Latest news with #MikeCernovich
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
MAGA Diehards Turn on Trump Over Jeffrey Epstein Flop: ‘Tears My Heart Out'
President Donald Trump's MAGA supporters have turned on him after the Department of Justice announced in a Monday memo that there would be no more juicy revelations about sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. That includes no previously mentioned 'client list,' no additional people charged, and no evidence to show Epstein was murdered in prison. Alex Jones, the conservative podcaster who was found civilly liable for disseminating lies that the Sandy Hook shooting a hoax staged by crisis actors, was reduced to tears when he heard the news. 'I'm gonna throw up,' Jones said in a video he posted to X on Tuesday. He went on to claim that the CIA, Israeli intelligence, and British intelligence were 'running Epstein, and it was an official U.S. government operation.' The nearly 10-minute video then devolved into a rant against the 'evil globalist system' that the Trump administration is supposedly fighting against. Still, Jones didn't hide his disappointment in Trump. 'For them [the administration] to do something like this, tears my heart out.' He wasn't the only supporter of the president to react with anger to the news. Mike Cernovich, a popular podcaster with 1.4 million X followers, addressed the president directly. 'No one is believing the Epstein coverup, @realDonaldTrump,' he wrote. 'This will be part of your legacy.' Ex-allies also voiced their opinions on the Epstein non-bombshell, with Elon Musk posting a clown meme mocking the administration's back and forth on the disgraced pedophile. He also posted a scoreboard set to 0, with the caption 'The Official Jeffrey Epstein Pedophile Counter.' The memo on Monday came after a months-long cat-and-mouse game between Attorney General Pan Bondi, FBI director Kash Patel, and the legions of MAGA content creators who expected the administration to answer their Epstein-related prayers. In February, Bondi claimed that there was an Epstein 'client list' on her desk, which would eventually be released. Then, in April, she doubled down—claiming that there were 'thousands' of videos in the DOJ's possession of Epstein assaulting children. As Bondi continued to promise and prevaricate, often in the same appearance, discontent began to bubble up in MAGA circles. Now, that discontent is out in the open. Liz Wheeler, a conservative podcaster and supporter of the president, called for Bondi's firing on Monday. In February, she was one of the right-wing influencers who received a binder containing the so-called 'Epstein files' at the White House—which she immediately denounced as containing no new information. Epstein conspiracy theories were adopted among the MAGA movement in the years after the financier's 2019 death. Multiple people who had questioned the government's account of Epstein's suicide, including FBI Director Patel and Deputy Director Dan Bongino, were appointed to prominent roles in the Trump administration. Clearly, that didn't mean that the online conspiracy engine's alliance with the MAGA movement would bear any fruit—as the conspiracy theorists seem to be figuring out.
Gizmodo
07-07-2025
- Politics
- Gizmodo
For MAGA, DOJ's Handling of the Epstein Files Has Turned Pam Bondi Into a Joke
It's no secret that the Trump administration's bungled handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files has left a lot of Trump voters boiling with anger. Many Trump voters feel they were promised an administration that would investigate, expose, and prosecute the vast sex trafficking conspiracy that was the plot of the popular MAGA conspiracy theory QAnon. Instead, Trump's Justice Department announced over the weekend that Epstein did, indeed, kill himself, and that there is no conspiracy to investigate. While many conservative voters are still in the rage and denial phase of this development, others have moved on to disdain. Increasingly, some MAGA voices seem to feel that the Trump administration's Justice Department is little more than a big joke. Over the weekend, ridicule rained down on Trump's Attorney General, Pam Bondi, and the head of Trump's FBI, Kash Patel, as news spread of the government's new dismissal of the conspiracy theories surrounding Epstein. The comments have ranged from pithy and sarcastic to skewering and accusatory. 