MS NOW host Jen Psaki has never stopped being a shameless PR representative for the Bidens. On Wednesday night, she made conspiracy noises about President Trump’s son Eric riding to Beijing with Daddy on Air Force One, potentially to make personal business deals. Shameless – because that’s exactly what Hunter Biden did when Vice President Biden flew to China in 2013. On Thursday, Eric Trump tweeted on Friday that he plans on suing Psaki and MS NOW, accusing them of pushing “blatant lies.” PEAK SHAMELESSNESS: MS NOW host Jen Psaki rips Eric Trump for flying with Daddy to Beijing and cashing in with Chinese business. No, Jen, that's Hunter Biden flying with the VP in 2013. It's like she never worked for President Biden....or she still is! pic.twitter.com/fLJ9kA9Yx7 — Tim Graham (@TimJGraham) May 17, 2026 JEN PSAKI: Guess where Trump’s adult son, Eric, is right now? Well, he’s with his father in China. Now, Eric Trump does not have a role in the U.S. government. In fact, he’s supposed to be sort of firewalled off from any US government activities because he took over the family businesses when his father reentered the White House, supposedly to prevent conflicts of interest. But there he is. You can see him…. A spokesperson for Eric himself said that Eric was just joining the president in his own personal capacity, saying that Eric will not participate in any discussions or meetings related to any business entity and that Eric Trump does not have business ventures in China or plans on doing business with China. Now, that is quite an interesting denial, given this piece in the Financial Times out just today. And here’s the headline. “Eric Trump joins Beijing trip as family linked group chases China deal.” You see Eric is on the board of a company called ALT5 Sigma. And you can see him and Don Jr. here ringing the opening bell at the NASDAQ with the name of that company and the name of the Trump family crypto company right behind them....  it certainly seems like Eric might be getting a little more than just quality time with his dad out of this China trip, doesn’t it? I mean, I could go on and on and on about all of the sketchy ways that Trump’s sons are making money while their dad is president....You would think that Trump and his sons would deserve more financial scrutiny, not less. Eric Trump shot back: Contrary to her monolog [sic] and blatant lies, I have NEVER been on the board of ALT5 — not now, not ever. Any person with basic access to Google and willing to open a company’s annual report or proxy statements would know this. I have had zero involvement in any merger discussions involving any public entity I do not run or control. I have zero business interests in China. No properties, no investments, nothing! On Friday night, Psaki clarified that Eric was a little bit correct on the board thing, but their association remains: Now to be as fair as possible. To Eric, I should say that his role at ALT5 is that, at the very least, been complicated. We do know that he's not currently a director on the board, but as you just heard, the company initially announced that he was becoming a director on ALT5's board of directors. Likewise, a company filing with the SEC said he was being appointed as a director on the board, and the company's website also listed him as a director on their leadership page. And then that situation changed because in subsequent filings with the sec, Eric was designated as an observer on the board, a role that typically means you cannot cast a vote at board meetings, but you are able to attend them. Lawrence O'Donnell, Stephanie Ruhle, and Ali Velshi also joined the Eric Trump Cashes In caucus, but they never worked in PR for the Biden family business.  New York Post columnist Miranda Devine, author of two books investigating the Biden finances -- Laptop from Hell and The Big Guy, offered her take:   I would rather not have seen another president's son fly into China on Air Force One when the memory of Joe and Hunter Biden's grift burns bright. But this is a pretty emphatic denial and what a hide from Jen Psaki, who lied and obfuscated for Hunter for years from the White… https://t.co/U7Ri6vulAP — Miranda Devine (@mirandadevine) May 16, 2026

On Friday’s Morning Joe, the MS NOW liberal morning program discussed a possible ramp-up of immigration enforcement and deportations in the coming months, as frequent panelist and Puck News partner John Heilemann told co-host Mika Brzezinski that the “MAGA base” wanted more deportations and “they want to see more brown people sent out of the country.” The segment focused on a The Washington Post report on DHS and ICE usage of new warehouse centers as ICE detention sites. The show’s 9 a.m. host, Jonathan Lemire, said the administration was “telegraphing” a new deportation plan. He agreed with earlier Heilemann comments that the plan would be a mistake. Lemire said, “But there is a sense in the Trump administration they are going to ramp this back up. They think this is a signature promise. And I agree with John's analysis. This would be a political mistake.”   