Donald Trump has angrily denied claims in a New York Times report that Elon Musk is scheduled to receive a Pentagon briefing on Friday about the U.S. military’s top-secret plans for combating aggression from China.
“The Fake News is at it again, this time the Failing New York Times. They said, incorrectly, that Elon Musk is going to the Pentagon tomorrow to be briefed on any potential ‘war with China,’” he said.
“‘How ridiculous?’ China will not even be mentioned or discussed. How disgraceful it is that the discredited media can make up such lies. Anyway, the story is completely untrue!!!”
On Thursday, the president signed an executive order directing Education Secretary Linda McMahon to “begin eliminating” the Department of Education in favor of leaving decision-making up to individual states.
Some programs, such as special needs and student loans, will be preserved and eventually rehomed in other departments.
The policy, which was recommended in the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025 manifesto that Trump once distanced himself from, sees McMahon, a former wrestling boss, instructed to undertake “all necessary steps to facilitate the closure… and return education authority to the states.”
Key Points
- Donald Trump angrily denies Elon Musk set to be part of secret Pentagon briefing on China
- President threatens to send Tesla vandals to El Salvador prisons
- House Democrats call for investigation into commerce secretary telling Fox viewers to buy Tesla stock
- Judge blocks Musk’s DOGE team from fraud ‘fishing expedition’ at Social Security
- Trump signs order to ‘eliminate’ Department of Education
House Democrats call for investigation into commerce secretary telling Fox viewers to ‘buy Tesla’ stock
12:20
,
Joe Sommerlad
Members of the lower chamber’s Oversight Committee are demanding a probe into Howard Lutnick after he implored views of the conservative cable news network to buy up shares in Elon Musk’s electric vehicle brand, writing to the Department of Commerce’s acting general counsel John K Guenther on what congressman Gerry Connolly said was “just the latest example of the Trump administration “using taxpayer resources to enrich the president’s inner circle.”
Last night, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick unlawfully peddled Tesla’s struggling stock on Fox News to enrich his boss's best friend, Elon Musk.
— Oversight Committee Democrats (@OversightDems) March 20, 2025
NEW TONIGHT: RM @GerryConnolly is calling out this obvious corruption in a letter to the Commerce Dept.https://t.co/uMsuLzAhQ7
House Oversight Cmte Democrats launch investigation of Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick’s “buy Tesla” comments on Fox News pic.twitter.com/PhXYGDVjp4
— Scott MacFarlane (@MacFarlaneNews) March 21, 2025
Trump threatens to send Tesla vandals to El Salvador prisons
12:01
,
Joe Sommerlad
The president’s first posts of the day find him picking up exactly where he left off last night: attacking the New York Times and Maggie Haberman (or “Maggot Hagerman”), threatening to send Tesla vandals to prison, perhaps in El Salvador, and rebuking judges for thwarting his agenda.
"Elon Musk will be briefed by the Pentagon about the USA's top secret plans against China should there be a War,"according to the Failing New York Times, one of the worst and most purposely inaccurate newspapers anywhere in the World. Their FAKE concept for this story is that…
— Trump Posts on (@trump_repost) March 21, 2025
I look forward to watching the sick terrorist thugs get 20 year jail sentences for what they are doing to Elon Musk and Tesla. Perhaps they could serve them in the prisons of El Salvador, which have become so recently famous for such lovely conditions!
— Trump Posts on (@trump_repost) March 21, 2025
No District Court Judge, or any Judge, can assume the duties of the President of the United States. Only Crime and Chaos would result. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!
— Trump Posts on (@trump_repost) March 21, 2025
He’s also continuing to push April 2, when his reciprocal tariffs come into effect, as “Liberation Day”.
April 2nd is Liberation Day in America!!! For DECADES we have been ripped off and abused by every nation in the World, both friend and foe. Now it is finally time for the Good Ol' USA to get some of that MONEY, and RESPECT, BACK. GOD BLESS AMERICA!!!