'The lone sex trafficker theory,' said Mike Cernovich, a rightwing 'meme maker' and alt-right media personality who was also an early supporter of Trump. Later, Cernovich tagged Trump in a post, writing: 'No one is believing the Epstein coverup, @realDonaldTrump. This will be part of your legacy. There's still time to change it!' Tim Pool, a rightwing podcaster who was recently invited to the White House as part of the administration's new focus on alternative media, posted: 'Pam Bondi is just keeping the tens of thousands of child porn videos for herself.' The Babylon Bee, long the MAGA audience's version of The Onion, posted an article Monday entitled 'Epstein List Hangs Itself Moments Before Release.' Norm Cruise, another account that posts right-wing edgelord-type content, posted a picture of Epstein and wrote: 'No clients. No blackmail. Just the love of the game.' Auron MacIntyre, who is a host of the podcast for the conservative publication The Blaze, posted a meme of a party of lizard people discussing the Epstein 'client list': Meanwhile, RetardFinder, a rightwing account that typically posts pictures of liberal politicians and progressives and dubs them 'retards,' posted a picture of Dan Bongino, deputy director of the FBI (who has said that he believes Epstein died by suicide), followed not long afterward by a picture of Patel. 'Officially a retard,' the account wrote. Accusations about Epstein's alleged association with Israel (conspiracy theories have long suggested he was collecting sexual blackmail on U.S. politicians for Israeli intelligence) have also become the subject of disdainful jokes. The Libertarian Party of New Hampshire, which endorsed Trump during the election, posted a racist picture of Patel in a turban decorated with a zionist symbol. Next to the image, the account mockingly wrote: 'Epstein killed himself. No evidence exists to suggest that a single politician/powerful figure was ever blackmailed. The flight logs are fake. In fact, Epstein was just a wealthy and moral philanthropist. To suggest otherwise is anti-Semitic. Support Israel!' Blaire White, a conservative YouTuber who says that she voted for Trump, posted: 'We're really on a rock in space paying taxes to elite pedophiles this shit is crazy.' All of this has served as political fodder for Elon Musk, who is currently engaged in a political battle with the administration he once served. Musk has taken full advantage of the current controversy with insinuations that the Trump administration is involved in a cover-up. It certainly seems like a great opportunity for him to capitalize on MAGA disaffection and funnel it towards his new political party. 🤬 — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 7, 2025In addition to ridicule, there is also still plenty of anger to go around. Rightwing accounts throughout the internet reacted with shock and outrage at the government's assertions about Epstein, and Fox News reporter Peter Doocy even put White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt's feet to the fire during a press conference on Monday. Doocy noted that Bondi had previously claimed that the Epstein 'client list' was sitting on her desk for review (Bondi now says that there is no such thing as Epstein's client list). Leavitt stammered her way through this encounter, claiming that Bondi was referring to 'the entirety of all of the paperwork, all of the paper in relation to Jeffrey Epstein's crimes.' Serious voices have also chimed in to criticize the government's silence on the Epstein case. Julie K. Brown, one of the most credible journalists on the Epstein case, posted Monday: 'As I've written too many times to count, there ARE massive amounts of FBI/DOJ files that have not been released, or those that are available are so heavily blacked out that they are unreadable. The FBI and DOJ can release these files (redacting the names of victims) so that the public knows what the FBI did — and didn't do — to investigate others involved in Epstein's sex trafficking operation.' As it stands, it looks like the DOJ is ready to call this case closed, whether MAGA wants to move on or not.
