‘Trump has zero effs to give about criticism': Megyn Kelly on President's Iran strike decision
The Megyn Kelly Show host Megyn Kelly claims US President Donald Trump has 'zero effs to give' about criticism following America's major decision to strike Iranian nuclear facilities.
'I think President Trump is exactly what we needed him to be. He really is feeling very strong, fired up, and free,' she told Sky News host Paul Murray.
'For the first time in decades, an American president had been asked by the Israelis to drop a bomb on Iran, and the circumstances made it a very viable option.
'Trump was asked to make a tough decision, and he was able to say yes when other presidents weren't and in part of it was because he had better circumstances ... [and] because Trump has zero effs to give about criticism.'
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The Age
an hour ago
- The Age
A cricket-playing former rapper is on track to be New York mayor. The city's elites are freaking out
While the official outcome will not be confirmed until July 1, his victory in the Democratic primary is all but guaranteed – and the ructions in the city are already being felt. Loading The city's elite fear that a Mamdani win in the general election in November would lead to higher taxes and a subsequent exodus of wealthy residents from the five boroughs. US President Donald Trump described him as a 'Communist Lunatic'. The ultimate outcome could say something about what kind of leader Democrats are looking for during Trump's second term. The race will ultimately be decided by a ranked-choice voting system after neither Democrat got a clear majority. But Cuomo's tally below 40 per cent means he is in 'real trouble', said veteran political consultant Jerry Skurnik of campaign consultants Engage Voters US before the results were known. Incumbent Democrat Mayor Eric Adams skipped the primary and will run as an independent in the general election amid the fallout over his indictment on corruption charges and the subsequent abandonment of the case by Trump's Justice Department. Cuomo also has the option of running as an independent in the general election. So, who is Mamdani? Here's a look at the one-time rapper seeking to become the city's first Muslim and Indian-American mayor, and its youngest mayor in generations. Mamdani's mother is a famous filmmaker Mamdani was born in Kampala, Uganda, to Indian parents and became an American citizen in 2018, shortly after graduating college. He lived with his family briefly in Cape Town, South Africa, before moving to New York City when he was seven years old. Mamdani's mother, Mira Nair, is an award-winning filmmaker whose credits include Monsoon Wedding, The Namesake and Mississippi Masala. His father, Mahmood Mamdani, is an anthropology professor at Columbia University. Mamdani married Rama Duwaji, a Syrian-American artist, earlier this year. The couple, who met on the dating app Hinge, live in the Astoria section of Queens. Mamdani was once a fledgling rapper Mamdani attended the Bronx High School of Science, where he cofounded the public school's first cricket team, according to his legislative bio. He graduated in 2014 from Bowdoin College in Maine, where he earned a degree in Africana studies and cofounded his college's Students for Justice in Palestine chapter. After college, he worked as a foreclosure prevention counsellor in Queens, helping residents avoid eviction, the job he says inspired him to run for public office. Mamdani also had a notable side hustle in the local hip-hop scene, rapping under the moniker Young Cardamom, and later Mr Cardamom. During his first run for state lawmaker, Mamdani gave a nod to his brief foray into music, describing himself as a 'B-list rapper'. Nani, a song he made in 2019 to honour his grandmother, even found new life – and a vastly wider audience – as his mayoral campaign gained momentum. His critics, meanwhile, have seized on lyrics from Salaam – his 2017 ode to being Muslim in New York – to argue his views are too extreme for New Yorkers. Early political career Mamdani cut his teeth in local politics working on campaigns for Democratic candidates in Queens and Brooklyn. He was first elected to the New York Assembly in 2020, knocking off a longtime Democratic incumbent for a Queens district covering Astoria and surrounding neighbourhoods. He has handily won re-election twice. Loading Mamdani's most notable legislative accomplishment has been pushing through a pilot program that made a handful of city buses free for a year. He's also proposed legislation banning nonprofits from 'engaging in unauthorised support of Israeli settlement activity'. His opponents, particularly Cuomo, have dismissed him as woefully unprepared for managing the complexities of running America's largest city. But Mamdani has framed his relative inexperience as a potential asset, saying in a mayoral debate he's 'proud' he doesn't have Cuomo's 'experience of corruption, scandal and disgrace'. Viral campaign videos Mamdani has used buzzy campaign videos – many with winking references to Bollywood and his Indian heritage – to help make inroads with voters outside his slice of Queens. On New Year's Day, he took part in the annual polar plunge into the chilly waters off Coney Island in a full dress suit to break down his plan to 'freeze' rents. As the race was entering the final stretch, Mamdani walked the length of Manhattan, documenting the roughly 21-kilometre trip by posting photos and videos of his interactions along the way. In TikTok videos, he's even appealed to voters of colour by speaking in Spanish, Bengali and other languages. Progressive promises Mamdani has offered a more optimistic vision, in contrast to candidates such as Cuomo, who have largely focused on crime and law-and-order issues. His campaign has been packed with big