F-35B Lightning II fighter jet crashes near Marine Corps Air Station Miramar

An F-35B Lightning II fighter jet crashed Friday at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar near San Diego, setting off a major emergency response. The pilot safely ejected  [aka "punched out"] from the aircraft and was later rescued.

The crash happened on July 31 and involved an F-35B Lightning II, according to 1st Lt. Blake Starbuck, a spokesperson for the air station.

Starbuck said the pilot was "en route to a medical facility" after ejecting from the jet. The base later announced that the pilot was in stable condition and was being evaluated and treated for non-life-threatening injuries.

Starbuck described the incident as a "mishap" and said additional details would be released as they become available.

Video from local television stations showed thick smoke rising from the crash site as firefighters and emergency crews rushed to respond.

The accident is the latest in a series of F-35 crashes. In March, a U.S. Air Force F-35A crashed in Nevada. The pilot ejected safely and suffered only minor injuries. In July 2025, another pilot escaped safely after an F-35 crashed near Naval Air Station Lemoore in central California.

The F-35 is widely considered the most advanced fighter aircraft in the world. The Pentagon operates three versions of the jet: the F-35A for the Air Force, the F-35B for the Marine Corps, and the F-35C for the Navy. The F-35B is unique because it can take off and land vertically, much like a helicopter.

Built by Lockheed Martin, the F-35 is also the most expensive weapons program in U.S. military history. According to a 2023 Government Accountability Office report, the Pentagon is expected to spend about $1.7 trillion on nearly 2,500 F-35 aircraft over the life of the program. The project has faced years of maintenance problems, delays, and rising costs.

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Concerns over the program's price tag have been raised for years, including by President Donald Trump. Before taking office for his first term, Trump called the F-35 program "out of control" and promised to reduce its costs. Despite those concerns, the program's overall price has continued to increase.

Lockheed Martin's press office did not immediately respond Friday to a request for comment.

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Democrats Hail Maine Senate Candidate As “Perfectly Mainstream” After Discovery Of Nazi Tattoo

AUGUSTA, ME — Maine Democrats have rallied behind Senate candidate Graham Platner after a series of troubling revelations confirmed he possesses the exact level of moral confusion required for modern political office.

Platner, an oyster farmer and Democrat now favored to replace retiring Gov. Janet Mills as the party’s Senate nominee, has surged ahead of incumbent Sen. Susan Collins despite what political analysts described as “a truly inspiring collection of internet-era red flags.”

Among the resurfaced controversies are old Reddit posts in which Platner appeared to blame rape victims for failing to “take responsibility” for their own vulnerability, telling users, “How about people just take some responsibility for themselves and not get so f**ked up they wind up having sex with someone they don’t mean to?”

Campaign staff later clarified that the remarks were merely part of Platner’s broader platform of “empowering women through regret prevention.” Yeah, sure.

But Democrats reportedly became even more excited after voters learned Platner spent nearly twenty years proudly displaying a Nazi SS Totenkopf tattoo across his chest.

“Look, he said he got the tattoo while drunk in Croatia and had absolutely no idea it was connected to the Nazis,” said one campaign spokesperson. “And honestly, who among us hasn’t accidentally commemorated one of history’s most infamous genocidal regimes during a beach vacation?”

Sources confirmed Platner only covered the tattoo after it became a campaign issue, and cowardice, which aides insist demonstrates “personal growth” and “a strong commitment to polling data.”

The campaign faced additional scrutiny after archived Reddit posts revealed Platner enthusiastically praised a Hamas raid that killed Israeli soldiers in 2014.

“From a strictly professional standpoint, this was a damn fine looking and successful raid against a superior opponent, I dig it,” Platner reportedly wrote while reviewing graphic combat footage online like a man auditioning for the world’s worst TED Talk.

Democratic strategists quickly moved to reassure voters that admiring Hamas operations, sporting Nazi imagery, and blaming sexual assault victims were all “complex, nuanced positions” requiring deeper understanding.

“Frankly, we’re proud to support a candidate willing to challenge outdated taboos like condemning terrorists or recognizing obvious fascist iconography,” said one party official. “This is what courage looks like.”

Meanwhile, party leaders stressed that the real scandal was not Platner’s comments, tattoo, or apparent admiration for Hamas tactics, but rather that Republicans continued to “politicize” them.

If you would like to know more about this disgusting piece of human excrement, click here.

At press time, Platner had reportedly announced plans to heal divisions by unveiling a new campaign slogan: “Believe Women Unless Reddit Gets Archived.”

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More on Graham Platner: a moron or an evil genius?

So who is Democrat presumptive candidate for U.S. Senate in Maine, Graham Platner? We know he's running in the 2026 primary as a heavy favorite with rival Gov. Janet Mills dropping out, and will face lifer incumbent Sen. Susan Collins this November.

Let's look at some of his history.

As a wrestler previously at Hotchkiss School, a private boarding school in CT, he was expelled due to behavioral issues and refusal to attend class.

He then attended John Baptist Memorial HS in Bangor, Maine in 2003 where he was voted in the yearbook, "most likely to start a revolution."

His military service began with the USMC 2004 to 2008, and later Maryland National Guard from about 2009/2010 to 2011.

In 2005 he was deployed in Iraq's Al-Anbar Province to east Fallujah, then the following year he was deployed to Ramadi as a machine gun section leader at the Government Center. In 2007 after voluntarily extending his service, was a machine gun section leader with Kilo Co. 3/8.

He was honorably discharged from active duty on April 29, 2008 and was awarded with Combat Action Ribbon, Iraq Campaign Medal, GWOT Expeditionary Medal, Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal (with gold star) and a Good Conduct Medal, which most Marines get unless they shoot another Marine. 

His Military Occupational Specialty (MOS) was 0331 Machine Gunner.

He enrolled at George Washington University (GWU) in Washington, D.C., after his initial Marine Corps service, using GI Bill benefits. His attendance in class was sporadic and while a student he worked the same job as AOC, a bartender. 

Evidently, Platner's brain was full and he withdrew from GWU without graduating. He had been majoring in History and it's highly likely his professors were socialists or at least, progressives.

