The stark difference between how the media covered Biden’s health vs Trump’s
The cover-up of Joe Biden‘s cognitive decline is one of the biggest political scandals in recent history, erupting just over a year ago following his disastrous debate performance on June 27, 2024.
Questions mostly among conservative critics about Biden’s mental acuity began as early as 2019 when he ran in the Democratic presidential primary, but it wasn’t until his ill-fated debate against Donald Trump last year that his decline became undeniable. And in recent weeks, between revelations from tell-all books, the release of the Hur tapes and his Stage 4 prostate cancer diagnosis, the scandal has only grown in scale.
Yet during Trump’s first term in office, the legacy media did not hesitate to opine on the president’s health and fitness for office.
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The speculation about Trump’s mental fitness began even before he was sworn into office. In November 2016, just days after Trump shocked the world with his election victory, The Atlantic’s David Frum tweeted, “Twenty-Fifth Amendment to the Constitution. Article 4. We’re all going to be talking a lot more about it in the months ahead.”
New York Times columnist Ross Douthat did just that in May 2017, penning a piece titled, “The 25th Amendment Solution for Removing Trump.”
CNN’s Brian Stelter was an early media pioneer in questioning Trump’s fitness. Following the violence in Charlottesville in August 2017, he claimed to viewers that chatter about the president’s mental acuity filled newsrooms.
“President Trump’s actions and inactions in the wake of Charlottesville are provoking some uncomfortable conversations, mostly off the air, if we’re being honest,” Stelter began a monologue. “In discussions among friends and family and debates on social media, people are questioning the president’s fitness, but these conversations are happening in newsrooms and TV studios as well… Questions like these: Is the president of the United States a racist? Is he suffering from some kind of illness? Is he fit for office? And if he’s unfit, then what?”
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Then-Washington Post columnist Eugene Robinson similarly declared, “It’s time to talk about Trump’s mental health.”
“I have spoken with people who have known Trump for decades and who say he has changed. He exhibits less self-awareness, these longtime acquaintances say, and less capacity for sustained focus. Indeed, it is instructive to compare television interviews of Trump recorded years ago with those conducted now. To this layman’s eyes and ears, there seems to have been deterioration,” Robinson wrote.
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Around the same time, MSNBC’s Lawrence O’Donnell theorized that Trump’s daughter Ivanka and son-in-law Jared Kushner moved their family to Washington, D.C., after their father’s inauguration because they were “worried about the old man.”
“The kids have been watching, especially in recent years, a decline in Donald Trump’s executive function,” O’Donnell told his liberal viewers. “What neurologists call executive function includes basic mental processes like attention control, cognitive inhibition, working memory, cognitive flexibility. A decline in executive function is the beginning of the process that eventually leads you to take the car keys away from Dad.”
“Having personally watched Donald Trump become increasingly incoherent over the last several years, my first assumption was the kids were going to Washington because they knew Dad is utterly incoherent much of the time, and forgetful, and inattentive.”
In November 2017, The Daily Beast was confident in diagnosing Trump with “narcissism” and “sociopathy,” admitting its willingness to disregard the famed Goldwater Rule, the principle for psychiatrists to avoid diagnosing others without a proper examination and consent, writing that psychological experts told the outlet, “Trump’s years of media output—books, television appearances, tweets, and more—made his case one that is jarringly different, and one in which the Goldwater Rule doesn’t apply.”
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USA Today published an op-ed in May 2017 penned by psychologist John Gartner, who diagnosed Trump with “malignant narcissism,” writing, “If you take President Trump’s words literally, you have no choice but to conclude that he is psychotic.”
“Some say it is unethical to dare to diagnose the president, but hundreds of mental health professionals have come together to found Duty to Warn,” Gartner wrote, promoting his group. “We believe that just as we are ethically and legally obligated to break confidentiality to warn a potential victim of violence, our duty to warn the public trumps all other considerations.”
“More than 53,000 people have signed our petition, aimed at mental health professionals, stating Trump should be removed under the 25th Amendment because he is too mentally ill to competently serve,” Gartner continued.
Time Magazine also posed the question, “Should Doctors Speculate About the President’s Mental Health?”
“Morning Joe” co-host Joe Scarborough urged Trump’s cabinet to invoke the 25th Amendment in November 2017 over his “erratic behavior” as the president engaged in a tit-for-tat with North Korean Dictator Kim Jong Un.
“If this is not what the 25th Amendment was drafted for- I would like the cabinet members serving America, not the president, serving America – You serve America and you know it!” Scarborough shouted. “You don’t represent him! You represent 320 million people, whose lives are literally in your hands!… The people close to him during the campaign told me had early stages of dementia.”
“Now, listen, you can get mad at me if you want to, but it is OK to say. When are we supposed to say this, after the first nuclear missile goes?” Scarborough continued, before calling Trump a “mentally unstable president.”
CNN’s Jake Tapper jumped on the bandwagon, sounding the alarm over Trump’s tweet taunting the dictator, saying his “nuclear button” is “bigger.”
“None of this is normal, none of this acceptable, none of this, frankly, stable behavior,” Tapper said in January 2018.
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Days later, then-White House physician Dr. Ronny Jackson was peppered with questions by reporters following Trump’s physical exam, many of them probing the president’s cognitive ability.
“Can you assess the president’s mental fitness for office?” NBC News correspondent Hallie Jackson asked.
“Are you ruling out early on-set Alzheimer’s? Are you looking at dementia-like symptoms?” then-ABC News correspondent Cecilia Vega pressed Jackson.