On Friday's Morning Joe, amid a discussion on a possible deportation ramp-up, frequent panelist John Heilemann said the "MAGA base" wants "to see more brown people sent out of the country." pic.twitter.com/Ltvc98TZCA — Nick (@nspin310) May 15, 2026   He also insinuated Trump wanted another immigration fight: But there are some in Trump's orbit who reflexively, when things are bad politically, what do you do? You always fall back on immigration. And then second term, that means these deportations. And perhaps even they want that fight again, not necessarily violence on the streets, but I mean, the political tension to start talking about immigration ahead of the midterms, thinking maybe that will fire up Republicans who otherwise are pretty downtrodden about their chances. Brzezinski focused on a liberal talking point of ICE detention centers as part of for-profit private prisons, a point that had been a push against progressive billionaire California candidate Tom Steyer, whose opponents alleged he made part of his fortune off private prisons. Brzezinski then asked Heliemann if MAGA supported ICE actions and “human profit machines”: Is there MAGA support for these human profit machines that are based on cruelty, separating people in inhumane conditions? Like, are people rallying and saying, “yay” at his events or whatever? They want this? Are we seeing a desire for what we have seen so far with ICE among the MAGA base? Heilemann responded and said there was “enthusiasm” among the MAGA base for the “deportation agenda, broadly speaking,” as he told her, “most voters don't make the kind of - or kind of parsing this out in the way you are, Mika.” Heilemann continued with another insinuation of racism: “And they want to see more brown people sent out of the country.” He continued with more about the “base” and said they were “willing to overlook almost anything in the service of the cause, which was ‘get the illegals.’” To close, Heillemann put all the MS NOW and liberal attacks of Trump into one before the midterms: "(...) this is one of those issues, along with prices, Jeffrey Epstein, the profiteering, the ballroom, focus on himself, and then the cruelty on the streets of American cities." The one glowing thing ignored by Helliemann and the Morning Joe crew was the violent criminals ICE has deported, and, as more instances of illegal immigrant crime emerged, like the killing of Sheridan Gorman, the media had continued with their selective coverage. The transcript is below. Click "expand": MS NOW’s Morning Joe May 15, 2026 6:36:08 AM Eastern (...) JONATHAN LEMIRE: We were talking. They're telegraphing, it's coming again. And there have been some suggestion they're going to back off this warehouse plan, we've seen this week that's not the case. Stephen Miller has been - he's lost some of his less visible than he was. He still retains remarkable clout inside the White House. He's still the face of this. Markwayne Mullin, the new secretary, has taken some time to put his people in place. You know, obviously, Tom Homan presents a different, perhaps more competent face than Corey Lewandowski and Kristi Noem. But they're ramping up again, and they have not made any official go decision.  But there is a sense in the Trump administration they are going to ramp this back up. They think this is a signature promise. And I agree with John's analysis. This would be a political mistake.  But there are some in Trump's orbit who reflexively, when things are bad politically, what do you do? You always fall back on immigration. And then second term, that means these deportations. And perhaps even they want that fight again, not necessarily violence on the streets, but I mean, the political tension to start talking about immigration ahead of the midterms, thinking maybe that will fire up Republicans who otherwise are pretty downtrodden about their chances. (...) 6:37:16 AM Eastern MIKA BRZEZINSKI: That's what - Is there MAGA support for these human profit machines that are based on cruelty, separating people in inhumane conditions? Like, are people rallying and saying, “yay” at his events or whatever? They want this? Are we seeing a desire for what we have seen so far with ICE among the MAGA base? JOHN HEILEMANN: I think among the MAGA base, there is there's enthusiasm for the deportation agenda broadly speaking. People don't make- I think in general, most voters don't make the kind of - or kind of parsing this out in the way you are, Mika. I think what the MAGA base wants is more deportations. Their problem in Minneapolis, or not even their problem. I don't think they cared very much about what happened in Minneapolis, frankly. And they want to see more brown people sent out of the country. They don't - if that means the for-profit penitentiaries - BRZEZINSKI: I’m listening, yeah. HEILEMANN: - that's kind of in the weeds for a lot of people. What they're like is like, “we want deportations. We want them now.” That is not, by the way, obviously not a majority of the country. It's not even a majority, certainly not even majority. I don't think of the Republican Party.  But there is a - we think about the trump base. They are willing to overlook almost anything in the service of the cause, which is get the “illegals” out. And I think that Trump is right, that that general cause is popular with his base. But again, he's doesn’t have a problem with his base, really. He has a bigger problem with independent voters for whom what they saw on the streets in Minneapolis was an enormous problem. And if you look at Donald Trump's numbers with independents, which is what's killing them heading into the midterms, this is one of those issues, along with prices, Jeffrey Epstein, the profiteering, the ballroom, focus on himself, and then the cruelty on the streets of American cities.  That's why you're sitting at numbers for Donald Trump with independents that are in the 20s at this point. It's the constellation of those issues. This is not going to help in his political fortunes, or the Republican party's political fortunes with those voters. And those are the voters who are key. (...)

