Trump mourns ‘great friend' Hulk Hogan, reflects on their bond
As tributes continue to pour in from around the globe, Hogan's influence remains undeniable — a larger-than-life figure who left an indelible mark on professional wrestling, pop culture, and American politics.WWE'S REACTIONThe wrestling world is in mourning following Hogan's passing. WWE issued a statement expressing deep sorrow:"WWE is saddened to learn WWE Hall of Famer Hulk Hogan has passed away. One of pop culture's most recognizable figures, Hogan helped WWE achieve global recognition in the 1980s. WWE extends its condolences to Hogan's family, friends, and fans."Hogan, born Terry Bollea, rose to superstardom in the 1980s and became the face of WWE (then WWF), ushering in the era of WrestleMania and helping to bring professional wrestling into mainstream entertainment. His charisma, signature "Hulkamania" persona, and unmatched connection with fans cemented his legacy in sports entertainment history.Trump-Hogan RelationshipHogan's influence extended beyond the wrestling ring. About a year ago, he appeared at the 2024 Republican National Convention and delivered an impassioned speech in support of former President Donald Trump."At the end of the day, with our leader up there, my hero, that gladiator, we're going to bring America back together one real American at a time, brother," Hogan said as Trump looked on from the audience.Though Hogan didn't formally endorse Trump until the convention, he cited the assassination attempt at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, as a defining moment that solidified his support.While Trump has long shared close ties with WWE, particularly with former CEO Vince McMahon, his relationship with Hogan was described as more casual but nonetheless significant.- EndsTune InMust Watch
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NDTV
17 minutes ago
- NDTV
Trump Struggles To Quell Epstein Controversy, Facing Backlash From Allies
Despite the sun bearing down on him and the sweat beading across his face, President Donald Trump still lingered with reporters lined up outside the White House on Friday. He was leaving on a trip to Scotland, where he would visit his golf courses, and he wanted to talk about how his administration just finished "the best six months ever." But over and over, the journalists kept asking Trump about the Jeffrey Epstein case and whether he would pardon the disgraced financier's imprisoned accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell. "People should really focus on how well the country is doing," Trump insisted. He shut down another question by saying, "I don't want to talk about that." It was another example of how the Epstein saga — and his administration's disjointed approach to it — has shadowed Trump when he's otherwise at the height of his influence. He's enacted a vast legislative agenda, reached trade deals with key countries and tightened his grip across the federal government. Yet he's struggled to stamp out the embers of a political crisis that could become a full-on conflagration. The Republican president's supporters want the government to release secret files about Epstein, who authorities say killed himself in his New York jail cell six years ago while awaiting trial for sex trafficking. They believe him to be the nexus of a dark web of powerful people who abused underage girls. Administration officials who once stoked conspiracy theories now insist there's nothing more to disclose, a stance that has stirred skepticism because of Trump's former friendship with Epstein. Trump has repeatedly denied prior knowledge of Epstein's crimes and claimed he cut off their relationship long ago. For a president skilled at manipulating the media and controlling the Republican Party, it has been the most challenging test of his ability to shift the conversation in his second term. Landing in Scotland offered no refuge for Trump. He faced another round of questions after stepping off Air Force One. "You're making a big thing over something that's not a big thing," he said to one reporter. He told another, "I'm focused on making deals, not on conspiracy theories that you are." Republican strategist Kevin Madden called the controversy "a treadmill to nowhere." "How do you get off of it?" he said. "I genuinely don't know the answer to that." Trump has demanded his supporters drop the matter and urged Republicans to block Democratic requests for documents on Capitol Hill. But he has also directed the Justice Department to divulge some additional information in hopes of satisfying his supporters. A White House official, who insisted on anonymity to discuss internal strategy, said Trump is trying to stay focused on his agenda while also demonstrating some transparency. After facing countless scandals and investigations, the official said, Trump is on guard against the typical playbook of drip-drip disclosures that have plagued him in the past. It's clear Trump sees the Epstein case as a continuation of the "witch hunts" he's faced over the years, starting with the investigation into Russian interference during his election victory over Democrat Hillary Clinton nearly a decade ago. The sprawling inquiry led to convictions against some top advisers but did not substantiate allegations Trump conspired with Moscow. Trump's opponents, he wrote on social media Thursday, "have gone absolutely CRAZY, and are playing another Russia, Russia, Russia Hoax but, this time, under the guise of what we will call the Jeffrey Epstein SCAM." During the Russia investigation, special counsel Robert Mueller and his team of prosecutors were a straightforward foil for Trump to rail against. Ty Cobb, the lawyer who served as the White House's point person, said the president "never felt exposed" because "he thought he had a legitimate gripe." The situation is different this time now that the Justice Department has been stocked with loyalists. "The people that he has to get mad at are basically his people as opposed to his inquisitors and adversaries," Cobb said. In fact, Trump's own officials are the most responsible for bringing the Epstein case back to the forefront. FBI Director Kash Patel and his deputy, Dan Bongino, regularly stoked conspiracy theories about Epstein before assuming their current jobs, floating the idea the government had covered up incriminating and compelling information that needed to be brought to light. "Put on your big boy pants and let us know who the pedophiles are," Patel said in a 2023 podcast. Attorney General Pam Bondi played a key role, too. She intimated in a Fox News Channel interview in February that an Epstein "client list" was sitting on her desk for review — she would later say she was referring to the Epstein files more generally — and greeted far-right influencers with binders of records from the case that consisted largely of information in the public domain. Tensions spiked earlier this month when the FBI and the Justice Department, in an unsigned two-page letter, said that no client list existed, that the evidence was clear Epstein had killed himself and that no additional records from the case would be released to the public. It was a seeming backtrack on the administration's stated commitment to transparency. Amid a fierce backlash from Trump's base and influential conservative personalities, Bongino and Bondi squabbled openly in a tense White House meeting. Since then, the Trump administration has scrambled to appear transparent, including by seeking the unsealing of grand jury transcripts in the case — though it's hardly clear that courts would grant that request or that those records include any eye-catching details anyway. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche has taken the unusual step of interviewing the imprisoned Maxwell over the course of two days at a courthouse in Tallahassee, Florida, where her lawyer said she would "always testify truthfully." All the while, Trump and his allies have resurfaced the Russia investigation as a rallying cry for a political base that has otherwise been frustrated by the Epstein saga. Trump's director of national intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, who just weeks ago appeared on the outs with Trump over comments on Iran's nuclear ambitions, seemed to return to the president's good graces this week following the declassification and release of years-old documents she hoped would discredit long-settled conclusions about Russian interference in the 2016 election. The developments allowed Trump to rehash longstanding grievances against President Barack Obama and his Democratic advisers. Trump's talk of investigations into perceived adversaries from years ago let him, in effect, go back in time to deflect attention from a very current crisis. "Whether it's right or wrong," Trump said, "it's time to go after people."
India Today
32 minutes ago
- India Today
Trump arrives in Scotland for golf and bilateral talks ahead of EU trade deal
US President Donald Trump, dogged by questions about his ties to disgraced financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, arrived in Scotland on Friday for some golf and bilateral talks that could yield a trade deal with the European told reporters upon his arrival that he will visit his two golf properties in Scotland and meet with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, whom he called a "highly respected woman."advertisementAs hundreds of onlookers cheered his arrival, Trump repeated his earlier comment about a 50-50 chance of securing a deal with the EU, adding it would be his administration's biggest trade agreement thus far, if it came together. However, he said there were still "sticking points" with Brussels on "maybe 20 different things."Trump said his meeting with Starmer would be more of a celebration of the trade deal already reached than continued work on it, adding, "It's a great deal for both."Before he left Washington, Trump said his administration was working hard on a possible trade deal