“Is there anything you’re keeping from us for privacy reasons?” then-CNN correspondent Jim Acosta asked.
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Following that briefing, CNN’s chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta openly declared that Trump had “heart disease” based on Trump’s high coronary calcium score from data released by Jackson, even though Trump’s own physician never made such a diagnosis.
“The president has heart disease. Those numbers qualify him for having heart disease, and he clearly needs a plan to try to prevent some sort of heart problem down the road,” Gupta confidently told CNN viewers.
Even before Trump’s 2018 physical, Politico panned the White House for not giving him a cognitive exam, running the headline, “Is Trump mentally fit? Don’t count on his physical to tell you.”
“If President Donald Trump were any other 71-year-old — covered by Medicare and having his annual wellness visit — he’d be checked on his cognitive functions and possible safety risks. But when the president goes for his physical exam Friday, the White House said his mental fitness won’t be tested. And there’s no guarantee that the public would find out the results of cognitive tests if Trump were to take them,” Politico wrote.
In January 2018, the media hyped allegations about Trump’s mental acuity from Michael Wolff’s book “Fire and Fury,” which alleged White House staffers spoke with each other about the president’s fitness to serve. It was at that time that Trump famously referred to himself as a “very stable genius” while combating the claims.
“The tip toeing is over. The whispers are turning into shouts. President Trump’s fitness for office is now the top story in the country,” Stelter told “Reliable Sources” viewers. “Reporters and some lawmakers are openly talking about the president’s mental stability, his health, his competency.”
“Many Americans are worried. And journalists need to cover that,” Stelter urged his media colleagues.
“Does it seem likely in any way that members of the GOP will take this seriously, will want to take a look at the president’s mental fitness?” MSNBC host Stephanie Ruhle asked.
The Washington Post feasted on the Wolff news cycle with the headline, “The White House struggles to silence talk of Trump’s mental fitness.” CNN’s website ran with “Trump defends his sanity amid questions about his mental state.” CBS News similarly went with, “Trump defends mental fitness in wake of questions raised in new book.”
Frum of The Atlantic declared in April 2018 that Trump was “unfit to command” and linked his mental instability to national security.
“This president is not in command of himself,” Frum wrote, later adding, “The person nominally in charge is in no psychic state for his office. His condition is deteriorating—and with that personal deterioration, there also deteriorates America’s security and standing in the world.”
In September 2018, on the same day The New York Times published the infamous anonymous op-ed where the author declared they were “part of the resistance inside the Trump administration” (it was later revealed to be mid-level DHS staffer Miles Taylor), NPR published a report, “What You Need To Know About The 25th Amendment,” citing “Another surreal twist in the midst of another frenetic week,” prompting questions about the law.
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Later that month, The New York Times published a bombshell story alleging then-Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein floated secretly recording Trump and discussed the 25th Amendment with others in the administration, something Rosenstein denied at the time.
In February 2019, “60 Minutes” correspondent Scott Pelley of CBS News discussed what had allegedly transpired with the ousted Deputy FBI Director Andrew McCabe, who said he had such discussions with Rosenstein.
“As you’re sitting in this meeting at the Justice Department talking about removing the president of the United States, you were thinking what?” Pelley asked.
“How did I get here, confronting these confounding legal issues of such immense importance, not just to the FBI but to the entire country. It was… It was disorienting,” McCabe responded.
In November 2019, the media erupted over Trump’s unscheduled visit to Walter Reed Medical Center as the White House was obscure with its public statements. It was later revealed to have been for a routine colonoscopy.
“Trump’s weekend hospital visit draws a skeptical reaction,” wrote The Associated Press.
Politico at the time declared that, “Yes, It’s OK to Speculate on the President’s Health.”
“Given the record of this White House, and the long history of presidential medical cover-ups, it’s almost a responsibility,” then-Politico writer Jack Shafer wrote. “You don’t have to think that Trump was lying about his Saturday Walter Reed visit to insist that his health… should be a foundational issue in the 2020 campaign. Getting honest answers out of a politician about his or her health begins with asking the right questions. The right question to ask Trump is this: ‘What explains your unusual visit to Walter Reed?’”
The media also went wild speculating over Trump’s health in June 2020 following his appearance at West Point, where he went viral for cautiously walking down a ramp and drinking a glass of water with both hands as he was speaking.
New York Times star reporter Maggie Haberman authored the story, “Trump’s Halting Walk Down Ramp Raises New Health Questions,” telling readers, “President Trump faced new questions about his health on Sunday, after videos emerged of him gingerly walking down a ramp at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and having trouble bringing a glass of water to his mouth during a speech there.”
Haberman even cast doubt on Trump’s claim that the ramp was “steep” and “very slippery,” writing he “offered a description that did not match the visuals” and there “was no evidence that the ramp was slippery, and the skies were clear during the ceremony.”
“The president has frequently tried to raise questions about the health and mental fitness of his rivals, while growing indignant when his own is questioned,” Haberman wrote. “Most recently, he and his allies have questioned the mental acuity of the presumptive Democratic nominee, former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., who is 77.”
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The Washington Post was equally skeptical of Trump with its headline, “Trump tries to explain his slow and unsteady walk down a ramp at West Point.”
“President Trump late Saturday tried to explain his slow and unsteady walk down a ramp at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, which had generated concern and mockery on social media, by claiming the walkway was ‘very slippery’ and that he was worried about falling,” wrote Philip Rucker, one of The Post’s top political journalists at the time. “Elements of Trump’s explanation strained credulity. Trump’s claim that the ramp had been ‘very slippery’ was inconsistent with the weather, which on Saturday in West Point, N.Y., was sunny and clear-skied. The grass plain on which the commencement took place was dry.”