promises aimed at lowering the cost of living for everyday New Yorkers, from free child care, free buses, a rent freeze for people living in rent-regulated apartments and new affordable housing – much of it by raising taxes on the wealthy. The big promises have, unsurprisingly, endeared him to the Democratic Party's liberal wing. Pro-Palestinian views Mamdani's outspoken support for Palestinian causes was a point of tension in the mayor's race as Cuomo and other opponents sought to label his defiant criticism of Israel as antisemitic. The Shiite Muslim has called Israel's military campaign in Gaza a 'genocide' and said the country should exist as 'a state with equal rights' rather than a 'Jewish state'. That message has resonated among pro-Palestinian residents, including the city's roughly 800,000 adherents of Islam – the largest Muslim community in the country. During an interview on CBS's The Late Show on the eve of the election, host Stephen Colbert asked Mamdani if he believed the state of Israel had the right to exist. He responded: 'Yes, like all nations, I believe it has a right to exist – and a responsibility also to uphold international law.' Mamdani's refusal to condemn calls to 'globalise the intifada' on a podcast – a common chant at pro-Palestinian protests and a reference to Palestinian uprisings against Israel – drew recriminations from Jewish groups and fellow candidates in the days leading up to the election. In his victory speech on Tuesday, he pledged to work closely with those who don't share his views on controversial issues. 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AU Financial Review
2 hours ago
- AU Financial Review
US Treasury close to deal to make ‘revenge tax' irrelevant
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Sky News AU
2 hours ago
- Sky News AU
Top strategic analyst says US-Australia alliance ‘in its worst shape' after government explored legality of Iran Strikes
The US-Australia alliance is in a critical condition, according to a leading strategic analyst after Finance Minister Katy Gallagher let slip the federal government had ordered legal advice into President Trump's strikes on Iranian nuclear hubs. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was slammed for his belated support of US President Donald Trump's coordinated strikes against three significant Iranian nuclear facilities. Mr Albanese and Foreign Minister Penny Wong fronted the media on Monday morning more than 24 hours after the attack, saying they backed the US' strikes but stressed they did not want to see the regional conflict escalate into all-out war. However, in a major development to the saga, Finance Minister and close confidant of the Prime Minister Katy Gallagher revealed on Thursday that the government had ordered advice on whether the US' strikes against Iranian nuclear sites were legal. 'Look, obviously advice has been sought by – I mean, in government, as we are working through some of these issues, we get a whole lot of advice across the government,' Senator Gallagher said on ABC RN. When questioned if acquiring legal advice reflected thinking within the government that the US' strikes were illegal under international law, Ms Gallagher said that it was a routine formality. 'Well, we receive – for example, when the NSC (National Security Committee) meets, we get a whole lot of advice from across government about a whole range of things, and we don't really go into those matters publicly.' Peter Jennings, one of the county's most eminent strategic analysts said the Albanese government seeking legal advice on the matter was 'not the act of a friendly ally' and stated he was 'surprised that they need to ask a question at all.' 'I think it's very clear that America was launching these strikes in defence of Israel and in defence of America itself, and they were attacking a regime which has literally since 1979 been calling for death to America and death to Israel,' Mr Jennings said. Mr Jennings, who served as executive director of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute from 2012-22 said that by focussing on the legality of the strike the government was 'wilfully blind to the realities of what's going on in the Middle East right now' He outlined the move would be considered extremely provocative by US officials and would 'do serious damage to Australia's position in DC.' Ms Gallagher refused to share the nature or outcome of the advice and insisted that the government endorsed the US' strikes against Iran. 'I'm not going to go into the advice the government receives, but I can be clear, and I think ministers who have appeared on your program and the PM and the Foreign Minister have been very clear that we support the strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities,' she said. Mr Jennings said the emerging rift between the two countries was extremely concerning and stated 'the alliance is in its worst shape since the Whitlam/Nixon period which was more than 50 years ago.' 'One wonders then if they are trying to find a reason to distance themselves from the American strikes, because frankly you can create legal advice which will support the strikes, or also that says the strikes were illegal,' Mr Jennings said. 'This was an unnecessary step, something that the government could easily have supported on the basis of Iran's nuclear program and its international support of terrorism.' 'I just think it just shows that they're not trying to be an ally, they're trying to be a critic, and this is just not going to work with the Trump administration.' Mr Albanese, unlike British PM Keir Starmer, was not notified of the US' attacks on Iran before they were carried out, with the Prime Minister confirming he had not spoken to the US President after he abruptly left the G7 summit in Canada a day before the two were due to meet.
