Trump’s White House plaques spark fierce pushback from podcaster Joe Rogan

Joe Rogan called President Donald Trump’s White House plaques assailing past presidents like Joe Biden and Barack Obama “crazy” in a new episode of his podcast released Thursday.

Rogan, joined by comedian guest Shane Gillis, read out language from the newly installed plaques at the White House, relaying that “Sleepy Joe Biden” was the “worst president in American history” and his term’s lowlights like the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan laid out in Trumpian fashion.

“This is so crazy. You shouldn’t be allowed to do this. Right?” Rogan said, saying historians should just be laying out dry facts for such memorials.

“That’s a plaque in the White House,” Rogan marveled after finishing reading Biden’s.

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“He’s not beating the dictator charges. This is like an African dictatorship,” Gillis joked.

Hearing the news that the Kennedy Center was also being renamed the Trump-Kennedy Center, Rogan sighed.

“Oh, boy. Somebody needs to tell him, ‘Hey, this is not good. You can’t do that,'” he said. “Because then other people can do that too, and then the White House stops being the White House, and it becomes whoever is in its house, where he can just go crazy and say everybody else is a crook.”

Gillis said he didn’t think any president would act like Trump in office.

“But the problem is it opens up the door for someone on the left to do their version of it,” Rogan said.

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“Who’s going to be the Democrat, who’s next? F–ing Gavin Newsom? He’s not going to f—ing put up a plaque,” Gillis said.

Rogan disagreed, saying Newsom copies Trump on a regular basis. Newsom has attracted attention with Trump-style social media posts clearly meant to lampoon the president.

Fox News Digital reached out to Newsom’s office for comment.

Rogan laughed when he learned another plaque for Ronald Reagan was called a fan of Trump’s long before his “historic run for the White House.”

“That’s so disturbing,” Rogan said. “That’s such crazy thinking.”

The White House said the plaques should be celebrated by all Americans.

“President Trump is making the White House beautiful and giving it the glory it deserves at no cost to the taxpayer — something everyone should celebrate. The Presidential Walk of Fame is a great addition to the People’s House,” White House spokesman Davis Ingle told Fox News Digital.

WHITE HOUSE UNVEILS PRESIDENTIAL WALK OF FAME WITH BIDEN PORTRAIT REPLACED BY AUTOPEN IMAGE

In a plaque about Obama, Trump called him one of the most divisive figures in American history who spied on his campaign and passed the “Unaffordable Care Act.” Bill Clinton’s makes reference to Hillary Clinton and her defeat at Trump’s hands in the 2016 election.

Trump also used a photo of Biden’s autopen signature rather than Biden himself in another effort to belittle his predecessor.

Rogan supported Trump’s election in 2024 but has been critical of the president over various issues in 2025, including some of ICE’s tactics for removing illegal immigrants and the administration’s handling of the Epstein files.

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Trump casts Maduro’s ouster as ‘smart’ move as Russia, China enter the fray

President Donald Trump is taking his pressure campaign to the next level against Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and making it clear he doesn’t believe the strongman should be leading the country — all while China and Russia are speaking out on the escalating conflict involving their ally.

The Trump administration has launched a series of strikes targeting alleged drug boats off the coast of Latin America in recent months and announced this month a “complete blockade of all sanctioned oil tankers going into and out of Venezuela” as his administration has significantly beefed up its naval assets in the region. 

While the Trump administration has said that these efforts align with the administration’s effort to curb the influx of drugs into the U.S., the campaign also appears geared toward removing Maduro from power. This isn’t the first attempt by Trump to squeeze out Maduro. He previously imposed sanctions on Venezuela and backed opposition leader Juan Guaidó during his first term. 

As a result, Trump said Monday that Washington’s pressure campaign against Venezuela would “probably” be sufficient to coerce Maduro to step down and made it clear he believes that’s something Maduro should be doing.

