Monday Afternoon News Updates: Wars, Rigged Excuses, and Trump Ruining the Knicks – 6/8/26
Here's your midday update
Hi all, Ben here. It’s Monday, and what a day it already is. Let me run through what we’re tracking before I dig in.
Top stories today:
Trump breaks his silence on the Israel-Iran war with embarrassing Truth Social posts
Netanyahu halts further strikes in Iran after pushback from Trump, but fighting continues in Lebanon
35 Democratic Senators demand the legal basis for Trump’s War Powers claims
Trump calls the LA mayoral primary “rigged,” because reality TV villain Spencer Pratt lost
Trump ruins Game 3 of the NBA Finals for New York City
New World Screwworm cases confirmed in Texas — MAGA blames Biden, naturally
World Cup visa chaos: Iran’s team forced to stay in Mexico, African journalists stranded
150,000 protesters flood the streets of Tirana, Albania over the Trump-Kushner island project
A federal judge strikes down Trump’s $100,000 H-1B visa fee
The Trump name quietly disappears from the Kennedy Center website
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The War Is Raging
For weeks, Trump has been telling anyone who would listen that he holds all the cards on Iran. Netanyahu wasn’t going to do anything. A deal was right around the corner. It’s coming any day now. Then Israel struck Iran, hitting a petrochemical facility. Iran struck back, believed to have hit a facility in Haifa. And Trump went utterly silent.
Trump broke his silence first last night by whining about the California primary elections. More on that shortly. But it wasn’t until earlier that he commented on the chaos erupting in the Middle East.
Then, a few hours ago, he rushed to Truth Social and posted: “Israel and Iran must immediately stop ‘shooting.’ — President DONALD J. TRUMP.”
That’s it. That’s the foreign policy. Social media posts.
He followed it up with a second post declaring that both sides are seeking an “immediate CEASEFIRE,” that final peace negotiations are proceeding, and that the blockade will remain until, and I want you to note this, a “Final Deal” is reached. Maybe the quotes are there for a reason, because there is no deal. There has never been a deal. For 90 days this man has been telling us the deal is Monday, it’s Tuesday, it’s Wednesday, it’s basically done, and then something happens and suddenly it’s someone else’s fault. And for some reason, many in the corporate media fall for this stunt every time. We don’t. And we won’t.
Yesterday, after Israel struck Beirut, a move everyone understood would prompt Iranian retaliation, Trump had the audacity to say a deal was about to happen on Monday, and then Netanyahu went and did this, and now we can’t do the deal. Ah yes, he was soooo close! (sarcasm)
Here’s what’s actually happening on the ground. According to two Israeli military officials who spoke to the New York Times, Netanyahu had been preparing a much larger retaliatory strike against Iran following ballistic missile fire earlier Monday and pulled back only after serious pushback from Trump. Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters announced a cessation of hostilities, but added pointedly that if aggressions continue, including in southern Lebanon, far harsher responses will follow. Netanyahu claimed he decided to “hold fire” because Iran stopped attacking, but warned that any resumption would be met with a powerful response.
Meanwhile, the IDF issued an urgent evacuation warning to residents of southern Lebanon, saying Hezbollah violated the ceasefire. Rocket sirens were sounding in northern Israel. Israeli strikes were reported in Tyre. The Trump “ceasefire,” everybody.
Thirty-five Democratic Senators, including Adam Schiff, Tim Kaine, Chuck Schumer, and Jack Reed, sent a letter to the White House demanding the legal basis for Trump’s claim that hostilities in Iran have “ceased.” They note that hostilities have continued since February 28 and never actually terminated, meaning the 60-day clock under the War Powers Resolution doesn’t have a pause button, no matter what Trump tweets.
U.S. officials flatly denied Israeli claims that American forces intercepted any of the Iranian ballistic missiles fired overnight. The U.S. claims it did not assist in Israel’s defense, though the IDF did coordinate with CENTCOM throughout the night. So we are simultaneously in and not in this war, depending on the hour of the day and who’s being asked.
The LA Election Was “Rigged” Because Spencer Pratt Lost
Here we go again. Decision Desk HQ projected Nithya Raman winning the second spot in the LA mayoral nonpartisan primary, and Trump immediately posted calling it a “Rigged Election.” He also posted that it was “Not possible for Spencer Pratt to have lost the L.A. runoffs after the big lead he had. 3rd World Nation.”
Spencer Pratt. The reality TV villain guy.
Los Angeles is 18.7% Republican. I don’t actually need to explain why the Republican candidate didn’t win. But here’s what’s truly telling: if the election was selectively rigged against Republicans, why is the Republican candidate likely to advance in the governor’s race? Did the riggers forget that one? Even Trump’s own U.S. Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles had to put out a statement saying the election is not rigged. Your own people, Donald.
Congressman Abe Hamadeh called for federalizing California elections. Florida Congressman Randy Fine went on Newsmax and claimed people are “literally dumpster diving for fraudulent ballots.” These people just make things up now. They wake up, open their mouths, and lie about every damn thing, and nobody on that side blinks.
It’s called counting all the voters. I understand counting is a difficult concept for you, MAGA.
Senator Patty Murray, responding to Trump’s unhinged interview with Kristen Welker, in which he stormed off after being pressed on his 2020 voter fraud claims, his face cycling through several shades of orange and red in real time — put it well: “He went from orange to red. While the President’s tantrums are absurd, his delusions of voter fraud are dangerous.”
Trump Ruins the Knicks
The New York Knicks are in the NBA Finals for the first time in decades. The city is electric. And Donald Trump decided he needed to be there for Game 3 tonight at Madison Square Garden.
