Latest news with #JohnFKennedy
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
There is a larger problem for Trump in the Epstein chaos
Ezra Klein begins one of his recent podcasts by telling a joke that has been making the rounds. Basically, a conspiracy theorist dies and ascends to heaven. God is there to greet him and explains that as part of the celestial welcome, he will answer any question the man has. 'Please, I must know the answer to this one,' the man says, 'who killed John F. Kennedy?' God answers instantly, 'That's easy: Lee Harvey Oswald.' Shocked, the man murmurs, 'This goes higher than I had thought!' This is the dilemma in which Donald Trump finds himself. Whatever he does to deflect and distract from the Jeffrey Epstein morass only deepens the suspicions — including those about the two men's relationship. According to a recent Reuters/Ipsos poll, 69% of Americans, including 62% of Republicans, believe the government is hiding Epstein's alleged client list. This is understandable; there are so many unanswered questions about Epstein. How did he become so rich? What is in the mountains of computer files and videos recovered from his homes and properties? Since he had already tried to commit suicide once while in jail, why was he not monitored properly afterward? But there is a larger problem for Trump. Since the 'birther' charges against Barack Obama, he has encouraged, ridden and profited from a wave of conspiracy theories that accused the so-called deep state of all kinds of crimes, which were then quickly covered up. Now he presides over that very state and has control of all the secrets. Why will he not reveal them? Conspiracy theories have a long and rich history in the United States. Americans lived as second-class citizens of the British Empire, far from the center of authority in London. They imagined all kinds of plots being hatched in London to keep them subordinate and servile. That turned into what the historian Richard Hofstadter in 1964 called 'the paranoid style in American politics,' with periodic eruptions of rabid fear of Freemasons, Catholics, Jews, bankers and communists. Joseph McCarthy defined the modern age of conspiracy theory, charging that the American government had been taken over by traitors and spies for foreign powers. The journalist Anna Merlan brought the story up to date in a deeply reported 2019 book, 'Republic of Lies,' in which she argued that in recent decades, conspiracy theories entered into mainstream politics. Unlike earlier eras when conspiracy theorists were mostly powerless outsiders, they are now central — and increasingly normalized — figures in American political and cultural life. Donald Trump is the main character in this story, having come to power and returned to power after aggressively promoting birtherism, election fraud and many other conspiracies. He has also brought into the mainstream people like Alex Jones and Kash Patel, who have trafficked in even more extreme theories and insinuations. Michael Flynn, Trump's first national security adviser, spread the lie that Hillary Clinton was connected to child sex rings. The challenge for Trump is that, having long fanned the flames of anti-statism and anti-elitism, he now sits in the White House, running the state and its elites. His administration has released thousands of files about the murders of JFK, Robert F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr. There were no smoking guns revealing any major conspiracy, but no one in the administration can quite bring themselves to admit that. It would suggest that prior administrations and elites had not in fact been lying to the American people. But to do that is to lose credibility with their base. Trump is an artful politician who knows how to handle his base. But this time it is proving tough even for him — perhaps because he clearly had some kind of relationship with Epstein. He has tried to deflect attention by raising other conspiracy theories — chiefly, that Obama tried to organize a coup against him. He brought up old allegations about Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden. But they all have the feeling of desperation about them. As Charlie Warzel notes in The Atlantic, on July 20, when the questions about Epstein were mounting, Trump posted on Truth Social 33 times. He demanded that the Washington Commanders football team change its name back to the Redskins and shared an AI-generated video of Obama being handcuffed by the FBI in front of a smiling Trump in the Oval Office. Patel, the FBI director, recently claimed on Joe Rogan's podcast that he has found a secret vault in the FBI, full of dark secrets no one had ever seen. Forget about Epstein, they seem to be saying; it turns out there are hundreds more conspiracy theories to dangle in front of the MAGA faithful. Trump's ferocious response to the Epstein affair will likely only deepen the public's distrust toward institutions and politicians, create more online radicalization, and further hollow out our polarized political ecosystem. But he is playing with fires that may for the first time, if not consume him, then burn him badly.
