Michelle confessed she “couldn’t stand” her husband for a decade. ~ Michelle Obama In a New Yorker interview published Monday, Barack Obama said his marriage was affected by his ongoing involvement in politics. The former president pointed to President Donald Trump as the reason for his involvement with the party. “It does create a genuine tension in our household. And it frustrates her,” he said, referring to his busy campaign schedule. “I’m more forgiving of it, in the sense that I understand why people feel that way, because people aren’t looking at me in historical comparison to other presidents,” the Marxist explained. “They don’t care about the fact that no other ex-president was the main surrogate for the party for four election cycles after they left office.” She couldn’t stand him for ten years. Michelle says that working on the marriage has been worth it. It’s better than ever. “We’ve been married 30-plus years. “”Something works,” Michelle said. “If you don’t let people know about the tough times, I think they quit too soon.” “That’s why I say things like you can go through ten bad years in a 30-year marriage, and that’s still great odds,” Michelle continued. She was referring to a previous statement in which she confessed she “couldn’t stand” her husband for a decade. “She wants to see her husband easing up and spending more time with her, enjoying what remains of our lives,” Obama said. He added that the pressure remains to be politically active against the Trump administration. He recognizes that other presidents didn’t. “It does create a genuine tension in our household, and it frustrates her.” Obama said that he does his best to accommodate her. Michelle struggled through her time as first lady. She said on her “The Light Podcast” that upon leaving Trump’s first inauguration, she was “uncontrollably sobbing” for half an hour on Air Force One. “It was a privilege to serve, but it was hard, and it was hard on our family; it was hard on my daughters growing up in the spotlight,” she added. He dug himself out In 2025, Obama said on Marc Maron’s podcast that he “had a big deficit with my wife and had to kind of work my way out.” At a later event in London, Barack said he “was digging [himself] out of the hole [he] found [himself] with Michelle.” “Now I’m at about level ground.” She has said they are in couples therapy. If you listen to her podcast, she picks on petty nonsense concerning Barack. But now she knows it’s Trump’s fault. It’s always Trump’s fault. I can see how President Trump would upset Marxists like Barack and Michelle. Here is Obama with his new black accent. He didn’t get that growing up in Hawaii.   The post Barack Obama Blames Trump for His Marital Problems appeared first on www.independentsentinel.com.

Controversial internet celebrity and “looksmaxxer” Clavicular avoided jail time after allegedly shooting an alligator in Florida earlier this year. The 20-year-old livestreamer, whose real name is Braden Peters, was taken into custody on February 7 in Scottsdale, Arizona. Peters was later charged with multiple offenses, including two felony counts, according to court records reviewed online. Clavicular faced nearly eight years in prison for the offenses, which included allegations that he shot an already-dead alligator in the Florida Everglades. But Clav will live to mog another day, thanks to a plea deal he struck late Friday. A judge agreed to sentence Clavicular to six months’ probation, during which time he must perform 30 hours of community service and complete a firearm safety course. If he serves his sentence without issue, his charges will be stricken from the record, according to the New York Times. Clavicular rose to fame thanks to his near-constant livestreams, which broadcast every aspect of his life to the internet. Much of his content centers around “looksmaxxing,” a niche internet trend popular among young men who will go to great lengths to improve their physical appearance. “Looksmaxxers” have captivated the internet with their unique argot, a lexicon of extremely-online slang and portmanteaus of ordinary words with suffixes like “mogged” and “maxxing,” which signify embarrassment and commitment to a practice, respectively. Clavicular has admitted to using methamphetamine to stay skinny and “bonesmashing,” a practice in which an individual lightly fractures his jaw bones, in the hope that they will heal more defined. During an interview with Daily Wire host Michael Knowles, Peters said, “I do meth, yeah. Meth is very similar to … Adderall, but it’s got a little bit better psychoactive benefits … stimulants cause appetite suppression.” When pressed on why he was doing meth despite its negative effects, he replied, “I have enough willpower to be able to taper off of meth.”