Yahoo
15-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
A Democratic legislator was assassinated; right-wing influencers coughed out disinformation
Getty Images Just hours after Minnesotans learned that Democratic House leader Melissa Hortman had been assassinated, right-wing influencer Collin Rugg, who has 1.8 million followers on X, posted a report that hinted that she'd been killed because of a recent vote on ending undocumented adults' ability to enroll in MinnesotaCare, a subsidized health insurance for the working poor. Mike Cernovich, another right-wing influencer who has 1.4 million followers on X, took Rugg's post and amped it up, but in the 'just asking questions' style of many conspiracy theories: 'Did Tim Walz have her executed to send a message?' They were deeply ignorant about the MinnesotaCare issue. Walz and Hortman — who was instrumental in passing legislation allowing undocumented people to sign up for MinnesotaCare as speaker of the House in 2023 — negotiated a compromise with Republicans in the Minnesota Legislature to end eligibility for adults, but keep it for children. They did so to win necessary Republican support in the 67-67 House to pass a state budget. Without it, state government would have shut down on July 1. Both Hortman and Walz signed the compromise agreement in mid-May. This week, Hortman spoke tearfully about how difficult the vote was for her, but she was bound to vote yes on the issue because of the prior agreement. Rugg and Cernovich's posts were shared widely and just the start of the disinformation. Once law enforcement sources began revealing a suspect, right-wing influencers ran with an insignificant detail: That Vance Luther Boelter was a 'Walz appointee.' Like many states, but even more so here, Minnesota is home to hundreds of nonpartisan and bipartisan boards and commissions, which are composed of thousands of people who typically win the appointment by simply volunteering. There are currently 342 open positions on Minnesota boards and commissions. Boelter was appointed to the Workforce Development Council by Walz's predecessor Gov. Mark Dayton and reappointed by Walz. It was the equivalent of calling a Sunday school volunteer an 'appointee of the bishop.' No matter, the Murdoch media machine, specifically the New York Post, had their headline: 'Former appointee of Tim Walz sought….' Cernovich had his greasy foil hot dog wrapper and began constructing a hat: 'The Vice President candidate for the Democrat party is directly connected to a domestic terrorist, that is confirmed, the only question is whether Tim Walz himself ordered the political hit against a rival who voted against Walz's plan to give free healthcare to illegals.' Walz had no such plan. He had signed an agreement to end eligibility for undocumented adults. Joey Mannarino, who has more than 600,000 followers on X, was more crass: 'Rumor has it she was preparing to switch parties. The Democrats are VIOLENT SCUM.' It was a ridiculous 'rumor.' One of the last photos of Hortman alive was an image of her at the Democratic-Farmer-Labor's big annual fundraising event, the Humphrey-Mondale dinner, which took place just hours before her assassination. No matter, Cernovich wanted his new friends in federal law enforcement to act: 'The FBI must take Tim Walz into custody immediately.' Finally, fresh off his humiliating defeat at the hands of President Donald Trump, world's richest man Elon Musk quote-tweeted someone again falsely alleging Hortman was killed by 'the left' and added: 'The far left is murderously violent.' The suspect's 'hit list,' according to an official who has seen the list, comprised Minnesotans who have been outspoken in favor of abortion rights. CNN reported that it also included several abortion clinics, which doesn't sound like the work of 'the left.' Right-wing influencers marred Hortman's death and smeared Walz on a pile of lies. In a different, saner world, they would be humiliated and slink away. But the smart money is that during the next moment of national crisis and mourning, they will again lie for profit. Minnesota Reformer is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Minnesota Reformer maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor J. Patrick Coolican for questions: info@
Gizmodo
09-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Gizmodo
The Internet's Funniest Jokes About the Chicago Pope