Fox News
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Fox News
Marilyn Monroe 'could be trouble,' Jackie Kennedy warned JFK: author
It is widely believed that Jackie Kennedy was no stranger to President John F. Kennedy's infidelities. But when it came to Marilyn Monroe, it was different, which is why she allegedly confronted her husband. The claim was made by J. Randy Taraborrelli, who has written a new biography about the 35th president, "JFK: Private, Public Secret." It's a follow-up to his 2023 book on the late first lady, "Jackie: Public, Private, Secret." For his latest book, Taraborrelli drew from hundreds of interviews conducted over 25 years. "Jackie cared [about Monroe]," Taraborrelli told Fox News Digital. "Jackie said to him, 'This one's different. This one could be trouble.' But JFK was the President of the United States. He was dealing with Khrushchev, communism and the potential of an atomic war. . . . I don't think Marilyn Monroe was really on his radar, to be honest, other than having her sing 'Happy Birthday' at Madison Square Garden." Taraborrelli claimed the conversation in question took place before Kennedy's birthday bash on May 19, 1962. Monroe, who had already established herself as a Hollywood sex symbol, gave a breathless rendition of "Happy Birthday" while wearing a nude-hued, skin-tight beaded gown. Jackie was not present at the festivities. Instead, she participated in the Loudoun Hunt Horse Show in Leesburg, Virginia. It was a decision Jackie's mother didn't approve of, the book claimed. "It's selfish," the matriarch told her, as quoted in the book. "Remember who you are. You are the first lady of the United States. She's just an actress." But Jackie's mind was made up. "I think the reason for her concern was because she knew her husband well, and it made sense to her, I think, that he was having an affair with Marilyn," Taraborrelli explained to Fox News Digital. Taraborrelli said Jackie "singled Marilyn out from all the others," feeling that the screen siren "could be a bigger problem." "JFK's response to that, though, was that he told her nothing was going on between him and Marilyn," said Taraborrelli. "But did she believe him? Could she believe him? Why would she believe him?" Tararborrelli continued. "… Why would she take his word for it? Jackie thinks maybe JFK is lying, but she doesn't know." Taraborrelli admitted there's "so much gray" in the story because "everyone knew a different version of events." "What we do know is that Marilyn shows up at Madison Square Garden, she sings 'Happy Birthday' to him. Jackie decides not to attend because she doesn't want to endorse it." For decades, it's been rumored that the president and the movie star had an affair. According to Hollywood lore, it's long been claimed that the pair spent a weekend at Bing Crosby's house in early 1962. For his book, Taraborrelli spoke to Pat Newcomb, who was Monroe's publicist and close friend. She told him that no meeting had ever taken place at Crosby's home. "Pat Newcomb said Marilyn Monroe told everybody all kinds of things, but she never told everybody the same thing," Taraborrelli explained. "She just did not believe that JFK and Marilyn were having an affair. And as I wrote in the book, she doesn't strike me as a person who would lie about it, not at the age of 95. I think that's what happens with people as they get older, and many of my sources for this book were in their 90s and 100s. They have a lot less reason [to lie]. Why protect Marilyn about 65 years after the fact? There's nothing that I got from Pat that made me feel like she was interested in some kind of mythology." "She said, 'Look, I don't even know where Bing Crosby lived,'" Taraborrelli shared. "… You don't think about what your friends were doing 65 years ago. But if your friend was having an affair with John F. Kennedy, the president, I think it's something that you'd remember, right? She's also Marilyn's publicist. She would've been the one to set up Marilyn going to Palm Springs to be with JFK at Bing Crosby's house." WATCH: NEW MARILYN MONROE PHOTOS TAKEN BY CLOSE FRIEND REVEALED IN BOOK Taraborrelli said he had spoken to several sources to learn whether Monroe and Kennedy had ever had a tryst. He concluded that there isn't enough evidence to support that theory. "[Pat] was pretty adamant that … it could have just been a figment of Marilyn's imagination," Taraborrelli claimed. "And here's the thing that people need to understand – Marilyn Monroe was the best narrator of her own life. . . . She often imagined a life for herself that wasn't really true. . . . And I think that's a big part of how all of this has evolved over the years." "When it came to that weekend at Bing Crosby's house, Pat Newcomb didn't know anything about that," Taraborrelli shared. "She said if it had happened, she would've known, because she was her best friend. We also looked at other sources who've told that story over the years, and we were able to debunk them." Taraborrelli does believe that