Kennedy Center seeks to expand ‘family-friendly’ programming, starts with free Christian film screening
The Kennedy Center is seeking to revamp its family-focused programming, including through offering more faith-based content that has often been left off the center’s agenda. To kick off the new focus, the Kennedy Center will be holding a free family screening of the new Angel Studios animated movie “The King of Kings,” which journeys through the life of Jesus from the viewpoint of a young boy who, throughout the movie, discovers the transformative power of faith. The “King of Kings” screening, which will be held on Sunday, June 1, also marks a shift to providing more pro-Christian content at the Kennedy Center. According to the center, the only recent modern production that could be considered “Christian” was a 2022 showing of “Jesus Christ Superstar,” a musical from the early 1970s that some critics (at least initially, such as the late Rev. Billy Graham) considered sacrilegious. DAVID MARCUS: AS SPRINGSTEEN AND DE NIRO TRASH AMERICA ABROAD, KENNEDY CENTER THRIVES “When I saw the advertising campaign for ‘King of Kings,’ I immediately knew we needed to have it come to the Kennedy Center,” Ambassador Richard Grenell, President of The Kennedy Center, said. “And then coincidentally, I was asked to be on a panel with the CEO of Angel Studios, so I cornered him. This is family-friendly programming that we will be doing more of in the future.” The special screening of “King of Kings” will mark the center’s first Jesus-centric show since “Jesus Christ Superstar,” the Kennedy Center indicated. The venue has hosted gospel singers and classical performances by composers such as Mozart and Beethoven, some of which were originally commissioned for church music. SCOOP: DOLLY PARTON SYMPHONY CONCERT HEADS TO DC’S KENNEDY CENTER IN EVENT ‘NO ONE WILL WANT TO MISS’ “The King of Kings has become the most successful theatrically released faith-based animated film in history,” said David Fischer, Head of Acquisitions & Business Affairs at Angel Studios. “But its greatest achievement is in the hearts it’s moved—and its screening at the Kennedy Center is a symbol of just how far truth and light can travel.” The film, which came out last month, saw a strong box office performance, earning $19.3 million during its first weekend in theaters. It is produced by Angel Studios, which is a crowd-funded streaming service and film studio that produces a lot of pro-Christian content and aims to help boost independent creators.
Kennedy Center promotes first explicitly pro-Christian feature in years as part of new ‘family-friendly’ focus
The Kennedy Center is seeking to revamp its family-focused programming, including through offering more explicitly faith-based content that has often been left off the center’s agenda. To kick off the new focus, the Kennedy Center will be holding a free family screening of the new Angel Studios animated movie “The King of Kings,” which journeys through the life of Jesus from the viewpoint of a young boy who, throughout the movie, discovers the transformative power of faith. It is the first Jesus-centric show there since 2022. The “King of Kings” screening, which will be held on Sunday, June 1, marks a shift to providing more pro-Christian content at the Kennedy Center. According to the center, the only recent modern production that could be considered “Christian” was a 2022 showing of “Jesus Christ Superstar,” a musical from the early 1970s that some critics (at least initially, such as the late Rev. Billy Graham) considered sacrilegious. DAVID MARCUS: AS SPRINGSTEEN AND DE NIRO TRASH AMERICA ABROAD, KENNEDY CENTER THRIVES “When I saw the advertising campaign for ‘King of Kings,’ I immediately knew we needed to have it come to the Kennedy Center,” Ambassador Richard Grenell, President of The Kennedy Center, said. “And then coincidentally, I was asked to be on a panel with the CEO of Angel Studios, so I cornered him. This is family-friendly programming that we will be doing more of in the future.” The special screening of “King of Kings” will mark the center’s first Jesus-centric show since “Jesus Christ Superstar,” the Kennedy Center indicated. The venue has hosted gospel singers and classical performances by composers such as Mozart and Beethoven, some of which were originally commissioned for church music. SCOOP: DOLLY PARTON SYMPHONY CONCERT HEADS TO DC’S KENNEDY CENTER IN EVENT ‘NO ONE WILL WANT TO MISS’ “The King of Kings has become the most successful theatrically released faith-based animated film in history,” said David Fischer, Head of Acquisitions & Business Affairs at Angel Studios. “But its greatest achievement is in the hearts it’s moved—and its screening at the Kennedy Center is a symbol of just how far truth and light can travel.” The film, which came out last month, saw a strong box office performance, earning $19.3 million during its first weekend in theaters. It is produced by Angel Studios, which is a crowd-funded streaming service and film studio that produces a lot of pro-Christian content and aims to help boost independent creators.
