May 2, 2026 at 8:52 PM EDT
Defense official reveals alarming way US military learned about Trump's troop withdrawal

An anonymous U.S. defense official revealed the branches of the U.S. military learned of President Donald Trump's decision to withdraw 5,000 troops from Germany "in real time," without prior knowledge of the intended move, the AP reported Saturday. Trump on Wednesday announced via a Truth Social post that his administration was "studying and reviewing the possible reduction of Troops in Germany." The announcement followed an assessment by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz last week that insisted the U.S. is "being humiliated" by the war in Iran. A Pentagon spokesman on Friday confirmed to Breaking Defense that Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth "has ordered the withdrawal of roughly 5,000 US troops from Germany over the next year." Two Republicans who chair the congressional Armed Services Committees, Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Ala.) and Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), on Saturday questioned the Pentagon's decision, telling Punchbowl news"any significant change to the U.S. force posture in Europe warrants a deliberate review process and close coordination with Congress and our allies." But the AP's report suggests the Trump administration isn't even in close coordination with its own military branches. According to the AP, "A U.S. defense official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive matters, said the branches of the U.S. military didn't have prior knowledge of the decision to draw down the 5,000 troops and learned about it 'in real time.'" Responding to the official's claim, acting Pentagon press secretary Joel Valdez insisted the move followed "a comprehensive, multilayered process that incorporates perspectives from key leaders in EUCOM [U.S. European Command] and across the chain of command." According to Tom Malinowski, who served as assistant secretary of state under former President Barack Obama, Trump can't actually withdraw troops from Europe without EUCOM commander Gen. Alexus Grynkewich independently certifying to Congress that such a move "won't hurt deterrence against Russia or U.S. [operations] in the Middle East [and] that allies have been consulted." "General officers also have a unique legal obligation to answer questions from Congress honestly," Malinowski wrote on X. "So this will be interesting if Congress does its oversight."

May 2, 2026 at 1:59 PM EDT
Trump's Cuban base is clamoring for regime change - and Republicans are nervous

President Donald Trump is in a rock and hard place with a valuable Florida constituency, reports Politico. Miami's Cuban American community is keeping the heat on Trump to oust the regime in Cuba, but Republicans appear terrified of another war on the heels of a hotly unpopular attack on Iran, which has ballooned inflation and gas prices in time for the midterms.

May 2, 2026 at 1:31 PM EDT
Republican says it's 'pretty clear' Trump is on team Putin

President Donald Trump rarely faces dissent from his Republican Party members in the House and Senate -- but this is an election year, and Trump's polls are doing big damage to his GOP buddies. U.S. Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) is one such Republican who does not represent a "safe" seat in a bruising 2026 midterm. Bacon holds a highly competitive swing seat in Nebraska's 2nd Congressional District, which includes the urban area of Omaha. He managed to nab a narrow 50.9 percent to 49.1 percent victory in 2024 largely thanks to suburban support.

May 2, 2026 at 12:52 PM EDT
What Trump's hidden rich man's ballroom bunker reveals about his mental state

Atlantic reporter Neil Flanagan says there are many reasons to consider President Donald Trump's gold-dripping ballroom design a visual affront, but the offense goes much further than overwrought tacky displays of taxpayer-funded wealth. "Foregrounding the infrastructure that keeps the presidency safe undermines the democratic symbolism of the White House," said Flanagan. "Its visibility from the street, its modest materials, the tricks that make it seem smaller than it is, the fact that ordinary people can tour parts of it: All of these contribute to the impression that the White House serves a government accountable to its citizens."

May 2, 2026 at 12:19 PM EDT
Staunch GOP allies blast Trump's retaliatory troop withdrawal in rare dissent

Two Southern Republicans are speaking out against President Donald Trump's recent proclamation to redeploy 5,000 U.S. troops out of Germany. Punchbowl News reporter Anthony Adragna posted on social media that Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Ala.) and Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) -- both Armed Services GOP chairs -- deeply oppose the removal.

May 2, 2026 at 11:39 AM EDT
Why friendship among white men is considerably more 'shallow': researcher

For years, researchers have claimed that men's friendships are shallower and less emotionally supportive than women's, a pattern called the "gender friendship gap." But new research from PsyPost suggests this is more a problem with white men than other races. A study published in Sex Roles finds that the gender friendship gap appears to be more a thing with the same race behind the widening dating and marriage gap in President Donald Trump's MAGA-haunted America.

