Tucker Carlson rips Trump for 'ignoring America's biggest problem'
Carlson honed in on Trump's posturing in the Middle East, as cities like New York and LA have been hung out to dry — all while the US becomes unaffordable for normal families. 'I don't know, it kind feels like you're feeding me appetizers,' an emotional Carlson had told audience members. 'At some point, I want to look around and see a better country. I want to see a country I recognize.'
His rant argued that 'If you deny people what they actually want long enough, and instead substitute things that you claim they should want,' the administration should see scrutiny. 'Like, bombing Iran; you know, I'm not for Iran,' Carlson said. 'Or you spend all day telling me that it's so important that boys not play on girls soccer teams, or whatever — I agree. I hate the trans stuff passionately,' Carlson admitted. 'I think you should keep the boys off girls' soccer teams.' He then proclaimed: 'I [just] don't want to see people sleeping on the sidewalk. I don't want to see people ODing on drugs.'
He added: 'I want to know where those drugs are coming from. Why can't you stop it? You've got the US military. Don't you have Seal Team Six? What are they doing today? Why are my cities disgusting?' Carlson flat-out asked. 'It smells like weed and halal food. And you're lecturing me about how it's a great moral victory that I kicked the boys off the girls' soccer team? Good. I'm so glad. But let's do the real stuff like making New York livable. And creating an economy where my kids can have kids.'
He then brought up the focal point of a brewing civil war between conservatives — the so-called 'Epstein Files', which Trump repeatedly promised to release in full during his campaign. Last Monday, the Justice Department released findings stating that Epstein never even kept a 'client list' and confirmed that he killed himself in jail. The announcement earned harsh criticism from leading MAGA figures including Carlson, Megyn Kelly, and Laura Loomer as being not only a coverup but a clear backtrack.
Earlier in the day, it was revealed that FBI boss Kash Patel, his deputy Dan Bongino, and Attorney General Pam Bondi were duking it out behind the scenes over the administration's handling of the release of the files. Bondi's widely panned claim was 'too much' for Carlson, he told the conference.
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The Guardian
30 minutes ago
- The Guardian
I was on New York's rent board. Zohran Mamdani's ideas aren't pie in the sky
During the New York City mayoral primary campaign, Zohran Mamdani's proposal for a citywide rent freeze became a contentious topic. The Democratic nominee says to achieve a cap on annual rent increases for the city's 1m rent-stabilized apartments, he would appoint members to the city's rent guidelines board who support it. Critics decry a rent freeze as a pie-in-the-sky, unrealistic proposal. I served as a rent guidelines board member for nearly four years, appointed by then mayor Bill de Blasio in 2018. And it's clear this controversy isn't just about rent freezes – there's a larger agenda to deregulate rent-stabilized housing, under which rent ceilings prevent landlords from raising the rent too high and tenants must be offered renewal leases (unless the landlord shows legal reason not to). In 2023, a report revealed that half of New Yorkers couldn't afford basic needs such as housing, transportation, food and healthcare. This is the New York that I grew to know intimately before I joined the board. I'd been a tenants' rights attorney for years under the city's right-to-counsel program, representing hundreds of low-income families facing eviction who could not afford their own attorneys. Each week, I entered housing court to find my clients – families with toddlers, seniors with disabilities and food delivery drivers – anxiously awaiting possible eviction. It's not just low-income tenants at the mercy of landlords. Over the last 12 years, I've listened to thousands of stories and the one common thread is how easy it is for a moderate-income person to wind up homeless. Sudden unemployment, unexpected disability coupled with a rent increase, and now you're fighting like hell to survive housing court and not join the 350,000 homeless New Yorkers. For these New Yorkers, a rent freeze isn't some out-of-touch idea; it's a lifeline. The people who make that decision are nine board members, all appointed by the mayor – two tenant members (my former role), two landlord members and five public members whom the tenants and landlord members vie to win over to reach a majority vote. We don't rely on feelings or vibes – we're poring over reports and hours of public testimony, and engaging in spirited policy debates. In 2020, those reports revealed record unemployment spurred by the pandemic and an already high homelessness rate and rent burden (most tenants were paying 30% or more of their income on rent). Weighing that with landlord operating costs, the board voted to approve a rent freeze that year, and a partial rent freeze (for six months) the following year. In fact, the board voted for a rent freeze four times over the last 10 years under the de Blasio administration (the board votes every summer on these rent levels and they take effect in the fall). 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Sky News
38 minutes ago
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Trump says US will send NATO weapons to help Ukraine - as he threatens Putin with 'severe tariffs'
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