Trump’s ‘big, beautiful bill’ suffers massive defeat in key hurdle before House-wide vote
President Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” failed to pass the House Budget Committee on Friday, in what appears to be a massive blow to House GOP leaders’ plans to hold a House-wide vote next week. Reps. Chip Roy, R-Texas, Josh Brecheen, R-Okla., Andrew Clyde, R-Ga., and Ralph Norman, R-S.C., and Lloyd Smucker, R-Pa., all voted against the legislation. The committee met on Friday to mark up and debate the bill, a massive piece of legislation that’s a product of 11 different House committees’ individual efforts to craft policy under their jurisdictions. The result is a wide-ranging bill that advances Trump’s priorities on the border, immigration, taxes, energy, defense and raising the debt limit. Emotions ran high in the hallway outside the House Budget Committee’s meeting room from the outset, however, giving the media little indication of how events would transpire. Rep. Brandon Gill, R-Texas, who had been at home with his wife and newborn baby, surprised reporters when he arrived at the Cannon House Office Building after he was initially expected to miss the committee meeting. His appearance gave House GOP leaders some added wiggle room, allowing the committee to lose two Republican votes and still pass the bill, rather than just one. Shortly before the meeting was expected to begin, Roy, Norman, Clyde and Brecheen abruptly left the room while saying little to reporters on the way out. Each came back a short while later and criticized the legislation in their opening remarks. At one point, Norman came out of the room and called for the committee to recess in order to work through the fiscal hawks’ concerns. “If they call for a vote now, it’s not going to end well,” he said, adding he was still waiting on commitments from House GOP leaders. Minutes later, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., who is not a member of the committee but had been meeting with holdouts, told reporters he wanted the legislation to advance through the Budget panel “as soon as possible.” When asked about Norman’s comments, he said, “I just walked out of the meeting with him a few minutes ago as well, we’re working on some questions that Ralph and others have, and we’re going to be getting them answers as soon as we get them back from the Trump administration. His questions were the same as Chips and a few others, and they’re very specific questions, valid questions we’re working on getting those answers right now.”
Afghans for Trump group feels abandoned after administration revokes refugee protections
A group that once campaigned to put Donald Trump in the White House now says they feel abandoned by his administration’s decision to revoke legal protections for thousands of Afghan refugees living in the U.S. under Temporary Protected Status (TPS). Zoubair Sangi, the leader of the “Afghans for Trump” movement, formed after the chaotic 2021 U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, said his community turned to Trump after the Biden administration’s exit left their homeland in turmoil. Now, he is urging the president to reconsider. “The reality is that Afghanistan is not safe,” Sangi told Fox News. “Over the last three years, since the return of the Taliban, the country has been as dangerous as ever.” He said the Department of Homeland Security’s claim of an “improved security situation” fails to reflect the reality on the ground. TRUMP PUSHES TO RECOVER ‘BILLIONS OF DOLLARS’ OF MILITARY EQUIPMENT LEFT BEHIND IN AFGHANISTAN WITHDRAWAL “The Taliban, at the end of the day, are a terrorist group,” he said. “They target anyone who disagrees with them – anyone who worked with the U.S. government or allied forces. Their lives are in grave danger.” Sangi added that women face especially grim conditions in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan, where they are banned from education and public life without a male escort. “They view women as subservient. They treat them worse than cattle,” he said. “There is no freedom for ordinary Afghans. It’s a prison. People are essentially under house arrest, and they can’t escape.” Despite his frustration, Sangi said he has not withdrawn his support for Trump – but he is pleading with him to rethink the decision. “We do have hope that any kind of mistake that is made specifically in regards to Afghanistan will be corrected.” He praised Trump for refusing to recognize the Taliban and ending foreign aid to Afghanistan that fell into their hands, and he urged him not to strike any deals. “The Taliban mock America, reject your demands for the return of our $7 billion in military equipment, and harbor terrorists who threaten our homeland,” said Sangi. “Engaging with them isn’t America First.” AFGHANS FOR TRUMP GROUP LOOKING TO MAKE FOREIGN POLICY — AND 2021 WITHDRAWAL — FRONT AND CENTER IN ELECTION On Monday, the Department of Homeland Security officially