The defence department has not held a press briefing for two and a half months. Officials have faced accusations that they are engaged in a cover-up designed to hide the true cost of Donald Trump’s war of choice in Iran, fearing a public backlash before November’s midterm elections.
The US president claimed on Thursday that the US had “massive amounts” of ammunition and said more was being manufactured and shipped to the region, as his frustration over the conflict spilled into a public attack on the media.
“Defense companies are building the largest number of plants and factories in our country’s history,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform, without providing evidence or details about the specific weapons in question.
His remarks came after a report that he had demanded answers from his defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, over alleged shortages at a cabinet meeting last Friday at Camp David, the US presidential retreat in Maryland.
Trump told Hegseth he felt misled because he believed the problem “had been fixed”, according to the Washington Post newspaper, citing two unnamed sources familiar with the exchange. Hegseth defended himself and sought to shift blame to his deputy, Stephen Feinberg, the Post reported.
The president responded angrily on Thursday, accusing the media of spreading “treasonous statements” and warning that those responsible would be pursued.
“The ‘leakers’ of these treasonous statements are being hunted down,” he wrote. “Long term jail sentences will be sought!”
CNN separately reported that shortages of long-range guided missiles and air defence interceptors had begun to constrain Trump’s strategy in the conflict. The US military had “nearly exhausted 80%” of its stock of Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (Thaad) interceptors, the network said.
The Washington Post also reported that concerns over dwindling supplies had contributed to Trump calling off further strikes against Iran, despite his repeated threats to hit the Islamic Republic “very hard”.
And this:
Trump says these documents prove his false claims of election fraud.Here’s what they really say Politics Jul 17, 2026 7:08 PM EDT WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump released a trove of documents during a primetime address to the nation that allies had hyped as a smoking gun that would prove his long-debunked allegations of mass voter fraud.
Speaking from the White House on Thursday night, he described shocking revelations, like Chinese meddling to undermine his failed candidacy in 2020 and a cover-up by the “deep state.” He claimed, “Americans were blatantly lied to about the security of our election infrastructure.”
But a review by The Associated Press found no such confirmation in the collection of newly declassified reports, investigation files, intelligence analysis and assorted correspondence. Many pages are so heavily redacted that their findings are unclear. Others outline vulnerabilities and assessments that have been well-documented for years. There’s no evidence that China or any other foreign entity manipulated the vote in 2020 or any other year.
Several of President Donald Trump’s key claims about the war with Iran have fallen apart.
Iran’s military Trump’s claims: Trump repeatedly claimed this spring that Iran’s military capabilities had been entirely eradicated.
For example, he said in March, “Everything they have is gone, including their leadership.” He said in April, “They can’t fight back.” He said in May that Iran’s “military is totally gone” and that “we’ve totally destroyed their military.” He said in early July, “Look, they have no military left.”
Even after Trump’s remarks, Iran was able to launch military attacks on US forces, US allies in the region and commercial ships – and kill and injure American servicemembers.
Even before these Iranian attacks, it was clear that Trump wasn’t telling the truth about the state of Iran’s military. CNN reported in the spring that US intelligence had found that Iran continued to have considerable military capabilities and was rapidly rebuilding various capabilities that had been weakened in the war.
Trump initially said the war would take mere weeks. “It’s always been about a four-week process so – as strong as it is, it’s a big country, it’ll take four weeks – or less,” The Daily Mail quoted him as saying in an interview in early March. In a New York Times interview the same day, he said, “Well, we intended four to five weeks,” adding, “It won’t be difficult.”
In late March, he said, “We estimated it would take approximately four to six weeks to achieve our mission” and that they were “really a lot ahead of schedule.”
Trump also made a series of vaguer claims that the war would end fast, saying in March that it would be over “pretty quickly” and in May that “we’re gonna end that war very quickly.”
Nearly five months after Trump launched the war, the fighting continues – and he threatened an escalation on Wednesday, vowing to destroy one Iranian bridge or power plant every time Iran shoots at a ship in the Strait of Hormuz.
