Trump’s pitch as voters head to the polls, where they could ultimately choose 51st state
OTTAWA- In a dramatic reversal, the governing Liberals, who were trailing the official opposition Conservatives in the polls earlier this year, appear poised to win their fourth consecutive term in office thanks to President Donald Trump’s threats against Canada’s economy and sovereignty, according to election watchers.
“It looks like there will be a Liberal government, which seems to be what the polls point to, and it would be a very big surprise if the Conservatives won,” Angus Reid, founder and chair of the Angus Reid Institute, told Fox News Digital.
Trump posted advice to Canadian voters on Monday morning on Truth Social, saying in part, “Good luck to the Great people of Canada. Elect the man who has the strength and wisdom to cut your taxes in half, increase your military power, for free, to the highest level in the World, have your Car, Steel, Aluminum, Lumber, Energy, and all other businesses, QUADRUPLE in size, WITH ZERO TARIFFS OR TAXES, if Canada becomes the cherished 51st. State of the United States of America.”
In an Angus Reid Institute poll released on Dec. 30, the Conservatives were in super-majority territory with 45% support, compared to the Liberals at 11%. The results of a poll released on Saturday had the Liberals at 44% with a four-point lead over the Conservatives at 40%.
TRUMP TAKES CENTER STAGE IN CANADA’S PRIME MINISTER ELECTION DEBATE
“This really has been an extraordinary election in that, by all rights, Canadians had it with the Liberals’ woke policies and with their misspending and didn’t like Trudeau,” Reid said.
He explained that the political dynamic changed when Justin Trudeau announced his resignation as Canada’s 23rd prime minister and Trump was inaugurated as the 47th president in January, and former central bank governor Mark Carney succeeded Trudeau as prime minister and Liberal leader in March.
“Between tariffs and threats of annexation, Trump became the single most important issue in the country overnight,” said Reid. “That gave Mark Carney an opportunity to be the first out of the gate to say that we’re not going to put up with this – we’re a sovereign nation and we’re going to fight.”
The campaign has been a two-party race between the Liberals and Conservatives and led by two starkly different leaders who focused on strengths that their critics considered weaknesses.
Carney, a 60-year-old former senior executive at Goldman Sachs who never held elected office prior to winning the Liberal leadership, has called on voters to consider – during a time of economic crisis fueled by Trump’s threats – his experience, which includes running the central banks of Canada and England, and as the United Nations Special Envoy for Climate Action and Finance.
His detractors, however, have accused him of being out of touch and “not connected to the common man” and has spent a fair amount of time outside Canada, as a former deputy national Conservative Party campaign manager told Fox News Digital last month.
Meanwhile, Poilievre’s message to voters is that he is the agent for “change.” However, his opponents claim the 45-year-old Conservative leader is part of the political establishment, having spent almost half of his life as a member of Parliament since he was first elected in 2004 – and the change he touts came with a shift in Liberal leadership from Trudeau to Carney.
WHO IS PIERRE POILIEVRE? CANADA’S CONSERVATIVE LEADER SEEKING TO BECOME NEXT PRIME MINISTER AFTER TRUDEAU EXIT
The results of an Ipsos poll conducted for Global News in Canada, released on April 21, showed a narrow three-point lead for the Liberals at 41% over the Conservatives at 38%.
Darrell Bricker, CEO of Ipsos Global Public Affairs, told Fox News Digital that the Liberals were ahead of the Conservatives by 12 points in mid-April and have lost ground since “because of the effect of Donald Trump, both positive and negative.”
“When Donald Trump is in the news saying 51st-state stuff, that brings the focus back to the major issue that the Liberals lead on, which is dealing with him,” said Bricker.
“But over the past two weeks, Donald Trump has kind of gone dark on Canada. He’s been focused on China, U.S. government funding of Harvard University, and to the extent he’s talking about trade, it’s about global trade deals.”
That, said Bricker, has resulted in many Canadians returning to their pre-Trump main issue of affordability, through the lens of the Liberals running the government over the past decade.
Ultimately, the outcome of Monday’s general election will be decided by geography, according to Bricker, who said that the national vote “will be won or lost” in Ontario, particularly in Toronto and the surrounding so-called 905 region, which refers to the telephone area code, where there are 55 ridings (electoral districts) and about 4.5 million eligible voters.