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“That’s up to him, what he wants to do,” Trump said Monday. “I think it would be smart for him to do that. But, again, we’re going to find out.”

The White House has historically refused to comment on whether it is pursuing regime change in Venezuela even though it does not recognize Maduro as a legitimate head of state and insists he is the leader of a drug cartel. 

China and Russia are speaking out about U.S. actions in the region, accusing the U.S. of breaking international law after the U.S. seized multiple oil tankers off the coast of Venezuela. The first seizure occurred Dec. 10, and Trump confirmed Monday that the U.S. is still pursuing another oil tanker that a U.S. official told Fox News Digital is a “sanctioned dark fleet vessel that is part of Venezuela’s illegal sanctions evasion.”

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“The U.S. practice of arbitrarily seizing other countries’ vessels grossly violates international law,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian told reporters Monday. Jian said Beijing opposes anything that “infringes upon other countries’ sovereignty and security, and all acts of unilateralism or bullying.”

Meanwhile, Russia’s Foreign Ministry said Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Venezuela’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Yván Gil spoke over the phone Monday, and the “Russian side reaffirmed its all-out support and solidarity with the leaders and people of Venezuela in the current context.” 

“The ministers expressed grave concern in connection with Washington stepping up its escalation actions in the Caribbean, actions fraught with far-reaching consequences for the region and creating a threat for international shipping,” the statement said.

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Katherine Thompson, a senior fellow in defense and foreign policy studies at the libertarian think tank the Cato Institute, previously told Fox News Digital that adversaries like Russia and China are likely perplexed as to why the Trump administration has zeroed in on the Maduro regime. That’s because Caracas doesn’t jeopardize U.S. interests as much as other actors, in addition to the Trump administration’s “American First” mantra, Thompson said. 

“I imagine, for them, it’s probably a bit puzzling if they’re looking at it through a real, brass tacks, realist lens why this administration would be prioritizing ousting the Maduro regime as opposed to conflicts in other theaters,” Thompson said earlier in December. 

The Trump administration has conducted nearly 30 strikes in Latin American waters since September as part of its hard-line approach to crack down on the influx of drugs into the U.S. 

For example, the Trump administration designated drug cartel groups like Tren de Aragua, Sinaloa and others as foreign terrorist organizations and bolstered its naval assets in the region in recent months, including signing off on the unprecedented step of sending the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford to the region.

In addition to the strikes against alleged drug vessels, Trump has suggested for months that strikes on land could be the next step.

“We’re knocking out drug boats right now at a level that we haven’t seen,” Trump said Dec. 3. “Very soon we’re going to start doing it on land too.”

Although the Trump administration has said it has the authority to conduct these attacks against alleged drug boats, Democrats and some Republicans have questioned the legality of the strikes.

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Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and senators Tim Kaine, D-Va., Adam Schiff, D-Calif., and Rand Paul, R-Ky., introduced a war powers resolution this month to bar Trump from using U.S. armed forces to engage in hostilities within or against Venezuela.

Alleged empty daycare that ‘can’t spell learning’ reportedly received $4M in taxpayer funds

The third-ranking leader in the House of Representatives, who also happens to hail from Minnesota, demanded answers from Gov. Tim Walz after a YouTuber tried to confront employees of an alleged daycare center that had misspelled signage and no signs of activity outside but reportedly received $4 million in state funds.

The video went viral this week amid the burgeoning scandal enveloping the Walz administration that notably included at least $1 billion lost to alleged social services fraud largely tied to the Somali community in the Twin Cities. A portion reportedly ended up in the hands of the Somali terror group Al-Shabab.

Responding to the video, Republican House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, who represents Twin Cities suburbs and St. Cloud, lashed out at the governor.

“4 million dollars of hard-earned tax dollars going to an education center that can’t even spell learning correctly. Care to explain this one, Tim Walz?” he wrote on X.

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The Quality Learning Center also recently made news for collecting 95 violations from the state human services agency between 2019 and 2023, according to St. Paul’s ABC affiliate.

