
'Delusional Trump's grotesque birthday party was embarrassment even Melania couldn't stomach'
Donald Trump's ridiculous military parade
was never about the troops.
It wasn't about patriotism, unity, or honouring the 250th anniversary of the US Army, no matter how many flags were waved or tanks rolled by.
It was about one thing only: Donald J. Trump and his obsessive, delusional need to feel worshipped -
with deluded claims about the number of attendees.
Billed as a grand celebration of America's armed forces, this taxpayer-funded farce was really a grotesque birthday party for an ageing man who's spent his life confusing adoration with leadership. And
Pete Hegseth was caught doing an 'embarrassing' act.
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The tanks, the troops, the blaring anthems - all orchestrated not to salute American service but to feed Trump's insatiable ego as he marked 79 years of being the world's biggest narcissist.
This wasn't a show of strength. It was a pitiful attempt to copy the authoritarian pageantry of his role models, Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un - leaders Trump has fawned over while undermining American democracy at every turn.
It was a very over the top spectacle
Dictators have parades. Presidents have principles.
Trump abandoned the latter years ago.
While America burns, literally and politically, Trump played emperor on a hollow throne.
Just hours after an elected official was assassinated in her own home, and as millions of Americans rallied in the streets under the banner of 'No Kings,' Trump paraded down Constitution Avenue like some bloated monarch.
And where were the throngs of adoring fans he so desperately craves? Not in Washington, DC.
There were a lot of green patches of empty space
(Image: AP)
Only a few thousand bothered to turn up. The sparse crowds must have stung, this from the man still ranting about his inauguration numbers.
Even trophy wife Melania couldn't stomach it. She was caught dozing mid-parade, visibly bored by her husband's circus of self-importance.
In the end, the whole charade collapsed under the weight of its own absurdity.
A $45 million taxpayer-funded embarrassment. A birthday bash for a wannabe king.
And a reminder that Trump's hunger for power will always come before the country he claims to love.

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Irish Examiner
an hour ago
- Irish Examiner
Trump, Netanyahu and Khamenei — three angry old men who could get us all killed
This was not inevitable. This is a war Israel chose. It could have been prevented. Diplomatic talks were ongoing when the bombers took off for Iran. Israel's continuing, illegal, unjustified airstrikes are unlikely to achieve their stated aim — permanently ending Tehran's presumed efforts to build nuclear weapons — and may accelerate it. They must stop now. Likewise, Iran must halt its retaliation immediately and drop its escalatory threats to attack US and UK bases. This conflict is not limited, as was the case last year, to tit-for-tat exchanges and 'precision strikes' on a narrow range of military targets. It's reached a wholly different level. Potentially nothing is off the table. Civilians are being killed on both sides. Leaders are targets. The rhetoric is out of control. With Israel fighting on several fronts, and Iran's battered regime backed against a wall, the Middle East is closer than ever to a disastrous conflagration. Reasons can always be found to go to war. The roots of major conflicts often reach back decades — and this is true of the Israel-Iran vendetta, which dates to the 1979 Islamic revolution. The so-called 'shadow war' between the two intensified in recent years. Yet all-out conflict had been avoided, until now. Israel's prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu: War is Netanyahu's choice. It's what gets him out of bed in the morning. It's what keeps him and his UK-sanctioned far-right cronies in office and out of jail. Picture: AP /Ohad Zwigenberg So who is principally to blame for this sudden, unprecedented explosion? Answer: three angry old men whose behaviour raises serious doubts about their judgment, common sense, motives and even their sanity. The fact that one of them — Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel's prime minister — has actively sought a showdown with Iran for years does not mean it had to happen. The fact the Tehran regime is unusually vulnerable after Israel's attacks last year and the defeat of its Hezbollah ally does not somehow legitimise a surprise assault on its sovereign soil. It's true that UN nuclear inspectors say Iran is breaking treaty obligations. But that doesn't amount to a green light for war. Netanyahu attacked Iran to avert an 'existential threat'. He may have made it worse. Netanyahu, 75, is unfit to lead Israel, let alone make life-or-death decisions on its behalf. He failed to protect Israelis from the 2023 terror attacks, then dodged responsibility. He has failed to fulfil his vow to destroy Hamas and bring back the hostages, yet his soldiers have killed more than 55,000 Palestinians in Gaza in the process. He invaded Lebanon and Syria. Now it's Iran. Where will he stop? Will he fight Turkey next? It's not out of the question. War is Netanyahu's choice. It's what gets him out of bed in the morning. It's what keeps him and his UK-sanctioned far-right cronies in office and out of jail. His actions have inflicted extraordinary damage on his country's reputation, fuelling antisemitism globally. He claims Israel is fighting for its existence — but his own political survival is a prime consideration, too. Netanyahu has been indicted for alleged war crimes in Gaza. He should be arrested, not defended and enabled, before any more crimes are committed. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's bellicose supreme leader, is the second leading culprit. He should have been put out to grass in Qom years ago. The 86-year-old squats atop a repressive, corrupt theocratic regime that has lost touch with the society and people it ostensibly serves. Elections are fixed, judges are bent, media censorship is pervasive. The regime's military incompetence, economic mismanagement and brutal persecution of young women, gay men and human rights defenders such as Nasrin Sotoudeh are notorious. Like Netanyahu, Khamenei is backed by hardline conservatives and opposed by reformers, but it's him who calls the shots. His suspicious insistence on stepping up uranium enrichment, even though civil applications are lacking, ultimately gave Netanyahu an opening. Although he is said to be unwell, Khamenei is a key reason why Iran will not abandon its nuclear programme. Even without him, Netanyahu's idea that it can be totally eliminated is fantasy. This blindspot may be the regime's final undoing. Israel's strikes have killed senior military leaders and damaged nuclear facilities and ballistic missile and drone forces. Khamenei himself, and Iran's vital energy exports, may be next. In a patronising video, Netanyahu urged Iranians to rise up and seize their 'freedom'. Many would like to. The difficulty with such advice, coming from a tainted source, is that it could have the opposite effect of rallying the public, and Arab leaders, around the regime. US president Donald Trump: Whether he is selling out to Vladimir Putin, weaponising tariffs, botching a Gaza ceasefire or bullying neighbours, Trump is a total menace. Iran's threats to attack US, British and French bases and ships if they help defend Israel, and to close the strait of Hormuz, heighten the risk of full-scale war and a global energy shock that could hurt the west and benefit Russia. These are some of the direct consequences of Donald Trump's weak, vacillating stance. Trump, 79, is the third man in this avoidable tragedy. He previously said he preferred to negotiate a new nuclear deal with Iran, having idiotically trashed the previous one. But he couldn't decide on terms, and his amateurish negotiators kept changing their position. That was partly because Trump, as with Palestine and Ukraine, is too idle to study the details. He wings it instead, trusting to instincts that are invariably bad. That makes him easy prey for wily operators such as Netanyahu. Trump's feeble ineptitude meant that when Israel's leader insisted last week that the time was right for an all-out attack on Iran, he folded. Typically, once the attack began, he switched, trying to claim credit and issuing flatulent threats of his own. Each time he opens his mouth, Trump inadvertently confirms Iran's suspicions that the US and Israel are acting in close concert. Anyone who still thinks Trump has even the remotest idea what he's doing when confronting the big international questions of the day should study the alarming events of the past week. Whether he is selling out to Vladimir Putin, weaponising tariffs, botching a Gaza ceasefire or bullying neighbours, Trump is a total menace. Far better, and safer, for Britain to bypass him and try as much as possible to act independently of the US from now on. These angry old men could get us all killed. Read More Maria Walsh: Polish election result shows we cannot take trust in Europe for granted

The Journal
2 hours ago
- The Journal
Iran and Israel continue exchanges of fire as conflict escalates
IRAN AND ISRAEL continued to exchange fire overnight following an Israeli attack against its arch foe last Friday. Iran has responded with ballistic missile strikes against Israel while Israeli attacks have continued to target high-ranking members of the Iranian military as well as its nuclear facilities and scientists. Israel claims Iran is close to developing nuclear weapons, something Iranian leaders have repeatedly denied. Last night's Iranian missile attack followed Israeli strikes in central Iran, which Israel's army said targeted surface-to-surface missile sites. Iran's Revolutionary Guards, in a statement quoted by the official IRNA news agency, said they had 'successfully' struck Israel and vowed 'effective, targeted and more devastating operations' to come. Israel's Magen David Adom emergency service said five people had been killed and 92 wounded following the latest Iranian attack. AFP images showed gutted residential buildings in Tel Aviv and fires smouldering outside the coastal city of Haifa, after Israel's army warned people to take cover from incoming Iranian missiles. In Jerusalem, an AFP journalist heard loud explosions, while footage showed Israeli air defences lighting up the night sky. After decades of enmity and a prolonged shadow war fought through proxies and covert operations, Israel's attack on Friday has kicked off the most intense fighting yet and triggered fears of a lengthy conflict that could engulf the Middle East. Israel says its attacks have hit military and nuclear facilities, and killed many top commanders and atomic scientists – but a senior US official said Sunday that US President Donald Trump told Israel to back down from a plan to kill supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Trump urged Iran to 'make a deal' regarding its ability to enrich uranium, even as Israeli strikes rained down on the capital Tehran. Advertisement Trump told reporters yesterday that 'sometimes they have to fight it out' first. Residential areas in both countries have suffered deadly strikes since the hostilities broke out on Friday, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu slamming Iran yesterday for allegedly targeting civilians. 