Top World News
Apr 9, 2026
White House called on the carpet for risky war on Pope Leo: 'This is preposterous'
A report that Donald Trump’s administration menaced the first American-born pope led the entire panel on MS NOW’s "Morning Joe” to wonder what they could possibly be thinking as they risk alienating millions of Catholics.According to a report from The Free Press, after Pope Leo XIV delivered his State of the World speech where he criticized the Trump administration, Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Elbridge Colby demanded an audience with Cardinal Christophe Pierre, the Vatican’s U.S. representative, and then issued a threat, reportedly telling the pope’s representative, “The United States has the military power to do whatever it wants in the world. The Catholic Church had better take its side.”After MS NOW host Willie Geist reported on the exchange, contributor Mike Barnicle, a lifelong Catholic, made a compelling case that the president and his underlings created a massive and enduring problem for themselves.“What do you make of what you're hearing here?” Geist prompted his guest. “I make that they are once again clowning the atmosphere up, the Trump administration, the idea that they would try to intimidate Pope Leo, the first American-born pope, is just absurd," the incensed Barnicle replied. “The idea that they would have anything to say critical of the Catholic church or the pope itself, the pope himself is absurd, especially given the Easter morning tweet from the president of the United States, which was so deeply offensive to any breathing, thinking human being that it's outrageous for the Trump administration to pose any problems they allege they have with the Vatican.”“I went to parochial school for eight consecutive years, and I got thrown out nearly every year by the nuns. You know, every grade — you deserve early stuff like that,” he recalled. But the one thing that you get to, to hold on to when you're raised Catholic, born Catholic, raised Catholic, especially by my mother, we used to call her 'my mother, the nun.' The one thing you retain, I would think, is that the theory of the Catholic church is rooted in a simple phrase: the least among us.” “So if you look at the Trump administration's behavior toward the least among us, it is almost criminal,” he accused. “It is certainly a sin because they don't care for the least among us, and that we should all care for the least among us. Because when we care for them, we care for ourselves.”Normally unflappable former diplomat Richard Haass was incredulous at the breach of protocol.“I mean, of all of all the fights to pick,” he exclaimed. “So we give Russia a free pass. We let Iran enhance half the stuff it's doing. We attack Europe and so forth –– I go around the world –– we give China a free pass, and who do we go after? We go after our democratic allies, and then we go after the Catholic church.”“That's our priorities for who we want to pick fights with,” he noted. “This is, this is, Mike used the word ‘absurd.’ This is preposterous that we are doing. And again, we're forfeiting the high ground. There's actually a serious part of this; we are forfeiting the high ground. Why aren't we trying to build support around the world? The idea that you can do everything with bullets and bombs, you can do some things, but this war should have taught us that you can’t do it all.” - YouTube youtu.be
Apr 9, 2026
Pete Hegseth's future at risk after 'humiliating' Trump at press conference: MS NOW host
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s continuing over-the-top press conferences about the Iran war are not doing Donald Trump any favors due to his childish behavior, leading MS NOW’s Joe Scarborough to suggest the president may want to put an end to Hegseth's "humiliating" antics.Reacting to the Wednesday Pentagon press conference, where the former Fox News personality boasted about the president’s ceasefire agreement that was already in the process of falling apart, the “Morning Joe” host compared Hegseth repeatedly to a grossly immature elementary school student.Speaking with co-hosts Willie Geist and Mika Brzezinski, Scarborough exclaimed, “To see [Joint Chiefs of Staff, Air Force General] Kaine have to stand there while Pete Hegseth is doing all of this, like third-grade chest thumping, like he's out on the back on the playground –– and then General Kaine having to say, ‘Well, you know, we're still still basically at war and Americans could still die here,’ it's just, again, I just, I'm just shocked.”“I really am, that Donald Trump, at this late stage with Pete Hegseth humiliating him and the administration every day with his stupid routine,” he added. “Third-grade routine; I'm just shocked he's still allowed to go out there in front of a microphone because he just embarrasses himself and he sets Donald Trump and this administration and this country up for continued humiliation at the hands of the Iranians.”“Yeah, I mean, he's talking yesterday, and we carried it live, about a great military victory, effectively suggesting the war is all but won,” Geist pointed out. “And because of this great military victory he's describing, it forced Iran to the negotiating table, which is not quite how it played out, as we explained yesterday.” - YouTube youtu.be
