Romania's next president will not be a MAGA populist after all
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Times
2 hours ago
- Times
Macron: Why I had to sue US influencer Candace Owens
President Macron said on Wednesday he was suing an American influencer who claims his wife Brigitte is a man to 'defend his honour'. Asked about his action for punitive damages against the hard-right political commentator Candace Owens, Macron, 47, said he was aware that he and Brigitte risked provoking a so-called Streisand effect — creating extra negative publicity by attempting to suppress it. 'They advised us not to sue,' he told Paris Match magazine. 'But it has taken on such magnitude in the United States that we had to act.' Candace Owens called the lawsuit 'goofy' OCTAVIO JONES/REUTERS Since last year, Owens, 36, whose YouTube channel has four million subscribers, has been promoting a five-year-old French conspiracy theory that Brigitte Macron, 72, was a man who changed gender. Since the Macrons' suit, Owens has intensified her claims , mocking the libel action as both 'goofy' and a 'vicious public relations' move aimed at silencing the truth. • French right try to unpick Macron's loan of Bayeux Tapestry to UK The Macrons decided that they had no choice, the president said. 'They're talking about the identity of the first lady of France, of a wife, mother and grandmother … It's a matter of defending my honour.' He took a swipe at the Trump administration, dismissing American claims that suits such as his were attempts to stifle free speech. 'Those who talk about this supposed freedom of speech are the people who ban journalists from the Oval Office. I don't accept that,' he said. The Macrons at Huis ten Bosch Palace in the Hague for the Nato summit on June 24 PATRICK VAN KATWIJK/GETTY IMAGES President Trump's staff have excluded several elements of the mainstream media, including the Associated Press, Reuters and Bloomberg, from certain White House events while granting access to right-wing influencers. JD Vance, the vice-president, has claimed that European governments are using laws to curb free speech. Owens 'knew very well that she was using false news to cause damage, in the service of an ideology and with established connections with the far right', Macron said. In the 22-count suit lodged in Delaware, the Macrons' US lawyers have sought a jury trial, seeking compensation and punitive damages for spreading 'verifiably false and devastating lies'. Owens has said she is 'fully prepared to take on this battle' and promised to fight in the courts. The lawsuit claims that Owens ignored repeated requests to retract her claims and continues to earn substantial sums of money with the false claims. No trial date has been set.
The Independent
2 hours ago
- The Independent
Kid Rock hits back with lewd insult after Newsom mocks him with Trump-style post
Country rock singer and MAGA ally Robert ' Kid Rock ' Ritchie has responded after California Governor Gavin Newsom's press office made fun of him in a post that parodied President Donald Trump's writing style. Newsom's press office started mimicking Trump's Truth Social posts on X this month. These posts are often written in all-caps and end with the governor's initials, 'GCN,' in an apparent reference to the president adding 'DJT' to his Truth Social posts. Now, Newsom's latest target is Kid Rock. On Sunday, Newsom's press office trolled the singer by sharing an Uncle Sam-style poster featuring Kid Rock pointing at the viewer while dressed in a red, white and blue hat. 'Kid Rock wants YOU to support Gavin Newsom,' the poster reads. Newsom's press office captioned the photo in classic Trump style: 'I ACCEPT! — GCN.' Kid Rock fired back the next day, referencing Trump's nickname for the California governor. I ACCEPT! — GCN — Governor Newsom Press Office (@GovPressOffice) August 18, 2025 'The only support Gavin Newscum will ever get out of me is from DEEZ NUTZ,' he wrote on X. Kid Rock has long supported the president. In March, the singer appeared in the Oval Office sporting a flashy suit emblazoned with the American flag as Trump signed an executive order to curb ticket scalping. The singer also performed his 2000 hit 'American Bad Ass' at last year's Republican National Convention with altered lyrics to show support for Trump. Newsom's press office then shared another Trump-style post about Kid Rock on Tuesday. 