The new Pope was announced at the Vatican on Thursday as Robert Prevost, a Chicago-born missionary who will be the first American pope in the Catholic Church's history. The 69-year-old Prevost will take the name Leo XIV, and the internet at large responded with basically two types of reactions: 1) the far-right conservatives who whined that Leo was a 'woke Marxist,' and 2) all the other normal people who were just making jokes about the Pope being from Chicago. Pope Leo has been on Twitter since 2011 and has a history of tweets that are now being dissected by online sleuths and political operatives to determine if he's a Good Pope or a Bad Pope. And while trying to map a Catholic leader's politics to fit an American understanding of the political landscape is silly on many levels, that hasn't stopped people from trying, especially since Leo has tweeted criticism of Vice President JD Vance's views on Catholicism and retweeted criticism of President Donald Trump's views on immigrants. Those tweets have caused people like conspiracy theorist Laura Loomer to melt down, writing 'WOKE MARXIST POPE' in response to one of Leo's old tweets from 2015 about Trump's anti-immigrant rhetoric. Mike Cernovich, a far-right Pizzagate conspiracy theorist who was invited to the White House after Trump took office, called the new pope, 'a shitlib who was given a title by the Lavender Mafia to sow division in my country.' But that's enough about whiners on Twitter. What about the jokes? The good, old-fashioned American tradition of making jokes about the Second City—whether it's deep dish pizza, hot dogs, or the Bears? Well, there's been plenty of that too. And below we've got some of our favorites. 'Chicago Pope' is like a 1994 SNL sketch. Airs at 12:20am, the only gag is that Chris Farley has a mustache and is doing a big accent. David Spade and the guest host (Joe Mantegna) keep breaking during it. — David_j_roth (@ May 8, 2025 at 10:20 AM you know who else came from chicago and was on 'a mission from god' — tef (@ May 8, 2025 at 10:29 AM catholics: oh hey u guys are back early me: pope's woke catholics: what? me: *grabs rosary, heads toward the confessional* pope's woke — e.w. niedermeyer (@ May 8, 2025 at 3:49 PM 'chicago pope' is one of the shows jack donaghy greenlit when he was tanking nbc — bobby di frociaggine (@ May 8, 2025 at 10:29 AM The first pope to transubstantiate Malort into Christ's blood — Jessica Smetana (@ May 8, 2025 at 10:29 AM new pope! *crowd goes wild* American pope! *crowd boos* woke for an American! *crowd goes wild* bad on protecting abusive priests! *crowd boos* hates JD Vance! *crowd goes wild* — Micah (@ May 8, 2025 at 10:33 AM American Pope Stay away from meeeee American Pope Papa let me beeeee Don't come knockin' 'round my door I don't wanna see the pontif no more Colored robes can hypnotize But I don't want anymore kids to die I gotta go, I dun wanna pray Pope, I gotta go, I wanna fly away I'm gonna leave you Popey — Tyler, from the Internet (@ May 8, 2025 at 11:16 AM Arguing that the thin square-cut wafers are the actual Chicago-style communion — Patrick Cosmos (@ May 8, 2025 at 11:41 AM Pope Leo the XIV when JD Vance — 679 Enthusiast (@marionumber4) May 8, 2025 The Chicago Pope implies the existence of a New Keynesian Pope and a Behavioral Pope — Maia (@ May 8, 2025 at 11:05 AM the New Pope says he's from Chicago but he's *actually* from Naperville — Mike Golic Jr (@ May 8, 2025 at 10:19 AM
Daily Mail
09-05-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
The anti-Trump pope? MAGA melts down over new Pope's attacks on president and JD Vance and claim he is 'not an America-first pontiff'
MAGA America was in meltdown over the election of a new pope with a track record of publicly criticising JD Vance and showing sympathy for migrants. Robert Prevost overcame 66/1 odds to be selected as Pope Leo XIV on Thursday, becoming the first North American pontiff to hold the role. But conservative news pundits and Trump supporters were incensed by the decision of the cardinals to appoint a pope slated to be among the 'most progressive'. Steve Bannon, the former White House Chief Strategist, called Prevost the 'worst pick for MAGA Catholics' and deemed him the 'anti-Trump pope'. Days before, he told Piers Morgan he thought the 'dark horse' candidate was 'one of the ones closest to Francis ideologically'. Laura Loomer, a far-right conspiracy theorist who has maintained close ties with the president, lamented online: 'The new Pope once retweeted a post about how we need to keep praying for career criminal & drug addict George Floyd. 'The tweet said, "May all hatred, violence and prejudice be eradicated." What prejudice? Is that another way to spell FENTANYL OVERDOSE? MARXIST POPE!' 