— Trump Posts on (@trump_repost) March 21, 2025
Here’s Alex Woodward on Trump previously talking up the prospect of deporting American citizens to Central America.
Fox anchor invents wild hypothetical about Tesla vandals and death penalty
11:40
,
Oliver O'Connell
Fox News host Harris Faulkner invented a bizarre situation in order to ask White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt if those who vandalize Teslas could receive the death penalty.
In Faulkner’s wild hypothetical, she brought up a possibility “that no one’s talking about.”
Ariana Baio has the story.
Meet the cost-cutting engineer who runs the day-to-day operations of DOGE
11:20
,
Oliver O'Connell
While Elon Musk is the face and public figure leading DOGE, its de-facto leader is actually the man who has been the tech mogul’s right-hand man for decades, according to a report.
Steve Davis, a 45-year-old engineer, has taken the lead in several of DOGE’s controversial cost-cutting moves, according to The New York Times.
Gustaf Kilander reports from Washington, D.C.
Elon Musk responds to reports that he will be briefed on potential war with China
11:05
,
Joe Sommerlad
Here’s James Liddell on how the embattled tech boss responded to the NYT’s reporting on his attendance at a top Pentagon meeting.
Analysis: Trump shutters the Dept of Education from a mock classroom
10:50
,
Joe Sommerlad
Zelensky defies Trump, warning: Hands off my nuclear power stations
10:35
,
Joe Sommerlad
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky has insisted that “all nuclear power plants belong to the people of Ukraine” after reports that Trump said an American takeover of the country’s nuclear power would offer the “best protection” for it.
In their first conversation since the American angrily rebuked Zelensky in the Oval Office, the U.S. president reportedly suggested Washington take ownership of his country’s energy infrastructure.
But Kyiv says the discussions referred only to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, which is under Russian occupation.
Jane Dalton reports.
Trump story about ‘surrounded’ Ukraine troops contradicted by his own intelligence, report reveals
10:20
,
Joe Sommerlad
Both Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin have insisted recently that Ukraine’s forces in Kursk are surrounded by Moscow’s troops and are in imminent danger but U.S. intelligence reports are contradicting those claims.
A trio of U.S. and European officials familiar with intelligence details of the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine told Reuters that the situation on the ground does not reflect the comments made by Trump and Putin.
One of the U.S. officials also said that the White House was briefed on the actual situation in Ukraine, so it’s unclear why Trump is continuing to state otherwise.
Trump's border czar wants Supreme Court to ‘finally’ answer birthright citizenship question
10:00
,
Oliver O'Connell
During an event in Florida yesterday, Trump’s tough guy border czar Tom Homan called birthright citizenship a “magnet” for unauthorized immigration and claimed the Supreme Court still needs to decide the matter – something it has already done multiple times in decisions dating back to 1898.
Josh Marcus reports.
Judge blocks Musk’s DOGE team from fraud ‘fishing expedition’ at Social Security
09:40
,
Joe Sommerlad
A federal judge has temporarily blocked Elon Musk and his so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) from their “fishing expedition” in search of a “fraud epidemic” based on “little more than suspicion” inside the Social Security Administration.
A temporary restraining order from District Judge Ellen Lipton Hollander prevents the world’s wealthiest man and his team of 10 at Social Security – which Musk has baselessly labeled a “Ponzi scheme” and accused of handing out tens of billions of dollars in retirement benefits to dead people – from “unfettered” access to personal information for millions of Americans.
U.S. DOGE Service employees at the nation’s retirement and disability agency currently have access to Social Security data or “personally identifiable information,” government lawyers said this month.
Their level of access “provides no avenues” to change beneficiary data or payments, but gives them the ability to “review records needed to detect fraud,” lawyers wrote in court filings March 12.
Alex Woodward reports.
Trump signs order to ‘eliminate’ Department of Education
09:20
,
Oliver O'Connell
President Donald Trump signed an order purporting to shut down the Department of Education yesterday, delivering a long-anticipated political win for conservatives who’ve long pushed for an end to public education in favor of private and religious schools.