'I HATE KID ROCK!!! — GCN,' the office wrote. In another post a few hours later, Newsom's press office wrote: 'HAS ANYONE NOTICED THAT SINCE I SAID 'I HATE KID ROCK' HE'S NO LONGER 'HOT?'' The Independent has contacted Kid Rock's agent for comment. He had previously shared an AI image falsely suggesting that she had endorsed him and adding: 'I accept.' Trump also shared another post about Swift in May: 'Has anyone noticed that, since I said 'I HATE TAYLOR SWIFT,' she's no longer 'HOT?' Trump repeated that claim earlier this month while comparing the singer to actress Sydney Sweeney, who was under fire at the time for appearing in a controversial American Eagle jeans advertisement. ' Sydney Sweeney, a registered Republican, has the 'HOTTEST' ad out there,' Trump wrote. 'It's for American Eagle, and the jeans are 'flying off the shelves.'' 'Or just look at Woke singer Taylor Swift. Ever since I alerted the world as to what she was by saying on TRUTH that I can't stand her (HATE!),' he added. 'She was booed out of the Super Bowl and became, NO LONGER HOT.' Newsom, a rumored front-runner for the 2028 presidential election, is rising within the ranks of potential Democratic candidates. A new poll released in mid-August shows he has a 13 percent favorability compared to other potential candidates, indicating voters are responding well to his social media campaign mocking Trump. Fellow Democrats are also applauding Newsom's efforts online. Liberal social media commentator Harry Sisson wrote on X: 'I absolutely love how Gavin Newsom is treating Donald Trump with the disdain and disrespect that he absolutely deserves.' 'I don't think we're giving Gavin Newsom enough credit for what he's doing to defend democracy and to stop a wannabe dictator from consolidating power,' journalist and influencer Karly Kingsley said.
Daily Mail
4 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Report: White House meltdown over return of RFK Jr. aide
A staffer for HHS Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr - who drew the ire of President Donald Trump's MAGA base and was fired - returned to his job last week after Chief of Staff Susie Wiles stepped in. Dr Vinay Prasad's unexpected return to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) marks one of the more dramatic personnel reversals of the Trump administration. And some of Trump's MAGA allies, both in Washington and across the country, still have concerns about him and doubts about his loyalty. 'It seems to be amateur hour at the FDA, and Prasad is an unnecessary distraction,' a Trump official told the Daily Mail. A hematologist-oncologist and outspoken critic of FDA bureaucracy, Prasad has long argued that the agency is too slow to adapt to scientific innovation. In July, Makary told Politico that Prasad doesn't have a 'political bone to his body.' According to senior administration officials who spoke with Politico, Wiles worked closely with Kennedy and Makary to convince the president that Prasad was not anti-Trump and should be reinstated. 'I think it really is something good about the president that he's willing to change his mind when persuaded,' one of the senior administration officials told Politico. Still, Prasad's rehiring not only signals Trump's willingness to overlook past criticisms but also represents a quiet victory for Kennedy, who now has one of his most trusted allies back inside the agency. It also underscores the limits of Loomer's influence in shaping personnel decisions despite her past successes. She has reportedly been behind nearly a dozen ousts of so-called 'deep state' officials she says have been harmful to the administration. Trump reportedly fired multiple officials on the White House National Security Council after an April meeting with Loomer. But after Prasad's rehiring was announced, Loomer called the move 'demoralizing' and an 'open disrespect of the MAGA base.' Prasad's reinstatement places him at the center of one of the administration's most ambitious policy fights: reshaping how the US regulates vaccines and biotechnology. But in a column for Newsmax, Texas-based conservative strategist Charlie Kolean warned that Prasad's regulatory approach could slow the pace of medical innovation and delay life-saving treatments. He argued that Prasad's emphasis on excessive caution would create bottlenecks for biotech development, giving foreign competitors an advantage. And he told the Daily Mail that the FDA's direction on drug approvals and biotech regulation could shift under Prasad's leadership. During his initial stint at the FDA, Prasad blocked the approval of a gene therapy for Duchenne muscular dystrophy, citing concerns over the strength of the clinical evidence. The move sparked backlash from patient advocacy groups and families affected by the disease, who argued that the therapy represented a rare and urgent lifeline.
