President Trump called Tucker Carlson, Megyn Kelly, Candace Owens and Alex Jones — four conservative one-time allies of Trump who have been critical of his approach to the war in Iran — “losers” and “stupid people” in a nearly 500-word Truth Social post on Thursday, the Wall Street Journal reports.
He said they sought publicity and would “say anything necessary” to get it.
“Just hours after President Trump announced a sudden pause of strikes against Iran last month, the White House warned staff against improperly leveraging their positions to place well-timed bets in futures markets,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“The warning came in a staff-wide email from the White House Management Office on March 23… Earlier that morning, Trump had announced the pause via Truth Social. About 15 minutes before the sudden shift in policy, a mysterious flurry of activity kicked off in the futures markets.”
“Shortly after President Donald Trump threatened to erase the “whole civilization” of Iran, all 6,000 years of it, the crowds came out into the streets of Tehran waving flags — and not white ones. They bore the green, white and red banners of the still-standing Islamic Republic,” the Washington Post reports.
“Some set fire to the star-spangled ones of the superpower that, according to state media, they had just ‘humiliated.’”
“President Trump on Thursday demanded Iran stop charging tolls for tankers to cross the Strait of Hormuz, as Iran’s supreme leader promised the country would control the crucial waterway,” Axios reports.
“The already shaky ceasefire between the two countries is getting more strained by the day, even as they prepare for peace talks in Islamabad on Saturday.”
CNN: Ships still aren’t going through the Strait of Hormuz.
CNBC: Trump says Iran “better stop now” if it’s charging oil tankers fees to go through Strait of Hormuz.
“President Trump has hit out at NATO after a tense meeting with Mark Rutte, the secretary general of the military alliance, at the White House on Wednesday,” the New York Times reports.
“Mr. Rutte had traveled to Washington to try to assuage Mr. Trump’s anger that NATO members had refused to participate in the U.S.-Israeli war in Iran and help open up the Strait of Hormuz, a vital oil and gas shipping route. But Mr. Rutte conceded that it was not an easy meeting, calling it ‘very frank’ and ‘very open,’ despite clear disagreements.”
Politico: Trump vented at Rutte over NATO inaction on Iran during turbulent meeting.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he is “fed up” seeing energy bills in the U.K. swing up and down because of actions taken by President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, CNBC reports.
The Guardian: “The Democratic National Committee’s resolutions committee voted on Thursday to kill a measure targeting the pro-Israel lobby group AIPAC and deferred two further resolutions on Middle East policy to a working group that critics say exists mainly to avoid difficult decisions.”
At least three people have lodged formal workplace discrimination complaints against Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer, alleging she created a toxic workplace and sought to retaliate against women who reported her husband for sexual misconduct in her office, MS NOW reports.
First lady Melania Trump denied ever having a relationship with disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein and said the claims about it are defaming her, Reuters reports.
Said Trump: “The lies linking me with the disgraceful Jeffrey Epstein need to end today.”
She added: “I have never had any knowledge of Epstein’s abuse of his victims. I was never involved in any capacity. I was not a participant.”
President Trump told NBC News that he was “very optimistic” a peace deal with Iran was within reach as a diplomatic delegation led by Vice President JD Vance prepared to head to Pakistan for high-stakes talks aimed at ending the nearly six-week conflict.
He claimed Iran’s leaders “talk much differently when you’re at a meeting than they do to the press. They’re much more reasonable. They’re agreeing to all the things that they have to agree to. Remember, they’ve been conquered. They have no military.”
He added: “If they don’t make a deal, it’s going to be very painful.”
NBC News: “Trump asked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a phone call yesterday to scale back Israel’s strikes in Lebanon to help ensure the success of the Iran negotiations.”
“While the Trump administration and Israel have both said Lebanon is not covered by the ceasefire, Israel agreed ‘to be a helpful partner.'”
Aaron Blake: “This weekend’s talks to end the war with Iran are some of the most high-stakes negotiations not just of Donald Trump’s presidencies, but of recent American history.”
“One big problem, though: The U.S. can’t even seem to agree with Iran on what they agreed to for the ceasefire.”
The final GDP report for the last quarter of 2025 was downgraded to 0.5% from the previous 0.7% estimate which had already been revised downward from 1.4%.
Wired: “Candace Owens spent years building a pro-MAGA audience by supporting President Donald Trump. Now, she’s calling for his removal from office.”
“Over the past few months, right-wing media figures like Owens have broken with Trump on a number of issues, including the Epstein files and the administration’s intervention in Venezuela. But the fracturing among the MAGA media coalition appears to have reached the point of no return after the president’s threats to annihilate ‘a whole civilization’ in Iran this week.”
“The rise of violent rhetoric and threats against politicians has led federal election campaigns and committees to spend more than five times the amount on security measures in the 2023-2024 election cycle than during the 2015-2016 election cycle,” The Independent reports.
“Roughly $41 million was spent on personal, event-related or cyber security for federal candidates in the latest general election.”
New York Times: “The war in Iran has dealt a new blow to the world economy, which the head of the International Monetary Fund said on Thursday will mean slower growth this year because of the destruction of energy infrastructure and supply chain disruptions.”
Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.
Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.
Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.
Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.
Goddard is the owner of Goddard Media LLC.
This issue takes a deep dive into one of the most interesting House races in the country.