ended TPS for Afghan nationals, potentially forcing more than 9,000 individuals to return to Taliban-ruled Afghanistan. DHS Secretary Kristi Noem cited an “improved security situation” and a stabilizing economy as justification. “This administration is returning TPS to its original, temporary intent,” Noem said. “We’ve reviewed the conditions in Afghanistan with our interagency partners, and they do not meet the requirements for a TPS designation.” Afghans’ protected status is set to expire on May 20, with the program formally ending on July 12. Noem added that terminating the designation aligns with the administration’s broader goal of rooting out fraud and national security threats in the immigration system. TPS allows foreign nationals from countries facing armed conflict, natural disasters or other emergencies to live and work legally in the U.S. Then-President Joe Biden had originally designated Afghanistan for TPS following the Taliban’s takeover in 2021. While many Afghans who assisted the U.S. military during the two-decade war arrived under the Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) program, others – including former Afghan government workers and those tied to U.S. missions – entered under TPS amid the post-withdrawal chaos. These individuals now face potential deportation. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Former Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Mike McCaul argued against the assertion that the security situation had improved, and urged the administration against moving to revoke the immigration status of Afghans here on SIVs or P1 and P2 visas. The Taliban, he said, “have made their thirst for retribution against those who help the United States clear. Until they demonstrate substantial behavorial changes, I urge the administration to continue prioritizing the safety of the Afghan men and women who risked their lives to help our troops.” Fox News Digital has reached out to the White House and DHS with requests for comment.
Democratic presidential hopefuls grapple with Biden’s legacy as 2028 race begins
It was the first question thrown at potential 2028 Democratic presidential contender Pete Buttigieg as he briefly met with reporters following a town hall with veterans and military families in Iowa this week: “Did President Joe Biden experience cognitive decline while in office?” Buttigieg was asked. “Every time I needed something from him from the West Wing, I got it,” answered Buttigieg, a 2020 Democratic presidential candidate who served four years as Secretary of Transportation in the Biden administration. After a second reporter followed up, asking: “Would the party have been better off if he had just not run for re-election?” Buttigieg answered: “Maybe. Right now, with the benefit of hindsight, I think most people would agree that that’s the case.” NEW BOOK PLACES BLAME ON BIDEN FOR HARRIS 2024 LOSS TO TRUMP Welcome to the 2028 White House race pre-season, where Democrats mulling a presidential run are starting to take the earliest of steps. And as they do, they’re facing an initial gauntlet – questions about former President Joe Biden’s mental acuity during his final years in office and whether Democrats should have been more strident earlier in the 2024 election cycle in calling on Biden to abandon his bid for a second term in the White House. “I think that is one of the top things that they do want to know about,” longtime New Hampshire-based radio host Chris Ryan told Fox News, as he pointed to his listeners on his popular morning news/talk program. “The Democratic voters are still trying to sort through what happened and why,” said Ryan, who has interviewed scores of White House hopefuls over the years. BIDEN AIDES ‘SCRIPTED’ EVERYTHING, ALLOWED HIS FACULTIES TO ‘ATROPHY,’ NEW BOOK CLAIMS How the presidential hopefuls answer these questions will be an early test of their truthfulness in the eyes of voters who had serious concerns over whether Biden was mentally and physically up for another four years handling the world’s most grueling job. But Ryan noted that “it’s different for each potential candidate based on their level of proximity to President Biden.” The grilling of potential 2028 contenders and other Democrats comes as Biden’s condition is once again making headlines, courtesy of excerpts from a new book, “Original Sin: President Biden’s Decline, Its Cover-up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again,” which offers claims of a White House cover-up of the then-president’s alleged cognitive decline. Biden dropped out of the White House race last July, one month after a disastrous debate performance with now-President Donald Trump that sparked a chorus of calls from fellow Democrats for the then-81-year-old president to end his re-election bid. He was replaced at the top of the ticket by then-Vice President Kamala Harris, who ended up losing November’s presidential election to Trump. Democrats also suffered