MAGA world is torn asunder! At least that’s what a lot of D.C. reporters seem to think. The truth is less dramatic. Anger and confusion over recent moves by the administration are real, but also a natural part of governance — and the reality of political success. Of course, that doesn’t mean the players inside the administration are all safe in their jobs.The White House is currently engaged in heated back-and-forths on two major fronts: the Epstein files and lethal aid to Ukraine and the ongoing U.S. role in that conflict. The administration has set clear paths on both: The Jeffrey Epstein investigation is officially closed, and weapons will continue flowing to Ukraine.This moment won’t define the administration. The latest drama will look like a sideshow soon enough.People are angry, and the president is irritated. Major White House players might fall in the aftermath.First, neither issue is a threat to the MAGA coalition, any more than an aborted freeze on ICE agricultural raids, or strikes on Iranian nuclear sites, or even Elon Musk’s angry departure threatened the president's authority or popularity with his base. There will always be back-and-forths inside a dynamic coalition with players who are old-time believers and players who secretly long for less confrontational politics.The first Trump administration was beset on all sides and from within. The second administration is far more unified, and Democrats and their allies in government and American intel agencies are on the back foot — and have significantly less credibility with Republicans than the first time around.A seriously weakened opposition party naturally creates more opportunities for infighting, and a political movement largely governed by one man is going to clash from time to time with those outside (and inside) players with strong thoughts or stakes in any field.Sometimes explosions of internet outrage can have an impact, though, as was the case during the brief pause on agricultural immigration raids. While Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents lacked the resources to crack down broadly before the One Big Beautiful Bill Act put more than $46 billion toward deportation resources, a public shift in policy sat terribly with many of the White House’s faithful supporters. The ensuing reaction caused a pullback.During a July 3 rally in Des Moines, Iowa, President Donald Trump called out Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins by name as the person who “brought this whole situation up,” while promising to make sure farmers and hotel owners were included in the enforcement process.Speaking in Washington on Monday, Rollins clarified: “There will be no amnesty.” She added: “The mass deportations continue, but in a strategic way, and we move the workforce towards automation and 100% American participation.”BlazeTV host and columnist Auron MacIntyre was one of several to get the message loud and clear: “Always chimp,” he wrote — a reference to “chimping out” when bad policies are floated.Strong negative reactions won’t always work, though. The president was clearly irritated when New York Post reporter Steven Nelson asked about the Epstein files during a Tuesday Cabinet meeting but allowed Attorney General Pam Bondi to answer anyway. There’s nothing there, she said, and nothing more coming — but that doesn’t mean her position is secure.Maybe there is nothing else there beyond “this creep” and an imprisoned Ghislaine Maxwell. Then again, maybe releasing all that’s known would threaten foreign or domestic intelligence operations around Epstein’s infamous island.Either way, Bondi’s been under concerted attack for mishandling the media and releases around the Epstein files for months. Prominent conservative voices, including Blaze Media co-founder Glenn Beck, clearly don’t think she’s up to the job. Notably, the president didn’t name her in a Truth Social post defending FBI Director Kash Patel and his deputy, Dan Bongino.Lastly, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has drifted in and out of Trump’s inner circle — and trouble. Reports suggest he was sidelined during key phases of the Iran strike. On Friday, President Trump told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy he hadn’t approved the pause in aid shipments. Then, during Tuesday’s Cabinet meeting, Trump told CNN’s Kaitlan Collins he didn’t know who gave the order to halt the shipments. That kind of public distance from the president doesn’t speak well for Hegseth’s standing.Still, this moment won’t define the administration. We’re only seven months into a four-year term. The White House remains focused on major priorities: finishing the border wall, revitalizing and reshoring the economy, ramping up immigration enforcement, renegotiating trade, and pursuing global peace. The latest drama will look like a sideshow soon enough.Plenty of reasons exist to feel energized in Washington right now. The rumored collapse of MAGA isn’t one of them.Blaze News: FBI, DOJ Epstein memo sparks right-wing outrage: ‘Nobody is believing this’Blaze News contributor Mike Howell: The Epstein memo is a joke — and the joke’s on usBlaze News, July 1: Is the FBI salvageable? Here’s what bureau insiders have to sayBlaze News: DeSantis has some serious political advice for Elon Musk to ensure a ‘monumental impact’Blaze News: Border Patrol chief has defiant message for Mayor Karen Bass after she claims to have stopped ICE raid in Los AngelesBlaze News: 25 years after a Central American hurricane, Noem’s DHS to end associated immigration Temporary Protected StatusBlaze News: Drug middlemen launch attacks against MAGA allies pushing for health care reformsSign up for Bedford’s newsletterSign up to get Blaze Media senior politics editor Christopher Bedford’s newsletter.

