Byron York Joins the Guy Benson Show and Discusses the Media's 'Nervous Breakdown' Over WAPO's Editorial Changes
Byron York, Chief Political Correspondent for the Washington Examiner and Fox News contributor, joined The Guy Benson Show today to break down the shocking case of Charles Littlejohn, who stole Trump's tax returns (along with the tax information of hundreds of thousands of Americans) and walked away with only minor charges. York and Benson explained why this case is a prime example of Democrats weaponizing lawfare to their advantage. The pair also discussed the left's outrage over the Washington Post's editorial shift toward a more pro-America, pro-freedom stance, as well as the broader decline in trust in legacy media–and why major outlets are scrambling to adapt. Listen to the full interview below!
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The Hill
23 minutes ago
- The Hill
Johnson brushes off Musk campaign spending threats: ‘It doesn't concern me'
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) in an interview Friday brushed off Elon Musk's campaign spending threats in light of the tech billionaire's public fallout with President Trump, suggesting he isn't worried. The spat between Trump and Musk began with the latter's criticism of the president's legislative agenda making its way through Congress. Johnson said he built a closer relationship with the then-special government employee and that the tech mogul has been led astray regarding the 'big beautiful' spending package. 'Look, it doesn't concern me. We're going to win either way because we're going to win on our policies we're delivering for hardworking Americans and fulfilling those promises,' Johnson told Fox News's 'Jesse Watters Primetime.' 'But look, I like Elon and respect him. I mean, we became friends in all this process,' he continued. 'I've been texting with him even this week … in trying to make sure that he has accurate information about the bill. I think he has been misled about it.' Musk, who contributed hundreds of millions of dollars to assist in Trump's win in the 2024 presidential election, was the biggest donor during the White House race. Amid his recent spat with Trump, which broke out in public as the two traded insults and threats, Musk argued that without his political expenditures, Trump would have lost to former Vice President Harris, Republicans would lose the majority in the House and the GOP would have failed to flip the majority in the Senate. Trump then threatened to have all federal contracts associated with the billionaire's companies to be cut off. As the fight between the two intensified, the tech executive floated the idea of forming a third party and accused the president of being named in the late Jeffrey Epstein's files. Trump has denied close ties to the disgraced financier. Musk's opposition to the GOP megabill — which he called a 'disgusting abomination' — is largely tied to deficit spending. The billionaire argued the legislation would balloon the national debt and fails to slash enough spending. The package faces an uphill battle in the Senate. While Musk, who recently left his position as the top adviser to Trump's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), seemed open to repairing ties on Friday, the president appeared to be OK with moving on. Johnson in the interview Friday defended the spending bill and commended Trump for his handling of the squabble. 'We're going to make good on this… I like the president's attitude. You know, he is moving on. He has to,' he told the host. 'He's laser-focused on delivering for the people. And House and Senate Republicans are as well. So, we've got our hand at the wheel.' 'We're going to get this done just like we told the people,' the Speaker continued. 'And if you are a hardworking American that is struggling to take care of your family, you are going to love this legislation.' The Louisiana Republican added, 'I'm telling you, all boats are going to rise and everybody's going to be in a much better mood before we go into that midterm election in 2026.'
Axios
24 minutes ago
- Axios
Republicans worry DOGE cuts will sink them in Virginia governor's race
Republicans are increasingly worried that budget cuts by Elon Musk 's DOGE could cost them dearly in November's vote for Virginia governor — an early electoral test of President Trump 's policies. Why it matters: Virginia has one of the highest percentages of federal employees in the country — more than 5% of the state's workforce by some estimates — and Republicans' internal polls are starting to show the damage from tens of thousands of federal layoffs. Zoom in: The University of Virginia's Weldon Cooper Center has projected that 32,000 jobs could be lost in the state this year, many of them federal positions. "Northern Virginia is filled with people who suffered the consequences of the DOGE cuts, and it's hard to see them being sympathetic to a Republican candidate who supports the DOGE cuts," said Whit Ayers, a veteran Republican pollster. "I suspect this will be an albatross around the neck of every Republican candidate this year," said Virginia Republican Bill Bolling, a former lieutenant governor. By the numbers: A private poll done for the campaign of a statewide Republican candidate suggested that just 39% of voters had a favorable view of DOGE. Nearly half of voters surveyed said they knew of someone impacted by the DOGE cuts, according to results shared with Axios. The poll showed Republican Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears trailing former U.S. Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D) by single digits, outside the margin of error. Between the lines: DOGE could especially hurt Earle-Sears' campaign for governor in Northern Virginia and Norfolk, sections of the state where huge segments of the population are federal workers or have jobs tied to the government. Those areas played a role in Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin's win in 2021, when he cut into Democratic margins and improved on the GOP's performance in 2017. (Virginia governors can't succeed themselves, so Youngkin isn't allowed to run again.) The D.C. suburbs of Northern Virginia are home to upper- and middle-income voters, many of whom have ties to the government and are particularly likely to vote. Even non-federal workers in those areas could be impacted by DOGE, given the role federal funding plays in driving the local economy. Flashback: Republicans already are comparing DOGE's potential impact on Virginia's 2025 election to that of the GOP-led government shutdown of 2013, which resulted in hundreds of thousands of government workers being placed on unpaid leave. Democrats swept the state's highest offices that year — an outcome many GOP strategists blamed on the shutdown. "Washington, D.C., politics have long shaped the outcome of Virginia off-year elections," Virginia-based GOP strategist Jimmy Keady said in a text to Axios. "With over 230,000 Virginians working in or around the federal government, especially in Northern Virginia and Norfolk, any proposal that threatens those jobs — like DOGE — turns into a high-stakes issue," he added. The other side: Democrats are making DOGE a centerpiece of their election playbook. Virginia's Democratic Party has been running ads highlighting Earle-Sears' comments accusing the media of overhyping the impact of DOGE cuts. Other Democratic commercials are linking Republican state legislative candidates to Musk. Behind the scenes: Youngkin has taken steps to try to soften the blow to the state's federal workers, launching a " Virginia Has Jobs" initiative aimed at helping laid-off workers find new positions. Reality check: Republicans say Earle-Sears has an uphill climb, even without DOGE. In every election since 1977 besides one, the state has elected a governor from the opposition party to the sitting president. Top GOP officials — including some close to Trump — have criticized Earle-Sears and her campaign. Chris LaCivita, Trump's 2024 co-campaign manager and a longtime player in Virginia politics, has called her team " amateurs." What they're saying: Peyton Vogel, a spokesperson for Earle-Sears, rejected the notion that federal cutbacks could hurt the GOP candidate.
New York Post
33 minutes ago
- New York Post
Au revoir Pornhub! Adult site pulls out of France, sending users into a frenzy
Adult media giant Pornhub said au revoir to France Wednesday after fighting with its government over new age verification rules — sending the country of love into a frenzy. The law now requires users to upload a photo ID to access adult websites, instead of just clicking on a button that says they're 18. Critics argued there are less invasive ways to keep children out of porn. Advertisement 5 This is the image French visitors to Pornhub see since Wednesday. Obtained by the New York Post So in place of videos of porn, French users who visit Pornhub are now greeted by a topless Marianne — the symbolic representation of the republic's ideals of liberty, equality, and fraternity — and the phrase 'freedom doesn't have an off button.' And Frenchies are losing it. Advertisement 'Another attack on freedom. What's next?' raged Loire Valley resident Enguerran Richy on social media. 'And then we give lessons in democracy to other countries,' snarked Paris resident Maxime Fontanier. The famously libertine French were the second biggest Pornhub consumers last year – trailing only the US. 5 Many in France think the government is overreaching. Jack Forbes / NY Post Design Advertisement French President Emmanual Macron — who notoriously had an affair with his wife Brigitte when he was a 15-year-old schoolboy and she was his much older, married drama teacher — had been pushing hard for the law, arguing French boys get into porn at a young age. More than half of France's 12-year-old boys visit porn sites, according to an investigation released Tuesday by the country's regulatory authority for audiovisual and digital communications. Eva Hicks, who goes by the screen name Little Angel and was the top porn star on the site in France in 2024, says the move will just push adult content creators to post X-rated videos on social media instead. 5 Macron, who met now wife Brigitte when he was a 15-year-old schoolboy, was a big proponent of banning porn for minors. AFP via Getty Images Advertisement 'These are platforms accessible to minors, which is precisely the problem our government was trying to solve,' Hicks told The Post. 'There's a clear contradiction here.' 'Removing access to specialized platforms actually encourages the trivialization of pornography on mainstream social media.' 5 Hicks, known as Little Angel, was the top porn star on Pornhub in France in 2024. Little Angel/ Instagram Others found a fairly easy workaround. 'A VPN app and it'll be like they peed in the wind,' said Toulouse's Julien Carlot-Meunier. And he was right — it took a mere 30 minutes after Pornhub blocked access for one of the leading VPN providers to see sign-ups jump an astronomical 1,000%. 'This is more than when TikTok blocked Americans,' Proton VPN posted on X. The Canadian-owned porn conglomerate blasted the new government regulations as 'unreasonable, disproportionate and ineffective.' Advertisement 5 Hicks said the ban will just push many adult content creators to post on social media instead. Little Angel/ Instagram 'We built Proton VPN to help people in authoritarian countries with online censorship, an access gateway for porn was obviously not what we had in mind, but VPN can be used in this way,' a Proton spokesperson admitted to The Post. Meanwhile, French authorities — who engaged in a fiery exchange with Pornhub all week — were thrilled. 'Good riddance!' fumed French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot. Advertisement 'Less violent, degrading, and humiliating content accessible to minors in France. Goodbye!' ranted Equality Minister Aurore Bergé. The most searched term on the platform had been 'française' — the feminine version of the word French — meaning users were mostly interested in watching their own countrywomen in action. 'MILF,' 'mature woman' and 'woman with glasses' were also popular searches.