Here’s what that means in practice. The NYPD is shutting down vehicular and pedestrian traffic from West 30th to West 35th Street between Sixth and Eighth Avenues starting at 4 p.m. You cannot be in that area unless you have a ticket, credentials, or specific authorized business. MSG canceled all fan watch parties around the arena. Five blocks, two avenues, locked down, so Trump can sit in a luxury box with the owner and another billionaire while the people of the city who have waited since 1999 for this moment get pushed out of the street.
He can’t sacrifice even a modicum of convenience. Watch it at the White House. Watch it at one of your golf clubs. You don’t need to show up and physically block New Yorkers from enjoying a moment their city has been waiting 25 years for.
Not to mention the amount of revenue businesses around MSG are going to lose because of the closures.
NYC Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani responded by organizing a free watch party for 5,000 New Yorkers at Bryant Park tonight. There’s currently a large wall around Madison Square Garden for extra security. Hey, Trump finally built his wall!
There’s also a photo circulating from a NYC subway station showing graffiti that reads “GO KNICKS / F*** TRUMP.” The people of New York aren’t shy about voicing their opinons.
Screwworm Is Biden’s Fault, Obviously
The USDA confirmed two new New World Screwworm cases in the United States, a calf in La Salle County, Texas, and a dog in Andrews County, Texas. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins blamed Biden. Senator Roger Marshall went on Fox and blamed Biden. Their theory is that migrants brought the screwworm up through Central America during the Biden administration’s “open borders” era.
It is June 2026. The screwworm is showing up now. So of course, Republicans blame Biden and immigrants.
Our Editor-in-Chief Ron Filipkowski has noted the pattern that everything that happens during the Trump presidency is the fault of Joe Biden per the GOP. Everything.
World Cup Chaos and the Iran Soccer Team
Iran’s national soccer team arrived in Mexico, where they’ll be based for the duration of the World Cup, despite playing all their matches in the United States, because the Trump administration denied them lodging and required them to leave after each game. FIFA accepted this arrangement. FIFA, the same organization that handed Trump a peace prize, apparently has no issue with a host nation forcing a competing team to shuttle back and forth across the border.
On top of that, Trump’s team denied visas to significant portions of Iran’s coaching and support staff, meaning the people who run the day-to-day operations of the team can’t even enter the country. Marco Rubio was out this morning announcing more visa denials.
And it’s not just Iran. The International Sports Press Association formally wrote to FIFA flagging that accredited journalists, including Iranian and African colleagues, have been denied or issued inadequate visas. African journalists with single-entry visas who follow their teams to matches in Canada literally cannot re-enter the United States. If you’re wondering how that wasn’t thought through in advance: it wasn’t. Maybe if you staffed this thing with people who had a basic grasp of how international travel works, rather than whatever is currently happening, you could coordinate a visa process for a tournament that spans three countries. A modicum of competence.
Albania, the H-1B Ruling, and a French Presidential Candidate’s Verdict on America
Over 150,000 protesters took to the streets of Tirana, Albania, opposing the Trump-Kushner project to essentially privatize an Albanian island for 10,000 luxury rooms catering to oligarchs. The protests are being called a “flamingo revolution.” The European Union has also weighed in, warning Albania that waiving its environmental protocols to accommodate Jared and Ivanka could jeopardize the country’s EU ascension. Everything this family touches.
A federal judge, U.S. District Judge Leo T. Sorokin, ruled that Trump’s $100,000 H-1B visa fee is an unauthorized tax on businesses and must be vacated. The judge found the fee constitutes a tax rather than a penalty, meaning it cannot be imposed without congressional authorization. The precedent he cited to reach that conclusion: the Supreme Court’s Obamacare ruling in Sebelius.
And finally, the Trump administration quietly removed the Trump name from the Kennedy Center website. It now simply reads “The Kennedy Center” following the recent court ruling saying Trump’s name needed to go. Our reporters are standing by near the building itself to get footage of the Trump name being pulled off.
Meanwhile, French presidential candidate Jean-Luc Mélenchon, speaking this morning, argued France should align more closely with China, describing that country as “reasonable people” who are “not gringos ready to pull out their Colt every five minutes to exterminate whoever displeases them.”
That’s the reputation the United States has now.
There’s a lot more news to come. Stay tuned for Ron Filipkowski’s full daily bulletin later today and lots more great exclusive content.
What’s the betting that Turnip Head bails on going to the game. If he goes I hope he gets roundly booed.
Sick And Tired Of Cheeto’s Diatribe About Elections And MSM
Aren’t Americans tired of Cheeto and his incessant lying about elections being rigged when not in his party’s favor? His most recent vindictive rant at Kristen Welker on Meet the Press on Sunday was not only the most volatile but underscored how out of touch this moron is. The demented psychopath quickly ended the interview when challenged by Welker over and over again that the California delayed reporting of voting indicates that the blue state is rigging the elections against Nazi Republicans, prematurely stormed out of the interview calling Welker crooked and stupid.
Of course after the “rigged election” rants, Cheeto went after the MSM and how they’re dishonest in reporting and don’t fairly report about Nazi Republicans, even though there is nothing to report on except their corruption, especially their complicity with subversive efforts to interfere with elections. When is MSM going to do honest reporting about the Nazi Republicans?
So the question is “Why isn’t MSM covering these sleazebags called Nazi Republicans?” Not only is Cheeto failing in foreign policy due to his incompetence, screwing over the American people with no meaningful domestic policy except tax breaks for the ultrawealthy, but destroying the federal government and defacing its monuments.