at one point, Monroe called the Kennedy home in Hyannis Port in 1962 before the Madison Square Garden event. It's a claim that was previously shared in his book about Jackie. But he was adamant that despite Jackie's reported worries about the blonde bombshell, "we don't have enough evidence to support that Marilyn and JFK had an affair." According to the book, Louise "Fifi" Fell, a socialite and friend of the Kennedys, hosted a black-tie party at her New York City pad in 1962. It was there, Taraborrelli claimed, that Kennedy met Monroe. "It was a cocktail party, and Peter Lawford [actor and Rat Pack member] invited both Marilyn and JFK," Taraborrelli told Fox News Digital. "Marilyn was very, very late in getting there. JFK almost left without having met her." Six months earlier, Monroe was at a Frank Sinatra concert in Las Vegas. Kennedy's sisters, Jean and Pat, were also present. Lawford then invited Monroe to dinner at the couple's Santa Monica home in honor of Bobby and Ethel Kennedy, said Taraborrelli. An excited Monroe allegedly told close friends that it was "a date" with Bobby. It was really a get-together with "at least a dozen others," Taraborrelli pointed out. Monroe died in August 1962 from a barbiturate overdose. She was 36. According to Taraborrelli, Jackie was said to be saddened by the news. "It was tragic and awful," Taraborrelli reflected. "People were just very sad that an overdose ended her life. It was a terrible, terrible thing." While Taraborrelli couldn't verify the rumor surrounding the star, he did make a surprising discovery about Kennedy. "What surprised me were the complexities of his story," Taraborrelli explained. "In this book, I didn't want to defend him … but I think you can understand him better. Towards the end of the book, he takes total accountability on his part when he tells his sister-in-law, 'The way that I treated Jackie was very painful, and by painful, I mean shameful.' That accountability surprised me. He became a man who understood the hurt caused by his actions [in their marriage]. He did everything he could to rectify it before his death." "Jackie and JFK were getting ready to renew their wedding vows," he said. "Her mother even remarked how Jackie was still so in love with JFK. And then he was murdered. It's a terrible story, but it's one of accountability and forgiveness."
The Guardian
4 days ago
- Business
- The Guardian
Feeling flush? Americans can Venmo government to help pay off US debt
John F Kennedy's sage words from his inaugural address are forever seared into America's political consciousness: 'Ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country.' Six decades and some change later, the United States Treasury is keeping Kennedy's spirit alive by offering Americans with a few dollars collecting dust in their Venmo balance a chance to fulfill a new patriotic duty: helping pay off the national debt. The US treasury department has long had a 'Gifts to Reduce the Public Debt' page available for those that dislike traditional charity, feel like they don't pay enough in taxes, or simply want to help the country stay No 1 in an eclectic list of superlatives that includes military spending, Olympic gold medals, prison population, corn subsidies, and healthcare costs. But the new-age, Gen Z-friendly method of payment is a recent addition, first flagged on Twitter by Planet Money's Jack Corbett. A bipartisan punching bag that trades sides of the aisle depending on who's in office and who needs funds earmarked for projects in their state, concern over the national debt is one of few issues that Democrats and Republicans can unite on. Also bipartisan is the debt's growth, which has increased every year since 2001, when it sat at $10.28tn. As of this writing, the debt has ballooned to $36.72tn. America is on track to continue the trend, with the Congressional Budget Office estimating that Trump's Big Beautiful Bill will add $3.4tn to the debt over the coming decade. It is unclear how much money Trump and Elon Musk's 'Doge' saved, although analysis estimates the number at under the advertised $180bn, and a far cry short of the initially advertised $2tn. The federal government spent $6.75tn in Fiscal Year 2024 while collecting $4.92tn in revenue. Highlights of past and present government spending include the $151bn procurement process for the Trump administration's Golden Dome missile defense project, over $2tn on Lockheed Martin's long delayed F-35 fighter jet, and roughly $800bn in annual spending on the Pentagon, which recently failed its seventh audit in a row. Kind-hearted Americans have gone above and beyond their regular tax-paying duties contributing around $67.3m since 1996. That's enough to fund 20 minutes of the US government's spending habit. If Americans could dig into their couch cushions, eat less takeout, and tighten their belts, they might be able to tackle the problem once and for all. It would only take about $107,000 per person, payable via ACH, Paypal, credit or debit card, and now, Venmo.