down ballot, losing control of the Senate and failing to win back the House majority from the Republicans. During an appearance on ABC’s “The View” last week, Biden pushed back against accusations that he had suffered significant cognitive decline during the final year of his presidency. Rep. Ro Khanna of California was a leading supporter and surrogate on the campaign trail for Biden during the 2024 election cycle. After last June’s debate, as a trickle of Democrats urging Biden to step aside turned into a steady stream, Khanna likened the embattled president to Rocky Balboa—the underdog boxer of big-screen legend. TARGETED BY TRUMP, THIS WELL KNOWN DEMOCRAT SPARKS 2028 SPECULATION “To rebuild trust, Democrats must be honest. In light of the facts that have come out, Joe Biden should not have run for reelection, and we should have had an open primary,” Khanna wrote in a social media post. Khanna, in a statement, said, “I have always admired Biden’s resilience and the grit he has shown after the loss of his son — and often compared that strength to Rocky. I was a surrogate for the president of my own party whose policies I backed.” “But obviously we did not have the full picture, and in hindsight it is painfully obvious that President Biden should have made the patriotic decision not to run,” Khanna said. Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut, another Democratic lawmaker who vouched for Biden last year, said that “there’s no doubt about it” when asked by Politico whether Biden had experienced cognitive decline. “The debate is whether it was enough that it compromised his ability to act as chief executive.” Murphy, who is viewed as a potential 2028 contender, said that Biden staying in the 2024 race as long as he did was detrimental to the Democrats. “I mean, isn’t that self-evident? We lost,” he said. “Obviously, in retrospect, we should have done something different.” LESS THAN FOUR MONTHS INTO TRUMP’S SECOND TERM, DEMOCRATS ALREADY EYEING 2028 PRESIDENTIAL RACE But Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, another possible White House candidate who was a top 2024 surrogate for Biden, said in a CNN interview this week when asked about Biden’s cognitive abilities: “As a governor in a state halfway across the country who was working her tail off, 160 stops on a bus tour that I had lined through swing states, I was busy working. I was busy doing the voter connection and registration, and so can’t speak to that directly.” “I didn’t see the president frequently.” But she added that “it does make me question a lot of the things I thought I knew over the course of the last year and a half.” While the potential contenders are answering questions concerning Biden in different ways, there is one consensus. “We’re not in a position to wallow in hindsight. We’ve got to get ready for some fundamental tests of the future of this country and this party,” Buttigieg noted.
Trump secures deals with 3 Middle Eastern nations in 1st major trip of 2nd term
President Donald Trump returned to Washington from the first major trip of his second term with significant agreements in place. The deals struck in the Middle East mark historic moments for both the U.S. and its partners in the region. Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Qatar have all committed to increasing their investments in the U.S., similar to deals Trump has pushed for with U.S. partners across the globe. TRUMP PRAISES SAUDI ARABIA IN FIRST STOP ON MIDDLE EAST TRIP Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Trump signed several agreements on energy, investments, defense, mining and more that totaled $600 billion. This included a commitment by Google, Uber, Salesforce, AMD and Saudi Arabia’s DataVolt to invest $80 billion toward the development of revolutionary technologies in both countries. American companies will also take on major projects in Saudi Arabia, including the King Salman International Airport, King Salman Park, The Vault and Qiddiya City, according to the White House. The administration predicts the projects will generate a total of $2 billion in U.S. service exports. Additionally, several U.S. government departments will begin coordinating with Saudi government ministries, including the U.S. Department of Energy and the Ministry of Energy of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, as well as NASA and the Saudi Space Agency. Trump was also able to secure an agreement that would allow the U.S. to carry cargo between Saudi Arabia and third-party countries without stopping in the U.S., which the White House said is “an important right for cargo hub operations.” TRUMP MAKES HISTORIC UAE VISIT AS FIRST US PRESIDENT IN NEARLY 30 YEARS Trump’s deals with Qatar were arguably the most controversial of his trip, after both Republicans and Democrats criticized a plan for Doha to provide a jumbo jet that is expected to be used as Air Force One. