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Trump Warns of ‘Very Bad’ Future if NATO Allies Refuse to Help Open Critical Strait of Hormuz

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President Trump on Sunday warned NATO faces a “very bad” future if the US allies fail to help reopen the crucial Strait of Hormuz, as oil prices soar during the Iran war.

Trump said in an interview with the Financial Times that European nations and other global powers that rely on Gulf oil should join a US-led effort to secure the waterway — where roughly a fifth of the world’s oil supply normally flows.

“It’s only appropriate that people who are the beneficiaries of the Strait will help to make sure that nothing bad happens there,” Trump told the British outlet, arguing that Europe and China are more heavily dependent on oil from the region than the US.

“If there’s no response or if it’s a negative response I think it will be very bad for the future of NATO.”

The president also said he could delay his summit with China’s President Xi Jinping later this month as he presses Beijing to help unblock the Strait.

“I think China should help too because China gets 90 percent of its oil from the Straits [sic],” Trump told the Financial Times. (Read more from “Trump Warns of ‘Very Bad’ Future if NATO Allies Refuse to Help Open Critical Strait of Hormuz” HERE)

Dramatic Moment Bessent is Yanked from Interview for Urgent Talks in Situation Room: ‘President wants you right away’

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President Trump ordered Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who was in the middle of an interview, to the White House Situation Room as the administration deals with the financial fallout of the Iran war.

Bessent, 63, was speaking with Sky News’ Wilfred Frost of “The Master Investor Podcast” on Thursday inside the Treasury Department’s Cash Room when an aide suddenly interrupted roughly 13 minutes into the conversation.

“The president wants you right away,” the aide told Bessent from off-camera, according to a clip shared on X by the outlet.

A microphone was removed from Bessent’s jacket as he left the building at 10:22 a.m., according to the outlet’s timestamp. The top economic official returned nearly two hours later.

Bessent said he discussed a “plethora of things” during his meeting with Trump. (Read more from “Dramatic Moment Bessent is Yanked from Interview for Urgent Talks in Situation Room: ‘President wants you right away’” HERE)

Trump temporarily lifts sanctions on Russian oil ‘stranded at sea’

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The Trump administration temporarily lifted sanctions on Russian oil “stranded at sea” Thursday in an effort to contain skyrocketing energy prices due to Iranian threats against tanker ships.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent described the move as one of President Trump’s “decisive steps to promote stability in global energy markets” and keep oil prices low amid the “threat and instability posed by the terrorist Iranian regime.”

“To increase the global reach of existing supply, [Treasury] is providing a temporary authorization to permit countries to purchase Russian oil currently stranded at sea,” Bessent wrote on X.

The treasury secretary noted that the “narrowly tailored, short-term measure” will only apply to oil “already in transit.”

There are an estimated 124 million barrels of oil originating from Moscow at sea, which is enough for about five to six days of supply, according to CNBC. (Read more from “Trump temporarily lifts sanctions on Russian oil ‘stranded at sea’” HERE)

Beauty queen slams Trump as she’s FIRED by White House: ‘I stood by you for 20 years… now, I don’t even recognize you’

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A former Miss California has accused Donald Trump of betraying his most loyal supporters after being fired from a White House religious post over her comments on Israel.

Carrie Prejean Boller was sacked from the Justice Department’s Religious Liberty Commission after ‘hijacking’ a February 9 hearing examining the rise of anti-Semitism.

Prejean Boller engaged in tense exchanges with Jewish witnesses, including rabbis and students, who were giving evidence about abuse they had suffered after the October 7, 2023, attack by Hamas which left 1,200 dead.

The 38-year-old, who is married to former NFL quarterback Kyle Boller, published an open letter to Trump on Thursday, claiming that he was surrounded by ‘heretics’ who supported Israel over America.

She reminded the President that it was he who had defended her when, at 21 years old, she ignited a national firestorm at the Miss USA pageant by declaring that marriage should be between a man and a woman. Trump owned the pageant at the time and defended her right to free speech, letting her keep her crown.

You can hear her interview HERE.

‘I have not changed one bit since the day you stood beside me in 2009. That is why it is so shocking to now be removed from a Religious Liberty Commission for doing the very same thing you once defended,’ Prejean Boller wrote. (Read more from “Beauty queen slams Trump as she’s FIRED by White House: ‘I stood by you for 20 years… now, I don’t even recognize you’” HERE)

Trump Needs To Prepare Americans For What Comes Next In Iran

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It’s been nearly two weeks since the Trump administration launched a war against Iran, and President Trump is beginning to signal that he wants to wind it down. On Monday, he said “we’re way ahead of schedule,” and that the war would be over “very soon.” On Wednesday during a speech in Kentucky, Trump off-handedly declared “we’ve won,” and said it was all over “in the first hour.”