May 2, 2026 at 10:53 AM EDT
Diplomat reveals glaring issue in Trump's threat to pull troops from Germany

A former diplomat on Saturday detailed a glaring hole in President Donald Trump's recent threat against Germany, noting the fate of troops in the European nation rests solely in the hands of one person -- and they're not named Trump. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth on Friday ordered the withdrawal of 5,000 troops from Germany, "to be completed over the next six to 12 months," Reuters' Phil Stewart reported. The move comes amid increased tensions between the U.S. and Germany after German Chancellor Friedrich Merz suggested the U.S. is being "humiliated" by the war in Iran. In response to Hegseth's announcement, German defense minister Boris Pistorius called the U.S. withdrawal of troops from Europe "foreseeable." But Tom Malinowski, a former member of the House of Representatives who served as assistant secretary of state under former President Barack Obama, questioned the inevitability of such a withdrawal, noting the language of the National Defense Act hamstrings Trump administration's effort to pull troops form Europe. "Under the most recent National Defense Act, Trump can't withdraw troops from Europe unless the commander of our forces there independently certifies to Congress that it won't hurt deterrence against Russia or U.S. [operations] in the Middle East [and] that allies have been consulted," Malinowski wrote Saturday on X. Malinowski noted that United States European Command (EUCOM) commander Gen. Alexus Grynkewich "will obviously be under pressure from Hegseth to back him up." "But general officers also have a unique legal obligation to answer questions from Congress honestly," Malinowski wrote. "So this will be interesting if Congress does its oversight." As Malinowski noted, no amount of hand wringing from Trump can circumvent the text of the law. "Oddly, the law doesn't mention the president's feelings being hurt as a factor in justifying potential troop withdrawals," he quipped.

May 2, 2026 at 10:32 AM EDT
'Watch your step': Former FBI official warns Blanche is in legal peril

Michael Feinber, former assistant special agent in charge of the FBI, lobbed an undeniable warning to President Donald Trump's interim AG during his pursuit of Trump's enemies: Trump won't always be there to save you. Blanche served as Trump's personal defense attorney before Trump appointed him over the DOJ. But years after Blanche failed to protect his boss from being convicted of illegal hush-money payments to a sex industry worker, he is now repeat prosecuting former FBI head James Comey.

May 2, 2026 at 10:30 AM EDT
George Will dismantles latest 'radical' MAGA scheme

Frustrated by European allies' response to his war with Iran, U.S. President Donald Trump is threatening to withdraw the United States from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) altogether. Many Trump critics, in response, are saying that Congress needs to play a role in handling U.S. involvement with NATO -- and that Trump, under the U.S. Constitution, doesn't have the authority to pull the U.S. out of that alliance by himself without Congress' input. And some of Trump's MAGA allies are using the Unitary Executive Theory, a far-right legal doctrine, to argue that the president alone has the right to decide what the U.S. does in NATO.

May 2, 2026 at 9:47 AM EDT
'Perfect storm': GOP biting nails as deep-red Iowa moves to 'tossup'

The Wall Street Journal reports ruby-red Iowa is looking a lot less ruby as fertilizer prices and gas bills catch up with the state's agrarian constituency. "Iowa, a state that always plays an outsize role in U.S. politics because of its traditional early spot in presidential nominations, wasn't supposed to be a political battleground this year," reports WSJ writer John McCormick. "It backed President Trump by 13 percentage points in the 2024 election, and all six members of Iowa's congressional delegation are Republicans. " Despite that history, nonpartisan analysts rate the state's race for governor and two of its four U.S. House contests as tossups that either party could win in November."

May 2, 2026 at 6:09 AM EDT
America has married a gaslighting, victim-blaming abuser

Donald Trump, currently arguing on appeal that the 1st Amendment protected his right to incite the J6 mob , simultaneously claims the 1st Amendment does not protect a comedian's right to insult him. Two days after a man tried to enter the Correspondents Dinner armed with weapons , Trump took to Truth Social to blame Jimmy Kimmel . In his post, Trump relayed a Kimmel joke about Melania glowing "like an expectant widow," then leapt to causation, claiming, "A day (after Kimmel's joke aired), a lunatic tried entering (the Dinner) loaded up with a shotgun, handgun, and many knives" so many people are incensed by Kimmel's despicable call to violence ... Jimmy Kimmel should be immediately fired by Disney and ABC..."

May 2, 2026 at 5:57 AM EDT
The real reason Trump doesn't want Congress to vote on the war

Yesterday marked 60 days since the start of Trump's failed war in Iran. The U.S. Constitution (Article I, Section 8) gives Congress the power "To declare War," and the War Powers Resolution of 1973 -- enacted over Nixon's veto -- mandates that troops be withdrawn within 60 days unless Congress extends the deadline or declares war. On Thursday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth claimed that Trump doesn't need Congress's approval to continue the war past the 60-day mark because the ceasefire agreement with Iran has effectively stopped the clock. (Trump echoed Hegseth's claim today in a letter to Congress.)