Apr 9, 2026
Morning Joe co-host pounces on JD Vance's comment about his wife: 'So messed up'
Vice President JD Vance’s use of his relationship with his wife Usha to explain differing opinions about Donald Trump’s ceasefire chaos set off a tirade by MS NOW host Mika Brzezinski on Thursday morning as she could not contain her disgust.Speaking with reporters at the end of his overseas trip, Vance was asked about Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf of the Iranian Parliament who stated that his country’s 10-point proposal to end the war included “Iran’s right to enrichment.”Standing on the airport tarmac, Vance glibly replied, “I thought to myself, you know what? My wife has the right to skydive, but she doesn’t jump out of an airplane because she and I have an agreement that she’s not going to do that because I don’t want my wife jumping out of an airplane.”After watching the clip, Brzezinski blurted, “I'm just –– I really don't want to hear about women's rights, and rights and women from JD Vance.” “If that's your takeaway,” Joe Scarborough dryly joked.“Don't start the morning that way,” his “Morning Joe” co-host shot back before adding, “So messed up.”“That was such a confusing analogy, my teeth hurt right now. I'm still trying to figure it out,” Scarborough offered.“Yeah,” co-host Willie Geist interjected. “I also didn't know you were allowed to give your wife rules of things she can't do. I need to write a few down now how we operate.”“Women across America have rules that I never grew up with that kill them, so that's where we are,” the fuming Brzezinski bitterly stated. - YouTube youtu.be
Apr 9, 2026
A day in the life of a 19-year-old in ICE detention: ‘I feel that this nightmare is not going to end’
Olivia has been detained for months at the sprawling Dilley center in Texas. She has lost 20lb, and wakes up every day with a headacheEach day in detention feels like 48 hours for Olivia.The 19-year-old asylum seeker from the Democratic Republic of the Congo has been at the Dilley Immigration processing center in Texas for more than four months. Continue reading...
Apr 8, 2026
Trump's ceasefire may be a 'windup' for the nuclear option: ex-GOP operative
Former Republican operative Rick Wilson suggested that President Donald Trump's ceasefire with Iran could lead to an even more dangerous situation. Wilson, the co-founder of the anti-Trump group The Lincoln Project, described in his Substack on Wednesday how the current halt on military action could reveal what might come next after the president reversed course on his serious threats against Iran. "Every TACO in Trump’s career has been followed by a larger escalation, because the reversal itself becomes a wound he has to cauterize," Wilson wrote. "The pause is never the end. The pause is the windup. And the windup on an Iran war, a war he chose, a war he cannot define victory in, a war where the adversary gets a vote and the adversary is furious, is going to arrive inside a man who has spent his whole life believing that the answer to any problem is to hit it harder than anyone expected."Wilson also cited another lingering fear. "I’ve been thinking about the most consequential, most dangerous change that could come from this doomed and deranged war with Iran, not from where it is tonight, but from where it will be two weeks from now, when the ceasefire is rubble and Trump is cornered worse than he’s ever been in his life, by markets, by allies, by his own collapsing story, by the mirror," Wilson wrote. He argued that Trump wouldn't just stop at the ceasefire."A 'demonstration.' That’s the word they’d use," Wilson added. "A clinical, bloodless word. A focus-group word. The kind of word that sounds like it belongs in a McKinsey PowerPoint deck, not attached to a mushroom cloud clawing its way into the stratosphere.Donald Trump, cornered by a collapsing strategic position in Iran, boxed in by markets in revolt, oil spiking, allies fleeing, by his increasingly obvious mental infirmities, a domestic political environment turning from brittle to shattered, decides to send a message."