Comedian Margaret Cho claims President Donald Trump and ICE are somehow responsible for her missing out on an acting role she was supposedly offered in a popular HBO Max series — a bizarre accusation considering Cho is an American citizen, and ICE is not deporting U.S. citizens for criticizing politicians online.  If this story sounds completely detached from reality, that’s because it is. During a recent appearance on Matteo Lane and Nick Smith’s podcast I Never Liked You, Cho claimed she turned down what she says was a role in HBO Max’s hockey drama Heated Rivalry because it filmed in Canada — and she feared her criticism of ICE and the Trump administration could somehow lead to her being detained at the border.  “Last year, I got a pilot script for a show that I really loved, but it shot in Canada,” Cho said. “And I was so scared because I’m so vocal about hating ICE and hating this administration. I was like, ‘I will get detained at the border and I will be put in ICE detention if I go.’” There’s just one major problem with this dramatic tale of oppression: Cho is a U.S. citizen. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is not roaming around airports detaining American citizens because they made anti-Trump comments on social media. That’s not how any of this works. But apparently in celebrity activist world, basic facts no longer matter as long as the victim narrative sounds emotional enough. And instead of pushing back or asking obvious follow-up questions, the hosts collectively appeared to indulge the fantasy — nodding along as though Cho was describing life under some authoritarian regime rather than modern-day America. At no point did anyone ask: Why would ICE care about Cho? What law did she supposedly break? What evidence exists that she would’ve been denied entry into her own country? The answer appears to be none. Cho then escalated the hysteria even further by claiming: “It really solidified the fact that, as queer people, we’re here. Even in this politicized time when our existence has become criminalized, we’re here, and people want to hear our stories.” Again — completely false. Gay people are not “criminalized” in the United States. No law under the Trump administration made homosexuality illegal. Nobody is banning LGBT Americans from existing publicly. But increasingly, celebrities and activists like Cho frame ordinary political disagreements as literal persecution in order to elevate themselves into victims of some imaginary dystopia. This is peak delusion. What makes the story even shakier is the complete lack of evidence surrounding Cho’s claims altogether. At this point, there’s no public confirmation from HBO Max or the show’s producers that Cho was ever formally offered the role she claims she rejected. Entertainment outlets largely repeated her account without verification — because apparently if a celebrity says something anti-Trump enough, journalists suddenly stop asking questions. Cho has also repeatedly claimed over the years that she was invited multiple times to appear on The Celebrity Apprentice because Donald Trump supposedly “loved” her. Once again: no public confirmation. And the timeline makes her claims even more dubious. During the Apprentice era, Hollywood loved Trump. Celebrities lined up to be around him. NBC built one of its biggest reality franchises around him. The same entertainment industry now pretending Trump was always some uniquely toxic figure spent years celebrating him, inviting him on television shows and cashing checks off his popularity. So the idea that Cho bravely resisted appearing on The Apprentice years in advance way before Trump ran for office because of deep political convictions doesn’t exactly pass the smell test. At the end of the day, this entire podcast interview felt less like a serious conversation and more like a masterclass in modern celebrity victimhood: blame Trump, blame ICE, blame politics, blame oppression — anything except personal choices or career decisions.