A separate Post report juxtaposed concerns about Trump’s health with Biden’s with the headline, “As Trump casts Biden as ‘sleepy Joe,’ his critics raise questions about his own fitness.”
“For Trump, who has tried to cast his Democratic rival, Joe Biden, as ‘sleepy’ and mentally absent, the attacks over his own wellness appeared to hit close to home,” The Post wrote.
Both The Times and The Post elevated mockery of Trump by liberal late-night hosts.
CNN and MSNBC went wall-to-wall with coverage of Trump’s cautious walk down the ramp.
“What’s the matter with Donald Trump?” MSNBC’s Nicolle Wallace asked a panelist with a slight grin.
“Americans have every reason to question his health. Walking down a ramp, holding a rail, probably no issue. Now you know how it feels, don’t you? What goes around, comes around,” then-CNN anchor Don Lemon taunted Trump.
Tapper took a swipe at Trump for “spending about 14 minutes talking about West Point and defending his wobbly walk down that ramp,” while recapping the president’s remarks from a rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
As Trump was being treated for COVID at Walter Reed Medical Center in October 2020, CBS News’ Margaret Brennan pressed then-National Security Adviser Robert O’Brien on invoking the 25th Amendment during an exchange on “Face The Nation.”
“Have you and the team discussed a scenario in which at some point the president might have to transfer power if he can no longer discharge the powers and duties of his office?” Brennan asked.
“No, that’s not something that’s on the table at this point,” O’Brien responded.
“But it may be as you just said,” Brennan interjected before O’Brien touted Trump’s recovery.
Brennan wasn’t alone. There was a flurry of reports speculating about the 25th Amendment being implemented during Trump’s bout with COVID like ABC News‘ “What happens if Trump becomes incapacitated? The 25th Amendment could kick in,” The Associated Press‘ “AP Explains: Transfer of power under 25th Amendment” and the liberal site Slate’s, “The 25th Amendment Needs an Update.”
Media chatter over the 25th Amendment resurfaced months later following the January 6 riot on Capitol Hill, less than three weeks before Biden was sworn into office. CNN, ABC News and CNBC all reported that members of Trump’s cabinet were having discussions about invoking the 25th Amendment, though it was never ultimately pursued.
Fast-forward to 2025. Trump was sworn back into office after defeating Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election, all of which followed Biden’s dramatic exit from the race last July.
After turning a blind eye for much of the Biden era regarding presidential health and wellness, the legacy media revived its intense scrutiny of Trump in the heat of the 2024 election. Last September, The Los Angeles Times speculated about Trump’s “rhetorical walkabouts,” suggesting it was a sign of “cognitive decline.” CNN’s Abby Philip argued there was a “double standard” regarding the lack of attention towards Trump’s mental acuity. In October, PBS News Hour took aim at Trump’s “rambling speeches,” saying they “raise questions about mental decline.” NBC News sounded the alarm over Trump’s behavior at one campaign event with the story “Trump’s bizarre music session reignites questions about his mental acuity,” as did The New York Times with the headline “Trump’s Speeches, Increasingly Angry and Rambling, Reignite the Question of Age.” The Washington Post also asked, “How big a political problem is mental acuity for Trump?”
The media continued speculating about Trump’s health even throughout his second term. Last month, USA Today columnist Rex Huppke penned a piece titled “Is Trump in mental decline? He sounds far worse than Biden ever did.” The Daily Beast ran the headline, “Trump Shows Signs of ‘Cognitive Decline’ Says Speech Expert.”
Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson, the co-authors of the bombshell Biden book “Original Sin,” have said during their book tour that one of the lessons learned in reporting on Biden’s cognitive decline is for journalists to intensely pursue the truth about a president’s health going forward, including Trump’s.
“This goes beyond Joe Biden. It should be relevant to Donald Trump and whoever comes after Donald Trump,” Tapper said.
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‘Bronx girl’ AOC exposed by former schoolmate who shares revealing high school photos
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s image as a tough Bronx native is being challenged by a New York lawmaker who revealed photos of her in his high school yearbook from Yorktown Heights, a suburb nearly an hour outside New York City.
New York State GOP Assemblyman Matt Slater, now representing Yorktown, shared the images of a young Ocasio-Cortez earlier this week on X. In the post, Slater claimed he and the rising Democratic star attended Yorktown High School at the same time when she was a freshman and he was a senior.
“Everybody in our community knows this is just a bold-face lie,” said Slater on “Fox & Friends First” Friday. “She grew up in Yorktown, she was on my track team.”
Yorktown is a small town in northern Westchester, nearly an hour away from the Bronx. Slater described it as a “great suburban town” with a “touch of rural to it.” Ocasio-Cortez graduated from the area’s high school, whose mascot is a cornhusker, in 2007.
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While the congresswoman has spoken about her time in Westchester, her early years in the Bronx have become a vital part of her political brand.
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Slater said he was moved to release the yearbook photo online during Rep. Ocasio-Cortez’s latest public spat with President Donald Trump, in which she renewed her calls for impeachment over his decision to bypass Congress in authorizing U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear sites.
The congresswoman wrote in part on X: “I’m a Bronx girl. You should know that we can eat Queens boys for breakfast. Respectfully,” she said, referring to the president’s upbringing in Queens.
“I saw the attacks on the president and her [Ocasio-Cortez] claims that she’s a big, tough Bronx girl,” said Slater. “To sit there and say that she’s a Bronx girl is just patently ridiculous.”