with the EU, and Brussels was keen to make a deal. Von der Leyen said later she would meet Trump in Scotland on diplomats say a deal could result in a 15% tariff on EU goods, mirroring a framework accord with Japan reached this week and half of the 30% Trump is threatening to impose by August has sought to reorder the global economy after imposing a 10% tariff on nearly all trading partners in April and threatening sharply higher rates for many countries to kick in a week from now. Trump says the moves will reduce the US trade deficit and bring in extra revenue, but economists warn the new trade policies could drive up inflation.'DON'T TALK ABOUT TRUMP'Trump, facing the biggest domestic political crisis of his second term, expressed frustration about ongoing questions about his administration's handling of investigative files related to Epstein's criminal charges and his 2019 death in prison."You make it a very big thing over something that's not a big thing," Trump told reporters in Scotland, urging them to focus on other prominent Americans with ties to Epstein, including former President Bill Clinton."Talk about Clinton. Talk about the former president of Harvard. Talk about all of his friends. Talk about the hedge fund guys that were with him all the time. Don't talk about Trump," he said. "What you should be talking about is the fact that we have the greatest six months in the history of a presidency."The Epstein issue has caused a rare breach with some of Trump's most loyal Make America Great Again supporters, and majorities of Americans and Trump's Republicans say they believe the government is hiding details on the case, according to Reuters/Ipsos House officials are hoping the controversy dies down while Trump is abroad, two people familiar with the matter TIESTrump will stay at his Turnberry property on Scotland's west coast this weekend, before traveling on Monday to a golf property in Aberdeen, where he will open a second 18-hole course named in honor of his mother, Mary Anne MacLeod. MacLeod was born and raised on a Scottish island before emigrating to the USAs he left the White House, Trump said he looked forward to meeting both Starmer and Scottish leader John Swinney, who had publicly backed Democratic candidate Kamala Harris in the 2024 US presidential trip gives Trump and Starmer a chance to deepen their already warm ties, with key issues on the agenda to include ending Russia's war in Ukraine, British and U.S. sources deteriorating situation in Gaza is also likely to arise. Starmer on Thursday said he would hold an emergency call with France and Germany over what he called the "unspeakable and indefensible" suffering and starvation being reported there, and called on Israel to allow aid to enter the Palestinian health authorities say more than 100 people have died from starvation, most in recent weeks. Human rights groups have said mass starvation is spreading even as tons of food and other supplies sit untouched just outside the being elected last year, Starmer has prioritized good relations with Trump, stressing the importance of Britain's defense and security alliance with the US, while working to clinch the first tariff-reduction deal with the US in framework agreement reaffirmed quotas and tariff rates on British automobiles and eliminated tariffs on the UK's aerospace sector, but left steel tariffs in is expected to press for lower steel tariffs, but sources close to the matter said it was unclear if any breakthrough was possible during Trump's has described Scotland as a "very special place" and made a similar trip there in 2016 during his earlier run for the presidency, but he will not necessarily get a warm 70% of Scots have an unfavorable opinion of Trump, while 18% have a favorable opinion, an Ipsos poll in March police are girding for protests on Saturday in both Aberdeen and in Edinburgh, the country's will return to Britain from September 17-19 for a state visit hosted by King Charles. It will make Trump the first world leader in modern times to undertake two state visits to Britain. The late Queen Elizabeth hosted him at Buckingham Palace for a three-day state visit in June 2019.- EndsTune InMust Watch
Mint
32 minutes ago
- Mint
Hulk Hogan descended upon American culture at exactly the time it was ready for him: the 1980s