For most of human history, scarcity was the enemy. Territory, calories, energy, and land all had to be fought for, hoarded, and rationed. Wars were waged and innovations forged to survive deprivation. But the material hardship that once united societies in common struggle has largely faded in the affluent world.Now we face a different enemy: artificial abundance.The future belongs to those who reject the simulacrum and embrace reality.In the wealthiest nations, human beings are no longer selected for resilience in the face of scarcity. They’re selected for their ability to resist the seductions of abundance — synthetic food, fake relationships, dopamine on demand. The danger isn’t hunger or want, but the numbing comfort of simulated satisfaction.Loaded with empty caloriesOnce, entire civilizations rose or fell depending on their ability to produce and preserve food. Famines routinely devastated societies, and most people spent their lives just trying to eat.Now, calories come cheap and easy. Factory farming, food science, and global logistics mean even the poorest Americans can gorge on processed junk. A trip to McDonald’s or a few bucks at Walmart buys a week’s worth of empty calories.But artificial flavorings and chemical fillers are no substitute for real food. They simulate nourishment, but slowly poison the body. Calories are now so available that obesity, not hunger, is the largest threat to the well-being of the poor. The need has been met — and subverted.Sex and glory, sold cheapThe same dynamic has corrupted sexual desire. Historically, sex drove men to build civilizations, conquer enemies, win wealth, and rise in status. Today, that drive is short-circuited. Men can now simulate conquest and fulfillment without risk, pain, or purpose — through pornography and video games.Why fight for honor or love when you can get the illusion of both from a screen? Instead of greatness, many young men settle for a life of digital masturbation — and that’s how the system likes it. Young men remain trapped in a kind of eternal adolescence: satisfied just enough to avoid rebellion, addicted just enough to stay quiet.Fake attention, real lonelinessSocial media and dating apps have similarly distorted the lives of young women. Women crave connection, validation, and community — roles they once fulfilled in family, faith, and friendship.Now they chase attention online, deluding themselves into believing that likes and comments are the same as love and loyalty. Social media simulates female community and male desire, but gives neither. Depression rises. Real-life relationships crumble. Women fear male attention in person but crave it online, where they feel in control.RELATED: Rule by the people? Not anymore in the Western world Blaze Media IllustrationWhat results is a dysfunctional, hypergamous dating market. Men won’t approach. Women hold out for the fantasy of the “perfect man” who never arrives. Both sexes lose.Lockdowns revealed the lieCOVID-19 lockdowns showed us the true danger of attempting to simulate every aspect of human experience.During the lockdowns, social interactions from school, church, work, and even bonding with friends over a meal became impossible. School, church, work, friendship — all of it was forcibly digitized.The results were catastrophic: soaring depression, stalled childhood development, and broken education.But the worst part? People stayed in their digital cages even after the doors opened. Simulated connection became easier than real interaction. And easier won.The real thing is harder — and worth itReality demands effort. Family, community, faith, and responsibility are hard. They hurt. They risk rejection. But they matter.Left alone with simulated choices, most people will pick the path of least resistance. That’s why society must rethink what it rewards. Because the simulations aren’t harmless distractions — they’re traps.The French philosopher Jean Baudrillard called this phenomenon the “simulacrum” — a copy with no original. A cheeseburger that isn’t food. AI “friends” that aren’t human and virtual “communities” that cannot possibly relieve loneliness. A porn star who looks and behaves nothing like a real woman. Online attention that ruins offline romance. Video game violence that replaces true heroism.An evolutionary filterWe face an evolutionary bottleneck as serious as any in human history. But instead of favoring the strong, smart, or adaptable, survival now depends on who can say no.Can you say no to simulated sex? Simulated success? Simulated community? Can you hunger for meaning, not just comfort?Those who make it through this filter will be the ones who choose austerity over ease — who hunger for the real thing. The future belongs to those who reject the simulacrum and embrace reality.Artificial intelligence will only make these temptations worse. But those who refuse to be pacified will also be the ones who endure.Choose meaning. Teach your children to do the same. The future depends on it.