It’s understandable that Trump would be eyeing a quick end to the war, given spiking oil prices, growing public opposition to the war, and criticism from his MAGA base. But at this point it’s looking less and less like the president will simply be able to declare victory and walk away, however politically desirable that might be.

The main reason is that Iran, although badly wounded, is still fighting. This week it began targeting commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, through which passes about 20 percent of the world’s oil supply. Two oil tankers were struck by Iran in Iraqi waters on Wednesday, setting them ablaze and killing one crew member. Videos of the burning oil tankers, reportedly struck by armed Iranian boats, circulated widely on social media. In addition, four other vessels were hit by Iranian projectiles in the Persian Gulf on Wednesday.

Since March 1, more than 20 ships have been attacked by Iran in the Persian Gulf. And it’s not just oil tankers or Western-flagged vessels. All types of ships have been hit, and not only in the Strait of Hormuz but across the Gulf. Marine traffic through the strait has now come to a standstill, with tanker crews unwilling to risk Iranian attack boats and missiles.

The Trump administration is clearly aware of the problem. This week, Trump ordered the release of 172 million barrels of oil from the Strategic Oil Reserve, the largest such release in its history. And earlier this month, he announced the United States Development Finance Corporation would offer political risk insurance and financial guarantees to maritime trade passing through the Gulf, adding that, “If necessary, the United States Navy will begin escorting tankers through the Strait of Hormuz, as soon as possible.” (Read more from “Trump Needs To Prepare Americans For What Comes Next In Iran” HERE)

Trump Says US Must ‘Finish the Job’ in ‘Virtually Destroyed’ Iran: ‘Don’t Want to Leave Early’

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President Trump said Wednesday that the US must “finish the job” in Iran — warning that a “weak, pathetic” future president could allow Tehran to build nuclear bombs.

“We don’t want to leave early, do we? We got to finish the job, right?” Trump said during a rally in Kentucky.

“Some day… perhaps you’ll have a weak, pathetic person” as president, “like Barack Hussein Obama,” Trump said, noting his first-term decision to trash Obama’s 2015 Iran nuclear deal.

Under the Obama deal “they would have had nuclear weapons, and this world would, right now, be a different place,” he said.

The president did not say what specific goals he hopes to achieve in the remainder of the war or share a timeframe — after previously floating four weeks or less. (Read more from “Trump Says US Must ‘Finish the Job’ in ‘Virtually Destroyed’ Iran: ‘Don’t Want to Leave Early’” HERE)

Trump Asks Justices to Confirm His Power to End Amnesty for Haitian Migrants

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President Donald Trump’s deputies asked the Supreme Court to certify his authority to end a quasi-amnesty for thousands of Haitian migrants in the United States.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) issued an “emergency request” for the Supreme Court to “lift a judge’s decision” preventing the termination of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) amnesty for roughly 350,000 Haitian migrants, according to Reuters.

In the filing, the DOJ claimed that the “lower courts were ‘again attempting to block major executive-branch policy initiatives,” according to the outlet:

The Justice Department in its filing in the Haiti case said lower courts were “again attempting to block major executive-branch policy initiatives in ways that inflict specific harms to the national interest and foreign relations.”

As it did in the Syria case, the administration suggested that the Supreme Court take up and hear arguments on the underlying legal issue given that “stop-and-start litigation over TPS terminations has become endemic.”

“Unless the court resolves the merits of these challenges – issues that have now been ventilated in courts nationwide – this unsustainable cycle will repeat again and again, spawning more competing rulings and competing views of what to make of this court’s interim order,” the Justice Department wrote.

(Read more from “Trump Asks Justices to Confirm His Power to End Amnesty for Haitian Migrants” HERE)

Photo credit: Gage Skidmore via Flickr

Trump Threatens Iran With ‘Consequences Never Seen Before’ in Stark New Ultimatum

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By Raw Story. President Donald Trump unleashed a fiery warning toward Iran on Tuesday, demanding the immediate removal of any mines from the Hormuz Strait and threatening devastating military action if Tehran fails to comply.

In a post to Truth Social, Trump laid down an uncompromising demand, stating: “If Iran has put out any mines in the Hormuz Strait, and we have no reports of them doing so, we want them removed, IMMEDIATELY! If for any reason mines were placed, and they are not removed forthwith, the Military consequences to Iran will be at a level never seen before.”