He has no bachelor's degree or higher formal education. His background is often described in contrast to his family's more privileged/educated roots (e.g., father is a Dartmouth-educated lawyer), as he chose military service over college right after high school. 

Return and final period (2011–2016): He resumed classes while bartending at spots like the Tune Inn on Capitol Hill (popular with congressional staffers). He alternated between academics, military-related obligations, and personal struggles with PTSD, heavy drinking, and disillusionment. 

He was exposed to Edward Said’s Orientalism, which shaped his developing anti-imperial and anti-colonial views. [Moron that later.]

A class on the history of Indochina (Vietnam-era conflicts), which led him to draw parallels with U.S. wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, viewing them through a lens of colonial-style justifications and violence.
Initial goals: He planned to study Arabic with the aim of working overseas for the U.S. State Department. 

Platner has described inconsistent performance (“I either got As, or I had dropped classes”) amid PTSD, depression, and alcohol abuse. He left in summer 2016 to return to Maine for treatment and recovery. He has cited this period as one of deep personal struggle, during which many of his controversial Reddit posts (under “P-Hustle”) were made. 

[Democrats love victims, so this explains a lot about how he got to where he's at.]

Platner got his Nazi tattoo known as Totenkopf or 'death's head' in 2007 in Croatia (specifically mentioned as Split in one account), while serving in the Marine Corps [pronounced 'corpse' by Barack Hussein Obama].

In a June 2019 Reddit post (under the now-deleted account "P-Hustle," which Platner admitted owning), he commented on a helmet-cam video of U.S. Army Pfc. Ted Daniels (a Purple Heart recipient) being shot four times by Taliban fighters in Afghanistan in 2012. 

Platner wrote: “This video never gets old. Dumb motherf----r didn't deserve to live. At least his stupidity and fat ass wheezing are available for all future infantrymen to witness and hold in contempt. Poor marksmanship on the Taliban’s part is the only reason this mouthbreather made it home...”

What an American thing to say. What a guy this Platner is.

He has faced significant backlash for this disgusting anti-American comment, especially from us veterans. When confronted by Fox News, Platner did not apologize and instead pointed to his own service record (multiple combat tours), as if that gives him 'asshole immunity' for calling accusations of disrespecting veterans "slanderous and offensive." 

Platner has attributed some of his past online rhetoric to post-combat trauma/PTSD from his Marine Corps and Army National Guard service, and he has apologized for other old Reddit posts, but this specific incident has been highlighted in recent coverage of his U.S. Senate campaign in Maine.

So now he blames his PTSD, which seems to make him kind of wishy-washy.

Platner's anti-imperial views stem primarily from his combat experience in Iraq and Afghanistan, combined with intellectual influences during his time at George Washington University. 

He frames U.S. post-9/11 wars as "pointless," wasteful, colonial-style adventures that benefit defense contractors and elites while harming American service members, working-class communities, and people in the targeted countries. 

During his intermittent studies (history major, ~2008–2016), Platner encountered Edward Said’s Orientalism, which provided an anti-colonial and anti-imperial critique. A class on the history of Indochina (Vietnam era) was pivotal: he drew direct parallels between the justifications, violence, and patterns of those conflicts and U.S. actions in Iraq/Afghanistan. 

Evidently, Platner is easily influenced in the leftist direction.

Critique of Hegemony and Elites: Platner describes U.S. militarism as a mechanism to transfer taxpayer money to private interests “on the backs of working-class men and women, and on the backs of the people living in societies that we took the wars to.” He has referred to Washington as an “imperial capital.”

Fight the olagahkee, like Comrade Bernie suggests.

Bernie has been fighting the oligarchy since 1993--that's all he's got

Personal Radicalization: “My time in America’s imperial wars definitely radicalized me further.” He expresses ambivalence—pride in comrades and service, but bitterness toward politicians, brass, and the wars themselves.

Is Platner a socialist? 

Not in the sense of advocating for socialism as a system. He once self-identified that way online but currently distances himself and operates within the Democratic Party’s progressive/populist lane, in order to have a political chance of ever getting into office.

Critics who pay attention, still label him a communist/socialist based on the old posts to attack his campaign. Platner’s politics are best described as anti-oligarchy economic populism rooted in his veteran and working-class background, not orthodox communism or socialism.

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Virginia Prosecutor Tells Gun Ban To Pound Sand, Reminds Everyone The Second Amendment Is Still A Thing

Ryan Mehaffey, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran and Virginia prosecutor, is taking a hard-line stance against what is an "unconstitutional" new gun ban signed by far-left Democratic Gov. Abigail Spanberger.

Comrade Spanberger, who has been slipping in the polls amid criticisms of her socialist/progressive policy agenda, signed a new bill last week banning the future sale and manufacture of "assault weapons," including many semiautomatic rifles, pistols and shotguns. The law also bans the future sale of magazines with a capacity of more than 15 rounds, because she thinks people don't carry more than one magazine nor know how to reload.

The move caused immediate backlash from many Virginians and raised new Second Amendment violation concerns. Rather than protest, however, Mehaffey, who serves as the commonwealth attorney for Spotsylvania County, is drawing a line in the sand and flatly refusing to enforce the ban.

With the bill set to take effect this July ahead of America’s 250th anniversary of independence, Mehaffey sent a letter to Spotsylvania Sheriff Roger Harris, instructing him that the ban is "unconstitutional and cannot be lawfully enforced."

Virginia Democrat Gov. Abigail Spanberger is drawing Republicans' ire and a potential Justice Department lawsuit on her latest moves against the Second Amendment. I would say that she needs to be removed from office, but I won't.

A statement released by Spanberger’s office called the assault weapons ban a "critical step toward protecting families, communities, and the law enforcement officers who serve them." It also puts miscreants who would terrorize or otherwise commit crimes with firearms at a distinct advantage over those of us who want self-defense protection of our homes and businesses. But worse, it goes against the U.S, Constitution and is totally illegal.

Spanberger remarked she signed the bill into law "because firearms designed to inflict maximum casualties do not belong on our streets." She forgot to mention how firearms can prevent or minimize casualties by the time law enforcement arrives. 

These are the same dolts who talk about 'gun violence' as if the gun operates on its own.

