'Have they lost their minds?' Standing ovation for 'ugly' Rubio speech shocks analyst

02/17/26 5:55 PM

Secretary of State Marco Rubio delivered an unsettling speech to European leaders at the Munich security conference Monday, receiving a standing ovation that left an analyst stunned. In an opinion piece for The Guardian published Tuesday, Mehdi Hasan, editor-in-chief and CEO of Zeteo, described the "disturbing" 3,000-word address from the Trump administration's top diplomat. Hasan questioned Rubio's "love letter to conquest and colonialism" and called out his "gaslighting" as the son of Cuban immigrants who once called President Donald Trump a "con artist" and "lunatic." He's now telling European leaders they should support America's president. "Did they not realize that they may have been clapping for their own demise? That despite Rubio’s gentler tone and polished language, despite all his talk of transatlantic comity and unity, he was advocating for a geopolitics of vicious authoritarianism. That Rubio may be good cop to Trump’s bad, but their goal is one and the same: to make empire great again," Hasan wrote. Hasan pointed out that it wasn't just what Rubio said — it's what he didn't say. Rubio did not mention Russia or China once in his comments, and despite the concerns of European leaders, he also never spoke of Greenland. And after reports that Trump is still considering acquiring Greenland, Rubio reiterated that Trump hasn't let go of the idea of using military force to take the Denmark territory. "Astonishingly, Trump has refused to rule out the use of military force against Denmark, a Nato ally," Hasan wrote. "He has dismissed concerns about international borders and national sovereignty. And, this weekend, he sent his secretary of state to a conference in Europe that was supposed to be about collective security to deliver a speech that amounted to: America must dominate. Trump must lead. And Europe must get onboard – or else."Instead of praising Rubio, European governments should be wary, Hasan argued. "Again, I cannot emphasize this enough: European officials actually stood up in Munich and applauded a US official praising empire, while serving a US administration whose stated foreign policy goals include the imperial seizure of European territory," Hasan wrote. "Have they lost their minds? The Europeans in that audience may have told themselves that they were applauding a return to stability and even friendship with the United States," Hasan added. "In reality, they were offering a standing ovation for the return of something much uglier, bloodier, and more dangerous. Empire. And this time, it may not stop at Europe’s own borders."

'I wanted to be a good boy': Trump gripes about Supreme Court loss despite 'modest ask'

02/20/26 6:47 PM

President Donald Trump slammed liberal justices after the Supreme Court ruled against his tariffs on Friday. In his first public comments since the decision, Trump called the high court's ruling "deeply disappointing" and described his frustration following the 6-3 vote during a White House press briefing. "The Democrats on the court are thrilled but they will automatically vote 'no.' They're an automatic 'no' just like in Congress, they're an automatic 'no,'" Trump said."They're against anything that makes America strong, healthy and great again. They also are a, frankly, disgrace to our nation, those justices. They're an automatic 'no' no matter how good a case you have — it's a 'no.' You can't knock their loyalty. It's one thing you can do with some of our people."Trump claimed he had tried to use discretion around his tariffs. "I was very modest in my ask of other countries and businesses because I wanted to do and it's very important, I wanted to be very well-behaved because I... didn't want to do anything to affect the decision of the court," Trump said. "Because I understand the court. I understand how they're very easily swayed. I wanted to be a good boy." Trump: "I want to be a good boy" pic.twitter.com/DDz5sGAo3D— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) February 20, 2026

'Oops': MS NOW panel laughs at MAGA for cheering second gen-immigrant's Olympic gold win

02/20/26 3:28 PM

It did not escape notice on MS NOW on Friday morning that the MAGA online world was thrilled by US skater Alysa Liu winning the Olympic gold medal in the Women’s Single Skating event, passing over the fact that she is the child of an immigrant.At the same time fans of Donald Trump’s administration have been applauding the forced round-up of immigrants by masked ICE agents, MAGA world is basking in Liu’s victory, the first in that event by a US skater since Sarah Hughes won gold in 2002.That juxtaposition was not lost on “Morning Joe” co-host Joe Scarborough and contributor Eugene Robinson since Liu is the daughter of a Chinese immigrant who came to the US in the ‘90s to escape political persecution.As Scarborough noted, “Gene Robinson, it was really inspiring. I will say how hilarious that the sort of MAGA online MAGA world were celebrating Alysa Liu's gold medal without a hint of any irony. Celebrating the immigrant who they were celebrating as an American.”“You know, ‘USA! USA!,” he joked before adding, “Which of course, that's basically proving the point that we've been making all along that Ronald Reagan made in his final speech to America, that we are strengthened by immigrants.”That led Robinson to put his hand over his mouth and offer “Oops,” as the entire panel started laughing. - YouTubeyoutu.be