The stark warning escalated tensions in one of the world’s most critical shipping lanes. (Read more from “Trump Threatens Iran With ‘Consequences Never Seen Before’ in Stark New Ultimatum” HERE)

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Iran Issues Warning of Being ‘Eliminated’ to Donald Trump

By Reality Tea. After Donald Trump publicly criticized Iran’s newly installed Supreme Leader, Iran has a warning for the U.S. President.

On March 8, Iran’s Assembly of Experts appointed Mojtaba Khamenei as the new Supreme Leader. He replaces his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in the U.S. strike on February 28.

In response, Iranian security official Ali Larijani sent a fiery message aimed directly at the American president. “[Iran] is not afraid of your empty threats,” the message said. “Even those greater than you could not eliminate the Iranian nation. Take care of yourself not to be eliminated!”

After predicting that Iran’s new leader would never “live in peace,” Trump had a warning of his own. According to RadarOnline, Trump warned Iran would face consequences if it interferes with oil shipping routes. He threatened that the U.S. would unleash “death, fire, and fury” if the Strait of Hormuz remains blocked.

As tensions escalate, a man linked to Iran was convicted of plotting to assassinate Trump during the 2024 presidential campaign. In retaliation for Trump’s 2020 order to kill Iran’s General Qasem Soleimani, a Pakistani national was trained to kill Trump. (Read more from “Iran Issues Warning of Being ‘Eliminated’ to Donald Trump” HERE)

President Trump Appoints Erika Kirk to Air Force Academy Board of Visitors

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President Donald Trump has appointed Erika Kirk, the widow of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk, to serve on the Board of Visitors for the United States Air Force Academy.

The revelation comes after Charlie Kirk was tapped last year to serve on the board, before his horrific assassination on September 10 at Utah Valley University, according to multiple reports.

Now, Erika Kirk — who serves as CEO of her late husband’s conservative youth organization, Turning Point USA — is listed among those appointed to the board by President Trump on the academy’s website.

“The Board inquires into the morale, discipline, curriculum, instruction, physical equipment, fiscal affairs, academic methods and other matters relating to the Academy which the Board decides to consider,” the website states.

Erika Kirk sits on the board alongside Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL), Dan Clark, Doug Nikolai, and Dina Powell, with one seat currently vacant. (Read more from “President Trump Appoints Erika Kirk to Air Force Academy Board of Visitors” HERE)

US Lawmakers Worry Trump May Put ‘Boots on the Ground’ in Iran

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By Reuters. Democratic U.S. senators expressed alarm on Tuesday about the Iran war, saying they were worried that President Donald Trump could deploy U.S. ‌ground forces and noting the high risks given Russian support for Tehran’s military.

“We know ‌that Russia is already helping with intel, providing that to Iran, and that there’s an axis with Russia and China, ​Iran and North Korea that puts at greater risk the United States and our national security,” Democratic Senator Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire said on CNN.

Speaking after a classified briefing from administration officials to the Senate Armed Services Committee, Shaheen called on the administration to send officials to testify publicly in ‌Congress.

Two sources familiar with U.S. ⁠intelligence reports have said that Russia is providing Iran with targeting intelligence on U.S. bases and ships.

Shaheen and other senators said a series of closed-door briefings ⁠from Trump aides have left them with more questions than answers, especially about the cost and expected duration of the war, and whether U.S. forces would be sent into Tehran. (Read more from “US Lawmakers Worry Trump May Put ‘Boots on the Ground’ in Iran” HERE)

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Hegseth Vows US Will ‘Go as Far as We Need’ to Topple Iranian Regime as Conflict Escalates — Including Possible ‘Boots on Ground’

By New York Post. War Secretary Pete Hegseth vowed he and President Trump will do whatever it takes to topple the Iranian regime — and didn’t rule out sending US ground troops into Tehran as Operation Epic Fury rages on.

“We’re willing to go as far as we need in order to be successful,” Hegseth told CBS News’ Major Garrett during a “60 Minutes” sit-down interview that aired Sunday night.

“We reserve the right. We would be completely unwise if we did not reserve the right to take any particular option, whether it included boots on the ground or not boots on the ground.”

Trump told The Post last week that US forces could be sent into Iran if that is deemed necessary.

Hegseth told Garrett that if a decision is made to deploy American troops — whether overtly or covertly — to the Middle East, it wouldn’t be shared publicly with the press. (Read more from “Hegseth Vows US Will ‘Go as Far as We Need’ to Topple Iranian Regime as Conflict Escalates — Including Possible ‘Boots on Ground’” HERE)