On Wednesday's Chris Jansing Reports on MS NOW, fill-in host Erielle Reshef presided over a segment to fret over moves by Louisiana Republicans to eliminate a racially gerrymandered Democrat-leaning congressional district even though doing so is in accordance with the U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision.  The recent high court decision found that the district was improperly gerrymandered in 2024 after a lower court pressured the legislature to draw a second black-majority district. As reporter Will McDuffie recounted that the Louisiana legislature heard from citizens speaking out on the issue, he showed a couple of provocative clips of liberals lambasting Republicans: MS NOW Flips Out Over Redistricting by Louisiana GOP pic.twitter.com/Qm1J4lbucx — Brad Wilmouth (@bradwilmouth) May 14, 2026 WILL McDUFFIE: Let's take a listen to some of that passionate testimony from folks last night. UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: This issue clearly affects black people more than anyone else, but I want everyone to understand that no one is safe when the end goal is a white Christian nationalist nation. UNIDENTIFIED MAN: The MAGA party is the last breath of the Confederacy, and I'll be happy to see millennials and Gen Z buried up. There will be no more of your party. The midterms are going to come, y'all going to get wiped out, Trump going to get dragged out of the White House, and I'm going to love every second of it, because y'all love every second of the suffering that he causes everybody in this country. The MS NOW reporter ended up lamenting that the Republican legislature would "rubber stamp" the plan passed by the state Senate committee: RESHEF: So, Will, now, this map heads to the full state Senate for approval on Thursday. What should we expect there? McDUFFIE: Well, we should expect them to essentially rubber stamp this map. I don't see any way in which they wouldn't pass this through. Republicans hold a large majority in both chambers here in Baton Rouge. I expect probably some protests here as well over the coming days as they make that decision. Reshef went to liberal Republican ex-Congressman Charlie Dent and liberal ex-Hakeem Jeffries aide Michael Hardaway for response. Even though it is appropriate for the Louisiana legislature to react in a timely manner to the Supreme Court ruling, Dent -- who used to be a CNN contributor -- began his analysis by proclaiming that redistricting should only be allowed once every 10 years: "Well, first, let me just say Congress needs to pass a law to ban mid-decade redistricting once and for all. This is terrible for the country, whether Republicans are gerrymandering or the Democrats." After arguing that Republicans may not win some of the newly drawn districts they are aiming for, he lamented the changing districts in the "Deep South." When Hardaway had his turn to speak, he went straight for the Jim Crow stuff: "I think this is obviously some shameful Jim Crow era stuff that is un-American." Toward the end of the segment, after Reshef played a clip of a South Carolina Republican legislator speaking out against eliminating Congressman Jim Clyburn's seat in his state, she posed: "Michael, when you listen to a Republican leader give that kind of a speech, pushback, it seems, on the President's agenda, does that give you any hope that not all of these Republican-led states will cave to the pressure from the President on redistricting?" Hardaway soon declared that he has some "bipartisan agreement" with his fellow guest. Even though it is very common for liberal Republicans who appear on MS NOW to agree with Democrats, Reshef concluded by gushing: "And don't we love a rare glimmer of bipartisan agreement, former Congressman Charlie Dent and Michael Hardaway, thank you both for bringing that to us." It is noteworthy that the liberal media frequently push for Democrats to be handed a minimum number of seats in red states, even if it takes gerrymandering to do it, but all nine of the congressional districts in Massachusetts lean toward Democrats and have done so for decades. The last two Republicans were defeated in 1996 when the state had a total of 10 districts. Connecticut, which has five Democrat-leaning districts, has not been represented by any Republicans since 2009. Transcript follows: MS NOW's Ana Cabrera Reports May 13, 2026 11:28 a.m. Eastern ERIELLE RESHEF: We are following big developments in the redistricting  fight that could help decide control of the House in November. After a marathon debate into the wee hours of the night this morning -- I should say the night and this morning -- a Louisiana state senate committee voted to advance a new congressional map that could net Republicans another seat in the House. The move comes after a Supreme Court decision earlier this month that struck down Louisiana's previous map as an unconstitutional racial gerrymander. Let's bring in MS NOW reporter Will McDuffie, live from Baton Rouge; former Republican Congressman Charlie Dent; and former communications director and spokesman for minority leader Hakeem Jeffries and publisher of Hardaway Wire, Michael Hardaway. Will, you attended a public hearing there in Louisiana before the vote was held early this morning. What did you hear from voters? WILL McDUFFIE: Well, Erielle, the reason it went so late into the night and the wee hours of the morning is because so many people came out to testify in front of that committee in opposition to their efforts to redraw congressional lines after that Supreme Court decision. Now, it obviously wasn't enough to prevent that key senate committee from voting to push through