Flanked by schoolchildren at desks, Trump signed the order during an East Room ceremony attended by multiple Republican governors and activists who celebrated the move, including Education Secretary Linda McMahon, who the president pointedly said he hopes is the last person to hold the position.
Trump claimed President Jimmy Carter’s decision to sign legislation creating the department had faced widespread opposition and insisted poor test scores among American schoolchildren proved critics “right.”
“Students in our public elementary and middle schools score worse in reading today than when the department opened, by a lot,” he said, adding that the department’s budget has nonetheless “exploded by 600 percent” to include “bureaucrats in buildings all over Washington.”
Trump on the Department of Education: "We're gonna shut it down and shut it down as quickly as possible. It's doing us no good. We want to return our students to the states." pic.twitter.com/tUWZZzwTi0
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) March 20, 2025
Among those reacting angrily to yesterday’s news was Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, a former high school teacher, who joked: “It’s so obscene that he would put a mock classroom – we all know he's never been in one.”
Walz: "It's so obscene that he would put a mock classroom -- we all know he's never been in one. He wouldn't last for a minute. He's surrounded by people who know nothing about education. They want to make this about bureaucracy and cutting. This is about children." pic.twitter.com/93o9WThb2M
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) March 21, 2025
Andrew Feinberg and Ariana Baio have this report.
Federal judges worried for their safety as Trump ramps up attacks
09:00
,
Oliver O'Connell
Pipe bomb threats. Creepy unwanted pizza deliveries. Threatening messages.
These are some of the threats federal judges have been facing in recent weeks, adding to an already tense atmosphere in which Donald Trump and his allies continue to lash out at officials who have ruled against parts of the president’s agenda.
Josh Marcus reports from San Francisco.
Truth Social: Trump rages about judges, pressures Fed over inflation, threatens Tesla arsonists with jail
08:40
,
Joe Sommerlad
Elsewhere on the president’s social media platform overnight, he has continued to rage about “radical left judges” ruling against his executive orders, again singling out District Judge James Boasberg, this time going so far as to accuse him of “doing everything in his power to usurp the power of the presidency.”
Unlawful Nationwide Injunctions by Radical Left Judges could very well lead to the destruction of our Country! These people are Lunatics, who do not care, even a little bit, about the repercussions from their very dangerous and incorrect Decisions and Rulings. Lawyers endlessly…
— Trump Posts on (@trump_repost) March 20, 2025
Judge James Boasberg is doing everything in his power to usurp the Power of the Presidency. He is a local, unknown Judge, a Grandstander, looking for publicity, and it cannot be for any other reason, because his "Rulings" are so ridiculous, and inept. SAVE AMERICA!
— Trump Posts on (@trump_repost) March 20, 2025
He has also been pressuring the Federal Reserve over the cost of living and threatening Tesla vandals with jail.
People that get caught sabotaging Teslas will stand a very good chance of going to jail for up to twenty years, and that includes the funders. WE ARE LOOKING FOR YOU!!!
— Trump Posts on (@trump_repost) March 21, 2025
Egg prices are WAY DOWN from the Biden inspired prices if just a few weeks ago. "Groceries" and Gasoline are down, also. Now, if the Fed would do the right thing and lower interest rates, that would be great!!!
— Trump Posts on (@trump_repost) March 21, 2025
Trump denies Musk set for secret briefing on U.S. war plans for China
08:20
,
James Liddell
Donald Trump has denied claims in a New York Times report that Elon Musk is scheduled to receive a Pentagon briefing Friday about the U.S. military’s top-secret war plans for China – after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth confirmed the tech billionaire’s visit.
In a post on Truth Social late on Thursday, Trump said: “China will not even be mentioned or discussed” during the Pentagon meeting.
“The Fake News is at it again, this time the Failing New York Times. They said, incorrectly, that Elon Musk is going to the Pentagon tomorrow to be briefed on any potential ‘war with China,’” he said.
“’How ridiculous?’ China will not even be mentioned or discussed. How disgraceful it is that the discredited media can make up such lies. Anyway, the story is completely untrue!!!”