The Strait of Hormuz Trump’s claims: On July 13, Trump posted that “the Hormuz Strait is OPEN, and will remain OPEN, with or without Iran,” declaring that the US would be “from this point forward, known as ‘THE GUARDIAN OF THE HORMUZ STRAIT.’” He said in an interview the same day: “Well, we’re taking over the strait. They have nothing.” Then, on Sunday, Trump made an even stronger claim: “We control the strait. They [Iran] don’t control anything.”
How the claims fell apart: As was obvious when Trump made these claims, Iran retains significant control over the Strait of Hormuz even as the US Navy imposes a blockade against ships sailing to or from Iranian ports.
Trump has tried in recent weeks to promote a triumphant narrative about oil prices. In the second half of June, amid the ceasefire with Iran in place at the time, he boasted that “oil prices are way down” and declared that “it’s soon going to be at the number that it was four months ago,” before he launched the war in late February.
He then claimed on July 8, “You see the oil prices are lower than they were when I started”and that “the prices of oil are dropping like a rock”; he conceded that the resumption of violence that day would be sending prices “up a little bit,” but he added, “This will end very quickly.” And he asserted in a social media post Sunday that oil prices were among those “dropping FAST.”
Both Brent and WTI crude were more expensive than they were when Trump started the war and when he returned to office in January 2025.
So MAGAs, tell me again why you believe anything Donald Trump says.
As you no doubt have heard by now, Donald Trump wants to place a 250-foot gilded triumphal arch between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery.
Triumphal arches traditionally commemorate military victory. There is just one problem: Trump is pushing ahead with the triumphal arch while losing a war.
Trump unveiled the idea more than four months before the United States and Israel attacked Iran. At a White House dinner, he displayed three models. He liked the biggest one the best and called it “really beautiful” and “fantastic.”
When a reporter asked whom the arch was for, Trump pointed to himself and said, “Me.” Kudos to Trump for his honesty.
Though the war with Iran wasn’t the reason for the arch, the war has made the arch more ridiculous than it already was. Trump understands what the structure is supposed to mean. It’s called a triumphal arch because a triumph is supposed to have occurred.
The arch comes after the victory. But Trump, as usual, wants the branding before he achieves the result. He does this all the time. At his golf clubs, Trump has made himself the champion of tournaments that never even took place.
Trump claimed the 2018 championship at his West Palm Beach club even though he hadn’t played in the tournament. In 2023, after missing the first round of a senior club championship, he counted a round he had played two days earlier and announced that he had won. Owning the course has certain advantages.
The same impulse produced the fake Time magazine cover displayed at several Trump properties.
Then there was the infamous FIFA Peace Prize, which Trump—its first recipient—was given in 2025. FIFA president Gianni Infantino presented him with a gold medal and a large gold trophy. It’s still unclear what the FIFA Peace Prize is or what Trump did to earn it.
If Trump could win a million more of these fake prizes and awards, that wouldn’t be enough. He doesn’t see recognition as what you get after you achieve something. For him, the recognition is the whole point. Actually, accomplishing something is a waste of time if you can get recognized without doing the hard work.
I made $2 billion as President in just over a year, more than I ever made in my life. Actually, more money than any President in history. Here is how I did it:
Cryptocurrency ventures (especially World Liberty Financial and related token sales/royalties): Over $1.1–1.4 billion
Licensing agreements (including “Celebration Coins”): about $635 million.
And other minor stuff I knew about in advance.
You could do it, too. Just follow these three easy steps:
Own Congress
Own the Supreme Court
Tell the Congress and SCOTUS lackeys to rule that you can do anything you want while you’re President, and no one can touch you.(1)
So there it is, folks. Three easy steps that any President will be able to do in the future.
But, I’m not done yet. Vote Republican this fall, and my Congressional and SCOTUS zombies will make sure I earn another $10 billion– maybe $100 billion before I hit the “theoretical” term limit. (I have some ways to get around that, too.)
And in case you’re wondering whether this costs you anything, I’ve taken care of that. I’ll save you money when I:
Cut your Medicare benefits
Cut your Medicaid benefits
Cut your Social Security benefits
Cut your food stamps
Cut your school lunch benefits
Cut anything else that doesn’t benefit my rich pals and sons
Increase your FICA taxes
Deport non-white, non-Christian immigrants (2)
(1) Isn’t this exactly why we fought the Revolutionary War — to rid ourselves of a king?