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He added that Ocasio-Cortez’s dismissal of her suburban upbringing is part of what he views as a larger “authenticity problem” in the Democratic Party.
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“She’s lying about her background, she’s lying about her upbringing,” Slater claimed.
He went on to call out other Democratic figures, like California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, as examples of politicians he feels have exaggerated aspects of their life for political gain.
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“They do not connect with their voters if they [voters] actually know the truth about them,” Slater argued.
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“This is just part of the big lie that they continue to peddle just to make sure that they win elections.”
Diver pardoned by Trump left ‘speechless’ after years of legal headache
A Florida-based diver thought he was doing the right thing when he freed a group of sharks—but instead, it led to a felony charge and, years later, a presidential pardon from Donald Trump.
On May 28, Tanner Mansell and John Moore Jr. were two of the sixteen recipients of Trump’s full pardons after the pair were convicted in 2020 of theft of property within special maritime jurisdiction.
Mansell, 31, of Jupiter, Fla., reflected on the fateful day leading to his conviction and the eventual unexpected pardon from the White House.
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In April 2020, Mansell and Moore took a group, which included the Kansas City police chief and a SWAT officer, and encountered a buoy connected to a longline over a dive site. A longline is a type of deep-sea fishing gear with baited hooks to catch fish.
“It was just another ordinary day on the water,” Mansell said. “I had been running trips there for years and never had anything like this happen. I spotted something red in the distance thinking that, you know, maybe it was trash or a diver,” he said. “We saw that it was a buoy connected to a line, which is when we started calling law enforcement.”
Unaware that the longline belonged to a legally sanctioned National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) shark research operation, Mansell and his team acted swiftly and cut the line. They released 19 sharks back into the ocean.
“I had no idea that this could be possible, you know, that you could have a permit to kill all these sharks,” he said, noting that they had called the Florida Wildlife Commission (FWC) and NOAA’s hotline before making the decision.
“In our mind, the entire time, we thought we were uncovering a crime rather than committing a crime,” he said.
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That belief quickly unraveled. Days later, Mansell said he received a call while out to dinner.
“I just felt like my world came to a stop, my heart sank,” he said. “We called [law enforcement], we did everything that we could.”
Despite their outreach to law enforcement, both divers were charged and convicted. While they avoided prison time, they were ordered to pay $3,343.72 in restitution, and the felony convictions prevented them from voting, owning firearms and traveling freely.
“The judge made a comment, and he commended us for our dedication to [the] environment,” he said. “He gave out what my lawyer said was probably the lowest sentence ever.”
Looking back, Mansell said he would have acted differently if he had known the law surrounding legal shark killings.
“Knowing what I know now, I absolutely would do things completely differently,” he said. “But if I didn’t know that there were permits for this, I don’t think that I would change anything… when you think you’re doing the right thing, you think you’re doing the right thing.”
“We were really surprised to get the pardon,” he added. “It wasn’t really discussed by my lawyers because it was so far down the line.”
A turning point came when the case went to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit and Judge Barbara Lagoa confirmed what Mansell believed throughout the legal process.
“She basically said … this should’ve never gone forward … she’s never come across a criminal that has called enforcement to report what they’re doing in real time,” he said.
Publicity from that opinion reached the libertarian Cato Institute, which published an article that eventually caught the attention of the White House.
“The White House actually called our lawyers and said that they were looking into this and asked for more information,” he said. “That was really cool because our lawyer called us that the White House had it in front of them and were looking into it.”
TANNER MANSELL’S PRESIDENTIAL PARDON – READ IT: APP USERS CLICK HERE
Mansell learned of his pardon while boarding a plane, sharing he was left “speechless” from the news.
“I was getting a call from my lawyer and I answered, and he says, ‘Well, I’ve got good news for you. You just got a full presidential pardon.’ I was speechless. I couldn’t even say thank you. I just soaked it in.”
Mansell profusely thanked the White House and Trump for the pardon.
“All I can say is thank you. And I hope that, you know, maybe in the name of sharks, we can all take a look at what’s happening and say that [legal killings of sharks] shouldn’t be happening in Florida.”
“I’m just so grateful. I have said thank you every step of the way. Words can’t explain it,” he said. “I know that the White House took a look at this and they decided it was worth it. And I got President Trump’s signature.”
I SPENT 36 YEARS IN PRISON FOR A CRIME I DIDN’T DO. TRUMP’S EARLY PARDONS ARE THE RIGHT IDEA
Though the felony remains technically on record, Mansell said the practical implications of the pardon allow him to continue his work.
“The felony is fully forgiven so now I can vote, and I can own a firearm from what I understand,” he said. “And most importantly, it expedites getting travel visas for my work in conservation.”
Asked how his view of government and justice had evolved, Mansell admitted, “At first, I was like, I lost a lot of faith in it. I felt like it was just unfair, but now I’m thankful for the due process.”
“I’ve learned so much through this process,” he said. “I’ve always considered myself a law-abiding citizen, somebody that doesn’t break the law and I respect law enforcement and commercial fisherman.”
“I got through into this political battle between commercial fisheries and shark diving tourism and it’s tough, but now I’m on the other side,” he said. “At first I lost a lot of faith in the criminal justice system and now, a bit of that faith in the justice system is restored. There are a lot of checks and balances for a reason.”
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Mansell remains committed to shark conservation and hopeful his case will raise awareness.
“This case never should have been filed,” Mansell’s attorney, Ian Goldstein, said in a statement. “These gentlemen made an honest mistake and were trying to save sharks from what they believed to be an illegal longline fishing setup. I can’t think of two individuals more deserving of a Presidential Pardon.”