Such violations range from failure to keep hazardous items away from kids to the daycare not having any records for more than a dozen listed children, according to the outlet. Documentation reviewed by Fox News Digital showed the site’s current license does not expire until the end of 2026.

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This week, YouTuber Nick Shirley and another man approached a building labeled the Quality Learing Center (sic) on Nicollet Avenue in Minneapolis, with Shirley noting that “Learning” was spelled incorrectly on the daycare’s sign outside.

Almost immediately, a woman appears and repeatedly yells — ostensibly to anyone inside the building — “Don’t open up. It’s ICE.”

Shirley asked the woman whether she thought he or the other man were immigration agents and identified himself as an online commentator.

COMER WARNS ‘WALLS ARE CAVING IN’ ON TIM WALZ AS MINNESOTA FRAUD PROBE WIDENS

The man held up a paper that appeared to show $1.9 million had been disbursed to the center in fiscal year 2025, adding that the total disbursement to the center that he had recorded was $4 million.

“Go away. You’re not welcome here. Shame on you,” the woman told Shirley. It remained unclear whether the woman had any association with the center.

“Are you in favor of $1.9 million going illegally/fraudulently to this business that [is called] ‘Quality Learning Center’ but can’t spell ‘learning’ right on the door?”

MAGNITUDE ‘CANNOT BE OVERSTATED’: FEDS SAY MINNESOTA FRAUD MAY BE MORE THAN $9B

A document on the Minnesota Department of Human Services website showed the center is supposed to account for 99 children, a figure also mentioned in the video by Shirley.

“There’s no one here,” he said.

“This is a prime example of the billions of dollars in fraud happening right now in Minnesota. This is one of the hundreds of ‘daycares’ receiving millions of dollars from the government. This daycare (that can’t even spell learning right) received $1,900,000 in tax-exempt funding from CCAP in 2025. This is just one of the thousands of fraudulent businesses operating in Minnesota.”

MINNESOTA MAYORS SAY CONSTITUENTS ‘SCARED’ AS FRAUD CRISIS LEAVES QUESTIONS UNANSWERED

X commentator Greg Price shared the video, writing that if people try to “knock on the doors of Somali-owned daycares that have received millions of tax dollars from the Minnesota government, liberal white women will accuse you of being ICE.”

U.S. Attorney Joseph Thompson has said that when investigations of the overall CCAP and Minnesota state programs are complete, the fraud could exceed $1 billion. The Treasury Department is also investigating, with Secretary Scott Bessent remaining vocal in public statements on the matter.

The most notable recipient was a supposed child nutrition effort called Feeding Our Future, while other recipients of CCAP (Minnesota’s Child Care Assistance Program) funding have drawn scrutiny in recent days.

Fox News Digital reached out to the number listed for the daycare in state government documents, but an automated message said the call could not be completed as dialed.

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Fox News Digital reached out for comment from Walz and the top prosecutor in Minnesota, Attorney General Keith Ellison.

Fox News Digital also reached out to U.S. DHS for any comment on critics of the Minnesota investigation appearing to attribute ICE employment as a proxy to people they believe could cause undue trouble in public.

Researchers uncover hidden effects of multiple medications in older adults

Older adults discharged from hospitals on multiple medications are less likely to regain independence during rehabilitation, a new study suggests.

The Japanese study, published in the journal BMC Geriatrics Dec. 17, explored the effects of polypharmacy — defined as taking six or more regular medications on a regular basis — at a convalescent rehabilitation hospital in Japan.

The retrospective observational study looked at 1,903 patients 65 and older who underwent rehabilitation at the hospital from April 2017 to March 2024, according to a press release.

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The patients had one of three conditions: cerebrovascular disease (a disorder of the brain’s blood vessels that reduce or block blood flow), motor disorder (a condition that affects movement and muscle control) or disuse syndrome (inactivity leading to muscle weakness and physical decline).