The leftist governor added that "while the General Assembly chose not to adopt my amendment that specifically carves out certain firearms frequently used for hunting, I will work with the patrons to clarify this language."

In response, Mehaffey said in an interview with Fox News Digital that the law "is striking at the core of the militia system that existed in Virginia."

According to Mehaffey, the Second Amendment is not just an assurance of personal freedoms, but also a safeguard for a community’s ability to defend itself through a 'well-regulated militia.'

"Our founders were careful to make sure when they drafted our founding document, that the ultimate right of the people was preserved to defend themselves and to defend their community," he explained. "So, the linchpin of the constitutional analysis is going to be does this instrument have some reasonable relationship to the preservation or efficiency of a regulated militia."

Mehaffey argues that Virginia historical tradition and legal precedent requires citizens own firearms for the public defense, saying, "The second amendment may not mean that you are allowed to have a nuclear weapon, but what it does allow you to have is a basic infantry weapon."

Mehaffey argues that in Virginia, historical tradition and case law precedent not only allow citizens to own firearms but even require them to arm themselves with the weapons of a basic infantryman for common defense. In the Founding Fathers’ time, Mehaffey said the standard issue was a musket and 20 rounds. Today, the basic infantry weapon in the U.S. military is the M4A1 carbine equipped with a 30-round magazine. And let's not leave out the idea that extra magazines are provided to our war fighters.

Comrade Abigail Spanberger

"The second amendment may not mean that you are allowed to have a nuclear weapon," he laughed. "But what it does allow you to have is a basic infantry weapon."

"That sort of weapon is the core of what's protected by the Second Amendment. Not necessarily a nuclear warhead, but a rifle that you can take out and form either a fire team or a company to defend yourself and to defend your community."

Spoken like a true 'grunt'.

Mehaffey is not alone in his stance. In addition to what he characterized as the "overwhelmingly positive" response from his community, Smyth County Commonwealth’s Attorney Phillip Blevins, an Air Force veteran, has also refused to enforce the bill, arguing it is unconstitutional. The ban is also facing lawsuits from gun-rights groups, including the NRA, Firearms Policy Coalition and Second Amendment Foundation.

Blevins told Fox News Digital that "ultimately, courts will continue to address these issues, and I respect the role of the judiciary. But as the elected Commonwealth’s Attorney for Smyth County, I will continue to stand for what I believe the Constitution requires, without apology or hesitation.""My position is not based on politics. It is based on constitutional fidelity," he continued, adding, "The Bill of Rights either means something, or it does not."

"As Commonwealth’s Attorney, I took an oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of Virginia. That oath is not situational, and it does not change based on politics, headlines, or pressure from either side of an issue."

Mehaffey believes he and those standing beside him on this issue will ultimately prevail."The Second Amendment is the supreme law of the land, both in the U.S. Constitution and the analog in the Virginia Constitution," he explained. "So, whatever law is passed by the General Assembly is not going to have the ability to supersede the Constitution."

While he has gotten a lot of personal attention for his stance, Mehaffey emphasized that, "I want nothing more than to fulfill my office with honor and to be a good servant to the people that elected me to represent them and to stick up for their rights."

"That's what I'm trying to do," he continued, adding, "I would expect any government official to remain faithful to the Constitution and to discharge their duties as servants of the people in the same way that I have."

In other news, Spanberger's office is reportedly working on a follow-up bill that would ban pointy sticks, stones, and angry words, just to be safe.

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Unearthed Posts Show Dem Senate Hopeful Praising Vulgar Graffiti, Making Crude Porta Potty Admission

WARNING: SOME VILE LANGUAGE FROM THIS DEMOCRAT HOPEFUL. READER DISCRETION ADVISED


GOP strategist calls the years-long trail of posts a 'character issue' ahead of a potential race against Susan Collins.

Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner of Maine released a video of himself with a tattoo of what appeared to be a Nazi symbol on "Pod Save America."

Democratic Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner, who is already facing criticism over past Reddit posts, made graphic sexual comments on his now-deleted account about masturbating in portable toilets and explicit graffiti found in military restrooms.

In one March 2017 post on Reddit’s r/Military forum, Platner responded to a discussion about nostalgic military smells by writing: "I still have to jerk off every time I sit in a portas----er… that blue water smell conditioned me."

The archived posts were made under "P-Hustle," a now-deleted Reddit account that Platner previously acknowledged was his.

In another post from March 2021 on Reddit’s r/USMC forum, Platner described a crude penis drawing inside a portable toilet while deployed overseas.

Responding to a thread dedicated to so-called "GWOT Dick Art," Platner launched into an extended monologue praising the explicit graffiti in unusually vivid terms, calling it "beautiful," "engorged and veiny," and moving "towards its penetrative glory."

"Oh s---!!!," Platner wrote. "You’ve got the Hot Rod C--- from Manas!"

Manas was a major U.S. military transit hub in Kyrgyzstan used during the wars in Afghanistan. Platner enlisted in the Marines in 2003 and served three combat tours in Iraq. In 2010, he joined the Maryland Army National Guard for a fourth tour, serving in the infantry in Afghanistan. He returned to Afghanistan eight years later as a security contractor.

The post accompanied a photograph of a smiling serviceman posing beside the explicit illustration inside the portable restroom.

"I sat there in sheer awe," Platner wrote. "The soul filling joy to be allowed to witness such glory."Fox News Digital reached out to Platner’s campaign for comment on Monday.

Platner has previously responded to questions about his controversial posts by suggesting he was joking.

h

"You should read the comments in context. It's very clear I'm joking," he previously told Fox News Digital when asked about them. "It's called s---posting. It's when you argue with people on the internet and try to bother them. So, yeah, no, it's very obviously not true."

The posts, which are accessible in the Maine Monitor’s archive but have not been previously reported, are the latest in a series of vulgar and inflammatory social media comments that critics say raise questions about Platner’s judgment as the progressive Democrat emerges as his party’s Senate nominee in Maine.Republicans are likely to use the resurfaced posts, along with others, to portray Platner as too erratic and extreme for statewide office as Democrats rally behind the first-time candidate.