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., found themselves in a rare position — on the same side of an argument. However, they objected to the plan for different reasons. While Sanders questioned the constitutionality of the administration accepting the Qatari jet, Cruz cited “significant espionage and surveillance problems.” Additionally, Sens. Rick Scott, R-Fla., and John Kennedy, R-La., expressed their lack of trust in Doha. “Qatar is not, in my opinion, a great ally. I mean, they support Hamas. So, what I’m worried about is the safety of the president,” Scott told reporters on Tuesday. The deals Trump secured during his trip will see Doha and Washington participate in agreements worth $1.2 trillion, according to the White House. This is in addition to economic deals totaling $243.5 billion, which include the sale of American-made aircraft to Qatar Airways. The White House also touted a defense deal that will “lock in Qatar’s procurement of state-of-the-art military equipment from two leading U.S. defense companies.” The two countries also agreed to a multibillion-dollar agreement to strengthen their security partnership. STATE DEPARTMENT APPROVES SALE OF $1.4B WORTH OF HELICOPTERS, F-16 PARTS TO UAE AHEAD OF TRUMP’S VISIT Trump left the UAE with $200 billion in commercial deals, including a $14.5 billion commitment from Etihad Airways to invest in 28 American-manufactured aircraft. Additionally, Emirates Global Aluminum is set to invest $4 billion in an aluminum smelter project in Oklahoma, which will be one of the first new smelters built in the U.S. in 45 years, according to the White House. The UAE and the U.S. also reached energy agreements in which the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company will partner with ExxonMobil, Occidental Petroleum and EOG Resources to expand oil and natural gas production. The White House said in a statement that the deal is expected to “help lower energy costs and create hundreds of skilled jobs in both countries.” The deals made during Trump’s trip to Abu Dhabi are set to expedite a commitment the UAE made in March to a 10-year, $1.4 trillion investment framework in the U.S., which covered a range of industries, including energy and AI.
Trump calls Springsteen ‘highly overrated’ after rocker labels him ‘treasonous’ overseas
President Donald Trump slammed Bruce Springsteen as being “highly overrated” Friday after the rocker called his administration “corrupt, incompetent and treasonous.” “I see that Highly Overrated Bruce Springsteen goes to a Foreign Country to speak badly about the President of the United States. Never liked him, never liked his music, or his Radical Left Politics and, importantly, he’s not a talented guy — Just a pushy, obnoxious JERK, who fervently supported Crooked Joe Biden, a mentally incompetent FOOL, and our WORST EVER President, who came close to destroying our Country,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. Springsteen tore into Trump on Wednesday during the first of a series of concerts in Manchester, England. “The mighty E Street Band is here tonight to call upon the righteous power of art, of music, of rock and roll in dangerous times. In my home, the America I love, the America I’ve written about, that has been a beacon of hope and liberty for 250 years, is currently in the hands of a corrupt, incompetent and treasonous administration,” Springsteen said, drawing applause from his audience. FLASHBACK: BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN ENDORSES KAMALA HARRIS “Tonight, we ask all who believe in democracy and the best of our American experiment to rise with us, raise your voices against authoritarianism and let freedom ring!” Springsteen added in a video posted on his YouTube page. Trump said in his Truth Social post that “Sleepy Joe didn’t have a clue as to what he was doing, but Springsteen is ‘dumb as a rock,’ and couldn’t see what was going on, or could he (which is even worse!)? This dried out ‘prune’ of a rocker (his skin is all atrophied!) ought to KEEP HIS MOUTH SHUT until he gets back into the Country, that’s just ‘standard fare.’ Then we’ll all see how it goes for him!” HARRIS CAMPAIGN COSTS FOR STAR-STUDDED EVENTS ON ELECTION EVE BALLOONED TO OVER $10 MILLION: REPORT Springsteen declared last year that “I’ll be casting my vote for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz” in the presidential election. Harris ended up losing the race to Trump. The “Born in the USA” singer, in an Instagram video endorsing Harris, attacked Trump as “the most dangerous candidate for President in my lifetime” with a “disdain for the sanctity of our constitution, the sanctity of democracy, the sanctity of the rule of law, and the sanctity of the peaceful transfer of power.” The Harris campaign later announced a concert series with Springsteen in battleground states to mobilize voters in the weeks leading up to Election Day last year. Fox News Digital’s Lindsay Kornick and Brooke Singman contributed to this report.
