by Charles F. Coleman Jr. | Apr 29, 2026 | Opinion, Politics
After the security breach at Saturday night’s White House Correspondents’ Dinner resulted in a biracial man being booked on suspicion of trying to assassinate President Donald Trump, the 44th president, Barack Obama, was as cautious and measured as ever. In a Sunday afternoon post on X, he wrote, “Although we don’t yet have the details about the motives behind last night’s shooting at the White House Correspondents Dinner, it’s incumbent upon all [of] us to reject the idea that violence has any place in our democracy. It’s also a sobering reminder of the courage and sacrifice that U.S. Secret Service Agents show every day.” Speaking of the agency that’s still protecting him and his family, Obama wrote, “I’m grateful to them — and thankful that the agent who was shot is going to be okay.”
It’s beyond the pale for Barnett to link Cole to Obama.
On that same platform Monday afternoon, conservative lawyer Jonathan Turley criticized him for saying on Sunday that we didn’t yet have details about the attacker’s motivations, while Randy Barnett, a professor of legal theory at Georgetown Law School, referred to the name of the suspect in responding with a disgusting remark: “If Obama had a son, he’d attack the White House Correspondents Dinner like Cole Allen.”
Barnett isn’t a nobody. He’s a big name in conservative legal circles, so much so that when the Trump administration was looking for help making its racist argument against birthright citizenship, Barnett was one of the ideologues who stepped up. While it’s not necessarily shocking that a person arguing against automatic citizenship for people born on U.S. soil would hold bigoted views, it’s
by Steve Benen | Apr 29, 2026 | Maddowblog, News, Politics
On Tuesday afternoon, Donald Trump’s State Department confirmed that a newly redesigned U.S. passport would soon be available with a picture of the president’s face superimposed over the Declaration of Independence. It was emblematic of the Republican administration’s ongoing effort to glorify Trump, as if officials were members of a personality cult, celebrating a monarch.
Around the same time, MS NOW reported:
As [British King Charles] delivered remarks to Congress, the official White House X account posted a photo from the monarch’s visit to the White House earlier today. The image shows Trump and Charles laughing, with the caption “TWO KINGS.”
Trump has often likened himself to royalty and “No Kings” has become a frequent rallying cry against his executive overreach.
Subtle it was not.
when you’re not reading the room— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) 2026-04-28T20:07:01.478Z
The message, obviously part of a trolling exercise, was a familiar one for those who keep an eye on the White House. Indeed, when the president isn’t promoting the idea that he’s Jesus, he’s appeared eager to present himself as a monarch.
Shortly after his second inaugural, the Republican described himself as a “king,” which came just days after he similarly declared, “He who saves his Country does not violate any Law,” a phrase often attributed to Napoleon Bonaparte.
It was around this time when an official White House social media account also released a portrait showing a grinning Trump wearing a crown.
“CONGESTION PRICING IS DEAD. Manhattan, and all of New York, is SAVED. LONG LIVE THE KING!” –President Donald J. Trump pic.twitter.com/IMr4tq0sMB— The White House (@WhiteHouse) February 19, 2025
Months later, the president also apparently thought it’d be a good idea to post
by Steve Benen | Apr 29, 2026 | Maddowblog, News, Politics
To hear Donald Trump and his team tell it, the Department of Defense’s name has already officially been changed to the “Department of War.” That’s never been true.
As the president’s own directive on this makes clear, he’s “rebranded” the department with what is effectively a secondary nickname, but the gambit, launched last summer, was largely about symbolism and political theater. It takes an act of Congress to change the name of federal departments and agencies, and since that hasn’t happened, the Defense Department is still the Defense Department, whether the White House and Secretary Pete Hegseth want to play make-believe or not.
Indeed, it’s why “Department of War” has become one of those phrases that, for the most part, only Republicans use, joining “Democrat Party,” “Gulf of America,” “job creators” and “death tax.”
Nearly eight months after the rebranding effort was first launched, it appears the Pentagon wants lawmakers to codify the administration’s priority. The Hill reported:
The Pentagon has asked Congress to codify its “Department of War” renaming, saying it will cost nearly $52 million to complete and will not have a “significant impact” on President Trump’s fiscal 2027 defense budget request. […]
The request would make around 7,600 changes to the federal law, including officially changing the Department of Defense to the Department of War, Secretary of Defense to Secretary of War, among other updates.