Of the total group, 62.1% of the patients were taking six or more medications when they were discharged from the hospital, and more than 76% of them were 80 or older. 

Those taking multiple medications were also more likely to be taking benzodiazepine receptor agonists (taken for anxiety or insomnia), laxatives and psychotropic medications (mainly used for depression, anxiety, psychosis and other mood disorders). 

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The researchers determined that those with polypharmacy who had cerebrovascular disease and disuse syndrome scored significantly lower in the functional independence measure (FIM), which assesses how independently a person can perform everyday activities, especially after illness, injury or hospitalization. Those in the motor disorder group didn’t show any link between polypharmacy and FIM.

The negative effects were stronger among adults over 80 and those recovering from stroke-related conditions or general weakness due to inactivity.

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Based on these findings, the researchers suggest that reviewing and reducing unnecessary medications could help improve recovery for those undergoing rehabilitation.

Dr. Marc Siegel, Fox News senior medical analyst, refers to polypharmacy with seniors as a “risky proposition.”

“Even though each medication may have a purpose, often important, we must keep in mind that the ability to tolerate various medications and metabolize them efficiently diminishes as you get older,” he told Fox News Digital.

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“For example, a med that sedates you or even has the potential to disorient you may be more likely to do so as you become elderly.”

Drug interactions also tend to increase as patients grow older, Siegel added. 

“This must all be monitored carefully by your physician, and, sometimes, less is more,” he said.

The study did have some limitations, the researchers acknowledged. Due to its retrospective and observational design, it does not prove that the medications caused the outcome.

The researchers also lacked data on specific doses of the medications and the intensity of the rehabilitation, they noted. Also, the study was conducted at just a single hospital, so the results may not apply to more general populations.

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Future research is needed to determine which specific medications most affect recovery and to explore the best approaches for reducing prescriptions.

Denver’s QB reveals dog ‘attack’ after snubbing Kirk Herbstreit’s companion

Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix faced his anxieties about dogs on Christmas Day. 

Earlier this year, ESPN and Amazon Prime Video broadcaster Kirk Herbstreit’s beloved dog, Peter, received what some fans considered a chilly reception from the second-year NFL quarterback.

Before the Broncos secured their 12th win in their last 13 games, Herbstreit arranged a reunion between his dog and Nix.

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“We had to make it happen with @bonix10 after last time @nflonprime #peter,” Herbstreit captioned an Instagram post showing the NFL star and the golden retriever, along with two laughing face emojis.

Nix faced some backlash for his actions when he initially met Peter, with some observers accusing the quarterback of snubbing the dog.

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After making amends with Peter during their reunion, the 25-year-old signal-caller took a moment to share details about the origins of his less-than-stellar view of canines.

“I just think when I was little I got attacked by one, and I didn’t know any better,” Nix told Herbstreit. “My family didn’t grow up with them. My whole family’s not really a dog family. We had one when I was a kid, and then it passed away, and we didn’t get a new one.”

The word “dogs” has been associated with Nix and the Broncos this season. Earlier this year, Nix coined the term “overdog” after Denver upset the Green Bay Packers in Week 15.

“Now we’re the overdogs,” Nix told a reporter after the 34-26 win.

He has since launched an Overdogs apparel line. Proceeds from the collection have been earmarked to benefit the Denver Rescue Mission, an organization that seeks “to bring an end to homelessness across Metro Denver and Northern Colorado,” according to its website.

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The Broncos defeated the Kansas City Chiefs on Christmas Day to improve to 13-3 and boost their lead over the Los Angeles Chargers in the AFC West. Denver hosts Los Angeles in Week 18 in a regular-season finale showdown.

Los Angeles mayor expresses concern over surge of Latino recruits in Border Patrol

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass is lamenting the historic numbers of Latinos joining the Border Patrol. 

In an interview Friday with Wolf Blitzer on “The Situation Room,” Blitzer asked Bass, “But first, let me get your reaction to that report from David Culver we just heard. What did you think?”