Apr 8, 2026
Iranian leader declares ceasefire 'unreasonable' after 'violations' of agreement
MB Ghalibaf, the speaker of Iran's Parliament, declared a ceasefire and upcoming negotiations "unreasonable" after he accused the U.S. of violating a newly minted agreement.On Wednesday, Iran reportedly again shut down the Strait of Hormuz after Israel attacked Lebanon. For his part, President Donald Trump insisted that Lebanon had never been part of the ceasefire agreement. The U.S. president also said he had not agreed to a 10-point Iranian plan for peace as a framework for further negotiations.Ghalibaf posted a statement to X accusing the U.S. of violating the 10-point plan."As the President of the United States has clearly stated in his Truth, the Islamic Republic of Iran's 10-Point Proposal is a 'workable basis on which to negotiate' and the main framework for these talks," the statement said. "However, 3 clauses of this proposal have been violated so far."The speaker pointed to attacks on Lebanon, an alleged drone intrusion into Iran's airspace, and a denial of Iran's "right" to nuclear enrichment."Now, the very 'workable basis on which to negotiate' has been openly and clearly violated, even before the negotiations began," Ghalibaf wrote. "In such situation, a bilateral ceasefire or negotiations is unreasonable."
Apr 8, 2026
Lawmaker drops blistering impeachment warning for Trump and 'spineless' Republicans
A Democratic lawmaker sounded the alarm on Wednesday that it was time for Democrats to proceed ahead with impeachment articles against President Donald Trump. Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA) explained to CNN anchor Pamela Brown why he has called for Trump to be removed from office for threatening war crimes against Iran — criticizing his Republican colleagues for their silence amid the ongoing war and negotiations. "What Trump and Hegseth were planning was a war crime," Markey said. "They were planning an actual genocide — an actual destruction of a civilization. That's why Trump should be impeached. That's why Democrats should file impeachment articles against Trump. That's why the 25th Amendment to remove him should be invoked.""We need to work as hard as we can to put the Republican party — which is morally bankrupt, which is spineless, which wants to be in a witness protection program — even as moral atrocities are being planned in their name," Markey added. "We must proceed towards the goal of removing Donald Trump from office. And we must do this now. And that has to be the Democratic agenda."
Apr 8, 2026
Trump panics as media scrutinizes ceasefire deal: 'Total fraudsters, charlatans and worse'
President Donald Trump lashed out Wednesday at media outlets over their coverage of the two-week ceasefire agreement his administration reached with Iran, which has been heavily scrutinized for the concessions the United States would make to the Middle East nation.On Tuesday, Trump announced that “authorities” were investigating CNN for having published a “false” statement from the Iranian government, a statement in which Iran claimed to have achieved a “great victory” in the conflict. Other media outlets have also published stories that include statements, letters and documents from the Iranian government.“Numerous Agreements, Lists, and Letters are being sent out by people that have absolutely nothing to do with the U.S.A. / Iran Negotiation, in many cases, they are total Fraudsters, Charlatans, and WORSE,” Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social. “They will be rapidly exposed after our Federal Investigation is completed. There is only one group of meaningful ‘POINTS’ that are acceptable to the United States, and we will be discussing them behind closed doors during these Negotiations. These are the POINTS that are the basis on which we agreed to a CEASEFIRE. It is something that is reasonable, and can easily be dispensed with.”The Trump administration tentatively agreed to a ten-point peace plan proposed by Tehran on Tuesday that Iranian officials have repeatedly claimed to be a “great victory,” with provisions that would allow Iran to maintain control of a critical shipping waterway, and require the lifting of U.S. sanctions.
