February 6, 2026 at 9:32 PM EST
Trump official bought business with Epstein years after claiming to cut ties: report

Before he joined President Donald Trump's Cabinet, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick jointly owned a business with convicted child predator Jeffrey Epstein. CBS News reported Friday on new revelations contained in the Department of Justice's (DOJ) latest release of documents from Epstein's two federal investigations showing Lutnick and Epstein acquiring a company in 2012. One document shows both Lutnick's and Epstein's signatures on a document purchasing stakes in the now-defunct digital advertising company Adfin. Epstein signed on behalf of his entity, Southern Trust Company, while Lutnick signed on behalf of a limited liability company named CVAFH I.

February 6, 2026 at 9:12 PM EST
Trump handed major loss in court over 'senseless' decision

The Gothamist reports a Manhattan federal judge may have ended President Donald Trump's attempted extortion of New York and New Jersey residents. Judge Jeannette Vargas' ordered the Trump administration to "unfreeze funding for the sprawling Gateway project on Friday, paving the way for work to resume on a new set of Hudson River tunnels," the Gothamist reports.

February 6, 2026 at 8:54 PM EST
Conservative slams Trump as a 'shakedown artist' over latest 'egocentric' demand

National Review writer Jeffrey Blehar says he's certain President Donald Trump did indeed demand his name be slammed onto blue state airports in exchange for previously appropriated federal transportation money. "The president is a proud shakedown artist and is completely shameless about it -- just ask Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Machado," said Blehar. "So, I don't doubt for a moment that Trump floated this quid pro quo, knowing what I already do about the man's character and governing philosophy."

February 6, 2026 at 8:16 PM EST
MAGA podcaster concedes 'things can get worse under President Trump'

With President Donald Trump more than a year into his second term, one of the loudest voices of the MAGA movement is now admitting that conditions for Americans may continue to worsen well beyond where they were during former President Joe Biden's administration. In a recent interview with the New Yorker, Shapiro -- who is a co-founder of far-right news outlet Daily Wire -- told the outlet's David Remnick that while he agreed with many of Trump's policies, he was cautious about the state of America with Trump in the White House. When Remnick asked Shapiro if he felt Trump was "honest," Shapiro gave a cagey answer, saying: "In some ways yes and in some ways no," and pointed to one example of Trump getting foreign investment in a cryptocurrency company owned by his family.

February 6, 2026 at 7:22 PM EST
'He's gone': Ex-Trump White House lawyer sounds alarm over 'serious cognitive decline'

President Donald Trump's former attorney Ty Cobb warned that the latest outrage of Trump posting photos of the Obamas as apes is only the latest example of the president's mental deterioration reaching a tipping point. "He has drained 250 years of dignity out of the [Oval] office with acts like this," Cobb told MS NOW host Ari Melber, adding that Trump's unmonitored "late night screeds" are the purest representation of Trump's failing mental health.

February 6, 2026 at 6:09 PM EST
'Is the staffer in the room with us?' CNN's Tapper mocks Trump's excuse for racist video

Since posting a racist AI-generated video to his Truth Social account on Thursday night, President Donald Trump has blamed the now-deleted post -- which depicts former First Couple Barack and Michelle Obama as apes -- on an unnamed staffer. But CNN host Jake Tapper remains unconvinced. In a Friday monologue on his show "The Lead," Tapper noted that likening Black people to apes is an "age-old, blatantly racist trope" that the president and his staff were almost certainly aware of at the time the video was posted. He also pointed out that neither Trump nor any White House spokespeople have so far apologized to the Obamas for the video.

February 6, 2026 at 5:50 PM EST
Fascism expert warns Trump may use emergency powers to cancel the election

President Donald Trump, his team, and his allies are "saboteurs" who are "wrecking" all the institutions that brought America prosperity and prestige, says a fascism expert who warns that the president may take action to disrupt -- or even cancel --a future election. Dr. Ruth Ben-Ghiat, a professor of history and a scholar of fascism, is an expert on authoritarianism and strongmen. She spoke with Politicon's James Carville and Al Hunt on Friday.

February 6, 2026 at 5:32 PM EST
Trump's midterm tricks are already 'backfiring on Republicans': report

Washington Monthly Politics Editor Bill Scher says the panic voters are feeling at President Donald Trump's midterm election meddling is probably premature. "Be vigilant, be imaginative, but also remember that everything Trump is doing to impose restrictive voting measures is backfiring on Republicans, just like his previous efforts," Scher said.

February 6, 2026 at 4:31 PM EST
'Clean up the mess': White House staff furious with Trump admin over racist video response

The backlash to a video President Donald Trump's Truth Social account posted early Friday morning depicting former First Couple Barack and Michelle Obama as apes is ratcheting up, and some White House staffers are frustrated with the Trump administration's response to the outrage. That's according to a Friday article in Semafor, which reported that several unnamed White House staffers are pushing back against their bosses over their initially dismissive response to the video (which was deleted after roughly 12 hours). Semafor's Shelby Talcott reported that one staffer said White House aides are "pretty p"-- off" over the scandal.

February 6, 2026 at 4:30 PM EST
Trump's 'desperate' push to rename landmarks for himself is a 'growing problem': analysis

President Donald Trump's fixation on adding his name to major landmarks is presenting numerous problems both for himself and his party. That's according to a Friday analysis by CNN's Aaron Blake, who argued that Trump is spending a significant amount of political capital on self-aggrandizement that Republicans are likely wishing he would use for other purposes. Blake noted that Trump's attempt to hold $16 billion hostage meant for an underwater railway project connecting New York and New Jersey via the Hudson River in exchange for renaming Washington Dulles International Airport and New York's Penn Station was a non-starter with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.). The top Senate Democrat reportedly reminded the president that he does not have the authority to unilaterally change the names of airports and railway stations.

February 6, 2026 at 11:49 AM EST
Florida residents revolt over bill to rename Palm Beach Airport after Trump

Once considered a swing state, Florida has grown increasingly Republican in recent years. A Democratic presidential candidate hasn't won Florida since Barack Obama in 2012, and some of the most prominent figures in the MAGA movement have a strong Florida connection -- from U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi (Florida's former state attorney general) to Gov. Ron DeSantis to President Donald Trump himself. In late January, a group of Republicans in the Florida State Senate voted to advance a bill to give the Palm Beach International Airport a new name: Donald J. Trump International Airport. But not all Floridians are happy about this move.

February 6, 2026 at 11:43 AM EST
Trump's GOP support 'softens' as poll shows president underwater among voters

President Donald Trump's decline among his own supporters continues to grow, and one analyst thinks it's a larger indicator of where Republicans are as a whole in 2026. Newsweek reported on Friday that, based on data from a national polling series, Trump is underwater.