Daily Mail
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
JFK's love triangle... with Hitler! His father called her a 'Nazi b***h'. But Kennedy still bedded her, even after she admitted the 'gift' the Führer gave her in Berlin
John F Kennedy's numerous rumored affairs are arguably as much a part of the Camelot legend as his presidency, his alleged mafia connections and his subsequent assassination. But JFK's twisted romantic life might have turned about so very different had his father, the fiercely controlling patriarch Joe Kennedy, allowed his charming, quietly intelligent middle son to marry his first love, Inga Arvad, a woman Joe referred to as a 'Nazi b***h.'
The Guardian
5 days ago
- Business
- The Guardian
Feeling flush? Americans can Venmo government to help pay off US debt
John F Kennedy's sage words from his inaugural address are forever seared into America's political consciousness: 'Ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country.' Six decades and some change later, the United States Treasury is keeping Kennedy's spirit alive by offering Americans with a few dollars collecting dust in their Venmo balance a chance to fulfill a new patriotic duty: helping pay off the national debt. The US treasury department has long had a 'Gifts to Reduce the Public Debt' page available for those that dislike traditional charity, feel like they don't pay enough in taxes, or simply want to help the country stay No 1 in an eclectic list of superlatives that includes military spending, Olympic gold medals, prison population, corn subsidies, and healthcare costs. But the new-age, Gen Z-friendly method of payment is a recent addition, first flagged on Twitter by Planet Money's Jack Corbett. A bipartisan punching bag that trades sides of the aisle depending on who's in office and who needs funds earmarked for projects in their state, concern over the national debt is one of few issues that Democrats and Republicans can unite on. Also bipartisan is the debt's growth, which has increased every year since 2001, when it sat at $10.28tn. As of this writing, the debt has ballooned to $36.72tn. America is on track to continue the trend, with the Congressional Budget Office estimating that Trump's Big Beautiful Bill will add $3.4tn to the debt over the coming decade. It is unclear how much money Trump and Elon Musk's 'Doge' saved, although analysis estimates the number at under the advertised $180bn, and a far cry short of the initially advertised $2tn. The federal government spent $6.75tn in Fiscal Year 2024 while collecting $4.92tn in revenue. Highlights of past and present government spending include the $151bn procurement process for the Trump administration's Golden Dome missile defense project, over $2tn on Lockheed Martin's long delayed F-35 fighter jet, and roughly $800bn in annual spending on the Pentagon, which recently failed its seventh audit in a row. Kind-hearted Americans have gone above and beyond their regular tax-paying duties contributing around $67.3m since 1996. That's enough to fund 20 minutes of the US government's spending habit. If Americans could dig into their couch cushions, eat less takeout, and tighten their belts, they might be able to tackle the problem once and for all. It would only take about $107,000 per person, payable via ACH, Paypal, credit or debit card, and now, Venmo.