House GOP targets another Dem official accused of blocking ICE amid Delaney Hall fallout
FIRST ON FOX: Another Democrat is being brought under scrutiny over their handling of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations. Tennessee Rep. Andy Ogles, R-Tenn., wrote a letter this week urging two top House committees to investigate Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell, who the Trump administration accused of supporting “pro-illegal policies.” Ogles said O’Connell’s “recent actions raise serious questions about whether a municipal official is now obstructing federal law enforcement and possibly even actively aiding and abetting illegal aliens.” Ogle’s district includes part of Nashville. ANTI-ABORTION PROVIDER MEASURE IN TRUMP’S ‘BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL’ COULD SPARK HOUSE GOP REBELLION It comes amid continued fallout from three House Democrats accused of “storming” an ICE facility in Newark, New Jersey. Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, who was also among those who ran through the gates of the detention center following a bus full of detainees, was arrested. ICE agents working with the Tennessee Highway Patrol arrested nearly 200 people who the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said were illegal immigrants – many of them criminals with gang affiliations or other sordid pasts. The DHS news release targeted O’Connell by name over comments he made in early May. “What’s clear today is that people who do not share our values of safety and community have the authority to cause deep community harm.” ICE TOUTS RECORD-BREAKING IMMIGRATION ENFORCEMENT DURING TRUMP’S FIRST 100 DAYS After the arrests, O’Connell signed an executive order aimed at tracking peoples’ interactions with federal immigration authorities, according to WSMV4. He said of ICE’s work in his city, “It’s important for us to get this right, and it’s very frustrating to see a failure in the process.” “Rather than commend law enforcement for removing dangerous individuals from the streets, the mayor chose instead to signal that federal agents are to be surveilled and distrusted—not supported,” Ogles wrote in his letter. “This executive order is not a transparency initiative. It is already being operationalized as a political weapon.” The Trump administration has had several showdowns with Democratic city and state officials over the White House’s crackdown on illegal immigrants. His letter ended with a former request to House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, and House Homeland Security Chairman Mark Green, R-Tenn., to open a probe into O’Connell and other Nashville officials accused of blocking ICE. Jordan is already holding a hearing next week on threats to ICE operations. The incident in Newark earlier this month is expected to be featured heavily during the event. “Our immigration system depends on cooperation and trust across all levels of government,” Ogles wrote. “When elected officials weaponize their offices to score political points by undermining federal law enforcement, they compromise public safety and the rule of law.” Fox News Digital reached out to the Nashville mayor’s office as well as spokespeople for Jordan and Green for comment.
Trump embraces Dem policies traditionally rejected by GOP in bid to build ‘party of common sense’
President Donald Trump is in the midst of promoting what he says are commonsense policies that will usher in the “golden age” for America, with his platform bolstered by a handful of traditional Democratic platforms, Fox News Digital found. “In everything we do, we’re putting America first, because the Republican Party is now known as the party of common sense. It’s the party of common sense. Very important. I think it’s a very important phrase for you to use. It’s all about common sense. We’re conservative, and, you know, we’re a lot of things, but most important thing is we have to use common sense,” Trump said in February while addressing a conference of the nation’s Republican governors. As liberals and media talking heads bashed Trump on the campaign trail as a “threat to democracy” and compared him to Adolf Hitler, roughly four months into his administration, Trump has rolled out policies or made favorable remarks toward issues that Democrats have long rallied around during campaign events or in the chambers of Congress. Trump held a press conference flanked by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and other health officials on Monday morning to sign an executive order to lower drug prices by up to 80%. The executive order specifically “directs the U.S. Trade Representative and Secretary of Commerce to take action to ensure foreign countries are not engaged in practices that purposefully and unfairly undercut market prices and drive price hikes in the United States.” TRUMP’S ‘WRONG-HEADED’ EFFORT TO LOWER DRUG COSTS AMOUNTS TO PRICE CONTROL: EXPERT “The principle is simple – whatever the lowest price paid for a drug in other developed countries, that is the price that Americans will pay,” Trump said at the White House during the executive order signing ceremony. “Some prescription drug and pharmaceutical prices will be reduced almost immediately by 50 to 80 to 90%.” “Starting today, the United States