SINCERETALK

Trump buddy Larry Ellison (one of the richest people in the U.S.) and his son David are a hair’s breadth away from being able to decide what many Americans learn about what Trump is doing to America. The only thing stopping them is California attorney general Rob Bonta’s lawsuit, joined by the attorneys general of 11 other states and the Writer’s Guild of America. Bonta’s coalition is attempting to derail the Ellisons’ proposed $111 billion purchase of Warner Bros. Discovery , alleging it violates a century-old antitrust law. Lawyers for Paramount and the state of California are meeting today to discuss a possible path for settling the suit. But it’s far from clear they’ll come to an agreement, or, even if they did, that it would protect the public’s right to know. Bonta and California are appropriately concerned about what the Ellisons’ plan might do to jobs in Hollywood’s TV and film industry. But the stakes are much larger for America as a whole. Trump’s game plan is for the Elliso...

Natalie Harp's presence in President Donald Trump's inner circle has caused an avalanche of controversy, and now, a journalist and author has revealed to The Daily Beast why she might just be his most "unwell" staff member. Initially joining Trump's orbit during his time between terms, Harp has emerged as one of his closest White House assistants, holding considerable power over the information that he sees and the messages his social media accounts share. Her devotion to him has also raised considerable alarms, with many observers likening it to an obsession, particularly as the various letters she has written for him continue to emerge . On Sunday, author and journalist Kurt Andersen appeared as a guest on the latest episode of The Daily Beast Podcast, and discussed the situation surrounding Harp and explained why the uncertainties about her life that make her alarming as a political staffer would make her a "rich fictional character. “She is a rich fict...

Last week, on an emergency basis, Trump asked the Supreme Court to rescue the centerpiece of his ‘capital improvement campaign.’ Trump now calls his ballroom—a 90,000 ft.2 gilded party palace where donors in haute couture can eat wagyu beef and dance the night away—an “ urgent matter of national security .” Trump’s legal team was responding to a lower court’s stop-work order on the ballroom. An appellate panel ruled that presidents do not own the nation’s capital, or the White House, but rather are entrusted as temporary custodians. As such, they lack the unilateral authority to destroy, raze or replace core national structures without explicit approval from Congress. “The White House is the People’s House,” the majority wrote , “and under the Constitution’s Property Clause, Congress exercises plenary control over the building and its surrounding land.” Astute readers will note that ‘Congress’ is not ‘the president.’ The appellate panel went on : “The White House is owned by the ...

President Donald Trump’s ongoing bromance with North Korea’s dictator, Kim Jong Un , is literally putting the world at risk of nuclear war, at least according to one political analyst. “Trump and administration officials have taken to declaring that the economic sacrifices Americans are making for his war are patriotic gestures to ensure that Iran will never have a nuclear weapon — a pledge that had already been successfully obtained through the 2015 Iran nuclear deal negotiated under President Barack Obama, which Trump tore up upon taking office the first time, and then supposedly obtained again through the force of several bunker-buster bombs in 2025,” wrote Salon's Heather Digby Parton on Sunday . “According to the polls, most Americans aren’t buying that claim.” Parton added, “At the same time, still sulking that U.S. allies didn’t rush to jump into his Iran quagmire, Trump has decided to pick up where he left off in 2020 with his alleged good pal Kim Jong Un and punish Ameri...

As President Donald Trump continues to claim he will only lose the 2026 midterms if they are rigged against him , Republicans are by contrast starting to distance themselves from him politically, as if anticipating defeat. Now a new report in The New York Times offers another clue into the GOP reading the writing on the wall — namely, a private meeting between Trump’s son-in-law and the Democrat poised to be House Speaker if Democrats retake that legislative chamber. “Representative Hakeem Jeffries, Democrat of New York and the minority leader, met privately in recent weeks with Jared Kushner, President Trump’s son-in-law and top outside adviser, and discussed potential areas of common ground, according to five people with knowledge of the meeting,” reported The New York Times' Maggie Haberman and Annie Karni on Sunday . “The rare engagement was held in a private space in New York City, offered up by a mutual friend of the two men, according to two people with knowledge of the m...

CNN’s Erin Burnett OutFront Host Erin Burnett did not have to work hard to unmask the duplicity of Republicans and their propaganda networks Friday night. Republican-aligned networks were scrambling on Thursday and Friday to clean up the apparent ignorance of South Carolina Senatorial candidate Darline Graham, after her humiliating gaffe at an interview. Graham, who has been endorsed by President Donald Trump for a senate seat after the untimely death of her brother former Sen. Lindsey Graham, confessed total ignorance of even lightweight international policy topics at a recent debate. “Are Taiwan and the south China Sea national security issues for the United States, and if so, why or how?” asked a host. Graham admitted: “I'm just going to be honest here. I'm not on national security, that I'm not that informed on national security. So—but I do support the military.” She quickly added that, “my brother was in the Air Force for 33 years. After national and global press...