Latest news with #TurningPointUSAStudentActionSummit
News18
15 hours ago
- Politics
- News18
Pentagon Withdraws Military Top Brass From Aspen Security Forum Citing Anti-Trump Bias
Last Updated: The Aspen Security Forum, hosted annually by the Aspen Institute, is considered one of the nation's premier gatherings on national security The US Department of Defence has abruptly pulled approximately a dozen high-ranking military officials from participating in this week's Aspen Security Forum, citing the Aspen Institute's alleged left-leaning political orientation and its inclusion of vocal critics of President Donald Trump, according to a report by Just The News. Despite being listed on the event's agenda, senior defence leaders, including the Secretary of the Navy and the Commander of the US Indo-Pacific Command, will no longer attend the event, a source confirmed to Just The News. Pentagon press secretary Kingsley Wilson told the news website: 'The Department of Defence has no interest in legitimizing an organization that has invited former officials who have been the architects of chaos abroad and failure at home." The Aspen Security Forum, hosted annually by the Aspen Institute — often dubbed 'the mountain retreat for the liberal elite" — is considered one of the nation's premier gatherings on national security and foreign policy. However, the Pentagon's decision signals growing tensions between the Biden administration and the Trump-aligned Department of Defence. Wilson further added, 'They are antithetical to the America First values of this administration. Senior representatives of the Department of Defence will no longer be participating in an event that promotes the evil of globalism, disdain for our great country, and hatred for the President of the United States." Republican Senator John Cornyn of Texas, who was also scheduled to speak at the forum, has similarly pulled out. At the Turning Point USA Student Action Summit this weekend, Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth echoed the administration's stance, stating the DoD under past Democratic leadership had been 'distracted by experiments in left-wing ideology." The Pentagon's withdrawal is being interpreted as a symbolic rejection of institutions perceived as hostile to Trump's political platform, and a broader statement on where this administration intends to draw its ideological lines. view comments First Published: July 15, 2025, 08:18 IST Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Buzz Feed
a day ago
- Politics
- Buzz Feed
Fox News Host Booed From MAGA Crowd Over Epstein Files
So, you may have heard that President Donald Trump's handling of information surrounding Jeffrey Epstein gone down swimmingly with his base. Basically, there's been a ton of conspiracy theories surrounding the sex offender and billionaire (Epstein, of course), many of which have been promoted in the past by members of the Trump administration. This includes Attorney General Pam Bondi, who claimed earlier this year that she had a list of Epstein's clients "sitting on [her] desk," and Elon Musk, who said that Trump hadn't released the files because he was in them (he later said that he regretted the comments). Earlier this week, the Justice Department said it wouldn't release any further Epstein-related files and that there was "no incriminating 'client list.'" Trump himself then got ratioed for the first time on Truth Social this weekend, when he told MAGA fans, "Let's not waste Time and Energy on Jeffrey Epstein, somebody that nobody cares about." Anyway, if you wanted to put a finger to the wind as to how MAGA folks are reacting to this, consider Fox News' Laura Ingraham's appearance at the Turning Point USA Student Action Summit. In it, she said, "While all this good stuff is happening, there is a lot — and we're not gonna like everything — bubbling under the surface." She continued, "I'm going to ask a few questions to all of you. How many of you are satisfied, you can clap, with the results of the Epstein investigation? Clap." When the audience started booing, she said, "Okay, I told you to clap. You guys aren't listening, I'm not gonna grade you on a curve." Then, someone yelled, "Not satisfied," to which she said, "I was gonna get to that. How many of you are not satisfied with the results of the investigation?" Cue raucous applause. "I've been around Washington long enough to know that a lot of this infighting story is overblown. All these people are friends of mine. I want to get the family back together," she added, noting that she does "adore" Pam Bondi. Laura further said that she thinks what is needed is "clarity of presentation" and for people who have abused children to "rot in jail." The cognitive dissonance with having Trump as the president and saying you care about victims...