Mehek Cooke, a GOP strategist and senior national security and legal analyst for the Daily Signal, told Fox News Digital that, politically, Platner’s "vulgar" posts will "matter" to voters because they are "deciding whether Graham Platner has the judgment, temperament, and basic decency to represent Maine in the Senate."

"His campaign has been built around authenticity and moral seriousness. These posts undercut both," Cooke said. "Platner is not a truth-teller. He is someone whose instincts appear crude, reckless, and deeply unserious. And by the way, if they were really ‘jokes,’ why delete the posts? That sounds less like humor and more like a CYA cleanup operation."

Cooke said that "one tasteless post" can be chalked up to "immaturity" but a "years-long trail of vulgar, sexually degrading, and slur-filled commentary is a character issue."

Platner, a first-time candidate who is backed by progressive champions Sens. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, became the Democrats' presumptive nominee after his rival for the nomination, two-term Gov. Janet Mills, ended her campaign last month after trailing Platner in polling and fundraising.

Other posts Platner has been questioned about, including in a recent interview with The New York Times, include a 2013 post, which Platner later deleted, that people concerned about rape should not "get so f---ed up they wind up having sex with someone they don’t mean to."

Platner has also faced scrutiny for more recent Reddit posts, including one from five years ago in which he described himself as a "communist" and "socialist." Additionally, Platner’s posts have contained alleged homophobic slurs and praise for military tactics used by Hamas.

"Will every Democrat in Maine care? No," Cooke said. "Platner has shown he can survive controversy inside a Democratic primary. But in a general election, especially against Susan Collins, the cumulative effect of his stances, controversies, and comments matters. The Nazi-linked tattoo controversy, the homophobic slurs, the disturbing comments that have already surfaced, and now these posts create a fuller picture of a morally bankrupt candidate.

Republicans will argue this is not a candidate with a few regrettable moments. This is a pattern that tells voters something fundamental about his character. And character still matters to a lot of Mainers."

Look, folks, this is what passes for a "serious" Senate candidate in the modern Democrat Party. A guy who brags about getting off to the smell of porta potty water and treats military latrine dick drawings like they're Renaissance masterpieces. But sure, he's the one lecturing everyone else about "moral seriousness." The left keeps telling us character doesn't matter until it does, and then they pretend the trail of sleaze is just "jokes." Maine voters might have something to say about that when Susan Collins comes calling.

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NYC Mayor Mamdani's budget cuts come as no surprise

Photo: AP

New York City socialist and anti-Zionist Mayor Zohran "Smiley" Mamdani claimed he will close the city's budget deficit without cutting services. Just like his 'free buses' claim  before he got elected, this too was a lie.

 Mamdani "closed" the deficit by holding back the city's pension payments while taking a bailout from Albany. This wasn't 'taxing the rich,' it was taking the money from hard working New Yorkers. 

His cuts to veterans' services, however, was the most disgusting of all, including events like parades. We veterans called it a "slap in the face," and it shows where the guy's priorities lie: to the Communist agenda.

We're talking a planned cut of a million dollars from veteran services and events like a ticker-tape parade for former military men and women, that we learned about on Wednesday.

If comrade Mamdani's budget goes through, it would be reduced by about $7.6 million in fiscal year 2026 adopted budget to $6.6 million in his 2027 budget he disclosed Tuesday, a reduction of more than 13%, according to city records.

Service-disabled Marine Corps veteran Osbert Orduna referred to the move “a slap in the face” to veterans, especially those living with visible and invisible wounds of war.

This makes perfect sense, of course. Democrats and socialists like Mamdani hate America, and they certainly despise the men and women who sacrificed to protect our nation and the world. In fact, many of them seem to be rooting for Iran to win the war with us.

"There will be endless billions for progressive nonprofits to 'organize' on behalf of the DSA and for useless pet projects and leftist special interests, but our veterans get less in the annual budget than we spend to build a single public toilet. It's a disgrace," Paladino wrote. "My district has the largest number of veterans per capita in the entire city, and my district office hosts the first and only veteran resource center in New York. I meet these men and women every day and my office tries to do everything we can for them, but we're already operating on a shoestring and it's heartbreaking to think we're going to have even less to offer them."

Bronx borough president Vanessa L. Gibson said they will be advocating for a restoration of these funds in the final budget.

"It’s insulting to cut any resources and programs from our veterans and military families for their service and sacrifice to this Nation. I hope this can be reversed," Gibson wrote on X.

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US Navy seizes Iranian cargo ship after blowing a hole in its engine room

Trump / Roberto Schmidt / Getty Images

The U.S. Navy just delivered a swift and decisive lesson in maritime enforcement, intercepting and seizing an Iranian-flagged cargo ship that foolishly tried to run President Donald Trump's naval blockade in the Gulf of Oman.

“Today, an Iranian-flagged cargo ship named TOUSKA, nearly 900 feet long and weighing almost as much as an aircraft carrier, tried to get past our naval blockade, and it did not go well for them,” Trump said in a post shared on X (and originally on Truth Social).

“The U.S. Navy guided-missile destroyer USS Spruance intercepted the TOUSKA in the Gulf of Oman, and gave them fair warning to stop,” he said.

“The Iranian crew refused to listen, so our Navy ship stopped them right in their tracks by blowing a hole in the engine room. Right now, U.S. Marines have custody of the vessel,” Trump added.

“The TOUSKA is under U.S. Treasury sanctions because of its prior history of illegal activity. We have full custody of the ship, and are seeing what’s on board!” he said.

This isn't some minor dust-up—it's a clear signal that America's renewed strength under Trump means business when it comes to choking off Iran's illicit networks. The regime in Tehran keeps testing the waters, and the U.S. Navy keeps reminding them why that's a terrible idea.

This is a breaking story and there will be more to follow.

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Dem Senate candidate with Nazi tattoo called Jesus a "zombie" and Virgin Mary a "skank"

Graham Platner, the anti-Semitic Democratic Senate candidate from Maine who's now famous for covering up his Nazi tattoo, once described himself as so "crudely atheist" that he derided Jesus Christ as a "zombie" and the Virgin Mary as "a skank" in a newly uncovered Reddit post. He can go to hell for saying such things.