‘The man of the hour’: Trump’s NATO turnaround shocks allies after fierce criticism
President Donald Trump delivered a resounding endorsement of NATO this week, marking a sharp turnaround in his years-long, often contentious relationship with the alliance.
Once known for blasting allies over defense spending and even threatening to pull out of NATO altogether, Trump now appears to have had a change of heart.
“I left here differently. I left here saying that these people really love their countries,” Trump said after the 2025 NATO summit in The Hague.
The pivot comes as NATO nations more than doubled their collective defense spending target – raising the bar from 2% to 5% of GDP.
WORLD LEADERS FLOCK TO MEET WITH TRUMP AT NATO SUMMIT
From Hostile Rhetoric to Royal Receptions
The president’s renewed embrace of the alliance follows years of friction, high-profile clashes with world leaders and controversial comments. Yet at this year’s summit, the tone was strikingly different.
Trump was welcomed by Dutch royals, praised by the NATO secretary-general – who even referred to him as “daddy” – and returned home lauding European allies for their patriotism. “It’s not a rip-off, and we’re here to help them,” Trump told reporters.
The transformation is as dramatic as it is unexpected.
The Iran Factor: Military Action with Global Impact
Trump arrived at the NATO summit on a high note, following U.S. strikes that crippled Iran’s nuclear infrastructure. According to American and allied intelligence sources, the operation set back Tehran’s nuclear ambitions by several years.
The strike was widely seen as both a show of strength and a strategic warning – not just to Iran but to NATO adversaries like Russia and China.
WORLD LEADERS FLOCK TO MEET WITH TRUMP AT NATO SUMMIT
“He really came in from this power move,” said Giedrimas Jeglinskas, a former NATO official and current chairman of Lithuania’s national security committee.
“Among some, definitely Eastern Europe, Central Europe, Nordic Europe, this attack, the use of those really sophisticated weapons and bombers, was the rebuilding of the deterrence narrative of the West, not just of America.”
Timeline: Trump’s Rocky Road with NATO
2016 Campaign Trail
Trump repeatedly called NATO “obsolete,” questioning its relevance and slamming allies for failing to pay their “fair share.”
“It’s costing us too much money… We’re paying disproportionately. It’s too much,” he said in March 2016.
He criticized NATO for lacking focus on terrorism, later taking credit when it created a chief intelligence post.
February 2017 – Early Presidency
Trump softened his tone after becoming president.
“We strongly support NATO,” he said after visiting Central Command. “We only ask that all members make their full and proper financial contribution.”
He continued to push for members to meet the 2% target by 2024.
2018 Brussels Summit
Trump privately threatened to pull the U.S. from NATO unless allies increased spending.
“Now we are in World War III protecting a country that wasn’t paying its bills,” he warned.
Despite the posturing, he called NATO a “fine-tuned machine” after extracting new spending commitments. He also accused Germany of being a “captive of Russia” over the Nord Stream 2 pipeline.
TRUMP HEADS TO NATO SUMMIT AS EUROPE AGREES TO HEED HIS DEFENSE SPENDING DEMANDS
2019 London Summit
The drama continued, this time with French President Emmanuel Macron calling NATO “brain-dead.”
“NATO serves a great purpose. I think that’s very insulting,” Trump responded.
He also clashed with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau – calling him “two-faced” after Trudeau was caught mocking Trump on camera.
2020 – Troop Withdrawal from Germany
Trump ordered 12,000 U.S. troops out of Germany, citing Berlin’s defense shortfalls.
February 2024 – Russia Controversy
Trump ignited backlash after suggesting he’d let Russia “do whatever the hell they want” to NATO countries that failed to meet spending obligations.
The remark sparked urgent contingency talks among European leaders about the future of the alliance if the U.S. did not step up to its defense.
June 2025: A Different Trump, a Different NATO
The 2025 summit in The Hague unfolded with surprising calm. Trump’s hosts rolled out the red carpet. “He’s the man of the hour and the most important man in the world,” Jeglinskas said.
Jeglinskas credited Trump’s blunt diplomacy – however unorthodox – for helping drive real reform “He’s brought in tectonic change to the alliance’s capabilities by… being himself,” he added. “It’s a gift for the alliance.”
Two Forces Behind NATO’s Revival: Russia and Trump
Experts agree NATO’s recent revitalization stems from two major catalysts: Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine and Trump’s relentless pressure on allies to boost defense.
“President Trump is riding high this week with two major foreign policy victories,” said Matthew Kroenig, vice president at the Atlantic Council’s Scowcroft Center, referencing NATO and the recent U.S. strikes on Iran’s nuclear program. “It’s terrific. I hope he can keep it up.”
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He added, “Every president since Eisenhower has complained that NATO allies aren’t doing their fair share.”
Now, Trump was the one who finally got them to listen, he said.
Country music star regrets racy ad she did in order to pay child support bills
Jana Kramer has some regrets about her career choices, but as the sole provider for her children, the country star says she’s done what she needed to do to take care of them.
“I mean there’s definitely some things, some ads that I’m like, ‘Oh, I wish I could have gone back and maybe not done that ad,’ but you know, you learn and you go back and you go, ‘All right, I’m not gonna do that one again,’ you know? So sometimes when you gotta pay that child support check, it’s just like, ‘Well, this is a good check money. I’m gonna take this,” the country star told Fox News Digital during a joint interview with Jessie James Decker about their first song collaboration, “Do It in Heels.”