Diablo 4 Season 9 has just begun, and it’s a great time to dive into Blizzard’s gargantuan ARPG. After some ups and downs, the Warcraft and Starcraft developer’s latest update has the game in a good place, and you can currently grab both the base game and its expansion, Vessel of Hatred, at a lower price than they’ve ever been before on Steam. You’ll need to move fast, however, as there’s just over one day to snag this saving. Continue reading Diablo 4 and Vessel of Hatred drop to their lowest price yet, but move fast MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Diablo 4 builds, Diablo 4: Vessel of Hatred review, Diablo 4 classes

I have fond memories of Guild Wars 2's Asian-inspired expansion, End of Dragons. Transporting us to a gorgeous, jade-encrusted world, it's easily my favorite chapter of Tyria's ongoing saga - partly because of the aforementioned aesthetics, but also because Virtuoso is easily my favorite Mesmer spec. But, as the curtains fell on Cantha and we ventured out into Janthir and Nayos, elite specializations seem to have taken a back seat. In a new blog post that both analyzes the past and looks to the future, however, NCSoft confirms that elite specializations are back on the menu, and they're better than ever before. Continue reading Guild Wars 2 is bringing back elite specializations, teases return of OG classes MORE FROM PCGAMESN: The best MMOs on PC, Guild Wars 2 system requirements, Guild Wars 2 expansion

It's well worth checking in with the Overwatch 2 system requirements if you're planning on returning to the game for Season 17. The theme of this season is "Powered Up!", but you won't need an uber-powered gaming PC to run this hero shooter. While you aren't going to need to invest in one of the best graphics cards from our buying guide to play Overwatch 2, there's certainly a benefit to having the best PC hardware possible when playing a competitive first-person shooter, namely a faster frame rate and higher detailed images. Continue reading Overwatch 2 system requirements MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Best graphics card, Best gaming PC, Best SSD for gaming

We could, I repeat could, have just had our most concrete piece of evidence for the Assassin's Creed Black Flag remake's existence. A mysterious update on the Steam backend points to some features that aren't in the original game, and this might mean Ubisoft's remake is closer than ever. If not, we could be getting a big Black Flag update any day now. Continue reading New Assassin's Creed Black Flag Steam update is the biggest remake hint yet MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Best pirate games, Best RPG games, Best sandbox games

Free-to-play, multiplayer mech game Steel Hunters will shut down in October, developer Wargaming Group confirms. The newly launched PvPvE shooter hit Steam Early Access in April, but has been met with mixed user reviews and a sharp decline in players since release. Now, the World of Tanks studio says it has “made the decision to sunset Steel Hunters,” and will unlock its full roster of Hunters for everyone to use in the final days before its closure. Continue reading Free multiplayer game Steel Hunters to shut down soon, just months after launch MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Best mech games, Best free Steam games, Best free PC games

How do you grind the molten bucket in THPS 3+4? The first place you get the chance to skate in THPS 3 is The Foundry, and while this is a small area, it’s dense with grind spots and goals to achieve. One of these goals requires you to grind the molten bucket, but it isn’t always in a place you can access. Skaters old and new rejoice, as one of the best skateboarding games is back on our screens. Tony Hawks Pro Skater 3+4 takes a classic, gives it a new lick of paint, and adds a whole host of new content for good measure. Those who haven’t played the series for a long time, or those who are perhaps playing for the first time, might struggle getting off the ground, as the first level has a fairly devilish goal for the uninitiated. Continue reading How to grind the molten bucket in THPS 3+4 MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Best skateboarding games, Best sports games, Best PC games

While we're still waiting for Half-Life 3, pouring over Steam files in the hope that we'll uncover a shred of new information, there's a new update for its spiritual successor, Abiotic Factor.  The survival game, heavily inspired by the popular Valve shooter, is launching its 1.0 update this summer - and we've got all the timings you need for the release. Continue reading Here's when you can play Half-Life inspired Abiotic Factor's new update MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Best co-op games, Best PC FPS games, Best classic PC games

The Kremlin said on Wednesday that it was not sure of the veracity of a CNN article that reported U.S. President Donald Trump had once threatened to bomb Moscow to deter Russian President Vladimir Putin from attacking Ukraine.