Facts are facts. In the post, Platner was responding to a 2008 lawsuit claiming a soldier was denied a promotion for not embracing "fundamentalist Christianity." Platner fired back with, "What units is this shit in?" and then bragged, "I've spent 8 years in the infantry . . .  I've been about as crudely atheist as one can be the entire time." 

He went on to cite "zombie Jesus jokes and Mary sucking at covering up being a skank" as the height of the humor he enjoyed during his military service.

The post is still live, though it no longer displays its execrable author. An archived version reviewed by the Washington Free Beacon confirms it belongs to a now-deleted account tied directly to Platner. Greg Price, a conservative commentator was the first to highlight it.

Let's not sugarcoat this: Christians make up a majority of the population in Maine, according to Pew Research. Yet here we have a Democratic candidate who thought it was clever to mock the central figure of Christianity as a "zombie" and His mother as "a skank."

And this isn't an isolated incident. Platner's campaign has been absolutely torpedoed by a parade of repulsive Reddit posts: blaming rape victims for their own assaults, calling military officers "gay," labeling other users "fags," spewing anti-white and anti-police rhetoric, wondering out loud why Black people "don't tip," and even claiming that accusing him of watching CNN was worse than calling him a "retard."

If this cretin somehow wins the election, it will be an indication of a political party that has become decadent. 

Then, of course, there was the October bombshell: video evidence of a Nazi Totenkopf tattoo on his chest, which he got in Croatia back in 2007 while he was in the Marine Corps. As a former Marine, I find this disgusting and not in any way representative of the Corps.

Platner has since covered it up, but the damage was done. Multiple staffers have already quit the campaign amid the fallout from the Reddit posts and the tattoo revelation.The Platner campaign, shockingly, did not respond to a request for comment. Color me unsurprised.

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BREAKING: 2,500 Marines head to Middle East

The United States Marine Corps is dispatching more than 2,000 men currently stationed in Japan to the Middle East, where the joint U.S.-Israeli Operation Epic Fury grows ever more intense.

The Wall Street Journal and ABC News first reported this shift in deployment, with Fox News later confirming it through a conversation with a federal official. Fox’s Chief National Security Correspondent Jennifer Griffin posted on X: “US defense official confirms to Fox News that the Pentagon is sending the USS Tripoli, a Marine Amphibious Ready Group, and the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) to Mideast. The Tripoli is stationed out of Japan and would take about 2 weeks to get to the Mideast. Accompanying the ARG and the MEU are approx. 2500 US Marines.”

Before the inevitable chorus of alarm over boots on the ground begins, it should be noted that this movement is tied chiefly to air and naval assets, the very instruments upon which Operation Epic Fury has relied from the outset, as ABC News made clear. The 31st MEU, permanently based in Japan and operating within the INDO-PACOM theater, has now received orders to proceed to the Middle East.

This redeployment does not signal an intention to employ the unit as a conventional ground force inside Iran. Rather, it furnishes commanders with a suite of land, amphibious, and aviation capabilities should they prove necessary. The MEU in question includes a squadron of F-35 fighter jets and a squadron of MV-22 tilt-rotor Osprey aircraft.

For half a century the terrorist regime in Iran has killed Americans directly or through its proxies, constructed a vast international network of murder, and at intervals butchered its own citizens who have the temerity to rise against the rigors of sharia law (more than 40,000 in January alone). As Donald Trump remarked on Thursday: “They’ve been killing innocent people all over the world for 47 years, and now I, as the 47th President of the United States of America, am killing them. What a great honor it is to do so!”

Trump clearly believes the campaign is advancing with such success that its conclusion draws near. He declared: “We are totally destroying the terrorist regime of Iran, militarily, economically, and otherwise, yet, if you read the Failing New York Times, you would incorrectly think that we are not winning. Iran’s Navy is gone, their Air Force is no longer, missiles, drones and everything else are being decimated, and their leaders have been wiped from the face of the earth.”

This is the language of resolution, not hesitation; of a determination long deferred but now fully engaged. The spectacle of a regime that has sown terror across decades finding itself dismantled with precision and speed ought to concentrate the mind wonderfully on the consequences of sustained ideological malice.

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Florida Hits Execution Milestone: 16th This Year for a Monster Who Raped and Drowned a 6-Year-Old in '79

I believe that if there's one thing that separates a functioning justice system from a revolving door for the worst of the worst, it's the willingness to follow through on a death sentence. Florida just did that Thursday night, putting Bryan Frederick Jennings, 66, to death by lethal injection for the 1979 abduction, rape, and drowning of little Rebecca Kunash, a six-year-old girl snatched right from her bedroom while her parents were in the next room. 

It's the 16th execution in the Sunshine State this year, shattering any previous record and sending a message: Justice delayed might be inevitable, but justice denied ain't gonna happen on Ron DeSantis's watch.

Jennings was pronounced dead at 6:20 p.m. ET at Florida State Prison near Starke, after a three-drug cocktail did its work. When the warden asked if he had any last words, the guy who spent over four decades gaming the system bellowed a single, defiant "No." No remorse, no plea for mercy, just "No." 

The victim's family kept their distance from the media scrum afterward, which is their prerogative after all these years. Florida Department of Corrections spokesman Jordan Kirkland confirmed it all went textbook smooth: "The execution took place without incident," he said. "There were no complications." In a world where everything seems to go sideways, at least this worked as advertised.

This makes 42 executions nationwide so far in 2025, per the Death Penalty Information Center, a nonprofit that's not exactly cheering from the rooftops for these executions, but facts are facts. That's the most since 2012, a sharp rebound from the dismal 11 in 2021, when the death penalty was basically on life support after peaking at 98 back in 1999. All 42 have come from 11 states, mostly in the South and Midwest where folks still believe in accountability. 

Up in the leftist-run north? Zilch. And while President Trump has vowed to crank up federal executions, none have happened yet this year.

Jennings' saga is a masterclass in how the appeals racket turns "swift justice" into a bad joke. Convicted and sentenced to death in 1980, that got tossed on appeal. Same story with his second trial. It wasn't until the third go-round in 1986 that the third death sentence stuck, along with life terms for kidnapping, sexual battery, and burglary. 

This baby-killer outlasted two of the prosecutors who nailed him, Rebecca's own dad, and four Florida governors since his first conviction. He even dodged a date with the needle in October 1989 when the state Supreme Court hit pause on four inmates the night before. Talk about nine lives.