“The 905 voted overwhelmingly for Justin Trudeau’s Liberals three times,” said Bricker. “If they do it again, the Liberals will win a fourth consecutive term in office.”
CANADA’S NEW PM AND TRUMP CRITIC MARK CARNEY ACCUSED OF BEING OUT OF TOUCH WITH THE ‘COMMON MAN’
Last week, Carney said if he remains prime minister following the election that he would have a meeting with Trump “within days” as part of an “ambitious and broad-ranging discussion” on a new trade and security deal between Canada and the U.S.
Reid said that the Liberals’ improved showing was not just about Canadians warming to Carney, but also about Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre’s failure to turn the dial from focusing on a consumer carbon tax, which the Liberal leader canceled on April 1 in his first act as prime minister, and “still reflecting on Trudeau long after he had gone, instead of jumping right away onto the Trump threat and becoming something that he would lead the charge on.”
The irony, in Reid’s view, is that “Trump imperiled the campaign of an individual who could be in many ways his stepbrother in Canada,” he said about Poilievre, who he called”mini-Trump,” and his “anti-woke,” smaller-government stance – “Trump-esque policies that the American right might want to see in Canada and certainly a lot of Canadians on the right want to see.”
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According to Elections Canada, a record 7.3 million Canadians cast their ballots in advance polls over the Easter weekend. With the country having six time zones, the results aren’t expected to be known until late Monday evening.
Princeton urged to take action as professor’s ties to America’s enemy exposed
EXCLUSIVE – Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz called on his alma mater, Princeton University, to dismiss a former high-level Iranian regime official because he is allegedly making students feel unsafe amid recent outbreaks of antisemitism at the New Jersey university.
The ex-official for the Islamic Republic of Iran, Seyed Hossein Mousavian, who is a Middle East security and nuclear policy specialist at the university, is under pressure on many fronts from congressional representatives, Princeton students and experts on antisemitism.
“Mousavian is closely linked to the Iranian regime and to the regime’s campaigns of terrorism and murder. His presence at Princeton makes students feel justifiably afraid for their safety. Princeton’s decision to keep employing him shows they care less about their students, and more about providing a platform for pro-regime and anti-American propaganda. That kind of reckless institutional ideological bias is exactly why the Trump administration is reassessing federal funding for Princeton,” Cruz told Fox News Digital in an exclusive statement.
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Fox News Digital previously reported that Mousavian expressed support for the U.S.-designated terrorist movements, Hamas and Hezbollah, and appeared to pay tribute to the global Iranian terrorist Qassem Soleimani in 2020 when he attended his funeral.
President Donald Trump ordered a drone strike to eliminate Soleimani in January 2020 for his role in the murders of over 600 American military personnel in the Middle East and his planning of new terrorist attacks.
Mousavian has declined to renounce his support for Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran’s fatwa (religious decree) to assassinate the British-American writer Salman Rushdie.
A Hezbollah flag was on display during a Princeton student protest encampment against Israel last year. The Iran-backed Hezbollah was responsible for a 1983 bombing that murdered 241 U.S. military members in Beirut.
Maximillian Meyer, president of Princeton Tigers for Israel, and an undergraduate at the university, told Fox News Digital, “I commend Sen. Cruz for raising urgent concerns about Princeton’s employment of Mousavian, whose career has been defined by shilling for the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism. Credible reports linking Mousavian to the oversight of Iranian dissident assassinations in Europe – alongside his endorsement of the fatwa on Salman Rushdie – are deeply alarming.”
INCOMING TRUMP ADMINISTRATION GIVEN NEW BLUEPRINT ON WAYS TO WEAKEN IRAN: ‘UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY’
Fox News Digital first reported in November 2023 that the House Committee on Education and the Workforce launched an investigation into Mousavian’s role in advancing the interests of the clerical regime in Tehran.
During Mousavian’s tenure as Iran’s ambassador to Germany, he was in charge of the embassy that a German court found “served as the ‘headquarters’ for the planning of the 1992 assassination of four Iranian dissidents at the Greek restaurant Mykonos in Berlin.”