In case this isn’t obvious, the proposed name change remains an entirely unnecessary priority, which sends all of the wrong messages to the world about the United States and its intentions. Career military leaders didn’t ask for this, and for the last several months, the proposed change did
by Riana Elyse Anderson | Apr 29, 2026 | Opinion, Politics
In an episode of the “High Level Conversations” podcast that premiered on June 30, 2024, then-presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. told host 19Keys (also known as Jibrial Muhammad), “Every Black kid is now, just as a standard, put on Adderall, [selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors], benzos, which are known to induce violence.” Kennedy, who later ended his campaign, endorsed President Donald Trump and later became his health and human services secretary, went on to reveal a dystopian vision: “And those kids are going to have a chance to go somewhere and get re-parented, to live in a community where there’ll be no cell phones, no screens, you’ll actually have to talk to people.”
And those kids are going to have a chance to go somewhere and get re-parented.robert f. kennedy jr. in 2024 speaking about black children prescribed aderrall
Appropriately, Kennedy’s threat of reparenting Black children on “wellness farms” was met last week with intense pushback when he testified multiple times on Capitol Hill last week. Sen. Angela Alsobrooks, D-Md.; Sen. Rafael Warnock, D-Ga.; and Rep. Terri Sewell, D-Ala., all expressed outrage. California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat who’s considered likely to run for president in 2028, also demanded answers from Kennedy regarding his horribly racist remark.
Initially, Kennedy vehemently denied making it. But on Wednesday, he offered a non-apologetic apology.
“I would have to see, hear that recording,” Kennedy told Alsobrooks after she quoted his remark to him. “I have no memory of saying anything like that.”
“If I said it, I apologize but I’d have to see the transcript,” he added.
As public health professionals, we demand that apology, even if Kennedy manages to
by Steve Benen | Apr 28, 2026 | Maddowblog, News, Politics
It was about a month ago when an entertainer named Kid Rock, who had one Top 10 hit nearly a quarter century ago, shared videos via social media of Apache helicopters doing a flyby at his home in Nashville, Tennessee. The clips showed the entertainer, whose real name is Robert Ritchie, saluting and applauding the troops.
The unfortunate stunt obviously wasn’t an appropriate use of military resources, and the Army quickly did what everyone expected it to do: It suspended the crew members and temporarily barred them from flight duties pending a review of the incident.
Even Donald Trump conceded that the helicopter pilots “probably shouldn’t have been doing it” since “you’re not supposed to be playing games.”
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, however, came to a very different conclusion about the value of playing games, reversed the crew members’ suspension and abruptly closed the Army’s investigation. The New York Times reported that the moves represented “a remarkable intervention from the highest level of the Pentagon,” adding that the decree “was another indication of his contempt for legal guardrails in the military.”
Common sense might’ve suggested Hegseth would exercise at least some greater caution going forward. In the Pentagon chief’s office, however, common sense is apparently in short supply. The Associated Press reported:
Kid Rock and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth both flew in Army Apache attack helicopters at a base in Virginia on Monday, weeks after military pilots drew scrutiny for hovering near the entertainer’s Tennessee home.
On social media Monday night, Hegseth posted photos of himself and Kid Rock at the base. … Drop Site News was first to report Monday’s flights in Virginia.
For good measure,
by Steve Benen | Apr 28, 2026 | Maddowblog, News, Politics
In the aftermath of the incident at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner, an event that an armed gunman attempted to breach, the conventional wisdom was that Donald Trump might receive a fresh infusion of political capital. After months of presidential failures and sinking popularity, this awful incident, the argument went, offered him an opportunity for a possible course correction.
To the extent that Trump and his team actually thought about any of this, they appeared to settle on three goals. The first was obvious: The president really wants that ballroom vanity project he’s obsessed over for months. The second was more subtle: The White House used Saturday night’s violence to try to stifle dissent.
But the third goal was the most unexpected. MS NOW reported:
Late-night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel has once again found himself in hot water with the Trump administration for comments he made on his show days before the shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner on Saturday.
In a Thursday night sketch parodying the dinner, Kimmel performed a mock speech and joked at the expense of President Donald Trump’s inner circle, including first lady Melania Trump.
“Of course, our first lady, Melania, is here. Look at her, so beautiful. Mrs. Trump, you have a glow like an expectant widow,” Kimmel said in the sketch that aired on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” two days before the event at the Washington Hilton.
In context, the joke was about the 24-year age gap between the president and the first lady, and the sketch made no references to political violence or assassinations.
But in the aftermath of Saturday’s developments, the White House nevertheless made Kimmel