The opening chords of Rick Derringer's hard-rock guitar would play over the arena sound system. Instantly, 20,000 Hulkamaniacs — and many more as wrestling's popularity and stadium size exploded — rose to their feet in a frenzy to catch a glimpse of Hulk Hogan storming toward the ring. His T-shirt half-ripped, his bandanna gripped in his teeth, Hogan faced 'em all in the 1980s — the bad guys from Russia and Iran and any other wrestler from a country that seemed to pose a threat to both his WWF championship and, of course, could bring harm to the red, white and blue. His 24-inch pythons slicked in oil, glistening under the house lights, Hogan would point to his next foe — say 'Rowdy' Roddy Piper or Jake 'The Snake' Roberts (rule of thumb: In the 80s, the more quote marks in a name, the meaner the wrestler) — all to the strain of Derringer's patriotic 'Real American.' In Ronald Reagan's 1980s slice of wishful-thinking Americana, no one embodied the vision of a 'real American' like Hulk Hogan. 'We had Gorgeous George and we had Buddy Rogers and we had Bruno Sammartino,' WWE Hall of Famer Sgt. Slaughter said Friday. 'But nobody compared at that time compared to Hulk Hogan. His whole desire was to be a star and be somebody that nobody every forgot. He pretty much did that.' Hogan, who died Thursday in Florida at age 71, portrayed himself as an all-American hero, a term that itself implies a stereotype. He was Sylvester Stallone meets John Wayne in tights — only fans could actually touch him and smell the sweat if the WWF came to town. Hogan presented as virtuous. He waved the American flag, never cheated to win, made sure 'good' always triumphed over 'evil.' He implored kids around the world: 'Train, say your prayers, eat your vitamins." Hogan did it all, hosting 'Saturday Night Live,' making movies, granting Make-A-Wish visits, even as he often strayed far from the advice that made him a 6-foot-8, 300-plus pound cash cow and one of the world's most recognizable entertainers. His muscles looked like basketballs, his promos electrified audiences — why was he yelling!?! — and he fabricated and embellished stories from his personal life all as he morphed into the personification of the 80s and 80s culture and excess. In the not-so-real world of professional wrestling, Hulk Hogan banked on fans believing in his authenticity. That belief made him the biggest star the genre has ever known. Outside the ring, the man born Terry Gene Bollea wrestled with his own good guy/bad guy dynamic, a messy life that eventually bled beyond the curtain, spilled into tabloid fodder and polluted the final years of his life. Hogan — who teamed with actor Mr. T in the first WrestleMania — was branded a racist. He was embroiled in a sex-tape scandal. He claimed he once contemplated suicide. All this came well after he admitted he burst into wrestling stardom not on a strict diet of workouts and vitamins, but of performance-enhancing drugs, notably steroids. The punches, the training, the grueling around-the-world travel were all real (the outcomes, of course, were not). So was the pain that followed Hogan as he was temporarily banished from WWE in his later years. He was the flawed hero of a flawed sport, and eventually not even wrestling fans, like a bad referee, could turn a blind eye to Hogan's discretions. Hogan's final WWE appearance came this past January at the company's debut episode on Netflix. Hogan arrived months after he appeared at the Republican National Convention and gave a rousing speech -- not unlike his best 1980s promos -- in support of Donald Trump. Just a pair of the 1980s icons, who used tough talk and the perceived notion they could both 'tell it like it is,' to rise to the top. Only wrestling fans, especially one in the home of the Los Angeles event, had enough of Hogan. 'He was full-throated, it wasn't subtle, his support for Donald Trump,' said ESPN writer Marc Raimondi, who wrote the wrestling book 'Say Hello to the Bad Guys." 'I think that absolutely hurt him.' He didn't appear for an exercise in nostalgia or a vow that if he could just lace up the boots one more time, he could take down today's heels. No, Hogan came to promote his beer. Beer loosely coded as right-wing beer. No song was going to save him this time. Fed up with his perceived MAGA ties and divisive views, his racist past and a string of bad decisions that made some of today's stars also publicly turn on him, Hogan was about booed out of the building. This wasn't the good kind of wrestling booing, like what he wanted to hear when he got a second act in the 1990s as 'Hollywood' Hulk Hogan when controversy equaled cash. This was go-away heat. 'I think the politics had a whole lot to do with it,' Hogan said on 'The Pat McAfee Show' in February. Hogan always envisioned himself as the Babe Ruth of wrestling. On the back of Vince McMahon, now entangled in his own sordid sex scandal, Hogan turned a staid one-hour Saturday morning show into the land of NFL arenas, cable TV, pay-per-view blockbusters, and eventually, billon-dollar streaming deals. Once raised to the loftiest perch in sports and entertainment by fans who ate up everything the Hulkster had to say, his final, dismal appearance showed that even Hulk Hogan could take a loss. 'The guy who had been the master at getting what he wanted from the crowd for decades, he lost his touch,' Raimondi said. 'Very likely because of the things he did in his personal and professional life.' But there was a time when Hogan had it all. The fame. The championships. Riches and endorsements. All of it not from being himself, but by being Hulk Hogan. 'There's people in this business that become legends," Sgt. Slaughter said. 'But Hulk became legendary.'