However, the former Iranian ambassador previously told Fox News Digital that “This accusation is a big lie,” and “The 398-page verdict is published, and everyone can have access to it. The Berlin court verdict does not contain any direct or indirect allegations against me. German authorities never forced me to leave the country.… I have been a frequent visitor to Germany.”
Yet, Iranian dissidents and human rights experts uncovered testimony from Abolghasem Mesbahi, a former senior-level Iranian intelligence official, who told the Berlin court during the Mykonos trial, “Mousavian participated in most of the [Iranian regime’s] crimes that took place in Europe.”
Mousavian did not respond to multiple Fox News Digital press queries, WhatsApp messages and telephone calls for this article.
Meyer, the Princeton undergraduate student, said, “Anyone who has served in senior roles for the repressive Islamic Republic of Iran poses a clear threat to American national security. His continued employment at Princeton is a damning indictment of the anti-Americanism festering within so-called ‘elite’ institutions.”
Princeton President Christopher Eisgruber, who recently said he would defy Trump’s efforts to stop antisemitism via federal funding cuts to the wealthy university, did not respond to Fox News Digital email press queries and telephone calls about Mousavian.
Fox News Digital recently reported that pro-Hamas and pro-Palestinian agitators stormed a talk by former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett at Princeton, sparking criticism from Jewish students at Princeton.
In a statement to Fox News Digital over the incident, Eisgruber said he was “appalled” at reports of antisemitic language used during Bennett’s visit. He added, “Such behavior is reprehensible and intolerable. The University is investigating and will pursue disciplinary measures as appropriate, to the extent any members of the Princeton University community are implicated.”
It is unclear if Eisgruber suspended or expelled students who prevented Bennett from speaking. Mousavian has faced criticism for stoking antisemitism since Hamas invaded Israel and slaughtered over 1,200 people, including more than 40 Americans. Eisgruber has gone silent about Mousavian’s actions.
A Fox News Digital examination of Mousavian’s X account shows a high number of Persian and English posts attacking the Jewish state, including comparing Israel with Nazi Germany. The comparison between Israel and Nazi Germany is classified as modern antisemitism, according to the widely accepted definition formulated by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance.
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Rabbi Abraham Cooper, the former chair of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom and director of Global Social Action at the Simon Wiesenthal Center, asked Eisgruber in a statement to Fox News Digital: Why does the university continue to protect Mousavian at a time of raging antisemitism and what is he still doing there?
Cooper further asked, in the context of the reported antisemitic mob attack on Bennett and Mousavian’s alleged ties to the murders carried out by Iran’s regime, why can’t “the President of Princeton connect the dots”?
Cooper said on Eisgruber’s watch “It is a shameful chapter that must end the right way.” Cooper accused Eisgruber of “stoic silence or indifference to antisemitism” and “stonewalling” efforts to hold Mousavian accountable for his alleged crimes and antisemitism. Cooper continued that Eisgruber owes it to Jewish students and faculty, Iranian-Americans, and Iranian dissidents to answer basic questions about Mousavian.
Eisgruber has not obstructed any law enforcement efforts to investigate Mousavian’s alleged crimes.
Cooper also called on Princeton and Mousavian to submit his Ph.D. for examination. Fox News Digital has learned that neither Princeton University nor the University of Kent in the United Kingdom, where Mousavian allegedly obtained his Ph.D. in 2002, were willing to produce a copy of his dissertation.
Mousavian was the head of the Foreign Relations Committee of Iran’s National Security Council (1997-2005), according to his Princeton webpage.
‘NOTHING WOULD REMAIN’: IRAN’S PRESIDENT VOWS TO COMPLETELY DESTROY ISRAEL IF IT LAUNCHES ‘TINIEST INVASION’
Gary Hughes, a spokesman for the University of Kent, told Fox News Digital, “Data protection principle also means that neither myself nor any other colleague across the University can disclose personal data about this or any other current or former student.”
He said the university’s Freedom of Information (FOI) office can answer the request. The FOI office denied a request and later said after Fox News Digital appealed that, “We are currently conducting an internal review in relation to your request.”
A British-Iranian man sought to obtain Mousavian’s Ph.D. in January, according to email correspondence obtained by Fox News Digital. Kent University’s Open Research team wrote in one email, “I am afraid we have no record of Mr. Seyed Hossein Mousavian’s thesis in the library catalogue.” Fox News Digital searches for Mousavian’s Ph.D. in American, British and German academic databases showed no results.
