Trump Issues Dark Warning As Iran Strikes Continue
President Donald Trump knows that the Iranian regime, at least as it existed prior to the current conflict, put a target on his back after he ordered the head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps assassinated in January 2020.
A drone strike killed then-IRGC commander Qasem Soleimani shortly after he landed at an airport in Baghdad, Iraq. Iran immediately vowed harsh revenge, sparking a long-running threat.
During the current conflict, which was launched jointly with Israel to destroy Iran’s capability to threaten half the world over its still-existent nuclear weapons program, the vast majority of Iran’s leadership has been wiped out.
And at this point, it’s not clear who is actually in charge: A civilian element, or survivors of the IRGC chain of command.
At any rate, Iran is still a nation state, and many of its senior leaders still have the Soleimani grudge against the U.S. president.
Trump appeared to bring that up during remarks at a NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, this week, acknowledging the threat while also revealing his orders to Vice President JD Vance should Iran be successful in Trump out.
“Everything’s gone. Their leaders are gone. Now they have another set of leaders – they may be gone, who knows,” Trump said.
Advertisement
“And you know what? I may be gone too, because I’m their number one target,” Trump continued, before revealing what he has instructed his successor to do.
“The only thing is, I’ve left instructions — if anything happens, to just literally bomb them at levels that they’ve never seen before,” Trump told the New York Post.
Trump then responded to reports that Israeli intelligence had identified a new plot to take the U.S. president out.
“No, no. Israel came up with nothing. No, no,” he responded. “I’ve been No. 1 [on Iran’s kill list] for a long time, and it’s the way life is, you know.”
“I hope you’ll miss me,” he added.
Trump has given Iran many chances to comply with a negotiated cease-fire after months of bombing the Middle Eastern country over its continued nuclear weapons development.
But the mullahs and the military factions still running the country didn’t take those opportunities, and now they are facing the consequences.
Trump said at the NATO conference the ceasefire between the United States and Iran has ended following a new round of military strikes after Iran attacked commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz again.
The remarks came after the United States launched what officials described as its largest series of strikes against Iranian targets since the two countries agreed to a memorandum of understanding last month.
U.S. Central Command carried out the strikes in response to Iran’s attacks on ships transiting the strategic waterway.
According to reports from multiple maritime agencies, Iranian forces struck at least three commercial vessels, including a Saudi-flagged crude oil tanker, while other ships sustained damage from projectiles.
American forces struck more than 80 Iranian military targets, including air defense systems, radar installations, missile-related facilities and vessels operated by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in Bandar Abbas, Bushehr and other locations across southern Iran.
Iran responded by launching missiles and drones at U.S. military installations in Bahrain and Kuwait, further escalating tensions between the two countries, but to little effect.
Since then, the U.S. military has struck dozens more Iranian targets.
Speaking with reporters in Ankara, Trump addressed the latest military strikes and said he no longer intended to negotiate with the Iranian government, accusing Tehran of negotiating in bad faith throughout the diplomatic process.
“For me? I think it’s over. I don’t want to deal with them anymore. They’re scum,” Trump said. He added that Iranian leaders are “liars, they’re cheats. They’re sick people.”
Trump further described the situation as “a waste of time” and added, “As far as I’m concerned, it’s over.”
Fox News DRAMA - Maria Bartiromo's Attorney Drops Bombshell After 'Firing'
When Fox announced that Maria Bartiromo was gone after more than twelve years, the statement was a masterpiece of saying nothing: thanks for the work, best of luck on the next chapter, no reason given. Corporate language that smooth usually exists to cover something rougher underneath. The reporting that followed suggests it did.
Here is the reconstructed sequence, and it should be read as the reporting of Status and Puck’s Dylan Byers rather than confirmed fact — Bartiromo’s attorney, Bryan Freedman, has since pushed back on the “fired” characterization, and the full story isn’t settled. With that caveat squarely in place: Bartiromo reportedly wanted to pursue a story tying China to 2020 election-security questions. For Fox that subject is radioactive. The network paid a historic settlement to Dominion Voting Systems over its 2020 coverage and still faces active Smartmatic litigation on the same ground. A Fox Business executive reportedly sent written guidance steering staff away from the topic, and most fell in line.