Musk in turn has replied to Trump’s post by calling The NYT “pure propaganda”.
The New York Times is pure propaganda.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 21, 2025
Also, I look forward to the prosecutions of those at the Pentagon who are leaking maliciously false information to NYT.
They will be found. pic.twitter.com/xANvLMOH5j
Here’s more.
Jesse Watters has five 'rules for men' — the internet responded
07:30
,
Oliver O'Connell
Jesse Watters has been widely ridiculed after listing his five “rules for men” — a list that includes no milkshakes and no soup.
The Fox News host was responding to Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz’s claim on Gavin Newsom’s podcast that MAGA focused on his masculinity “obsessively” during the 2024 presidential election.
“I have rules for men,” Watters began on Wednesday’sThe Five.
Rhian Lubin has the story.
Trump is itching for a major battle with the courts — but it’s a dangerous game
07:00
,
Oliver O'Connell
By invoking a wartime law linked to one of America’s most shameful legacies, Donald Trump found himself poised for a historic battle with the judiciary.
John Bowden reports from Washington, D.C.
Zelensky defies Trump, warning: Hands off my nuclear power stations
06:30
,
Oliver O'Connell
Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky has insisted that “all nuclear power plants belong to the people of Ukraine” after reports that his US counterpart Donald Trump said an American takeover of the country’s nuclear power would offer the “best protection” for it.
In their first conversation since Mr Trump verbally attacked Mr Zelensky in the White House and had him thrown out, the US president reportedly suggested Washington take ownership of Ukraine’s energy infrastructure.
But Kyiv says the discussions referred only to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, which is under Russian occupation.
Jane Dalton reports.
Europe has ‘raped and pillaged’ the US, Trump bizarrely claims
05:30
,
Oliver O'Connell
In his latest affront to the nation’s allies, President Donald Trump claimed the European Union has “raped and pillaged” the U.S.
Trump spoke to Fox News host Laura Ingraham on Wednesday about the economy and the potential for a recession this year.
Trump didn’t directly answer when asked if he would rule out the possibility of a recession, claiming instead that the country’s problems were fueled by their allies.
Kelly Rissman has the story.
Tesla or Trump? One investor says its time for Elon Musk to decide
04:30
,
Oliver O'Connell
An early investor in Tesla has called for Elon Musk to leave his post as the company’s CEO if he doesn’t depart from his current job focusing on cutting down the federal government.
Gustaf Kilander has the story.
Reports says GOP senators want Elon Musk to stay away from social security
03:30
,
Oliver O'Connell
Billionaire Elon Musk’s repeated attacks on Social Security are reportedly causing disquiet among Republicans, who fear any cuts to the welfare service by his Department of Government Efficiency, DOGE, will lead to disruption and inspire an angry backlash from their constituents.
Joe Sommerlad has the story.
Trump rails against US judges in authoritarian rant on Truth Social
03:28
,
Graig Graziosi
Donald Trump ranted about US judges who have issued rulings against his presidential actions in a pair of posts on Truth Social Thursday evening.
Trump specifically called out federal Judge James Boasberg, who ordered the administration to stop flying deportees to El Salvador and has demanded evidence that the president is complying with his orders.
“Judge James Boasberg is doing everything in his power to usurp the Power of the Presidency. He is a local, unknown Judge, a Grandstander, looking for publicity, and it cannot be for any other reason, because his ‘Rulings’ are so ridiculous, and inept. SAVE AMERICA! “ Trump wrote on Thursday evening.
He also railed against judges more broadly, accusing any who oppose him of being “radical” leftists who want to seize power for themselves.