The Death Penalty Information Center pegs the average death row stint at 20-24 years these days. Jennings' execution too forty-five. That's not justice; that's cruelty to victims' families. 

Gov. DeSantis, who's been on a tear with this, nailed it at a news conference on August 12, in Tampa: "Some of these crimes were committed in the '80s. Justice delayed is justice denied. I felt I owed it to [victims' families] to make sure this ran very smoothly. If I honestly thought someone was innocent, I would not pull the trigger." DeSantis gets it: The endless legal limbo isn't mercy; it's a middle finger to the Rebeccas of the world.

Back on May 11, 1979, Jennings, a 20-year-old Marine on leave, yanked the screen off a little girl's window, snatched her, raped her, beat her, and dumped her body in a canal where it turned up hours later. I hate the fact they called his military service into play. I'm a former Marine and this guy was a total disgrace to the uniform and the nation. 

[He will rot in hell.]

 Cops nabbed him that same day on a traffic infraction, and the evidence was a prosecutor's dream: He matched the neighbor's description, his shoe prints were at the scene, his fingerprints on the sill, his clothes and hair were soaked. Case closed, except for the four-decade sequel of appeals, including a fresh one claiming a right-to-counsel violation after his lawyer croaked in 2022.

Florida's racked up 122 executions since the Supreme Court greenlit capital punishment again in 1976, with over 250 souls still cooling their heels on death row. Before this year, the state maxed out at eight per calendar. DeSantis flipped the script because, as he sees it, enough is enough.

Two more executions are queued up: Richard Barry Randolph on Nov. 20, and Mark Allen Geralds on Dec. 9. If they go off without a hitch, Florida hits 18 for 2025. A veterans' group piped up this week begging for clemency for ex-military types on the row, fair point actually, only 12% of Florida's death row wore the uniform. But seven of the 18 executed or slated this year did serve, including Jennings. Doesn't change the math on monstrous crimes.

In the end, this isn't about vengeance; it's about closure. For Rebecca Kunash's family, it's 46 years late, but better than never. DeSantis is delivering what too many blue-state DAs won't: The scales balanced, one horror story at a time. If that's "extreme," sign me up.

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200 Marines deploy to support ICE in Florida

Two hundred Marines from North Carolina’s Marine Support Squadron 272 are headed to Florida to back ICE, U.S. Northern Command says. They’re part of 700 troops, active duty, Guard, Reserves, tapped by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth after DHS begged for help May 9.

Florida’s first up, with Texas and Louisiana next. The Marines will handle “critical administrative and logistical capabilities at locations as directed by ICE,” per Thursday’s release. Think paperwork and transport, not handcuffs. 

“Their roles will focus on administrative and logistical tasks, and they are specifically prohibited from direct contact with individuals in ICE custody or involvement in any aspect of the custody chain,” the news release hammers home.

This isn’t new. The military’s been law enforcement’s wingman for ages. The FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin in ’91 said it best: “Contrary to what many police officers believe, the Posse Comitatus Act permits civilian law enforcement agencies to seek military assistance under some specific circumstances.” 

Guard units, for example, regularly sling “training, technical support, services, intelligence analysis, surveillance, communications towers, vehicle barriers, and pedestrian fences,” per a 2010 report.

The Pentagon’s doubling down on border security, with four new military zones in Texas and Arizona to curb illegal migration and drugs. Pentagon flack Sean Parnell says 8,500 Joint Task Force Southern Border troops have run 3,500 patrols, some with Mexican forces, and Marines have backed 170+ missions across 130 spots for nine agencies, including DHS and DEA.

Where in Florida? NORTHCOM’s lips are sealed. Rumors point to Alligator Alcatraz, ICE’s new Everglades lockup, but they ain’t confirming. Details? Forget it—NORTHCOM’s clamming up. Marines are coming to stack boxes, not to kick butt and take names.

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POTUS sends 2,000 additional National Guard troops to L.A.: Newsom, Bass upset with law and order move

Los Angeles is crawling with over 4,700 military personnel, thanks to President Donald Trump’s decisive action to quell the chaos that erupted after a weekend of rioting. On Monday night, Trump sent an additional 2,000 National Guard troops to the city, joining the 2,000 already deployed Saturday and 700 Marines dispatched Monday. 

The Washington Post confirms this beefy response, which Trump says saved L.A. from becoming a smoldering ruin.

“If I didn’t ‘SEND IN THE TROOPS’ to Los Angeles the last three nights, that once beautiful and great City would be burning to the ground right now, much like 25,000 houses burned to the ground in L.A. do [sic] to an incompetent Governor and Mayor,” Trump blasted on Truth Social. And he isn't wrong; L.A. was spiraling into anarchy before he stepped in and both Newsom and Bass sided with the rioters, looters, and rock-throwers.

But leave it to California’s left-wing leader governor to go after the Trump administration with a lawsuit Monday, whining that the National Guard deployment stepped on his toes. Apparently, Newsom thinks there’s no “invasion” or “rebellion” to justify federal intervention. 

Tell that to the rioters torching Waymo robotaxis and chucking rocks at cops.

Newsom’s response? Send 800 more state and local officers to “clean up President Trump’s mess.” Typical Democrat—blame Trump for fixing their failures.

L.A.’s Mayor Bass, another Karen Democrat, chimed in with her own spin: “While Washington choreographed these chaotic events, the LAPD and local law enforcement continue to effectively respond.” 

Choreographed? The only thing choreographed here is the left’s playbook of deflecting responsibility while cities burn and the riots themselves. Note the Mexican flags are all the same size with the same folds, probably from the same box, and handed out to the rioters.

The riots kicked off after federal immigration raids last week, including one at a Home Depot parking lot that nabbed suspected illegal immigrants, some with gun and drug convictions, per Fox News’ Bill Melugin. That apparently triggered the usual suspects, who took to the streets waving those Mexican flags, setting Waymo vehicles ablaze, and attacking police with rocks, cement, and fireworks. 

CBS News reports 42 arrests, with some facing charges like assault on an officer and attempted murder. Downtown L.A. is a mess, smashed T-Mobile and athletic stores, shattered glass at a Jordan Studio 23 and Adidas, and the charred remains of five Waymo robotaxis. 