'Iran will pay a very heavy price for the premeditated murder of civilians, women and children,' he said while visiting a residential building struck by a missile in the coastal city of Bat Yam, near Tel Aviv. Iranian strikes since Friday have killed more than a dozen people in Israel. Iran's health ministry reported at least 224 people killed and more than 1,200 wounded in Israeli attacks since Friday. Iranian state television reported at least five people were killed yesterday by an Israeli strike that hit a residential building in central Tehran. Colonel Reza Sayyad, a spokesman for Iran's armed forces, threatened a 'devastating response' to Israel's attacks. 'Leave the occupied territories (Israel) because they will certainly no longer be habitable in the future,' he warned in a televised address, adding shelters will 'not guarantee security'. Addressing parliament today, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian urged citizens to 'stand strong against this genocidal criminal aggression with unity and coherence'. Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz later warned that Tehran's residents would 'pay the price' for Iranian attacks on Israeli civilians. Despite reports of people fleeing the Iranian capital, some were determined to stay. 'It is natural that war has its own stress, but I will not leave my city,' Shokouh Razzazi, 31, told AFP. - © AFP 2025


Extra.ie
4 hours ago
- Extra.ie
Trump blocks Israeli plan to assassinate Iranian supreme leader
US President Donald Trump personally blocked an Israeli plan to assassinate Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khameni, it was revealed overnight. The dramatic intervention came amid continued intense bombardments between both sides in the ongoing conflict. It is understood Israel had a brief 'time window' during the current blitz on Iran to take out the regime chief with a precision strike, only for Trump to say no. US President Donald Trump personally blocked an Israeli plan to assassinate Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khameni, it was revealed overnight. Pic: ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images A source told Reuters that US Officials had been brief that a 'credible plan' was drawn up by Israel and shown to the White House, however was rejected by Trump who said the US would only go after the political leadership of Iran if it killed an American. The latest came as Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed on Sunday that the country had destroyed Iran's main nuclear enrichment site. Speaking to Fox News, he said: 'We've destroyed the main facility in Natanz. That's the main enrichment facility.' Damage to buildings in Nobonyad Square following Israeli airstrikes on June 13, 2025 in Tehran, Iran. Pic:It has been claimed that the site was mere weeks away from producing weapons-grade uranium. Asked about the vetoed assassination plan, Netanyahu responded: 'I'm not getting into it,' adding that there was 'many false reports about conversations.' On Sunday, Israel continued to strike Iran and are also accused of a string of lethal car bomb attacks in the capital city of Tehran. Asked about the vetoed assassination plan, Netanyahu responded: 'I'm not getting into it,' adding that there was 'many false reports about conversations.' Pic: MENAHEM KAHANA/AFP via Getty Images Israel have rejected claims that they are responsible for five car bombs which are alleged to have killed a number of nuclear scientists. As many as 406 people died across Iran on Sunday night following air strikes on the country while a further 645 are injured. The Israeli death toll is understood to be 13. Six people have been killed and at least 180 injured at the site of an overnight missile strike in Bat Yam, near Tel Aviv, Israeli police confirmed. Emergency and Rescue soldiers search for trapped people inside heavily damaged buildings after an overnight missiles strike from Iran on June 15, 2025 in Bat Yam, Israel. Pic:The victims included five Ukrainian nationals, three of whom were children. Visiting a damaged residential block in the area on Sunday, the Israeli prime minister said Iran 'will pay a very heavy price for the premeditated murder of civilians, woman and children.' Israel Defence Forces (IDF) spokesperson Nadav Shoshani confirmed the Israeli air force struck an Iranian refuelling aircraft as Mashhad airport, Iran. Mashhad is a major city 2,400m from Tel Aviv with Shoshani saying the attack was 'the longest-range strike conducted since the beginning of the operation.' Israel's reliance on the US for military hardware gives President Trump a veto on the military's plans but it is thought the States are poised to defend Israel from further attacks.