was the mastermind, Osama bin Laden," Sarah Larchmont, progressive political commentator, wrote on X."Saudi Arabia flew planes into American buildings on 9/11 and chopped up a journalist they didn’t like," wrote Jim Stewartson, writer and political commentator, in a post on X. Stewartson was referring to the murder of Washington Post contributor Jamal Khashoggi, who was targeted by a hit squad with ties to the highest levels of Saudi Arabia's government."A $1B Trump complex is not putting America first. Anything that prioritizes a Trump or billionaire pocket over the security and wellbeing of the American people is not America first," political scientist Natascha Dea Burdeinei wrote on X."Actually, it puts Saudi Arabia first and the Trump family benefits," X account PNW Area Man, who frequently comments on politics, wrote on X.Remind me again, where 15th of the 19 9/11 hijackers were from? Remind me again of which government was known and found to have been associated with the 9/11 attacks? Oh! That’s right Saudi Arabia. But yep it’s about ‘Murica 1st! https://t.co/GwGSDXRgBR— Corbin Trent (@corbintrent) July 23, 2026

Jul 23, 2026 - World

A Democratic lawmaker and veteran called out President Donald Trump on Thursday, dubbing him and his team "an absolute clown car" as Americans' frustration over the Iran war mounts.Rep. Pat Ryan (D-NY) told MeidasTouch that as the Middle East conflict grows, it appears increasingly clear that Trump and his administration do not have a strategy for the war — and it's costing more lives as a result. House lawmakers on Thursday voted to pass a war powers resolution, rebuking Trump's war. Ryan described his annoyance over the conflict, arguing that lawmakers do not want to send the "next generation" to another military conflict in the region. He also described his anger over Trump's behavior at Dover Air Force Base on Wednesday during the dignified transfer of four fallen military service members who died in recent days following strikes. "You see there's a photo with every leader with their head down, bowed, and he’s just staring off into the abyss. It’s just pathetic," Ryan said."What do you expect from a five-time draft dodger who has no clue what this is? The American people see this," he added."This is a guy that has never served a single day in uniform but is willing to send other people’s kids to fight in his wars while his own sons are profiting off all these defense companies’ stocks that they own," Ryan said. "It’s absolutely disgusting. It's absolutely un-American and every Republican needs to vote yes on this war powers resolution or else their name is on this. I think increasingly, the blood of our fallen is certainly on Hegseth's hands and Trump's hands, and every Republican who continues this war and doesn't stop it today — they're accountable for that."Ryan: You see there’s a photo with everyone’s heads bowed, and he’s just staring off into the abyss. It’s just pathetic. What do you expect from a five-time draft dodger? This is a guy who has never served a single day in uniform and is willing to send other people’s kids to… pic.twitter.com/9EFdFb35Ik— Acyn (@Acyn) July 23, 2026

Jul 23, 2026 - World

A Republican senator admitted that Americans were feeling "pain" from President Donald Trump's decision to launch a war against Iran.Sen. Jim Banks (R-IN) appeared Thursday on Fox News, where he told anchor Sandra Smith that fuel costs would go back down once hostilities cooled after the unraveling of the memorandum of understanding signed last month."It's important, I don't discount it," the Indiana Republican said. "I hear from Hoosiers that talk about high gas prices, and we want gas prices to come down, and the good news, as you saw when the president signed the short-term [memorandum of understanding] with the Iranians, you saw gas prices immediately go down; now they are creeping back up."The 14-point framework agreed to by the Trump administration mandated a permanent ceasefire, the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and 60 days to negotiate a nuclear agreement, but the terms of that memorandum are effectively dead with the resumption of military strikes."We know that as soon as we strike a deal and end Iran's ability to have a nuclear weapon and we can finish the war," Banks said, "we know gas prices will immediately go down to where they need to be, lower than we've ever seen before because of President Trump's energy policies.""This is temporary," he added. "I feel the pain. I hear this from Hoosiers as well. Gas prices will go down as soon as Iran does the right thing and ends their nuclear program."

Jul 23, 2026 - World

White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt should be fielding questions about Jared Kushner's $2 billion tie to Saudi Arabia, a media expert fumed Thursday. Judd Legum, founder of the Substack Popular.info, took to social media to share his disgust after Leavitt was grilled about President Donald Trump's controversial nuclear deal at a White House press conference.His frustration appeared in the form of a list of news outlets that covered the US-Saudi nuclear deal without mentioning that Jared Kushner, Trump’s senior White House aide, is getting paid by the Saudi government."Legum's list included The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Associated Press, Reuters, CNN, NBC, ABC, CBS, The Guardian, Semafor, The Washington Post, Fox News, The New York Post, BBC, Newsweek, and MS NOW.Kushner launched his private equity firm Affinity Partners shortly after leaving the White House in 2021 after Trump's first administration, reports show.The Florida-based company received a $2 billion investment from Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, chaired by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, multiple reports show. The deal drew scrutiny from ethics watchdogs given Kushner's role shaping U.S.-Saudi relations, including his involvement in defending MBS after the killing of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi.On his Substack, Legum dubbed the coverage, "A media blackout for Kushner’s corruption."

Jul 23, 2026 - World

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed on Thursday that President Donald Trump has used Truth Social to announce changes to the Saudi nuclear deal, sparking backlash online.Leavitt told reporters during a White House press conference that Trump had made the public comments despite the fact that he had not consulted them this time."As you know, the president just put this statement out a few hours ago," Leavitt said. "I don't believe he's had a call with MBS in the hours since. However, this is something that he has raised in previous conversations and has also said many times in the past."Social media users responded to the change.Journalist Aaron Rupar shared a clip from the press conference and noted the significant shift. "Leavitt confirms that Trump is unilaterally changing the terms of the Saudi nuclear deal via Truth Social posts without even contacting any Saudi officials," Rupar wrote on X.Others were quick to point out the president's move."This is why Trump is a failure on the world stage," Vince Wilson, a YouTube creator and liberal political commentator, wrote on X. "It’s all theatrics."U.S. politics and culture historian Joanne Freeman suggested Trump's post represented a repeating pattern."He will never stick with any deal," Freeman wrote. "He will never accept that he has lost…anything. He sees nothing but himself. Pretty clear by this point."Oeishik a political commentator, with more than 11,000 followers, openly mocked Trump's tactic."That's one way to do diplomacy, I guess. In this upside-down world," Oeishik wrote.Denison Barb, a progressive commentator with more than 19,000 followers, responded on X, When you have a demented old man at the helm no one knows what's going on."Leavitt confirms that Trump is unilaterally changing the terms of the Saudi nuclear deal via Truth Social posts without even contacting any Saudi officials pic.twitter.com/DjcRBANhvj— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) July 23, 2026