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Among the $308.37 billion in goods that the United States imported from China in 2025, the No. 1 category was described by the Census Bureau as “cell phones and other household goods.” Americans last year purchased $39,246,893,116 worth of these items manufactured in that communist regime. Not surprisingly, Tim Cook, the chief executive officer of Apple, is one of the corporate executives who joined President Donald Trump on his latest trip to China. As The New York Times reported last June, “an estimated 80 percent of iPhones are still made in China. Apple’s business is still so dependent on China that the tech giant can’t operate without it.” Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg also joined Trump on his trip to China. “China is considering a deal for about 500 of the 737 Max jets,” Bloomberg reported. Another top executive who joined Trump on his trip to China is Dina Powell McCormick, the president of Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram. “China on Monday blocked U.S. tech giant Meta’s acquisition of the artificial intelligence startup Manus, in an unexpected move to reverse a deal that apparently aroused Beijing’s concerns about the transfer of advanced technology,” The Associated Press reported on April 27. Yet another CEO on the China trip with Trump is Mastercard’s Michael Miebach. “Mastercard today announced a collaboration between Mastercard Move, its money movement platform, and Bank of Shanghai (BoS) to enable seamless, bi-directional payment flows between China and global markets,” said a press release Mastercard published on March 12. “‘With this collaboration, we’re extending our multi-rail capabilities across cards, digital wallets and bank accounts to give banks and payment service providers across the world a single, trusted platform to send funds to China,'” the release quoted Mastercard’s global head of transfer solutions as saying. Sending money to China has become a sad feature of the American economy. In just the last 10 years (2016-25), according to Census Bureau data, the United States has purchased $4.205 trillion in imports from China. At the same time, China has purchased only $1.299 trillion in imports from the United States. The result is a cumulative 10-year trade deficit of $2.906 trillion. After the $39,246,893,116 worth of “cell phones and other household goods” that Americans imported from Communist China in 2025 came “electric apparatus” ($21,306,822,050); “toys, games, and sporting goods” ($19,363,103,443); “apparel, textiles, nonwool or cotton” ($13,966,192,283); “other parts and accessories of vehicles” ($11,715,964,462); “computer accessories” ($11,659,017,578); “industrial machines” ($10,741,628,802); “household appliances” ($10,401,576,154); “telecommunications equipment” ($9,965,181,940); and “computers” ($9,715,440,762). The day before he departed for China, Trump posted a message about the trip on Truth Social. “I am very much looking forward to my trip to China, an amazing Country, with a Leader, President Xi, respected by all,” Trump said. But Trump’s own administration has issued reports condemning the actions of Chinese Communist Party General Secretary Xi Jinping’s regime. On Dec. 14, 2022, then-Sen. Marco Rubio testified before the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom about China’s egregious violations of that freedom. “The Chinese Communist Party has been attacking religious freedom since its founding a century ago,” Rubio said. “Oppression is frankly in its DNA.” “Today,” Rubio said, “Beijing’s assault is more violent and systematic than ever. In Xinjiang, it has even amounted to genocide. Party agents are also targeting ethnic Chinese believers here in in the United States because they believe faith undermines the legitimacy of the Communist Party. This is a threat to American national security and basic human rights. We must do everything we can to counter this.” Last August, as this column has noted before, Rubio’s State Department repeated these claims in its human rights report on China. It cited China for “(g)enocide and crimes against humanity,” “serious restrictions on freedom of expression and media freedom,” “restrictions on religious freedom,” “coerced abortions and forced sterilizations,” and “trafficking in persons including forced labor.” In March, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom called on the U.S. government to redesignate “China as a ‘country of particular concern,’ or CPC, for engaging in systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations of religious freedom.” “In 2025,” said the report, “China perpetuated particularly severe violations of religious freedom. Chinese authorities sought to exert complete control over religion through an extensive web of laws, regulations, and policies that do not conform to international human rights standards.” “Authorities continued to pursue the state’s coercive ‘sinicization of religion’ policy, which seeks to integrate the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) political ideology into every aspect of religious life and forcibly assimilate ethnic minorities, including through co-opting or prohibiting their unique religious traditions and destroying or modifying their houses of worship,” said the report. Xi is not respected by all and should be respected by no one. Nor should his regime be allowed to make trillions of dollars from trade with the United States. COPYRIGHT 2026 CREATORS.COM We publish a variety of perspectives. Nothing written here is to be construed as representing the views of The Daily Signal.

