President Trump announced that the digging and placement of two flag poles he is personally gifting to the White House will take place Wednesday morning. The White House broke ground on the project last week. “It is my Great Honor to announce that I will be putting up two beautiful Flag Poles on both sides of the White House, North and South Lawns. It is a GIFT from me of something which was always missing from this magnificent place,” Trump said. “The digging and placement of the poles will begin at 7:30 A.M. EST, tomorrow morning. Flags will be raised at approximately 11 A.M. EST. These are the most magnificent poles made – They are tall, tapered, rust proof, rope inside the pole, and of the highest quality. Hopefully, they will proudly stand at both sides of the White House for many years to come!” he added. From the Associated Press: The White House broke ground Monday on construction projects ordered by President Donald Trump to pave over the grass in the Rose Garden and install flagpoles on the north and south lawns. The projects are part of a series of personal touches that Trump, a real estate developer turned politician, has added or is adding to the Executive Mansion and its grounds since he opened his second term in January. The projects also include new artwork of himself on walls and gold-toned flourishes in the Oval Office. He also wants to add a ballroom. Reporters on Monday noticed that work had begun in the Rose Garden, just off the Oval Office on the south grounds, when they were taken out to the South Lawn to wait for Trump to return on the Marine One helicopter from an overnight at the Camp David presidential retreat in Maryland. JUST IN: President Trump has announced two big, beautiful American flag poles will be installed at the White House tomorrow morning And he’s PERSONALLY paying for them. Trump’s been intimately involved with the planning, personally going out and surveying the site and… pic.twitter.com/M2t92DwKlr — Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) June 18, 2025 “We’re putting up a beautiful, almost 100 foot tall American flag. On this side and another one on the other side,” Trump previously said. “They’ve needed flagpoles for 200 years,” he continued. “Paid for by Trump,” he added. WATCH: BREAKING: President Trump is putting up two huge American flags at the White House — and he’s paying for them himself. "They've needed flagpoles for 200 years… paid for by Trump." pic.twitter.com/ARJQwGuWkI — Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) April 23, 2025 Read more from our previous reporting: BREAKING: President Trump Installing MASSIVE New American Flag Poles At White House!

A former Coast Guard lieutenant has been formally arrested and charged after threatening to assassinate President Donald Trump. 

Colonel Nathan McCormack, who was tasked with helping advise the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff on Israel-related matters, has been removed from his position after his anti-Israel social media posts were brought to light. McCormack, who was the Levant and Egypt branch chief at the Joint Chiefs of Staff’s J5 planning directorate, according to his LinkedIn, posted several controversial tweets on his X account. He called Israel a “death cult” and referred to the Israeli government as “Netanyahu and his Judeo-supremacist cronies,” among other things, Jewish News Syndicate reported. A Joint Staff official told The Daily Wire that the Department of Defense said McCormack was removed from his position with the Joint Chiefs of Staff and that the matter is being handed over to the Army for further action. The official added that McCormack’s posts do not reflect the position of the Joint Staff or the Department of Defense. “Our global alliances and partnerships are vital to our national security, enhancing our collective defense, deterrence, and operational reach,” the official said. TRUMP HAS BEEN CLEAR FOR 14 YEARS THAT IRAN CANNOT HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON McCormack’s semi-anonymous account has been deleted following JNS’s report. The J5 directorate of the Joint Chiefs of Staff advises the chairman of the Joint Chiefs on military strategy, planning, and policy across a wide range of national security issues. McCormack’s role tasked him with preparing senior leadership to speak with partner nations —including Israel. McCormack made the posts on an X account where he calls himself “Nate,” but has posted several times about his job and even shared a photo of his Meritorious Service Medal certificate. Since assuming his position — which his LinkedIn says he began in June 2024 — McCormack has posted numerous times about his views on the Jewish state, especially after Hamas’s October 7 massacre of Israeli civilians. LIVE UPDATES: Trump Calls For Iran To Surrender, Says The Ayatollah Is An ‘Easy Target’ “The Western states go to great lengths to avoid criticism of Israel, much out of Holocaust guilt,” McCormack tweeted in April. In May, he posted that “Netanyahu and his Judeo-supremacist cronies are determined to prolong the conflict for their own goals: either to remain in power or to annex the land.” In April 2024, McCormack questioned if the United States was a proxy of Israel. “I’ve lately been considering whether we might be Israel’s proxy and not realized it yet,” he posted. “Our worst ‘ally.’ We get literally nothing out of the ‘partnership’ other than the enmity of millions of people in the Middle East, Africa and Asia.” According to JNS, in response to a post about Gazans potentially seeking refuge outside the Gaza Strip, McCormack claimed that Israel aims “to expel them and cleanse ‘Eretz Israel’ of ethnic Palestinians.” Before starting his role with the Joint Chiefs of Staff, but while still serving as a U.S. Army officer, McCormack shared his views following Hamas’s October 7 massacre of Israeli civilians. “I agree that Israel has an absolute right to respond militarily, and that civilians may legally be caught in the crossfire, but you are ignoring the requirement of proportionality,” McCormack posted. “Israel’s responses always (always—not hyperbole) disproportionately target Palestinian civilians.” McCormack has also disclosed details about his official duties on the account, claiming in August 2024 that “we” warned Israel it would be “fuxked” if it escalated into an offensive against Lebanon. Despite the warning, Israel launched an invasion two months later and decimated the terrorist group Hezbollah. He also shared information about his conversations and briefings with Israeli Defense Forces officers. IRAN’S SUPREME LEADER RESPONDS TO ISRAEL’S ATTACK McCormack’s account also shared information about his movements and work trips being canceled, according to JNS. On Monday, McCormack reportedly claimed the Department of Defense endorses the Hamas-controlled Gaza Health Ministry’s casualty numbers. “Along with the World Health Organization and United Nations, we (Department of Defense, Department of State and the U.S. Intelligence Community) consider the Gaza Health Ministry figures to be generally reliable (though not precise),” he wrote, “but probably less so now than they were originally due to the general destruction and chaos in Gaza.” The Department of Defense has strict social media guidelines, including telling service members to “avoid use of Department of Defense titles, insignia, uniforms or symbols in a way that could imply DoD sanction or endorsement of content on your personal page.”

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