a new map that, like you said, would likely eliminate one of the two Democratic held congressional districts here in Louisiana and possibly help Republicans potentially retake the House, or at least get close to it. Let's take a listen to some of that passionate testimony from folks last night. UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: This issue clearly affects black people more than anyone else, but I want everyone to understand that no one is safe when the end goal is a white Christian nationalist nation. UNIDENTIFIED MAN: The MAGA party is the last breath of the confederacy, and I'll be happy to see millennials and gen Z buried up. There will be no more of your party. The midterms are going to come, y'all going to get wiped out, Trump going to get dragged out of the White House, and I'm going to love every second of it, because y'all love every second of the suffering that he causes everybody in this country. McDUFFIE: Now, Erielle, there was another map on the table that would have eliminated both Democratic held and majority black districts here. This senate committee did not take that map up -- they did advance the one that would remove one of those districts. But no consolation to the folks who were here testifying last night. RESHEF: So, Will, now, this map heads to the full state senate for approval on Thursday. What should we expect there? McDUFFIE: Well, we should expect them to essentially rubber stamp this map. I don't see any way in which they wouldn't pass this through. Republicans hold a large majority in both chambers here in Baton Rouge. I expect probably some protests here as well over the coming days as they make that decision. Erielle. RESHEF: Will McDuffie, thank you so much for being there in Baton Rouge. And, Congressman, what do you make of this move by Republicans? EX-CONGRESSMAN CHARLIE DENT (R-PA): Well, first, let me just say Congress needs to pass a law to ban mid-decade redistricting once and for all. This is terrible for the country, whether Republicans are gerrymandering or the Democrats. But I should also point out, I don't like what Louisiana is doing, but a lot of people -- analysts are making assumptions, unrealistic assumptions about these seats. Take Texas, for example. People are saying Republicans are going to pick up five seats there. Yeah, they drew a map for five seats. They'll be lucky to win three of them. But everybody's already counted five seats for the Republicans. Bad assumption. Florida is about to redistrict, too. They say they're going to pick up four seats again. Bad assumption. I don't think that's going to happen. The people in South Carolina, Republican members of the state senate, understand this. If they were to collapse or get rid of Jim Clyburn's district, there's no guarantee that they would win the seat because they're going to have to dilute Republican seats, and they may make some of those other seats more competitive. The Democrats could win. I agree this is bad for African American representation in the Deep South. But let's be clear about what's happening here that Republicans are not going to pick up the number of seats that many pundits are predicting right now. RESHEF: So the congressman alluding to the fact that this may be overly optimistic on the part of Republicans. But, Michael, this is another tough blow for Democrats hoping to regain control of the House in November. What's your reaction to what's going on in Louisiana? MICHAEL HARDAWAY, HARDAWAY WIRE: Look, I think this is obviously some shameful Jim Crow era stuff that is un-American. I'll also say there's an irony here. What's interesting is that Republicans in the legislature in Louisiana have made this decision. It's also the case that Louisiana relies the most of any state in America on federal government assistance. And so one third of its budget comes from Medicaid. Republicans voted last year in a tax bill to gut Medicaid. And so what's interesting about all of this is that Louisiana may lose upwards of a third of its budget directly because of Republicans, who they just voted to give these additional seats to. And so I think for the Congressional Black Caucus and for black voters and for Americans, this is problematic if we're saying that the will of the people doesn't matter. And we're saying that we shouldn't have representation that is proper. I think that is an American. I think that we all should be concerned, no matter what party or background we come from. (...) RESHEF: Michael, when you listen to a Republican leader give that kind of a speech, pushback, it seems, on the President's agenda, does that give you any hope that not all of these Republican-led states will cave to the pressure from the President on redistricting? HARDAWAY: It does. I mean, I think that many Republicans used to be that way. The John McCain's of the world had this idea that, yes, we disagree on certain things as it relates to policy, but everyone should have the ability to vote, everyone should be equal. And so I think that does give me optimism. I'd also say that the congressman and I have a moment of bipartisan agreement because we should ban this sort of mid level redistricting. And Democrats have introduced a bill both in the House and the Senate to do that. And so this should only happen once every 10 years after the census. And so I think that is something that perhaps in a bipartisan way, people can come together, hopefully in Washington and come to that agreement. RESHEF: And don't we love a rare glimmer of bipartisan agreement, former Congressman Charlie Dent and Michael Hardaway, thank you both for bringing that to us. We appreciate it.