Bartiromo didn’t. According to the reporting, when Trump or a White House aide asked why Fox wasn’t covering the story, she confirmed her bosses had blocked it — and then forwarded the internal message proving it. Fox reportedly learned of the leak, concluded it violated her employment agreement, and pulled her off the air August 9.
Reports subsequently said she was “fired.” But according to her lawyer, Bryan Freedman, that’s not the case at all:
For many years, Maria Bartiromo hosted three number one rated television shows on Fox channels. She has been, without question, one of the hardest working journalists throughout her award winning career.
The irresponsible reports that have been published stating that Maria Bartiromo was fired or is no longer an employee of Fox are absolutely and unequivocally false. Make no mistake, we have the receipts and witnesses and they will come out whether through the courthouse or otherwise. Those reporting her firing or the incredulous facts supporting that fiction have exhibited a complete and utter reckless disregard for the truth.
We’ll keep you updated on this.
When Fox announced that Maria Bartiromo was gone after more than twelve years, the statement was a masterpiece of saying nothing: thanks for the work, best of luck on the next chapter, no reason given. Corporate language that smooth usually exists to cover something rougher underneath. The reporting that followed suggests it did.
Here is the reconstructed sequence, and it should be read as the reporting of Status and Puck’s Dylan Byers rather than confirmed fact — Bartiromo’s attorney, Bryan Freedman, has since pushed back on the “fired” characterization, and the full story isn’t settled. With that caveat squarely in place: Bartiromo reportedly wanted to pursue a story tying China to 2020 election-security questions. For Fox that subject is radioactive. The network paid a historic settlement to Dominion Voting Systems over its 2020 coverage and still faces active Smartmatic litigation on the same ground. A Fox Business executive reportedly sent written guidance steering staff away from the topic, and most fell in line.
Bartiromo didn’t. According to the reporting, when Trump or a White House aide asked why Fox wasn’t covering the story, she confirmed her bosses had blocked it — and then forwarded the internal message proving it. Fox reportedly learned of the leak, concluded it violated her employment agreement, and pulled her off the air August 9.
Reports subsequently said she was “fired.” But according to her lawyer, Bryan Freedman, that’s not the case at all:
For many years, Maria Bartiromo hosted three number one rated television shows on Fox channels. She has been, without question, one of the hardest working journalists throughout her award winning career.
The irresponsible reports that have been published stating that Maria Bartiromo was fired or is no longer an employee of Fox are absolutely and unequivocally false. Make no mistake, we have the receipts and witnesses and they will come out whether through the courthouse or otherwise. Those reporting her firing or the incredulous facts supporting that fiction have exhibited a complete and utter reckless disregard for the truth.
We’ll keep you updated on this.
"💥JENNA BUSH HAGER’S ""SICKENING"" LIVE CONFESSION: THE BRUTAL FAMILY TRUTH THAT JUST TORCHED THE TODAY SHOW AND LEFT THE WORLD IN TEARS!
Jenna Bush Hager’s Raw Live Confession Torches 'Today' Show Set, Leaving Studio 1A in Tears and Network in Crisis
NEW YORK — Studio 1A at 30 Rockefeller Plaza dissolved into an agonizing, tear-streaked emotional standoff on Friday morning when co-host Jenna Bush Hager went entirely off-script during a live national broadcast, breaking down in heavy sobs as she delivered a blistering, deeply personal confession about her family dynasty, generational guilt, and the toxic corporate machinery that has governed her television career.
The unvetted, heart-wrenching monologue, broadcast during the peak 8:30 AM half-hour before more than four million live viewers, laid waste to the polished cheer of NBC’s flagship morning franchise and brought the soundstage to an absolute, weeping standstill.
The Unraveling: A Routine Family Segment Turns Into an Unfiltered Reckoning
The broadcast block had been carefully framed on the production rundown as a warm, nostalgic segment celebrating multi-generational parenting and family legacies. As childhood family photographs flashed across the massive studio video wall, co-anchor Savannah Guthrie turned to toss a lighthearted question about growing up inside the White House.
Instead of delivering the expected, media-trained anecdote, Bush Hager froze.