Call for Young Filmmakers: The Anti-Communist Film Festival

ABC’s recent history of blaming the United States, and especially the Trump administration, and not communism for Cuba’s ongoing economic disaster continued on Saturday’s Good Morning America as reporter Alex Presha and guest co-host Rachel Scott blamed American sanctions instead. Unfortunately, this time, they were also joined by CBS Saturday Morning and White House reporter Olivia Rinaldi, who claimed the U.S. was “plunging the country into darkness.” During his report on recent developments between the U.S. and Cuba, Presha declared, “[CIA Director John] Ratcliffe’s visit is happening in the midst of an economic crisis. The U.S. oil blockade and sanctions have caused a crippling energy shortage. Extensive blackouts across the country, sparking protests. Cubans banging pots and shouting, ‘Turn on the lights!’ The frustrations growing over the country's energy grid, now on the verge of collapse.”   ABC is, once again, blaming the United States and not communism for Cuba's problems. Reporter Alex Presha declared "The U.S. oil blockade and sanctions have caused a crippling energy shortage" while Rachel Scott later added "Yeah, those U.S. sanctions crippling that economy."… pic.twitter.com/jmMGKeayM7 — Alex Christy (@alexchristy17) May 16, 2026   Presha continued, “Many Cubans are without power up to 22 hours a day, getting by in the dark with car headlights and flashlights. This week, Cuba’s energy minister declaring the country has no fuel and no diesel. President Trump has called Cuba a declining country in need of help. The U.S. State Department has made a public offer of $100 million in humanitarian aid, something Cuban officials are now mulling over. U.S. officials telling ABC News there are disagreements about how that money would be distributed.” Back live, Presha threw in another development, “Now, the U.S. has offered that humanitarian aid multiple times this month. Meanwhile, sources say the U.S. could announce an indictment of former Cuban president Raul Castro as soon as next week, Rachel.” As Presha left, Scott turned to fellow co-host Whit Johnson, “We just saw there in that piece, you were just in Cuba last week speaking to the foreign minister. I mean, what were your takeaways from being on the ground there? Johnson repeated Presha’s reporting of economic calamity before recalling, “He insisted that internal affairs are off the table in these discussions with the U.S. He said that there's no progress in those discussions, but it seems like the administration is determined to force change whether the Cuban government likes it or not.” Scott then echoed Presha, “Yeah, those U.S. sanctions crippling that economy,” while Johnson also chimed in with “yeah.” Meanwhile, Rinaldi at least mentioned why the DOJ is looking at indicting Raul Castro, “CIA Director John Ratcliffe's trip to Cuba came as sources tell CBS News the Trump administration is taking steps to indict Raul Castro, the 94- year-old former president of Cuba and brother of Fidel Castro, in connection with the downing of humanitarian aid planes 30 years ago.”   CBS reporter Olivia Rinaldi did something similar, "Cuba is in the midst of an energy crisis, fueled by the U.S. Blockade there, plunging the country in to darkness." pic.twitter.com/ETqDpxEo4H — Alex Christy (@alexchristy17) May 16, 2026   However, she also avoided any mention of communism, “Cuba is in the midst of an energy crisis, fueled by the U.S. blockade there, plunging the country into darkness.” The truth is Cuba’s energy crisis predates Trump’s decision to seize Cuba-bound Venezuelan oil because communism fails as surely as the sun rises in the east. Here are transcripts for the May 16 shows: ABC Good Morning America 5/16/2026 8:15 AM ET ALEX PRESHA: Ratcliffe’s visit is happening in the midst of an economic crisis. The U.S. oil blockade and sanctions have caused a crippling energy shortage. Extensive blackouts across the country, sparking protests. Cubans banging pots and shouting, “Turn on the lights!” The frustrations growing over the country's energy grid, now on the verge of collapse. Many Cubans are without power up to 22 hours a day, getting by in the dark with car headlights and flashlights. This week, Cuba’s energy minister declaring the country has no fuel and no diesel. President Trump has called Cuba a declining country in need of help. The U.S. State Department has made a public offer of $100 million in humanitarian aid, something Cuban officials are now mulling over. U.S. officials telling ABC News there are disagreements about how that money would be distributed. Now, the U.S. has offered that humanitarian aid multiple times this month. Meanwhile, sources say the U.S. could announce an indictment of former Cuban president Raul Castro as soon as next week, Rachel. RACHEL SCOTT: Yeah, it could come. Alright, Alex, thank you. And Whit, we just saw there in that piece, you were just in Cuba last week speaking to the foreign minister. I mean, what were your takeaways from being on the ground there? WHIT JOHNSON: I mean, the big takeaway for me is the looming question: how much longer can this really last? I mean, when I was there last week, it was desperation. I mean, people we saw people actually sifting through the trash to try to find food. Twenty hour rolling blackouts. The gas stations were all closed. People were getting their gas on the black market. And now it's even worse a week later, and we're starting to see people pour out into the streets. They are demanding a change of some kind. When I spoke with the foreign minister, he insisted that internal affairs are off the table in these discussions with the U.S. He said that there's no progress in those discussions, but it seems like the administration is determined to force change. SCOTT: Yeah. JOHNSON: Whether the Cuban government likes it or not. SCOTT: Yeah, those U.S. sanctions crippling that economy. JOHNSON: Yeah. SCOTT: Okay, Whit, we appreciate your reporting on that. Great interview. *** CBS Saturday Morning 5/16/2026 8:14 AM ET OLIVIA RINALDI: There was a different island, this one 90 miles off the coast of Florida that U.S. officials visited this week. CIA Director John Ratcliffe's trip to Cuba came as sources tell CBS News the Trump administration is taking steps to indict Raul Castro, the 94- year-old former president of Cuba and brother of Fidel Castro, in connection with the downing of humanitarian aid planes 30 years ago. Cuba is in the midst of an energy crisis, fueled by the U.S. blockade there, plunging the country into darkness.

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