Waymo’s now suspended service in the area for some reason. This is the chaos these anarchists were aiming for.

Meanwhile, the chaos is spreading. San Francisco saw 150 arrests Sunday night and two injured cops as anti-ICE riots flared up, per ABC 7. 

Newsom and Bass can keep pointing fingers, but Trump’s the one keeping California from descending into total lawlessness.

At least this time, Bass didn't go to Africa.

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Rookie Navy Chief of Naval Ops "regrets" wasting money on costly missile when a cheap one would do the trick

Well, well, well, look who's got a case of missile envy! New acting Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) Adm. James Kilby is kicking himself for the Navy’s obsession with flashy, overpriced missiles to swat down Houthi pests in the Red Sea. "I regret it," he whined to reporters at the Sea Air Space conference in National Harbor, Maryland, promising to hunt for cheaper toys to play with.

Kilby’s all swagger, claiming he’s "not concerned" about the Navy keeping its 350 USS Carney sailors safe or guarding commercial ships from rogue rebels. No, his real heartbreak? "Not having better ways to more economically attrit the threat." Translation: he’s tired of blowing millions on missiles when a bargain-bin zapper would do the trick.

Back when he was vice chief, Kilby was apparently drooling over "a high-end laser – 500kW to one megawatt – and I have regret for that." Oh, the tragedy of dreaming big!

"I had not been thoughtful enough to think about the UAV threat," he admitted, realizing a less juiced-up gizmo could’ve handled those pesky drones. Now he’s swearing the Navy is pivoting to "much more cost-effective" tech to squash autonomous Red Sea nuisances, while nagging the defense industry to churn out ammo faster. 

"We have to get after our industrial base or munitions industrial base the same way we have to get after our shipbuilding industrial base," he barked. Inspiring stuff.

When quizzed if the Navy’s got enough ammo to keep the Houthis at bay, Kilby smirked, "I think we need more munitions." 

Gee, you think? 

"We certainly need more depth of magazine, if we’re going to get into a protracted conflict." Better stock up, Admiral—those $2 million missiles don’t grow on trees, unlike the Houthis’ $2,000 drones that keep eating them for breakfast. Since the March 15 offensive, those rebels have even bagged three $30 million MQ-9 Reapers. 

Kilby got the acting CNO gig in February after Adm. Lisa Franchetti got the boot in Trump’s military leadership purge—along with Gen. C.Q. Brown and Gen. James Slife. 

No word yet if Kilby’s auditioning for the permanent role or just enjoying the temp spotlight. Either way, he’s sticking to Franchetti’s dream of 80% combat-ready ships, despite subs limping at 67%, ships at 68%, and carriers at 70%. "Awareness seems to be higher," he bragged to Fox News Digital about the shipbuilding mess, adding, "it's going to take a national effort." 

He’s also "super focused" with the Marine Corps on reviving the Medium Landing Ship (LSM) program—because nothing screams efficiency like a stalled project meant to ferry Marines onto beaches to blast anti-ship missiles and snoop around. "We’re doing it now not when our ship’s in construction," Kilby said. "I’m optimistic here." 

Sure, buddy, optimism’s free—unlike those ships.

Oh, and about the sailor shortage? "I’ll take that 23,000-person gap, make it 18,000 this year and 8,000 the next year," he boasted. Bold words for a Navy that’s been firing million-dollar shots at Dollar General drones. 

Good luck, Kilby—sounds like you’ll need it. Har, har, har.

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Confirmed: IAF "Smithereens" Hezbollah Commander Involved in Soccer Field Attack

The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed Tuesday that their Lebanon airstrikes eliminated Fuad Shukr, the Hezbollah scumbag who ordered the drone attack on a soccer field in the Israel-controlled Golan Heights that killed 12 Israelis between the ages of 10 and 20.

Shukr, who is now with his 72 virgin goats, was also connected to the 1983 bombing that killed 241 United States Marines in the Beirut. At the time, Shukr was known as Hajj Mohsin, and had joined Hezbollah in 1985. 

So as a U.S. Marine Corps veteran, I want to thank Israel for the great effort. Hoorah!

Shukr served as a senior adviser to Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah at the time he was blown into little bite-size pieces.

The IDF posted the news on social media:

ELIMINATED: Fuad Shukr "Sayyid Muhsan", Hezbollah’s Most Senior Military Commander and Hassan Nasrallah’s Right-Hand Man

Shukr has directed Hezbollah's attacks on the State of Israel since October 8th, and he was the commander responsible for the murder of the 12 children in… pic.twitter.com/1poIm4XSVm— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) July 30, 2024

Shukr directed Hezbollah's attacks on the Jewish State since October 8th, and was the commander responsible for the murder of the 12 children in Majdal Shams in northern Israel on Saturday evening, as well as the killing of numerous Israelis and foreign nationals over the years. 

He was also responsible for the majority of Hezbollah's most advanced weaponry, including precise-guided missiles, cruise missiles, anti-ship missiles, long-range rockets and UAVs.

Here's some video showing the aftermath of the attack that killed him: pic.twitter.com/PmN4UEFXjx

Israel made clear that it would strike back after the gruesome Hezbollah attack that left victims strewn across the soccer field. “I can say that the State of Israel will not pass over this in silence," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned. "We will not treat it as business as usual.”

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant had also vowed retaliation:

Israel’s Minister of Defense just posted this. Perhaps the all-out war is here. https://t.co/OpLDwk3JjF— Jake Novak (@jakejakeny) July 30, 2024

The question now is not will Hezbollah respond, but when and how. This can lead to a more devastating war with the potential of major losses.

A senior Israeli official told Fox News earlier on Tuesday that Israeli Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant was in contact with DEI appointee, U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin regarding the present situation.

With the negative sentiments by presumptive Democratic presidential nominee and currently the non-elected President, Kamala Harris toward Israel,  I suspect the Jewish State has a lot more to worry about in the future in terms of the definitions of "ally" and "allegiance."

Anyway, the only sad thing about Shukr's demise is that he got to live all these years after killing those Marines. He should have been taken out much, much sooner.