(2) Actually, this one costs the government money because immigrants pay taxes and don’t get benefits. But MAGAs don’t know that. (Shhh . . . Keep it quiet.)
Donald Trump and the MAGA bigots don’t like immigrants, but they especially don’t like immigrants who are not rich, white Christians.
In the bigot’s own words, “Why can’t we allow people to come in from nice countries. . . . Nice countries, you know, like Denmark, Switzerland? . . . How about Norway?”
On October 31, 2025, President Donald Trump had announced that in 2026, the United States will allow only 7,500 refugees to enter the country, marking the most drastic limitation on refugees since the United States adopted a formal refugee policy following World War II.
The spots mostly are going to members of the Afrikaner white minority from South Africa.
In January, of this year, the State Department announced that it would “pause immigrant visa processing from 75 countries whose migrants take welfare from the American people at unacceptable rates.”
(Note that these people pay FICA taxes, but do not receive the Medicare or Social Security benefits)
The countries affected include Bangladesh, Brazil, Colombia, Egypt, Ethiopia, Pakistan, and Nigeria. Among other measures taken to slash legal immigration in 2025, the Trump administration imposed travel restrictions or entry bans on people from 39 countries.
Plot all of these countries on a map—newly targeted and old—and you will see that most of Africa, large swaths of Asia, and much of the Muslim world are now unwelcome.
Instead of people coming to benefit America, Trump put them into concentration camps at great out-of-pocket cost, in addition to America’s loss of brains and talent.
The price tag to expand the detention system in dollars is $45 billion, pushed through last summer as part of Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill Act.”
The money, to be spent over four years, is meant to increase the number of detention beds administered by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE. At last count, in February, ICE was holding 68,000 people, up from 40,000 at the start of Trump’s second term.
The administration has a goal of reaching a total capacity of 100,000 beds, and it’s launched a controversial effort to convert warehouses into holding facilities and aggressively expand detention capacity.
What MAGAs don’t know and may not care about is that immigrants have been an important factor in America’s success. To give you just a slight inkling of what we lose when we restrict immigration, here is just a tiny sampling of contributions made by immigrants who are not white Christians.
Visualize what America and the world would be without these people:
Science, Mathematics, Medicine & Engineering
Name
Birthplace / Background
Contribution
Albert Einstein
Germany; Jewish
Relativity, quantum theory, photoelectric effect; transformed modern physics. Remained in America after 1933 and became a U.S. citizen in 1940.
Leo Szilard
Hungary; Jewish
Conceived the nuclear chain reaction; helped initiate U.S. atomic research; later advocated arms control and contributed to molecular biology.
John von Neumann
Hungary; Jewish family
Foundational work in mathematics, quantum mechanics, computing, game theory, nuclear science, and weather prediction.
Eugene Wigner
Hungary; Jewish family
Nobel physicist; nuclear theory and reactor design; key wartime scientific work in America.
Edward Teller
Hungary; Jewish
Nuclear physics, national laboratories, and U.S. defense science.
Stanislaw Ulam
Poland; Jewish
Mathematics, nuclear research, the Monte Carlo method, and early digital computation.
Theodore von Kármán
Hungary; Jewish family
Aerodynamics, rocketry, jet propulsion, and cofounding of what became NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
Isidor Isaac Rabi
Austria-Hungary; Jewish
Nobel-winning magnetic-resonance research; groundwork for atomic clocks and MRI.
Emilio Segrè
Italy; Jewish
Nobel physicist; discovered technetium and antiproton; contributed to nuclear physics.
Bruno Rossi
Italy; Jewish
Pioneer of cosmic-ray and X-ray astronomy; helped create modern space science.
Felix Bloch
Switzerland; Jewish
Nobel-winning nuclear magnetic resonance, essential to MRI.
Walter Kohn
Austria; Jewish
Nobel-winning density-functional theory, central to chemistry and materials science.
Arno Penzias
Germany; Jewish refugee
Codiscovered cosmic microwave background radiation, major evidence for the Big Bang.
Polykarp Kusch
Germany; Jewish ancestry
Nobel-winning measurement of the electron’s magnetic moment.
Otto Stern
Germany; Jewish
Nobel-winning molecular-beam research and the Stern–Gerlach experiment.