Time Magazine
a day ago
- Politics
- Time Magazine
Former Israeli Leader Denies Epstein Worked for Mossad
Former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett dismissed allegations that convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein worked for Israeli intelligence services, describing the claims from U.S. media figures as being part of 'a vicious wave of slander and lies' against Israel. The Israeli politician on Monday said he had '100% certainty' that Epstein did not have any ties to the Mossad, Israel's foreign intelligence agency, or the country itself. 'The accusation that Jeffrey Epstein somehow worked for Israel or the Mossad running a blackmail ring is categorically and totally false,' Bennett said in a post on X. 'There's a vicious wave of slander and lies against my country and my people, and we just won't take it anymore.' The denial comes after right-wing commentator and former Fox News host Tucker Carlson suggested on Friday without evidence that Epstein was likely working for the Israeli government. Similar claims have been levied by others in the past but have not been proven. Epstein recently returned to national headlines after the Justice Department released a memo earlier this month denying that any evidence supports the existence of an Epstein 'client list' or that the disgraced financier was murdered. The memo has caused a rift between President Donald Trump and his MAGA base, who have long promoted conspiracy theories tied to Epstein and his 2019 death behind bars. Trump previously promised during his 2024 campaign that he would release records about Epstein if he won the election, but since the memo's release has urged his supporters to move on. Bennett accused Carlson and other 'prominent online personalities' of 'pretending they know things they don't,' adding, 'They just make things up, say it with confidence and these lies stick, because it's Israel.' Here's what to know about the allegations. Why is Naftali Bennett publicly addressing these allegations now? Bennett's public address follows Carlson's comments alleging a connection between Israel and Epstein during a Turning Point USA Student Action Summit on Friday. The popular conservative commentator, who has been one of the most prominent critics of the Justice Department's memo, said that people needed to start questioning 'why was [Epstein] doing this, on whose behalf, and where was the money coming from?' Epstein, Carlson went on to speculate, was working on behalf of intelligence services, likely for a foreign government. 'Now, no one's allowed to say that foreign government is Israel, because we've been somehow cowed into thinking that that's naughty,' he added. 'There is nothing wrong with saying that, there's nothing hateful about saying that, there's nothing antisemitic about saying that—there's nothing even anti-Israel about saying that!' The history behind the allegations that Epstein was connected to Mossad The allegations that Epstein had ties to Israeli intelligence services are not new. Miami Herald investigative journalist Julie K. Brown, best known for her investigations into Epstein, told The Times of Israel in 2021 that there was a possible connection between the convicted sex offender and the Israeli intelligence community due to his relationship with media baron Robert Maxwell. 'Robert Maxwell certainly had those kinds of connections, and Epstein had a close relationship with Robert Maxwell,' Brown, who is also the author of Perversion of Justice: The Jeffrey Epstein Story, told the publication. Rumors about a connection between Epstein and Mossad have also been brought forward by Epstein's former girlfriend and victim, known in court documents as Jane Doe 200, against the disgraced financier's estate. The woman claimed in a legal filing that she was told that Robert Maxwell was in the Mossad, and was 'led to believe by both Maxwell and Epstein that Epstein was as well.' In response to Bennett's defense, which she called 'meaningless,' longtime conservative commentator Megyn Kelly also cited 2019 reports that claimed that Alexander Acosta, the former Miami attorney who gave Epstein a controversial non-prosecution plea deal in 2008, had told the Trump transition team that Epstein 'belonged to intelligence.' Acosta later denied such reports. In his Friday comments, Carlson pointed to Epstein's reported ties to Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak, with whom the convicted sex offender allegedly met some 30 times from 2013 to 2017. Carlson questioned why Epstein had never been asked about a connection with Barak or Mossad. 'What the hell is this? You have the former Israeli prime minister living in your house, you have had all this contact with a foreign government, were you working on behalf of the Mossad? Were you running a blackmail operation on behalf of a foreign government?' the right-wing media personality asked. Other prominent political leaders, including Trump and former President Bill Clinton, have also been named in court documents released in connection with Epstein.
Time of India
a day ago
- Business
- Time of India
Bill Ackman net worth: How rich is the Trump ally and hedge fund manager?