“Well, in a way, I think it’s sad,” Bass responded. “I think that those Border Patrol agents are going to have a difficult time when they’re out in the field and they see what actually happens in real life separate from their training. But I do understand that their primary incentive is financial. I think it just speaks to the financial situation that millions of Americans find themselves in. And I definitely am concerned about that report.”

Earlier on the show, Culver did a special report on “The Situation Room” talking to new Border Patrol recruits. 

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At one point, Culver asked Border Patrol recruit Juan Peralta, “How do you feel about arresting your own kind? And how do you answer that when you hear that?” 

Peralta responded, “They didn‘t come in the right way. So, they aren‘t my kind.”

According to CBP, applications are up 70% from one year ago and over half of the agents serving on the southern border are Hispanic.

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In October, the Trump administration announced it had closed out fiscal year 2025 with the lowest U.S. Border Patrol apprehensions since 1970, with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) reporting 237,565 southwest border apprehensions in fiscal year 2025 compared to 201,780 in fiscal year 1970. 

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Biden family Christmas photo sparks social media jokes over president’s placement

Social media was set ablaze after former President Joe Biden uploaded a family Christmas photo to X in which he is barely visible, leading some to mock his “Where’s Waldo?”-style moment.

The former president uploaded the photo to X on Christmas Eve with the caption, “Wishing you a peaceful and joyful Christmas Eve filled with love.”

Social media users were quick to point out that the family’s patriarch was tucked behind his wife, former first lady Jill Biden, while his son Hunter Biden took center stage.

BIDEN NEARLY INVISIBLE IN OWN CHRISTMAS FAMILY PHOTO AS HUNTER TAKES CENTER STAGE

Conservative journalist Andy Ngo was among those who expressed confusion over why the former president was placed in the back of his own family’s Christmas photo, commenting on Biden’s post that the photo was “disrespectful.”

With Hunter Biden featured in the center of the family photo, one user joked that “Hunter is the alpha now.”

Another commenter posted an up-close screenshot of Biden under the former president’s photo, saying, “Took me a while to find ya, champ.”

INSIDE THE WHITE HOUSE CHRISTMAS CARD TRADITION – FROM COOLIDGE TO TRUMP

One social media user noted that Jill Biden was standing directly in front of the former president, nearly blocking him from view, and quipped, “Now we know Jill was calling the shots.”

Conservative blogger Mike LaChance also weighed in on the photo controversy, calling it “mind blowing” that the picture was real and not photoshopped. 

Up-and-coming conservative influencer Brilyn Hollyhand asserted that “not only were Americans embarrassed of Biden but his family is too.”

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Another X user drew inspiration from a classic puzzle book for children, posting the Biden family photo with the caption, “Where’s Waldo?”

While many were quick to mock the former president’s Christmas post, not all the comments were critical of the photo or Joe Biden.

One person wrote, “Wishing you and your family a peaceful and joyful Christmas. Your strength and love inspire us all.” 

Another added, “Wishing you a peaceful Christmas Eve too, Mr. President. Let’s hope the spirit of goodwill extends into the new year and helps bridge some of the divides we’ve seen. The image is a nice reminder of simpler times.”

Several others shared similar sentiments, including a message that said, “Merry Christmas to the whole Biden family!”

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A representative for Joe Biden did not immediately return Fox News Digital‘s request for comment.

Grandfather dies in ‘freak accident’ at McDonald’s drive-thru window before Christmas

A grandfather was killed just days before Christmas in what officials have described as a “freak accident” at a McDonald’s drive-thru in Nebraska.

Michael Dickinson, 69, was crushed to death after he was pinned between his vehicle and the payment window on Tuesday morning in Grand Island.

He was rushed to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead, according to Grand Island police.

Police said the victim’s next of kin were notified of his death.

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Police Division Chief Dean Elliott told KSNB-TV that the incident was “100% a freak accident.”