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USMC Commandant issues dire warning to terrorists on anniversary of Beirut barracks bombing

October 23rd was the 40th anniversary of the Marine Corps barracks bombing that killed 241 US military personnel, mostly Marines, in Beirut, Lebanon. 

The Marines were from the 1st Battalion, 8th Marines, of the 24th Marine Amphibious Unit. They had been sent to Lebanon as a peacekeeping force during the country's civil war.

Marine Corps Commandant General Eric Smith, spoke in Jacksonville, North Carolina to mark the deadly anniversary for America's military, and he spoke about current events regarding Israel's plans to invade Gaza in response to what Hamas and some Palestinians did on October 7th and members of the Democrat's so called Squad refuses to condemn.

American forces have been deployed to the region and have also been under rocket and drone attacks. There have already been multiple facilities and bases being targeted and the US has struck Iranian-funded military targets in Syria, killing a number of Hezbollah terrorists. 

Two carrier strike groups, the USS Eisenhower and USS Gerald R. Ford, are in the region, with their anti-ballistic missile defense systems also being deployed.

It all points to the Biden administration preparing for what could happen once Israeli forces storm the Gaza Strip: a total regional war. 

Hezbollah has vowed all-out war against Israel should they invade Gaza which naturally implicates Iran as well. US Marines could very well be deployed as boots on the ground, but that isn't a sure thing as yet. But Gen. Smith offered a dire warning to the terrorist scumbags: "[I]f you target us, someone else will be raising your children."

"I'll tell you this -- the 24th MAU, Marine Amphibious Unit -- there's a unit just like it today that's in the area," Smith said, referencing the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit, which he said was "in the vicinity" of the Mediterranean and Red Sea in response to the conflict.

"They're there also to come in peace, if called, but they bring with them the weapons of war, if needed," Smith said to enthusiastic applause and war whoops from the crowd. "For those that are in the area, if that MEU has to go in, if you target them, someone else will raise your children."

U.S. officials have linked the 1983 attack to Hezbollah, an Iran-backed militant movement based in Lebanon. In a State Department commemoration Monday, the U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Dorothy Shea said that the attack was "conducted with Iran's support."

While the Jews in Israel suffered the worst losses in one day since the Holocaust, the 1983 barrack bombing caused the deadliest day for the United States Marine Corps since the Battle of Iwo Jima in World War II. It's a horrible thing to have in common, but the other thing Israel and the USMC shares is the sentiment "Never Again."  

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US Marine wounded in Afghanistan suicide bombing during the retreat, gets to hear Biden lie about Beau

The US Marine who lost an arm and leg by the Abbey Gate at Kabul's airport in 2021 in a suicide bombing along with 13 dead American service members and over 170 Afghan civilians, recalled a weird moment he had with alleged President Joe Biden after he arrived for treatment at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, in Baltimore, MD. 

Marine Corps Sgt. Tyler Vargas-Andrews was greeted by members of the U.S. military officials who visited him at the hospital for "photo ops" and so did Biden and Doctor Jill Biden, his learned wife.

Sgt. Vargas-Andrews spoke in a recent appearance on the "Shawn Ryan Show," where he described the clusterfrack withdrawal from Afghanistan, as well as how he ended up meeting with the confused Biden.

He said that he was asked by the generals who visited him in the hospital whether he wanted to meet the president so he could be thanked for his service. He was uncomfortable with the request and still sedated for pain but nevertheless, he was open to the idea.

"I told them, I was like, hold all of my opioids, like hold all of my narcotics and stuff. Like I want to be coherent when I meet him," Vargas-Andrews recalled as he awaited a visit from Biden. "They held all my pain meds." He was informed that the president should arrive in "about an hour."

"Well, one hour goes by. Nothing. Two hours go by. Nothing," Vargas-Andrews said. still refusing pain medication. Then "[T]hree hours go by, and it's like four hours at this point. My mom's furious. She's like ‘what the f--k. Where is this guy?’"

Eventually, Secret Service officers arrived and Vargas-Andrews became confused about who the president was. "I had no idea who the president was. I didn't think it was Trump. I didn't think it was Biden. My brain couldn't make the connection," he said.

Upon learning from his mother that the president was Biden, Vargas-Andrews said he leaned back and said, "Oh my f---ing God."

"Two minutes later, he walks in with [Doctor] Jill Biden and their little entourage of people and like a photographer," he recalled. "Right away, I remember him coming up to me trying to shake my hand, shake my right hand, and I look at him, and I'm like 'I don't have an arm.' My left arm is in this big a-- cast with this giant orange f---ing foam block around it. I'm completely immobile. All I can do is move my head."

"He says, ‘Oh,’ and kind of stands up and then goes over to reach for my fingers… and just like grabs my fingers. Doesn't greet me or anything, just grabbed my fingers. I was like, okay that's weird."

Vargas-Andrews said the Bidens "almost immediately starts talking about how their son served in the military. [He] doesn't say anything about what happened, just starts talking about how their son served in the military." 

"My mom's furious at this point and they're like taking pictures and stuff," he said of the encounter. Vargas-Andrews also said his mother made it clear during the president's visit to the hospital that the government should help her son "for the rest of his life" after the attack.

"She said that and I'm sitting there and he comes over to me, he leans over to me… and he's like, ‘What do you want?’"

Confused, Vargas-Andrews asked the president, "What?"

After Biden repeated himself, Vargas-Andrews recalled, "I'm just like confused. I just got blown up. I just saw my f--king friends die next to me. I'm like, I just want to be myself."

"He's like huh and my mom's furious, and she's like he just wants to be himself. He just wants to be him," he said.

"He goes, ‘Oh, okay," and they just continue to talk about everything but what just happened," he added. "They just ushered him out of the room. He didn’t know what to say. And that was that."

Imagine that--his staff had to usher the president out of the room because he forgot where the door was located, I bet.

Vargas-Andrews said his mother later reached out to the first lady in an attempt to help get legislation passed to assist caretakers financially. He said they "pretended to help" and that his mother was later "brushed off."

Vargas-Andrews said they "pretended like they were connecting her to the right individuals and didn't f---ing help her at all."

It seems like everything Biden says is him pretending.

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