The Swedish-Iranian author Iraj Mesdaghi told Fox News Digital that he sought to obtain Mousavian’s Ph.D. in 2013. The University of Kent declined to produce it. Mesdaghi wrote about the great lengths he went to in order to secure access to Mousavian’s alleged Ph.D. on his website, including contact with the FOI office.
Shirley M. Tilghman, the former president of Princeton University when Mousavian was hired in 2009, declined to answer a press query about whether she vetted Mousavian and his alleged Ph.D.
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Fox News Digital press queries regarding Cruz’s comment to the Department of Education, the U.S. State Department and Leo Terrell, who heads the Trump administration’s task force on antisemitism, were not immediately answered.
US adversary’s billion-dollar footprint 50 miles off Florida raises alarm, expert warns
China is steadily expanding in the Bahamas through projects that blur economic development and geopolitical aims, an expert warned.
“The People’s Republic of China has been making diplomatic, economic and even military and quasi-military inroads into the Caribbean, South and Central America for the past couple of decades,” retired Rear Adm. Peter Brown, former Homeland Security advisor to President Donald Trump, told Fox News Digital.
Brown pointed to the rise in dual-use infrastructure projects along the Bahamas coastline, which is located just 50 miles off the coast of Florida.
“It doesn’t take a lot of imagination for the People’s Republic of China to use its commercial footprint in the Bahamas to monitor, exploit and perhaps even do worse to [the] U.S.,” he said.
VACATION HOT SPOT USED AS ‘SPRINGBOARD’ FOR ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS: EXPERT
Pointing to the Chinese-controlled British Colonial Hotel in Nassau, Bahamas, Brown said that its location directly across from the U.S. Embassy could give way to intelligence gathering on U.S. personnel.
“It doesn’t take a lot of imagination to think that additional electronics were put in there with the purpose and the task of keeping an eye not only on the U.S. Embassy itself, but also the U.S. Embassy visitors,” he said.
The hotel is owned by a Chinese company, Chow Tai Fook Enterprises, which has raised geopolitical concerns given its location. Fox News Digital has reached out to the British Colonial Hotel for comment.
China has invested heavily in the Bahamas through a range of additional high-profile projects, including a $40 million grant for a national stadium, a $3 billion mega-port in Freeport, and $40 million for the North Abaco Port and Little Abaco Bridge.
Additionally, China EXIM Bank provided over $54 million in loans to construct a four-lane highway and nearly $3 billion to finance the development of the Baha Mar Resort.
Many of these strategic investments came in the wake of the devastating Hurricane Dorian in 2019 that left much of the archipelago nation decimated.
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In 2019, now-Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned in a Miami Herald op-ed that the devastation caused by the natural disaster could create an opening for the People’s Republic of China to use aid as a Trojan horse to gain a foothold near American shores.
“By targeting the Bahamian government in this period of crisis, Beijing would be making the same opportunistic play to access critical foreign infrastructure,” Rubio wrote in 2019. “But in this case, the national security threat is especially perilous, as it would give China a foothold just 50 miles from the coast of Florida.”
In addition to growing Chinese infrastructure influence, Brown highlighted the Bahamas’ role in U.S. military testing and its position under key space launch paths.
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“The U.S. Navy has an underwater testing facility, called Autech, that does very significant and sensitive submarine and anti-submarine warfare work,” he said. “[And] the Bahamas are right in the flight path of many space launches.”
Strategic importance of U.S.-Bahamas relationship
Brown said that the biggest benefit that the U.S. gets from an ongoing collaborative relationship with the Bahamas is security.
“The better relationship we have, the more secure we can be, because we can detect and deal with issues when they’re still kind on the Bahamas side of the Straits of Florida,” he said.
“From an economic standpoint, the huge gain for the Bahamas is that trade and tourism transportation with the United States,” he said. “So, it’s in our mutual interest for us to have a good relationship with the Bahamians.”
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As China increases its presence in the region, the U.S. risks losing influence if it fails to remain the Bahamas’ primary ally, Brown said.
“If we’re not the Bahamas’ best friend, somebody else will be—and we don’t want that somebody to be China.”