will no longer subsidize the healthcare of foreign countries, which is what we were doing. We’re subsidizing others’ healthcare, the countries where they paid a small fraction of what for the same drug that what we pay many, many times more for and will no longer tolerate profiteering and price-gouging from Big Pharma,” he added. Fox News Digital reported earlier this week that Trump’s executive order effectively amounts to price controls on pharmaceuticals. “We see price caps after natural disasters,” he argued. “We call them anti-gouging laws, and they produce shortages. And so that’s what we can expect price controls to produce when it comes to pharmaceuticals as well — that’s if you have a binding price ceiling, you’re going to get a shortage, and I think it’s totally a wrong-headed thing.” Lowering prescription drug prices through control measures and government intervention has been a cornerstone of Democratic platforms, including Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders vowing during his 2020 presidential campaign to lower such prices by 50% if elected and then-Vice President Kamala Harris issuing a tie-breaking vote in the Senate in 2022 to pass the Inflation Reduction Act, which empowered the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to negotiate prices for certain pharmaceuticals covered by Medicare. ‘NEW GOLDEN AGE’: REPUBLICAN LAWMAKERS ECSTATIC AS TRUMP TAKES OFFICE WITH SLATE OF NEW ORDERS Trump celebrated during the executive order signing that he was taking on “price gouging” from “Big pharma,” which he argued is an industry that had been protected by Democrats until his administration. Kennedy, the son of Democratic Attorney General Robert Kennedy and nephew to former Democratic President John F. Kennedy, celebrated that the Trump administration came through on the promise of lowering drug prices after decades of Democrats vowing they would enact such a plan. “This is an extraordinary day,” he said from the White House. “… I grew up in the Democratic Party and every major Democratic leader for 20 years has been making this promise to the American people. This was the fulcrum of Bernie Sanders’ runs for the presidency, that he was going to eliminate this discrepancy between Europe and the United States. As it turns out, none of them were doing it. And it’s one of these promises that politicians make to their constituents, knowing that they’ll never have to do it. And the reason they’ll never do it is because they know that Congress is controlled in so many ways by the pharmaceutical industry.” Sanders issued a statement following Trump’s executive order, declaring, “I agree with President Trump” regarding how Americans pay “the highest prices in the world for prescription drugs,” before warning that the executive order would likely be thrown out by the courts and that Trump should support his upcoming legislation to tackle drug prices. When asked about Trump promoting policies typically touted by Democrats, the White House celebrated how Trump has transformed the GOP “to again become the party of the working class.” “President Trump oversaw a historic transformation of the GOP to again become the party of the working class. While Democrats spent decades talking about helping everyday Americans, President Trump is actually delivering – revealing Democrats’ incompetence and corruption in the process,” White House spokesman Kush Desai said. SPEAKER MIKE JOHNSON: EVERY AMERICAN SHOULD ROOT FOR PRESIDENT TRUMP’S SUCCESS House Republicans released a portion of Trump’s tax agenda late on Friday evening, as Trump continues rallying lawmakers to pass his “big, beautiful bill” that will fund his agenda. Included in the proposal is an expansion of the child tax credit – which has long been featured on Democrats’ policy platforms. While on the campaign trail, the Trump team said the president would consider a “significant expansion of the child tax credit that applies to American families,” FOX Business reported in August. While then-Ohio Sen. JD Vance said during the campaign that he would “love to see a child tax credit that’s $5,000 per child,” he added, “but you, of course, have to work with Congress to see how possible and viable that is.” A portion of the legislation released by the House Ways &
Trump wraps momentous Middle East trip with economic deals, Syria sanctions relief and warning to Iran
President Donald Trump on Friday wrapped up a momentous week in the Middle East and is headed home having finished the final leg of his three-nation trip to the UAE. While the trip, which first included stops in Saudi Arabia and then Qatar, was expected to be largely economically focused with massive investment deals secured with Riyadh, Doha and Abu Dhabi, the president also made geopolitical shockwaves by lifting decades-long sanctions on Syria, issuing another warning to Iran, and downplaying hard fought peace talks between Ukraine and Russia, which Moscow confirmed at the last moment would not be attended by Russian President Valdimir Putin. Here’s a look at what happened this week: TRUMP SIGNS ‘STRATEGIC ECONOMIC PARTNERSHIP’ WITH SAUDI ARABIA Ahead of his trip to the Gulf, the president said he intended to return home with at least $1 trillion in trade and investment deals – though he far