Her hands, resting on the glass desk, began to tremble uncontrollably. Looking up at the monitors displaying her family’s private archives, she reached over, snapped her research binder shut, and pushed her microphone closer. Tears pooled in her eyes, spilling over her mascara as her voice broke with a visceral, gut-wrenching tremor.
"I can't sit here and smile through these pictures anymore," Bush Hager said, her breathing shallow and ragged. "Everyone looks at these images and sees American royalty. But you don't see the sickness behind the curtain. You don't see the suffocating isolation, the deep generational trauma, the quiet cruelty of living as a brand instead of a human being, and the sickening reality of knowing every door I ever walked through was paved with silence and complicity.
I was handed this anchor chair not because of talent, but to sanitize a dynasty. And this network made me sign away my conscience to keep the fairytale alive. The lies end today."
Tears, Shock, and Paralysis at the Anchor Desk
The raw admission detonated like an emotional shockwave across Studio 1A:
Savannah Guthrie Weeps: Beside her, Guthrie’s jaw dropped in complete disbelief. Reaching out with a trembling hand to clasp Bush Hager's arm, Guthrie began openly weeping on-camera, whispering, "Jenna, please... you don't have to carry this alone."
The Soundstage Breaks: Behind the automated camera rigs, veteran teleprompter operators, audio engineers, and floor managers stood with tears streaming down their faces, completely immobilized by the sheer agony of the confession.
Refusal to Stop: A frantic floor director stepped into the camera’s peripheral vision, waving arms furiously to cue a break. Bush Hager ignored the signal entirely, leaning forward and speaking straight through the robotic center lens: "Don't you cut my mic. For once in my life, I am speaking the truth, and I don't care if it destroys this career."
For nearly forty uninterrupted seconds, the live feed remained locked on Bush Hager as she buried her face in her hands, her shoulders heaving with uncontrollable, breathless sobs while Guthrie pulled her into a tight, desperate embrace on the anchor riser.
Master Control Panic: The Somber Cut to Black
Inside the fourth-floor executive control room, the scene turned into an operational tailspin.
With the teleprompter entirely abandoned, the executive producer’s voice cracked over the intercom loop, visibly choked with emotion: "Kill the wide shot. Don't exploit this. Fade to black right now. Fade the fader."
At precisely 8:36 AM EST, the heartbreaking image of Guthrie holding a weeping Bush Hager gently dissolved into a somber, silent black screen.
Rather than jumping into jarring commercial jingles, Master Control routed the national feed into an unbranded technical placeholder reading "Today: We Will Return Shortly", accompanied by soft classical continuity music for five extended minutes.
Soundstage Cleared and Building Lockdown
Behind the scenes at 30 Rock, the emotional fallout was instantaneous:
The Stage Embraces: When the broadcast cleared the floor, fellow on-air colleagues, including Hoda Kotb and Al Roker, rushed onto the Studio 1A riser, encircling Bush Hager as production assistants brought tissues, cold water, and medical wraps.
Floor Cleared: Senior management ordered all visitors, non-essential personnel, and interns out of the studio, closing the heavy acoustic blast doors to protect the anchor’s privacy.
Broadcast Abandoned: Studio 1A remained completely dark for the remainder of the hour. At 8:42 AM, programming resumed from an auxiliary desk on the third floor, where a visibly shaken newsroom correspondent read straightforward consumer briefs with an unsteady voice.
Global Outpouring and Viral Heartbreak
Within minutes of the broadcast cutting to break, DVR clips of Bush Hager’s tear-stained confession swept across X, TikTok, and YouTube, generating tens of millions of views under the viral hashtags #JennaBushHager, #TodayShowInTears, and #TheTruthHurts.
Viewers, mental health advocates, and media commentators nationwide reacted with profound empathy rather than scorn, praising the extraordinary courage it took to dismantle decades of curated political mythology on live television.
While NBCUniversal executives remain locked in high-level emergency meetings on the executive floors of 30 Rockefeller Plaza to assess the contractual and public relations fallout, Jenna Bush Hager’s unfiltered confession has irrevocably shattered morning television's cheerful facade, delivering one of the most painfully human, unforgettable reckonings in network history.