Tucker Carlson, American conservative political commentator and former Fox News anchor recently appeared at the Turning Point USA Student Action Summit. The 56-year-old who now hosts the Tucker Carlson Show spoke about one of the raging topics in the country- Jeffrey Epstein and people associated with him. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now He commented on how the whole constellation of people around him seemed to be getting away with scams because they are useless and rich. He went on to quote the example of Bill Ackman, asking how some of the least impressive and most useless people become billionaires. "How did Bill Ackman get $9 billion? Bill Ackman is well-connected and super aggressive that's it. But if you are accruing $9 billion just because you are willing to do anything? I don't know why we have to pretend that's good?" said Carlson while speaking to the attendees. Carlson's bold claim reached Ackman who took to X to respond to Carlson's claim in a detailed 2000-word post, revealing he had never met Epstein in his life and his first wife had only met him once, even before he knew her. What is Bill Ackman's net worth? Image credits: Getty Images The 59-year-old then went on to explain how he acquired his $9 billion in great detail. He walked through his start in business from college days, how his parents supported him with tuition fees and investments and his own actions that have contributed to his diverse portfolio amounting to $9 billion. His initial investment in the Pershing Square funds has now increased 56 times due to compounding and is now worth about $2.5 billion. He also owns half of the Pershing Square Management Company and his interest in the company is worth about $6.5 billion today. Pershing Square is an American hedge fund owned by Ackman and established by him in 2003. Ackman has also made private investments and is an active investor in various start-ups. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now He revealed in the X post how his original $2.5 million in Coupang, an e-commerce company became a billion dollars in 2021. Other companies that he has stakes in include Chipotle Mexican Grill worth $2.4 billion, Hilton Worldwide Holdings worth $1.9 billion, Restaurant Brands International worth $1.7 billion, Alphabet Inc. worth $1.5 billion and $693 million, Howard Hughes Holdings worth $1.2 billion and Canadian Pacific Kansas City worth $1.2 billion. "So, in short, I got a huge start with great parents, and a wonderful education paid for by mom and dad. Despite Tucker's statements to the contrary, there were no scams and a lot of useful activity behind the wealth I have created." added Ackman adding that Carlson owes him an apology and pointing out that "while useless billionaires are bad, harmful millionaires are definitely worse."
Yahoo
a day ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Tucker Carlson leads MAGA's worried warriors in questioning Trump
As President Donald Trump weighed U.S. involvement in the conflict between Israel and Iran last month, some influential members of his online MAGA army began to question what he was doing. But few were prominent enough to face a direct response from the president. 'Somebody please explain to kooky Tucker Carlson that, 'IRAN CAN NOT HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON!'' Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. 'I don't know what Tucker Carlson is saying,' Trump said in response to a reporter's question at the Group of Seven summit the same day. 'Let him go get a television network and say it so that people listen.' In the course of a few weeks, Trump has faced a surprising level of pushback from prominent supporters as he moved to strike nuclear facilities in Iran, floated a new policy to allow undocumented farmworkers to remain in the United States and castigated allies for demanding more information related to the late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Even in that environment, Carlson, regarded as a MAGA standard-bearer, stood out. 'I like Trump. I campaigned for Trump,' Carlson said in an interview, adding: 'But I've got my views. I assume that we will overlap on most things, and I hope that, by the way, the bombing of the nuclear sites in Iran, which I did not support, I hope it works out great, and I'll be grateful if it does. And I'll be the first to say I was wrong for the millionth time in my life.' In June, Carlson said Trump was 'complicit in the act of war' as Israel launched attacks on Iran. (Trump later said Carlson 'called and apologized.') One month before, Carlson echoed concerns about Trump's business dealings in the Middle East, saying 'it seems like corruption' when Shawn Ryan, a guest on his program, raised alarm about new Trump properties in the region. And now, he is taking the administration to task for declining to release additional information about Epstein, with whom Trump had a yearslong friendship before a falling-out. 'The fact that the U.S. government, the one that I voted for, refused to take my question seriously and instead said, 'Case closed, shut up conspiracy theorist,' was too much for me,' Carlson said Friday at the Turning Point USA Student Action Summit, where he devoted his speech to the issue. 