outstripped this apparent goal. While in Saudi Arabia, Trump signed a $600 billion “strategic economic partnership” agreement with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, which will see Riyadh invest in U.S. AI data centers and energy infrastructure, investment in “cutting-edge transformative technologies in both countries” and a whopping $142 billion defense package – which the White House claimed is the “largest defense sales agreement in history.” The president suggested the deal could near $1 trillion in the months to come and generate up to 2 million U.S. jobs. Trump also secured a big deal in Qatar with a $1.2 trillion “economic exchange” with Doha that included a purchase of 210 Boeing jets by state-owned Qatar Airways for $96 billion, as well as energy infrastructure agreements and an investment in state-of-the-art quantum technologies and workforce development.” The deal in Qatar was overshadowed by the controversial announcement that Qatar wanted to “gift” Trump a new Air Force One jet. The president also expanded on a $1.4 trillion deal brokered with the UAE in March and announced an additional $200 billion “in commercial deals” between Washington and Abu Dhabi. TRUMP OFFERS IRAN CHOICE: DROP NUCLEAR WEAPONS OR FACE ‘MAXIMUM PRESSURE’ Trump addressed one major geopolitical issue not only plaguing Washington’s politics but the Middle East as a whole – Iran and its pursuit of a nuclear weapon. While nations like Saudi Arabia have long stood in opposition to Iran and its support of state-sponsored terrorism, the UAE and Qatar have increasingly looked to normalize relations with Tehran in an effort to stabilize the region. But Trump used his visit to hone in on Washington’s determination to ensure Iran does not develop a nuclear weapon. “If Iran’s leadership rejects the olive branch and continues to attack their neighbors, then we will have no choice but to inflict massive maximum pressure,” Trump said during an address in Saudi Arabia. “The choice is theirs to make.” Trump harshly criticized Iran’s leadership and Iranian representatives did not respond to Fox News Digital’s questions over whether the president’s rhetoric could negatively impact the negotiations. “If only the Iranian regime had focused on building their nation up instead of tearing the region down,” Trump said. “Yet I’m here today not merely to condemn the past chaos of Iran’s leaders, but to offer them a new path and a much better path toward a far better and more hopeful future. “In the case of Iran, I have never believed in having permanent enemies,” he added. TRUMP ASKS SYRIA TO JOIN ABRAHAM ACCORDS, NORMALIZE TIES WITH ISRAEL IN RETURN FOR SANCTIONS RELIEF Trump took the international community by surprise, including some in his administration, according to reports, when he announced the U.S. would reverse a decades-old policy of sanctions on Syria. The U.S. first implemented sanctions on Damascus in 1979 when it designated it a State Sponsor of Terrorism. But following the fall of the Bashar al-Assad regime and the takeover by Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham – which is a U.S. and U.N.-designated terrorist organization – Trump argued on Wednesday the country should be given a chance to recover. “We are currently exploring normalizing relations with Syria’s new government,” Trump said. Trump met with Syria’s leader, President Ahmed Al-Sharaa, in Saudi Arabia and confirmed that Secretary of State Marco Rubio would also meet with the Syrian foreign minister in Turkey this week. “I am also ordering the cessation of sanctions against Syria to give them a fresh start. It gives them a chance for greatness, as the sanctions were really crippling,” he added. “It’s not going to be easy,” Trump said in reference to rebuilding Syria and addressing the ongoing fighting that still persists in the country. “It gives them a good, strong chance. And it was my honor to do so.” TRUMP TO SKIP RUSSIA-UKRAINE PEACE TALKS, CALLS ZELENSKYY THE ‘GREATEST SALESMAN, MAYBE IN HISTORY’ Trump raised eyebrows earlier this week when he made the surprise announcement that he was considering traveling to Turkey from the UAE to participate in the Ukraine-Russia peace talks. But Russia refused to say whether Putin would in fact be traveling to Ankara, where Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had intended to visit to start hashing out a solution to end Russia’s three-year-long invasion. On Thursday, the Kremlin confirmed Putin would not participate in peace negotiations, which renewed questions over his seriousness in ending the war. However, Trump downplayed Putin’s refusal to participate in the talks and suggested it was due to a schedule miscommunication. “Look, nothing’s going to happen until Putin and I get together. OK?” Trump said apparently annoyed over the question as to whether he was disappointed Putin would not participate in the talks. “He was going to go, but he thought I was going to go. He wasn’t going if I wasn’t there. “I don’t believe anything’s going to happen, whether you like it or not, until he and I get together” he added, suggesting the Thursday talks in Ankara are not expected to accomplish much. “But we’re going to have to get it solved because too many people are dying.” Despite Qatar being a leading player