Apr 8, 2026
JD Vance bashed by historian over 'utterly nutty' sell-out to Putin ally
During an appearance on MS NOW on Wednesday morning, noted historian Douglas Brinkley expressed surprise that Vice President JD Vance has chosen to ally himself so closely with Hungarian strongman Viktor Orbán as he seeks re-election.While the US was prepping for a massive escalation of the war in Iran, which was averted at the last moment after Pakistan brokered a two-week ceasefire that heavily favors Iran, Vance was taking part in a MAGA-style rally for the Hungarian prime minister who is fighting an uphill battle to hang on to his job.Appearing with “Morning Joe” co-host Jonathan Lemire, Brinkley was quick to point out that Orbán is a high-profile puppet belonging to Vladimir Putin.“Can you think of another moment where a sitting president or vice president would openly campaign for a foreign head of state, particularly one who we learned yet again today with Michael Weiss, terrific reporting a couple hours ago, is firmly in the pocket of Vladimir Putin?” Lemire pressed his guest."It's utterly nutty,” Brinkley quickly replied. “The F-grade goes to NATO, the failing of NATO, meaning Donald Trump's failure to keep NATO engaged. NATO doesn't want to be engaged with war crimes either. And we forget that our foreign policy has to have NATO at its center.”“And the disrespect and the disassembling of NATO under the Trump/Vance regime is disheartening, to say the least, because we're losing, squandering soft power all over the world,” he added. “And we're seeing the great alliance that's been with us, Truman, through Biden, just starting to wobble, almost crumble. And you can't expect our NATO allies to trust what President Trump says because he does a 180 the next day and he's ruling as if he's he's not really part of an alliance writ large.” - YouTube youtu.be
Apr 8, 2026
Trump's 'emotional' outburst showed Iran it got 'under his skin': expert
President Donald Trump's comments on Truth Social amid the Iran war revealed how this conflict would potentially play out, a former Defense Department official said on Wednesday. Evelyn Farkas, former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense, told MS NOW host Alex Witt that Vice President JD Vance referred to these talks as "fragile" and discussed what could come next. "I think he's right to call it fragile," Farkas said. "We don't know whether the truce will hold. And clearly, the Iranians are nervous that, you know, our administration could take advantage of the truce in some way militarily. Although I would say that because of President Trump's very emotional messages over the weekend, they probably are feeling pretty confident that they've gotten under the skin of our government and that we were we really did want a resolution to this diplomatically. So I think that there's a greater than 50 percent likelihood that this truce will hold, and that it will actually transform into a durable agreement, because both sides do, at the end of the day, want to put an end to this fighting."
Apr 8, 2026
Trump hangs up on PBS reporter after question about Iranian civilization threat
President Donald Trump ended a call with PBS reporter Liz Landers after she asked if he regretted threatening Iran's entire civilization.Following a press briefing with Pete Hegseth on Wednesday, Landers said she had contacted the president by phone."I asked about Lebanon still being hit and if he'd seen that," the reporter recalled."Yeah, they were not included in the deal," Trump replied. "Because of Hezbollah. They were not included in the deal. That'll get taken care of, too. It's alright."Trump suggested he did not disapprove of Israel continuing to shell Lebanon."It's part of the deal — everyone knows that," he explained. "That's a separate skirmish. Okay? You gotta talk faster.""I tried to ask if he regretted that Truth Social post about wiping out a civilization and noted that there was huge push back to that statement from Democrats," Landers remarked. "Then he hung up."
Apr 8, 2026
'Not good for Republicans': MAGA host warns of 'early indicator' after Trump-district loss
MAGA host Gina Loudon said she found it "very upsetting" after Democrat Emily Gregory defeated a Trump-endorsed candidate in the district where the president's Mar-a-Lago home is located.During a discussion about a special election to fill former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene's (R-GA) seat in Georgia, Loudon said she couldn't shake off Gregory's win in Florida."Don't forget, too, the race that just happened in Florida, where the Trump-endorsed candidate did not win," Loudon recalled. "The race was seen as an early indicator heading into the midterms, highlighting both Republican strength and conservative strongholds and signs of Democrat momentum in areas where they have traditionally struggled.""Donald Trump is never going to retreat from doing presidential things," she said of Trump endorsements. "And I think even beyond his death, this man will somehow be doing presidential things."Co-host David Brody observed that Trump's influence could be waning because the Democratic candidate performed well in Georgia."A little bit of a warning signal here for Republicans," he said. "That's a tea leaf that is not good for Republicans."Loudon insisted she couldn't get over Jon Maples' loss in Trump's home district."John Maples, an amazing black conservative," she remarked. "And I hate using that, but I'm just saying he was very marketable in many ways to, let's just say, independents, right? More moderate voters. And he was Trump-endorsed, and he lost here in Florida.""But very upsetting to those like me who think, this is Trump's home district, this is where I live, and this is where President Trump's house is, his home is," she added. "Very upsetting to me that we lost this race. We really thought we had it won."