After Decker asked Kramer if she was talking about the “vibrator” commercial, they both cracked up and Decker told her, “It’s OK, honestly it is what it is.”
Kramer continued, laughing, “I’m not gonna do it again, like you know what I mean? Like I’m like, OK, I’m good now, like, you know? Like we’re good, we’re leveling up to a different [place], you know?”
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She elaborated that she has to pay child support checks to ex-husband Mike Caussin, and “I am a sole provider, where I have a lot of pressure on my shoulders to provide for my kids. And so I think that piece of it sometimes outweighs my moral compass.”
Kramer has primary custody of her two children with Caussin: Jolie, 9, and Jace, 6. She also shares son Roman, 1, with her current husband, Allan Russell.
“There’s nothing wrong with it. You’re good,” Decker interjected, before Kramer added, “We could be on OnlyFans, but we’re not, right? So, you know what I mean? There’s a level where I don’t want to go to.”
Kramer and Decker’s new single “Do It in Heels” will release on Friday, and the “One Tree Hill” actress told Fox News Digital that when she started writing it two years ago, she wanted to do a “girl anthem” that was “up-tempo” and “fun.”
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“I’m so sick and tired of the like, ‘He hurt me, he cheated on me,’ like I’m over that era of my life and like I wanna just, I want fun and so like I want to write just a girl anthem.”
She said while she was writing the song, she knew she wanted another woman to collaborate on it.
“And the only person I had in mind the entire time was Jessie, because I’m like, she’s such a girl’s girl,” Kramer said. “We’ve been friends for years.”
Kramer said she knew Decker “would sound killer on this song, but it was one of those things where it’s like, because we’re friends, I almost didn’t – I’m like, ‘I don’t know if she would want to do that.’ It’s like she’s, you know, like what if she doesn’t like the song? And then it’s like that weird, awkward thing because we are friends, you know?”
She continued, “Like if she hates it, and it’s like, how does she let me down easy? And so, ’cause I’m still, you know, semi-insecure with my music and stuff.”
But she said she just decided to ask Decker anyway, “And girl, you were like, ‘I love it. Let’s do it.’ I’m, like, ‘Wait, really?'”
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Decker said, “I was like, I’m down. Let’s do it. It was great, it was catchy. I loved everything about it, and I related to it. And I was, like, ‘I would love to do this with you.’”
Kramer said when she and Decker first became friends years ago, it felt like the industry wanted them to have a “rivalry.”
“I instantly loved you,” Decker said. “I remember not knowing if you liked me in the beginning.”
Kramer agreed that there’s a lot of competition between female country stars “in general,” and they both thought the other was more beautiful and talented, which she said led to a “rival friendliness.”
Finally, they met up at a party, and Kramer asked her: “’Do you not like me?’ And you’re like, ‘No, I like you.’ I was, ‘Well, I like you, too.’”
“And that was it,” they both agreed, adding that it felt like people around them had tried to promote a rivalry.
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“Once we met and talked, it was like ‘Did we just become best friends?’” Decker said.
Decker said one of her favorite things about Kramer is how much she “loves love, she is such a lovely girl.”
“What’s happened to her has been very traumatic,” Decker added of Kramer’s ex-husband’s infidelity. “And it shows you how strong of a person she is. She is so unbelievably strong, but it also shows you that she loves more than she wants to sit and be sad. She didn’t give up. And because of that, she has found the man of her dreams. She is the happiest I have ever seen her.”
Kramer added that her past marriages and her current one have taught her what she’s worth.
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“Before I would let things go because of the family aspect,” she admitted, but now… I found an incredibly respectful, loving man. And so it’s always been my work along the way.”
She added that as long she continues to do the “work and heal and grow, then, you know, and I have a respectful man by my side, it’s going to be always light years different.”
Going back to “Do It in Heels,” Decker said she wants people to “feel good” while listening to the song, like the way they did while recording it.
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She said, “I think sometimes women can be so hard on themselves that ‘I should be doing this more, I should be mothering more, should be working more.’ But I think you’ve got to sit back and really listen to the message of this song. Which is ‘I’m doing it, and I’m doing it well, and doing it in heels.’”
“Do It in Heels” is out now.
Expert warns Americans about dangerous combination of chemicals in drinking water
As a record-breaking heatwave swept through parts of the U.S. this week, Americans increased their consumption of plain water, including tap and bottled varieties, to boost hydration and avoid heat-related illnesses.
Amid unbearable temperatures and seasonal changes, children and adults should increase their water intake but are advised to avoid unfiltered tap and bottled water as much as possible, according to a water technology and sustainability expert.
“The whole reason our company exists is because we have a fundamental crisis in our drinking water in the United States today, and not a lot of people are talking about it,” Rich “Raz” Razgaitis, CEO of FloWater, told FOX Business.
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Raz, formerly of Fortune 500 companies and global pharmaceutical leaders Johnson & Johnson and Eli Lilly, co-founded FloWater 12 years ago to restore America’s drinking water.
America’s water infrastructure is underfunded and outdated. In 2023, the EPA determined that the U.S.’s water infrastructure requires $625 billion over a 20-year period to address the issues, according to the Infrastructure Report Card.
“From the governmental side, whether it’s federal or municipal, nobody can solve our infrastructure issues in one or two terms,” Raz said. “So, it’s a hot potato. Nobody wants to talk about this and amplify what the problem is.”
“A lot of companies are profiting off of a really broken water infrastructure.”
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Raz told FOX Business that consumer packaged goods companies, especially big beverage brands and energy drink companies, are capitalizing on impressionable young adults and fighting for kids’ mindshare.