New bill takes swipe at top Dem, targets money lawmakers make behind the scenes
Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., is reintroducing legislation Monday that would ban members of Congress and their spouses from trading stocks while in office.
Hawley introduced the “PELOSI Act” in 2023, but failed to make progress under President Joe Biden’s administration. The proposal has since gained popularity among lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, and President Donald Trump himself said last week that he would “absolutely” sign such a ban if it came to his desk.
“Members of Congress should be fighting for the people they were elected to serve—not day trading at the expense of their constituents,” Hawley told Fox News Digital in a statement.
“Americans have seen politician after politician turn a profit using information not available to the general public. It’s time we ban all members of Congress from trading and holding stocks and restore Americans’ trust in our nation’s legislative body,” he added.
WHIP WATCH: DICK DURBIN GIVES TEARFUL GOODBYE AS DEM POWER PLAY BEGINS FOR NO 2 SENATE SPOT
Hawley’s ban would prohibit lawmakers and their spouses from holding, purchasing or selling stocks for the duration of the lawmaker’s time in office. Lawmakers would be allowed to invest in diversified mutual funds, exchange-traded funds, or U.S. Treasury bonds while in office.
If passed, current lawmakers would have 180 days to comply with the legislation. Likewise, newly elected lawmakers must achieve compliance within 180 days of entering office.
Lawmakers who continue to make wrongful transactions under the law would be required to hand over any profits they made to the U.S. Treasury Department. The House or Senate ethics committees could also impose a fine on such lawmakers amounting to 10% of each wrongful transaction.
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Trump himself endorsed banning trading for members of Congress in an interview with Time Magazine on Friday.
“I watched Nancy Pelosi get rich through insider information, and I would be okay with it. If they send that to me, I would do it,” he said of a trading ban.
“You’ll sign it?” the reporter pressed.
“Absolutely,” Trump responded.
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Democrats in the House of Representatives have also expressed support for a ban, with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries throwing his weight behind the proposal last week.
Read the full text of the PELOSI Act below.
Elon Musk predicts how soon robots will ‘surpass’ even the most talented humans
Billionaire business magnate Elon Musk declared in a post on X that robots will outmatch surgeons in a matter of years.
“Robots will surpass good human surgeons within a few years and the best human surgeons within ~5 years,” he declared.
Referring to his company Neuralink, which has implanted technology in people’s brains that enables them to manipulate computers with their thoughts, Musk noted, “@Neuralink had to use a robot for the brain-computer electrode insertion, as it was impossible for a human to achieve the required speed and precision.”
THIRD NEURALINK BRAIN IMPLANT PATIENT ABLE TO COMMUNICATE DESPITE NON-VERBAL ALS
In response to Musk’s prediction, GOP Sen. Mike Lee of Utah opined, “Sounds like a win for humans.”
Neuralink’s website notes, “The threads of our implant are so fine that they can’t be inserted by the human hand. Our surgical robot has been designed to reliably and efficiently insert these threads exactly where they need to be.”
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But some “threads retracted from the brain” after the tech was implanted in the first patient, Noland Arbaugh, Neuralink noted last year.
The Wall Street Journal reported that Neuralink informed Arbaugh that about 15% of the threads were still in place.
However, in August 2024, Neuralink stated that there had not been thread retraction observed in the second implant recipient.
TESLA ROBOTS VISIT CAPITOL HILL AMID ANTI-DOGE PROTESTS, ATTACKS ON ELON MUSK’S DEALERSHIPS
Tesla, the popular electric vehicle manufacturer led by Musk, has been developing humanoid robots.
The machines, which are not yet available, are described on the Tesla Optimus X account as “capable of performing tasks that are unsafe, repetitive or boring.”
State pleads for extension of nearing REAL ID deadline — Trump admin responds
President Donald Trump’s administration has signaled there will be no REAL ID exceptions after Kentucky lawmakers requested a deadline extension.
The Trump administration confirmed in a statement to Fox News Digital that states will need to comply by the May 7 deadline, despite Kentucky’s delay request, as a 20-year standoff between state and federal governments comes to a head with REAL ID’s real deadline.