'He is anti-Trump, anti-MAGA, pro-open Borders, and a total Marxist like Pope Francis,' she went on, later. 'Catholics don't have anything good to look forward to.' Mike Cernovich, a right-wing commentator and conspiracy theorist, deemed Prevost an 'open borders globalist' who would 'be pushing for abortion soon'. He shared posts from the new pope about gun control and deportations to El Salvador as apparent evidence of Leo's dialectical opposition to MAGA America. Prevost did reportedly vote in the Illinois Republican primaries in 2012, 2014 and 2016. But he has diverged from the new administration on a number of key issues, echoing the late Pope Francis' views on immigration - a topic Francis and Trump clashed over. From his posts on X, the new pontiff is expected to carry on as a counterbalance to Trump, representing 1.4bn Catholics worldwide, including around 53mn in the U.S. Podcaster Joey Mannarino told 600,000 followers the new pope was a 'liberal piece of s**t', sharing Prevost's rebuttal of the Vice President's reading of 'ordo amoris' - a Christian concept of 'rightly ordered love' that made waves earlier this year. Vance had said in an interview with Fox News in January: 'There is a Christian concept that you love your family and then you love your neighbor, and then you love your community, and then you love your fellow citizens, and then, after that, prioritize the rest of the world. A lot of the far left has completely inverted that.' Critics judged that Vance, a Catholic, had misread Thomas Aquinas' idea of the 'order of love', accusing him of using the concept to support political ideology. Prevost joined in the backlash, writing on X in early February: 'JD Vance is wrong: Jesus doesn't ask us to rank our love for others.' While Vance, a Catholic, was careful to congratulate the new pontiff, Trump-aligned commentators were less choice with their words. Right-wing commentator Megyn Kelly was at first pleased with the election of an American pope. But she later asked on X whether it was 'too much to hope that some 20-year-old ran the new pope's X account and he never looked at it?' Prior to his selection, Prevost had been vocal on a number of issues, painting a picture of his personal politics and what might shape his papacy. In April, he shared a post from a Catholic commentator who took aim at Trump and the president of El Salvador, Nayib Bukele, for making light of the deportation of Kilmar Abrego Garcia. 'Is your conscience not disturbed? How can you stay quiet?' the shared post read. In March 2022, he shared an article from Catholic News, in which the Vatican expressed its willingness to help as a humanitarian crisis emerged with the war in Ukraine. He had also reposted a tweet in 2018 that read: 'There is nothing remotely Christian, American, or morally defensible about a policy that takes children away from their parents and warehouses them in cages. This is being carried out in our name and the shame is on us all.' And he shared several messages directly opposing Trump's immigration orders - including a 2018 letter from Peru's Catholic leaders thanking the Trump administration for 'stopping the separation of migrant children from their parents.' Pope Leo spent the majority of his career in Latin America, even becoming a naturalized citizen of Peru. Cardinal Prevost emerged only in recent days as a contender for the papacy. The tennis loving cardinal – who is also known as Father Bob – is seen as the 'least American of the Americans' and a silent reformer who would carry on the work of Pope Francis. He was a popular choice with the Latin American and North American cardinals, although he has kept his views on topics such as women clergy and same sex unions quiet. In his first words as Pope Francis' successor, uttered from the loggia of St. Peter's Basilica, Leo said, 'Peace be with you,' and emphasized a message of peace, dialogue and missionary evangelization. He wore the traditional red cape of the papacy — a cape that Francis had eschewed on his election in 2013. The crowd in St. Peter's Square erupted in cheers when white smoke poured out of the Sistine Chapel on the second day of the conclave. Priests made the sign of the cross and nuns wept as the crowd shouted 'Viva il papa!' Waving flags from around the world, tens of thousands of people waited to learn who had won and were shocked when an hour later, the senior cardinal deacon appeared on the loggia and said 'Habemus Papam!' and announced the winner was Prevost. He spoke to the crowd in Italian and Spanish, but not English.