“It appears the deceased opened the door to further reach out of the window for payment purposes,” he said.

“We’re not sure if the vehicle lurched forward or what happened, but he became pinned between the door frame and the drive-thru window counter,” Elliott added.

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A McDonald’s employee attempted to save the man by vaulting through the passenger side of the car, but was unsuccessful in the effort to free Dickinson, Elliott told KSNB. The employee was also injured in the rescue attempt.

The incident remains under investigation.

Dickinson’s right leg was amputated in 2021, his daughter wrote on Facebook, adding that he was fitted with a prosthetic a few months later and re-learned how to walk. She did not say why his leg was removed.

His family remembered “his love” on their first Christmas without him, recounting his willingness “to help and be there when it mattered most.”

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“A skilled and hardworking mechanic, Michael took pride in his work and had a gift for fixing what was broken. It reflected who he was – reliable, practical, and dedicated,” his family wrote.

“Though his life was cut short, Michael’s love, loyalty, and kindness will live on in the hearts of his family and friends. He will be dearly missed and always remembered,” the post added.

ETF race hits $1T at record speed with more gains coming, expert predicts

The theme song for the exchange-traded fund industry could very well be Frank Sinatra’s “It Was a Very Good Year,” as the industry hit $1.25 trillion annually in assets through November, faster than any other time in history.

“I think, largely speaking, you look across the different asset classes – stocks, bonds, commodities, gold, of course – it’s been a very good year to own assets. Assets largely across the board have outperformed cash. So, it’s just been a positive returning environment for assets. So, I think we have seen flows come in because of the sort of risk on type of behavior, but also the positive performance on assets,” Matt Bartolini, global head of research strategists at State Street Investment Management, told FOX Business in October when the industry hit a previous milestone. 

State Street manages more than $5 trillion in assets with clients in over 60 countries. 

Last year, ETF inflows hit $1 trillion on Dec. 11, 2024. Bartolini correctly predicted the industry would top the $1 trillion mark by October 15; it hit that level a day early. Full-year totals are expected to reach $1.4 trillion, revised up from $1.3 trillion, helped in part by bonds. 

“Fixed income ETFs – those continue each year to just gain more and more in popularity. And now you have them breaking records through a full-year record just in the first nine months. And that’s just because the use cases across fixed income ETFs have expanded beyond just simple beta building blocks to now contain more active strategies that have identifiable track records,” he added. 

HAND ON FUND MANAGERS DRIVE ETF GROWTH

Bond ETFs nabbed $42 billion of inflows last month and are on pace to net a record $400 billion this year. 

Gold ETF inflows are also on fire, on pace to break annual records this year, taking in $1 billion alone in November. Even as the price of the yellow metal continues to break records, trading above $4,482.80 an ounce, as of December 23.  Inflows are already at $42 billion. 

SPDR Gold Trust ETF, the largest ETF backed by physical gold, has seen record inflows of and has gained over 68%, while the smaller SPDR Gold minishares ETF is up by the same amount. 

ETF LEADER BOARD DOMINATED BY NIMBLE FUNDS

Bartolini and others outline the traditional case for owning gold:

Gold’s Bullish Backdrop

• Persistent inflation above the Federal Reserve’s preferred 2% mandate
• Global instability
• Falling interest rates
• U.S. debt, deficits
• A weaker U.S. dollar
• Institutional instability at the Fed, Japan
• Continued gold buying by central banks

There is also another bullish stat for the precious metal despite a market that may look over extended.

THE LATEST ETF NEWS

“The tonnage of gold is actually below the high watermark,” Bartolini said. “So, the actual amount of gold tons that are being held is below that high watermark,” suggesting further upside. 

Gold prices have advanced more than 70% this year, while silver has jumped over 140%, both sitting at record highs. 

The Arberdeen Physical Silver Shares ETF and iShares Silver Trust have advanced along with precious metals. 

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