“I got personally passionate about this, watching my daughters at a young age get, what I would say is, programmed in the same way that I got programmed growing up by becoming really fixated on sugary, caffeinated drinks,” Raz said.
“This is a real problem because it creates lifelong behaviors, addictions and dependencies that ultimately lead to cataclysmic choices downstream.”
Raz said choosing between unfiltered tap water and bottled drinking water is like comparing cigarettes.
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“Seventy thousand to eighty thousand chemicals have been submitted to the toxicology division of the EPA over the last many decades,” Raz said. “There are an estimated 50,000 chemicals in use in the United States today. Those chemicals are used for things like pharmaceutical manufacturing, textile manufacturing, agricultural use, and ultimately fewer than 100 of those roughly 50,000 chemicals in use in the United States today are regulated by the Safe Drinking Water Act of 1974, which has hardly been updated since 1974.”
“We’re literally drinking a chemical cocktail,” Raz said.
In summary, the SDWA was established to protect water quality from common contaminants and later amended and reauthorized in 1986 and 1996, according to the EPA website.
Raz, however, told FOX Business that roughly 70% of Americans don’t like or don’t trust tap water, so they resort to bottled water, which is riddled with micro- and nanoplastic contaminants.
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“Our job is really to stop that cycle,” he said of FloWater.
FloWater, a purified drinking water system, is used to enhance both the taste and effects of drinking water. Raz founded the brand to get adults and children to fall in love with water again.
“The way that we do that is by taking the water that municipal systems deliver, which they do the best job they can possibly do given the decades of contamination that have happened in our drinking water,” Raz said. “Then, we add a purification device onto that that radically changes that tap water. It reduces the bad stuff and puts good things in there, delivering what people say is the world’s best-tasting water.”
While Raz encourages offices, gyms, school districts and other public places to provide people with FloWater systems that cost around $5 per month, he isn’t particular about what system is used, as long as one is offered to consumers.
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The FloWater website offers a water analysis feature for all zip codes in the U.S. to determine what exactly is in their tap water.
“There are over 200 million Americans estimated to be drinking water from the tap with PFAS in it,” Raz said.
PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are widely used, long-lasting chemicals, components of which break down very slowly over time. There are thousands of them found in commercial, consumer and industrial products, according to the EPA website.
“Over 56% of Americans have been drinking tap water with lead in it,” Raz said.
He added that microplastics found in bottled water become nanoplastics because they don’t biodegrade, and individuals consume about one credit card’s worth of plastic every week.
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“The people that don’t like that problem solved are people selling consumer packaged goods that are wrapped in plastic and distributed,” Raz told FOX Business.
For homeowners who don’t have access to FloWater, Raz recommends a system with a triple filter and reverse osmosis, a membrane that is impervious to contaminants and removes them down to .0001 microns, according to Raz.
Homeowners should have a system with a mineral filter that includes calcium, potassium, magnesium and sodium for the countertop or under the sink.
Systems for the home can cost anywhere from a few hundred dollars to $2,000.
Supreme Court delivers sweeping conservative victories on final day of term
The Supreme Court had a banner day on Friday, the last decision day of the high court’s term, involving the justices reining in judicial power and serving up a victory for parents in the ongoing culture wars.
The high court’s more controversial decisions were split along ideological lines. Liberal justices sometimes dissented with bitter rebukes, while the Trump administration celebrated what it viewed as landmark wins.
Nationwide injunctions
In the most high-profile case of the day, the Supreme Court ended the practice of judges issuing sweeping injunctions that cover the whole country and not just parties involved in a case.
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The injunctions, often known as “nationwide injunctions,” have been a source of frustration for President Donald Trump as judges side with plaintiffs and block key parts of the president’s agenda.
The case arose from several judges issuing injunctions that blocked Trump from carrying out his birthright citizenship plan. Rather than ask the Supreme Court to weigh in on the merits of the plan, which has been uniformly rejected in courts, Trump asked the high court to put a stop to the injunction practice.
The Supreme Court’s 6-3 decision left open the possibility that judges and plaintiffs could use other avenues, such as class action lawsuits, to seek broad relief now that the high court has curtailed nationwide injunctions.
Parental rights
The Supreme Court decided 6-3 in Mahmoud v. Taylor that parents can opt their children out of a Maryland public school system’s lessons when they contain themes about homosexuality and transgenderism if they feel the content conflicts with their religious beliefs.
Justice Samuel Alito, writing for the majority, said the government “burdens the religious exercise of parents when it requires them to submit their children to instruction that poses ‘a very real threat of undermining’ the religious beliefs and practices that the parents wish to instill.”
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The Trump administration celebrated the ruling as a victory for “parental rights,” while Justice Sonia Sotomayor said in a scathing dissent that the high court’s decision would open floodgates for students to opt out of a wider range of lessons.
Age verification of explicit websites
The Supreme Court allowed Texas to require age verification for users of pornographic websites, dealing a win to those aiming to block children from accessing explicit material online.
A trade association for the porn industry brought the lawsuit, alleging the age requirement meant the state was unconstitutionally regulating free speech on the internet.
“This is a major victory for children, parents, and the ability of states to protect minors from the damaging effects of online pornography,” Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said in a statement. “Companies have no right to expose children to pornography and must institute reasonable age verification measures.”
Voting rights
The Supreme Court punted its case about Louisiana’s congressional maps, indicating it needed a few more questions answered during oral arguments in the fall.
The delay means that Louisiana’s map of voting districts, including majority-Black districts, would not see any changes until the 2028 election cycle or later.