The U.S. Constitution (the First Amendment especially) is treated as a sacred document by the elitist media -- until it gets in the way of black Democrat politicians getting a leg up on winning seats in Congress. A story posted to NPR Thursday by Ashley Lopez and Miles Parks, on the Supreme Court outlawing Louisiana’s race-based redistricting, “Thrown-out ballots and map confusion: Voters are losing the redistricting battle,” argued that upholding constitutional requirements risked making voters lose their faith in voting. After more than two decades working in elections, including four years as Virginia's top voting official, it takes a lot to surprise Chris Piper. But the frenzied redistricting battle of the past few months — including a congressional map in his home state thrown out by a court after people voted to approve it, and certain elections postponed in Louisiana and Alabama after mail ballots already went out — has done it. .... "The biggest impact on voters is confusion," Piper said. "'Where do I go vote? Who is even my elected representative? Or, which district am I even in?'... There's the potential for them to not know who they're voting for." Much of the focus of the ongoing redistricting war has been on which political party will come out on top in the race to control Congress. But it's voters who will pay a cost, say voting experts and voting rights advocates, in the form of discarded votes, diminished voting power and a democratic process that is increasingly complicated to navigate. NPR, like other liberal media outlets, often describe their own side's arguments in non-ideological terms -- people upset over the Republicans are "voting experts and voting rights advocates." NPR pitied some early voters. The Supreme Court decision struck down a Louisiana congressional map, and the state's Republican governor, Jeff Landry, postponed voting for U.S. House primaries so state lawmakers could enact new district lines. "Allowing elections to proceed under an unconstitutional map would undermine the integrity of our system and violate the rights of our voters, Landry said in a statement. His announcement came days before in-person early voting was set to begin — and well after absentee ballots were mailed to voters. Tens of thousands of absentee ballots had already been cast.... NPR ignored that Virginia had a similar dilemma with early voting, which was partly why the state's Supreme Court struck down the state's Democratic-backed redistricting scheme narrowly approved by voters. "This is sort of entering this cautionary danger zone for us as I look at everything that's happened in the last two weeks," Sarah Whittington, advocacy director at the ACLU of Louisiana, told NPR.... Whittington said rules changing at the last minute, for explicitly political reasons, drives home a sense that many people already feel: that the system is rigged against them. Again NPR ignored that over a million early voters in Virginia were denied being able to weigh in on the redistricting issue when casting their votes in the 2025 House of Delegates elections. Chris Melody Fields Figueredo — the executive director of Ballot Initiative Strategy Center, which helps progressive groups pass policy changes — criticized the Virginia court for overturning the will of the people. The ballot measure drew 51.7 percent of the vote after the Democrats spent more than $70 million pushing it out on TV. On Thursday’s All Things Considered, reporter Sam Gringlas conjured up visions of Jim Crow II over moves by Louisiana Republicans to eliminate one of the state’s two majority-black districts in response to the Supreme Court declaring them unconstitutional, using talking heads to make his point. SAM GRINGLAS: For 91-year-old James Verrett, the ruling was a gut punch. He protested for voting rights after returning from military service abroad as a paratrooper, only to find Louisiana still treated him second class. JAMES VERRETT: I've been beaten with billy sticks, dogs and tear gas. But now, the Supreme Court and the state courts are making it back up to where it was. Rep. Cleo Fields, back in Congress, provided a blast from the past in more ways than one. GRINGLAS: ....Louisiana is one of several Southern states now slashing districts no longer protected by the VRA. From his Baton Rouge office, with a view of the state Capitol, Fields sees echoes of the late 19th century, when the Jim Crow era reversed gains in Black representation.