'And I don't think the rest of us should be satisfied with that.' Carlson emphasized his personal admiration for Trump but took issue with his response to the furor over the Epstein files. At a Cabinet meeting last week, Trump brushed off growing discontent and said it was 'a desecration' to ask about Epstein after flooding in Texas killed dozens. 'It's not adequate to say anyone who asked [questions] is somehow desecrating the memory of little girls who died in Texas,' Carlson said in his speech Friday, adding: 'I don't care who gives that answer. That is not acceptable.' Carlson's frustrations represent broader discontent in MAGA world with the policies of the man who brought them together. It's a key moment for the movement, which for the past decade has been largely in lockstep, testing whether it's willing to truly break with Trump and whether anyone besides Trump can shape its direction. Asked about his direct discussions with Trump, Carlson said he 'certainly had a lot of conversations with him,' though he declined to say when the two men last spoke. 'I'm not a policymaker,' he said. 'I'm just a guy with opinions. I don't work there. I've never worked in any government. I've never taken any money from any politician or any government, and I just have strong views, which, by the way, are sometimes wrong, really wrong. I supported the Iraq War. So my track record is spotty.' And Carlson said he was unaware whether his influence in the White House has waned in light of his recent commentary. 'I was never an important adviser to Trump,' he said. 'It was always kind of overstated.' Carlson was center stage among MAGA influencers arguing for the United States to stay out of Iran, a position that has gained popularity on the right as some right-wing influencers have increasingly viewed the U.S.-Israel alliance with skepticism. That stance is also informed by Trump's having promoted similar anti-war and anti-interventionist views for years, even as he has used military force as president. Ultimately, Carlson said, the most important voice arguing the case to Trump for the U.S. bombing of Iran's nuclear facilities was Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. 'Turns out a head of state of an important ally has a more compelling message than I do,' he said. 'That seems reasonable to me. I still disagree, but I don't think it's like Trump has changed his views entirely.' Some around Trump have taken a victory lap given that he ultimately didn't ally with Carlson on military action in Iran. 'The Iran operation was both a shot at the Iranians, but it was also a shot at the restrainers of the administration and at Tucker and everyone else who said the president is never going to do this,' a Trump ally close to the administration said. 'They think he's an ideologue like they are, and he isn't. These guys overplayed their hands.' Trump's relationship with Carlson has had peaks and valleys dating to his first administration. Most notably, during Dominion Voting Systems' 2023 court battle against Fox News, the judge made public text messages showing Carlson's trashing Trump amid his effort to overturn his 2020 loss, in which he privately said, 'I hate him passionately.' 'He's never been a natural ally of the president,' a second Trump ally said, pointing to the texts. But the two reconciled during Trump's third run for the White House as both were in exile: Carlson having been ousted from Fox News as part of the fallout over the Dominion lawsuit and Trump facing multiple indictments, including in connection with his role in trying to reverse his 2020 defeat. When Carlson was forced out of his show in 2023, Trump said he was 'shocked,' adding, 'He's a very good person and a very good man and very talented, as you know, and he had very high ratings.' The strengthening of their relationship led Carlson to campaign for Trump, including in a prime-time speaking slot at last summer's Republican convention. Given Carlson's stature in the MAGA movement, prominent Trump allies have come to his defense. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., said last month that Carlson 'is one of my favorite people.' Arguing against intervention in Iran, she added, was 'not kooky.' Steve Bannon, the former White House aide and MAGA media personality, who occupies a perch similar to Carlson's, said the brouhaha between the two men comes during 'a time of turmoil' when Trump is handling a number of crises at once. He said Carlson is 'still one of the leaders of our movement and an incredibly strong, independent voice.' 'Tucker has always worked at this a little more with a jaundiced eye,' Bannon said. 'He came to this movement late. He waited and measured it. He respects President Trump; he supported President Trump. When Tucker took on the ruling class, it was a seminal moment for MAGA — because he did it on Fox prime time. Since then, Tucker has been there for 'America First,' especially when it mattered most.' More broadly, Bannon said, MAGA influencers and thought leaders have to call out policy decisions that veer from base expectations in hope of ensuring their perspective is represented. 