He wrote the following:
Unlawful Nationwide Injunctions by Radical Left Judges could very well lead to the destruction of our Country! These people are Lunatics, who do not care, even a little bit, about the repercussions from their very dangerous and incorrect Decisions and Rulings. Lawyers endlessly search the United States for these Judges, and file lawsuits as quickly as they find them. It is then the obligation of Law abiding Agencies of Government to have these “Orders” overturned. The danger is unparalleled! These Judges want to assume the Powers of the Presidency, without having to attain 80 Million Votes. They want all of the advantages with none of the risks. Again, a President has to be allowed to act quickly and decisively about such matters as returning murderers, drug lords, rapists, and other such type criminals back to their Homeland, or to other locations that will allow our Country to be SAFE. It is our goal to MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN, and such a high aspiration can never be done if Radical and Highly Partisan Judges are allowed to stand in the way of JUSTICE. STOP NATIONWIDE INJUNCTIONS NOW, BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE. If Justice Roberts and the United States Supreme Court do not fix this toxic and unprecedented situation IMMEDIATELY, our Country is in very serious trouble!
Did a Venezuelan asylum seeker get deported over a Real Madrid tattoo? Court documents say yes
02:30
,
Oliver O'Connell
Jerce Reyes Barrios, described by his attorneys as a professional soccer player and a youth soccer coach, fled Venezuela for the United States after he was arrested and “tortured” by “election shocks and suffocation” for marching in demonstrations protesting Nicolas Maduro’s regime.
He doesn’t have a criminal record, and a judge is scheduled to hear his asylum claims next month, according to his attorney.
But last week, Barrios was put on a plane with dozens of other Venezuelan men and sent to a prison in El Salvador.
Alex Woodward has the details.
What happens if Trump continues to defy court orders?
01:30
,
Oliver O'Connell
President Donald Trump and his allies are in the middle of a weeks-long attempt to undermine the judges overseeing an avalanche of lawsuits against them. Judges who rule against him have been cast as corrupt, impeachable or criminal, and the president is incredulous that any federal judge could strike down a command from the executive branch as unconstitutional.
The administration has already repeatedly tested how far it can defy court orders, but a legal fight over the president’s authority to deport immigrants under a rarely used wartime law is steering the United States towards a dangerous constitutional crossroads, according to legal experts.
Alex Woodward explains.
Regulators recall nearly all Cybertrucks in latest blow to Tesla
00:30
,
AP
U.S. safety regulators on Thursday recalled virtually all Cybertrucks on the road, the eighth recall of the Tesla-made vehicles since deliveries to customers began just over a year ago.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's recall, which covers more than 46,000 Cybertrucks, warned that an exterior panel that runs along the left and right sight of the windshield can detach while driving, creating a dangerous road hazard for other drivers, increasing the risk of a crash.
Read on...
Lutnick begs Fox News viewers to buy Tesla stock in bizarre interview
Thursday 20 March 2025 23:30
,
Oliver O'Connell
Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick used an appearance on Fox News to encourage viewers to buy stock in Tesla, as the company struggles amid Elon Musk’s involvement in the Trump administration.
Although cabinet secretaries traditionally do not endorse individual stocks, Lutnick told viewers of Jesse Watters Primetime that Musk – a “special government employee” of President Donald Trump – was “the best person to bet on” and that Tesla’s stock will “never be this cheap again.”
Ariana Baio reports.
Elon Musk called ‘South African nepo baby’ by Tim Walz
Thursday 20 March 2025 23:00
,
Oliver O'Connell
Minnesota Governor and former Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Walz referred to the world’s richest man and DOGE head Elon Musk as “dip****” during an event in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, on Tuesday night as he rallied his party ahead of a State Supreme Court race.
That wasn’t all, as Gustaf Kilander reports.
Lawyers describe ‘serious human rights violation’ after ICE 'disappeared' 48 New Mexico residents
Thursday 20 March 2025 22:30
,
Oliver O'Connell
Civil rights attorneys are sounding the alarm after 48 New Mexico residents “disappeared” after their arrests by federal immigration enforcement agents this month.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement “has not indicated where any of them are being detained, whether they have access to counsel, in what conditions they are being held, or even which agency is holding them,” according to a federal complaint from the American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico.
They have been “effectively forcibly disappeared from our communities,” attorneys wrote.
Alex Woodward reports.