Dennis Gabor
Hungary; Jewish family
Invented holography; Nobel Prize in Physics.
Roald Hoffmann
Poland; Jewish Holocaust survivor
Nobel-winning explanations of chemical reactions; major teacher and writer on chemistry.
Selman Waksman
Russian Empire (now Ukraine); Jewish
Discovered streptomycin and helped establish systematic antibiotic research.
Nobel-winning discovery of nerve growth factor; spent decades conducting research in the United States.
Baruj Benacerraf
Venezuela; Sephardic Jewish family
Nobel-winning discoveries concerning genetic regulation of immune responses.
César Milstein
Argentina; Jewish
Nobel-winning development of monoclonal antibodies; worked for periods in the United States, though chiefly associated with Britain.
Chaim Weizmann
Russian Empire; Jewish
Chemist whose fermentation process aided Allied acetone production; worked and lectured extensively with American institutions.
Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar
India; Hindu family
Nobel astrophysicist; explained stellar evolution and the Chandrasekhar limit.
Har Gobind Khorana
British India; Hindu family
Nobel-winning deciphering of the genetic code; synthesized artificial genes.
Venkatraman Ramakrishnan
India; Hindu background
Nobel-winning work on ribosome structure; conducted important research in the United States before moving to Britain.
Narinder Singh Kapany
India; Sikh
Pioneer of fiber optics, making modern telecommunications and medical endoscopy possible.
Kalpana Chawla
India; Hindu
Aerospace engineer and NASA astronaut; first woman of Indian origin in space.
Fazlur Rahman Khan
British India (now Bangladesh); Muslim
Revolutionized skyscraper engineering; designed the structural systems of the Sears Tower and John Hancock Center.
Ahmed Zewail
Egypt; Muslim background
Nobel-winning femtochemistry; showed chemical reactions on femtosecond timescales.
Aziz Sancar
Turkey; Muslim background
Nobel-winning discoveries about DNA repair.
Elias Zerhouni
Algeria; Muslim background
Medical-imaging researcher; Director of the National Institutes of Health.
Ayub Ommaya
British India (now Pakistan); Muslim
Neurosurgeon; invented the Ommaya reservoir for delivering medication to the brain and spinal fluid.
Nergis Mavalvala
Pakistan; Parsi/Zoroastrian
Astrophysicist central to gravitational-wave detection at LIGO; MIT dean.
Tsung-Dao Lee
China; Chinese non-Christian cultural background
Nobel-winning discovery that parity is not conserved in weak interactions; long career at Columbia University.
Chen-Ning Yang
China; Chinese non-Christian cultural background
Nobel physicist; parity violation and Yang–Mills theory.
Chien-Shiung Wu
China; Chinese non-Christian cultural background
Experimental physicist whose Wu experiment established parity violation; major Manhattan Project contributor.
Yuan T. Lee
Taiwan; Chinese traditional background
Nobel-winning chemical dynamics research; major career at Berkeley.
Flossie Wong-Staal
China; Chinese cultural background
First scientist to clone HIV and establish the role of HIV in AIDS.
Min Chueh Chang
China; Chinese cultural background
Reproductive biologist whose research helped produce the oral contraceptive pill and modern in-vitro fertilization.
An Wang
China; Chinese cultural background
Computer engineer; invented magnetic-core memory devices and founded Wang Laboratories.
Qian Xuesen
China; Chinese cultural background
Helped establish American jet propulsion and rocket science before being deported to China; important example of American gain followed by American loss.
Shing-Tung Yau
China; Buddhist family background
Fields Medalist; transformed differential geometry and mathematical physics during a long U.S. academic career.
Terence Tao
Australia; Chinese family background
Immigrated to the United States; Fields Medalist whose work spans analysis, number theory, and combinatorics.
Katalin Karikó
Hungary; reportedly secular upbringing
Immigrated to the United States and pioneered messenger-RNA technology underlying effective COVID-19 vaccines.
Technology, Business & Industry
Name
Birthplace / Background
Contribution
Sergey Brin
Soviet Union; Jewish
Cofounded Google; transformed access to information and internet advertising.
Andrew Grove
Hungary; Jewish Holocaust survivor
Helped build Intel and the modern semiconductor industry.
#Monetary Sovereignty - Mitchell 