“Beginning on May 7, passengers will need a REAL ID or another acceptable form of identification to fly, like a passport or military ID. TSA is committed to enforcing the law, as directed by Congress.”
“Non-compliant passengers may expect wait times or additional measures at airports. If you are an illegal alien without a REAL ID, the only way you will be permitted to fly is if you are self-deporting,” a Transportation Security Administration (TSA) spokesperson said when asked if extensions were on the table.
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Kentucky lawmakers, including Kentucky’s Senate Transportation Committee Chair Jimmy Higdon and 27 state senate leaders, sent a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on April 17 requesting a delay on REAL ID enforcement, citing concerns among Kentuckians “who are still unable to access driver’s licensing services due to limited appointment availability and long lines for walk-ins.”
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“This simple request is to protect Kentuckians from bureaucratic burdens,” Higdon said. “Rural residents, seniors, and families still have hurdles in front of them, and in a lot of cases, may not be aware of their options. Only about 40 percent of our residents have a REAL ID, but I would also like more time to help Kentuckians understand that they may not need a REAL ID. Kentucky has made a good-faith effort, but we just aren’t there yet.”
Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., sent his own letter to Noem on the same day, asking her to “please describe how you will ensure that there are not delays at TSA security checkpoints and what steps the TSA is taking to process travelers who arrive at airport security checkpoints without REAL ID-compliant identification.”
Reed said it seems like many passengers will not be compliant by May 7, pointing out that “20 percent of air travelers still use a form of identification that is not compliant with REAL ID requirements,” and “millions of Americans still do not have a REAL ID-compliant license or an acceptable alternative form of identification.”
Since President George W. Bush signed the REAL ID Act into law in 2005, states and advocacy groups have rejected its implementation for a range of reasons, including costs, states’ rights and privacy concerns.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) – a longtime opponent of REAL ID implementation – called it “discriminatory, expensive, burdensome, invasive, and ultimately counterproductive” in 2007 as disapproval grew nationwide. By 2009, at least 25 states had enacted legislation opposing the REAL ID Act.
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While deadlines have shifted and implementation plans rolled out, Kentucky’s letter revealed states continue to panic over the REAL ID deadline as Americans line up at their local Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) and make appointments to secure their enhanced identification.
Awkward interview moment thrust Belichick’s relationship with 24-year-old into spotlight
The relationship between Bill Belichick and Jordon Hudson was thrust into the national spotlight over the weekend after the North Carolina Tar Heels football coach had an awkward interview on CBS.
Belichick has kept his personal life out of the spotlight for most of his career. He never once gave reporters nuggets of information about how his dating life was going, let alone any real reaction to off-the-field gossip about his New England Patriots players.
As his time with the Patriots started to come to an end, a spotlight started to show on his life away from the game he dominated from the sidelines. He broke up with Linda Holliday in 2022 and was seen in viral doorbell footage sneaking out of a New England seaside cottage.
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Now, the 73-year-old Belichick is dating 24-year-old Hudson and what appeared to be a sweet romance has garnered the attention of the NFL and pop culture worlds.
Belichick and Hudson were rumored to have met in 2021 on a flight from Boston to Florida, TMZ Sports reported last June. Belichick reportedly autographed Hudson’s homework while the former cheerleader was still attending Bridgewater State University.
“Jordon, Thanks for giving me a course in logic! Safe travels!” Belichick allegedly wrote.
Hudson chronicled their four-year “meet-iversary” in February, seemingly confirming the TMZ report.
“Cheers to the fact that you still let me give you lengthy philosophical lectures four years later,” she captioned an Instagram photo.
The post came after Hudson’s appearance at the NFL Honors raised eyebrows. She was spotted wearing a championship ring, which initial reports alleged was Belichick’s jewelry. However, she clarified that it was her own cheerleading championship ring from Bridgewater State.
Hudson has seemingly brought out Belichick’s romantic side, even getting him onto the social media platform he once dubbed “InstaFace.”
There, Belichick has been seen in several of Hudson’s photos. He was spotted dressed as a fisherman catching Hudson – a mermaid – in one snap during Halloween. She also praised him as his “twin flame” in a birthday post.
As Belichick took the North Carolina football job, questions over how much say she has in his professional life were raised. It came to a head during Belichick’s interview on “CBS News Sunday Morning.”
