Ishmail

BREAKING: PM visibly raging as he speaks to @SamCoatesSky on Mandelson vetting row Starmer says it's "staggering" and "unforgivable that [he] was not told", he's "absolutely furious" "I was not told he had failed security vetting... No 10 was not told, that is completely unacceptable."

I had received some questions about President @realDonaldTrump's recent posts, and here are my thoughts: I do not believe President Trump would knowingly depict himself as Jesus Christ—that would certainly be inappropriate. I’m thankful the President has made it very clear that this was not at all what he thought the AI-generated image was representing—he thought it was a doctor helping someone, and when he learned of the concerns, he immediately removed the post. When I looked at the illustration, I didn’t jump to the same conclusion as some. There were no spiritual references—no halo, there were no crosses, no angels. It was a flag, soldiers, a nurse, fighter planes, eagles, the Statue of Liberty, and I think this is a lot to do about nothing. There is so much ill-intended speculation. I think his enemies are always foaming at the mouth at any possible opportunity to make him look bad. And the illustration from someone else he reposted on Truth Social yesterday, I must say that I like the fact that this is a picture of Jesus whispering in his ear, or at least His hand on his shoulder, guiding him. We all need that—we all need to be listening to Jesus. Again, I think there is an attempt to spin this into something that it isn’t. Remember, President Trump didn’t draw this, he didn’t create it, he reposted it on his social media because he thought it was nice—I would have to agree. I’m not a Catholic, I’m an evangelical, but I appreciate how President Trump has defended religious freedom for people of all faiths, including millions of evangelicals and Catholics in the U.S. and around the world. He is the most pro-Christian, pro-life president in my lifetime, and he doesn’t shy away from it. I would hope that the President and Pope Leo can meet at some point, and that the Pope would have the opportunity to thank the President for his efforts to protect religious liberty for Catholics and people of all faiths.

BREAKING President Trump tells the FT: — He wants to seize Iran’s oil: “To be honest with you, my favourite thing is to take the oil in Iran.” — Specifically considering taking Kharg Island, Iran’s main oil export hub — Compares it to Venezuela, saying the U.S. could control oil there “indefinitely” — Trump claims Iran has no real defense there: “I don’t think they have any defence. We could take it very easily.” — Acknowledges it would require occupation: “It would also mean we had to be there for a while.” — Trump claims scale of bombing: “We’ve bombed 13,000 targets… we’ve got about 3,000 targets left.” — Claims “regime change” has effectively already happened — Describes new leadership as “a totally different group of people… very professional” FULL STORY: bit.ly/4lW8Hdr