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The Supreme Court is now set to wind down in anticipation of its summer recess, though it is still expected to hand down some straggling decisions before its next term begins in October.
NBA’s No 1 pick stuns reporters with bold Caitlin Clark declaration
Caitlin Clark might only be in her second season in the WNBA, but what she’s already done for women’s basketball is enough for Cooper Flagg to place her on his Mount Rushmore.
During his introductory press conference after being selected first overall by the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday night, the Duke product was asked what players were on his NBA and WNBA Mount Rushmore.
Flagg rattled off Larry Bird, Michael Jordan, LeBron James and Kobe Bryant as his top picks in the NBA. For the women’s game, he named Candace Parker, Brittney Griner and A’ja Wilson.
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For his last pick in the WNBA, Flagg named the Indiana Fever star and qualified his pick, saying that he believes she’s earned that spot because of her impact on women’s basketball.
“I might put Caitlin Clark on there, just because she’s changed the game so much and it’s heading in the right direction,” he told reporters Friday. “I just love what she’s been able to do.”
Clark was the first overall pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft following a standout career at Iowa. She had an immediate impact in the pros, helping the Fever make a playoff appearance for the first time since 2016. She was named WNBA Rookie of the Year in a season that saw record viewership and attendance.
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The viewership boost includes fans like Flagg.
“Honestly, it means a lot to me, seeing how far they have come, and I am going to continue to watch,” Flagg said while attending the Dallas Wings home game against the Fever on Friday night.
“I am a big fan, so it’s really cool to just be here and be in this environment and get to watch a great game.”
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Clark was sidelined from Friday’s matchup, missing her second straight game due to a groin injury. The Fever still outlasted the Wings in the 94-86 victory, where Paige Bueckers, the first overall pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft, dropped 27 points.
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Lauren Sánchez surprises in modest wedding dress at glamorous Venice ceremony
Lauren Sánchez is officially Mrs. Bezos.
On June 27, Amazon mogul Jeff Bezos and Sánchez tied the knot at San Giorgio Maggiore in Venice, Italy, with a star-studded guest list.
On Friday, Sánchez updated her Instagram account to read “Lauren Sánchez Bezos,” after saying, “I do” to the Amazon founder. She also shared the first look at her wedding gown on Instagram.
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“06/27/2025,” she captioned her post, adding a red heart. Sánchez also debuted her wedding gown on the cover of Vogue.
Her Dolce & Gabbana dress was a mermaid-style lace gown, with sheer long sleeves and a high neckline. She told Vogue in her cover story that she felt “like a princess.”
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Sánchez’s inspiration behind her wedding gown was the look Sophia Loren wore while marrying Cary Grant in the 1958 movie “Houseboat.”
“It went from ‘I want a simple, sexy modern dress’ to ‘I want something that evokes a moment,’ and where I am right now. I am a different person than I was five years ago,” she told the outlet.
Sánchez acknowledged that her wedding gown was more conservative than the revealing looks she’s worn in the past.
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“It is a departure from what people expect,” she said, adding, “from what expect—but it’s very much me.”
Sánchez said she was expecting her now-husband to be surprised.
“Yes. I think he will be pleasantly surprised. I think he’s going to be so happy. I mean, it’s so elegant, it’s timeless,” she said.
Sánchez explained that her wedding to Bezos “is extremely intimate,” and 70 of the 200 guests are family.
“She wants to do a very classic and elegant wedding,” designer Stefano Gabbana told the outlet. “She didn’t want to do something very flashing or bling bling.”
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Sánchez also told the outlet she isn’t sticking to some traditional wedding rituals.
“We don’t have a lot of traditions that we’re keeping. I mean, I love traditions, but for a 55-year-old woman, it’s a little different,” she said.
She did bring something blue to her big day.
“Well, Blue Origin. It’s something from my space flight,” Sánchez told the outlet.
She explained to Vogue that during her recent trip to space, she brought a secret souvenir so she could bring Bezos something back “because it was literally one of the most profound experiences I’ve ever had in my life. Seeing Earth from space, I came down and I couldn’t describe it. It was the greatest experience I’ve ever had. Jeff said, ‘It’s gonna change you more than you think,’ and it completely has, visually, spiritually,” she said.
During the interview, the former journalist explained the impact her now-husband has had on her life.
“I went into a lot of therapy and it’s changed me in a bunch of ways. But it’s really Jeff,” she said with a pause. “Jeff hasn’t changed me. Jeff has me. I feel safe. I feel seen. He lets me be me. Like I said about Sophia Loren being unapologetically free, he lets me be unapologetically free.”
Sánchez revealed that her two sons, Nikko and Evan, walked her down the aisle. Her daughter, Ella, was her maid of honor and delivered a reading during the wedding ceremony. All three of her kids, whom she shares with her ex-husband Patrick Whitesell, were wearing Dolce & Gabbana for her wedding.
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Sánchez did some prep before her big day. While speaking to Vogue, she explained that she lost three and a half pounds before the ceremony on June 27 and cut out alcohol and salt in the weeks leading up to it.
“I like food!” she explained. “Food is such a big part of life. I’m Latin! Some people meditate, I work out. It’s something Jeff and I do every morning. We have our coffee, we talk about whatever’s going on, and then we go to the gym.”
Sánchez couldn’t be happier that she gets to spend the rest of her life with Bezos, she told Vogue.
“More than the dress, I’m happy that I’m getting married and I get to spend my life with my best friend, someone who sees me, someone who adores me, someone who I adore. I am the luckiest woman on the planet.”
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