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Belichick asked North Carolina athletics officials to copy Hudson in emails, The Athletic reported earlier this month. Hudson questioned what the school was doing to protect Belichick from slanderous posts on social media referring to him as a “predator” for dating someone nearly five decades his junior.
“Is there anyone monitoring the UNC Football page for slanderous commentary and subsequently deleting it / blocking users that are harassing BB in the comments?” Hudson asked in February.
Belichick reportedly followed up the next day, “I cannot believe that UNC would support my being called a ‘predator.'”
Robbi Pickeral Evans, UNC senior associate athletic director for external affairs and strategic communications, replied that the social media team hides or erases comments about personal life.
Hudson also reportedly expressed concerns about fans calling out “nepotism,” given that Belichick’s son, Steve, is the team’s defensive coordinator.
Hudson was also spotted at Tar Heels practice wearing production equipment. Pro Football Talk noted that Hudson was “just doing her job.” She had a producer role for a documentary on Belichick. The clip showed Hudson doing what any good producer would do – help the coach get properly mic’d up. The report noted that the documentary was set to be with NFL Films before the production company handling it changed.
On CBS, Belichick sat down with Tony Dokoupil for the “CBS News Sunday Morning” interview to talk about his new book. Belichick described Hudson as his “creative muse.” However, the interview appeared to go awry when Dokoupil asked about how he and Hudson met.
“We’re not talking about this,” Hudson said as she sat off to the side.
Dokoupil asked Belichick how he dealt with the comments and attention about his relationship.
“Never been too worried about what everybody else thinks. Just try to do what I feel like what’s best for me and what’s right,” he said.
It was not the only time Hudson interjected during the questioning, Pro Football Talk reported.
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Hudson will seemingly be a constant presence at Tar Heels football games once the college football season begins later this year. Their relationship will be front and center in the spotlight as the reports have indicated they “discussed marriage.”
How Deion Sanders reacted as son sinks to NFL Draft’s 5th round, stunning experts
Shedeur Sanders opened up about his father’s reaction as he fell from being a first-round projection in the NFL Draft to not being selected until the fifth round by the Cleveland Browns.
Pro Football Hall of Famer Deion Sanders, who coached the quarterback at Jackson State and Colorado, was the biggest supporter of Shedeur throughout the entire process and was with his son on the roller coaster ride that was the draft.
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“He said, ‘God got us.’ So that’s what it is,” Shedeur said of his dad’s reaction. “I look at what went on and everything as a football game, you know, you may not come out early hot, you know, that may not happen. But you know, when it’s down to the final two minutes of the game, then you understand the level of seriousness raises the stakes.
“All the stakes raised and that’s why I thrive in those high-pressure moments. So I never felt any type of way, I never felt any type of way. I understood, ‘okay, this is the route’ and that’s it.”
Sanders made clear it is “never a burden” being the son of a legendary athlete like his father.
“I wouldn’t look at that as that. I feel like everybody, God makes everybody have their own routes, and this is just my route,” he said. “Like there’s nothing I would be able to go back and wish that wasn’t my dad because I’m truly thankful for him being there and the structure I have.
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“So it’s never really a burden. I just find it, you know, that other kids in similar situations, I want them to be proud of what their fathers and what they have accomplished. So then you could carry on a legacy, carry on the family name and not really be kind of ashamed about it. I don’t like when people make people feel ashamed about it.”
Sanders was the 144th pick of the draft despite the initially strong possibility the Browns could have taken him with the No. 2 pick and made him the future of the franchise.
He said the entire experience never changed his outlook on the league as a business.
“No, nothing really affected me the last couple of days. You know, to just really push having faith and understanding, you know, God really had me and I’m favored, I’m blessed,” he said.
“Besides that, it’s not really anything that changed, the love of the game, is still the love of the game. When you get on the field, there wasn’t too much negativity being said. I know I gotta clean up some things in my game for me to be at my best, but that’s what I take each offseason one at a time and fix it. So I think that was just outside of football getting in the way. But therefore, I have an opportunity now. We’re about to get on grass really soon.”
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Sanders will now have to work his way up the depth chart to be on the roster for the 2025 season. He has two Super Bowl champions and fellow rookie Dillon Gabriel to compete against.