'You've got to represent every day and continue to make sure that people understand, particularly people around President Trump, and sometimes even the president himself, understands where we think core values lie,' Bannon said. It's not as if Carlson hadn't publicly criticized Trump or his administration before. He similarly sounded the alarm in 2020 when the United States killed Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani, and he criticized Trump's handling of national protests after Minneapolis police murdered George Floyd later that year. While such pushback isn't new, a person close to Carlson said he has never crossed the line into all-consuming criticism like Matt Drudge or Ann Coulter, other conservative media personalities who have sharply broken with Trump. 'Tucker's not being malicious towards the president at all,' a source close to the White House said. 'You can very easily still support somebody and disagree with a specific policy decision. Agree with him or disagree with him, Tucker is at least coming from a sincere place of love and concern for the president. He just wants the president to be successful and is worried that issues like amnesty, Epstein, Ukraine funding and war in the Middle East could eventually lead to his presidency being derailed.' Trump maintains high approval ratings with the Republican base, which is informing how he and the White House view the pushback online. An Economist/YouGov survey published Tuesday found that 87% of Republicans approve of Trump's handling of his job so far. 'The president cares deeply about the MAGA base; he is very responsive to them,' a person familiar with the White House's thinking said. This person pointed to online chatter last week about whether Trump would offer some sort of 'amnesty' after he talked up an effort at a rally to allow undocumented farmworkers to stay in the country, noting that at a Cabinet meeting, Trump was responsive to the concerns and said there would be 'no amnesty.' 'Things like that are notable when thinking about how the president balances the viewpoints he's getting,' the person added. 'And a lot of what he's done recently are direct responses to so many of the campaign promises made to the base.' A MAGA thought leader described Trump and Carlson as 'two of the great minds of MAGA,' saying the movement wouldn't exist in its current form without either one. This person worried the MAGA perspective was 'getting a little squeezed out of the inner circle' at the White House on several issues of note. 'People are not going to go along with endless war,' this person said. 'And when they see the capitulation on Epstein, it just hurts. The Trump administration made overtures that they were serious about this. But six months in and kind of trying to tie a bow around it, it's just not satisfying. That's not going to sit well.' No other issue has tested the MAGA base's commitment to Trump like the Epstein files. For years, many on the right — including some people who are now in the Trump administration — have called for the release of all government documents related to Epstein. Epstein died in custody in 2019, and a medical examiner ruled his death a suicide. He was facing sex trafficking and conspiracy charges. Last week, Attorney General Pam Bondi released a memo saying the Justice Department's review turned up no 'client list' of powerful men alleged to have participated in Epstein's schemes, enraging the MAGA base, who are calling on her to be fired. Trump's defense of Bondi and his attempts to tell his supporters to move on from the issue have done little to quell the furor. On Saturday, Trump wrote 'LET PAM BONDI DO HER JOB — SHE'S GREAT!' on Truth Social, adding the United States should 'not waste Time and Energy on Jeffrey Epstein, somebody that nobody cares about.' In his NBC News interview, Carlson said he now believes the Justice Department actually doesn't have 'much relevant information about Jeffrey Epstein's sex crimes.' 'Rather than just admit that, Pam Bondi made a bunch of ludicrous claims on cable news shows that she couldn't back up, and this current outrage is the result,' he said. A Republican Senate aide thinks Carlson is actually having a bit of a 'revival' as he carves out distinct space on the right. 'He's more of a dissident figure now,' this person said. 'For whatever else you're going to say, Tucker is just kind of saying what he thinks.' No recent moment generated more buzz for Carlson than his contentious and combative interview with Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, which put the MAGA divide over the conflict between Israel and Iran on full display. Even with the administration not siding with him, Carlson said he's 'really grateful' that there's significant debate on the right over a litany of policy issues. As for his assessment of the first six months of Trump's second presidency, he said, 'I think they're trying.' 'The most important thing, not just for Republicans, not even for all the first-time Republican voters who supported Trump, but just for the country,' Carlson said, 'is to make it clear that you're trying to achieve what you said you would achieve.' This article was originally published on
