• During his livestream, Benny Johnson said he had “little birdies on the inside” of Hillary Clinton's deposition to Congress who were sending him information. The deposition was briefly halted when Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) sent an unauthorized photo of the proceeding to Johnson.  After Johnson tried to defend his post, he was roasted by the corporate account for Gay Guy Candle company which called him out for contradicting himself, adding, “You guys are so [expletive] dumb.”
• After FBI Director Kash Patel celebrated with the U.S. men’s Olympic hockey team, Newsmax host Carl Higbie reacted, saying, “That’s what testosterone looks like.” This wasn’t the only silly thing Higbie said this week. Higbie also said, “Some suggest that these headphones are making the kids gay.”  
• So many people called into Sean Hannity’s radio show over his claims about Trump’s tax cuts that his producer had to urge listeners to call their accountant.

One Newsmax host said Iran strikes will begin tonight and a Fox host on Friday morning endorsed strikes. 

President Donald Trump is pushing this war without even making the case to the American people or receiving congressional authorization. This comes as even the MAGA base is fractured over another war, with some pundits supporting war and others opposed.

• Podcaster and major Trump toady Benny Johnson said he is “not in favor” of war with Iran. 
• Fox & Friends co-host Rachel Campos-Duffy pushed back on the military buildup near Iran, saying, “The president needs to make a better case as to why this is in American interest.” 
• Former Fox host Tucker Carlson complained, “There’s not 10% of Trump voters who voted for Trump because they wanted regime change in Iran. In fact, they voted against that.” 
• Fox News host Mark Levin repeatedly argued for Trump to take military action against Iran, saying “diplomacy as diplomacy” would fail because Iran’s “short-term goal is to avoid and delay regime change.”

Some right-wing pundits are also questioning Trump’s rationale for a potential attack. Last summer, the United States bombed Iran’s nuclear enrichment sites and the White House claimed that “Iran’s nuclear facilities have been obliterated.” 

Now the administration is claiming the United States may need to bomb Iran again to end its nuclear program. Podcaster Megyn Kelly pointed out the incongruity when she said, “Here we are six months later saying we have to go back in to stop the nuclear program, the one that we just allegedly bombed and destroyed.” 

As tensions between the United States and Iran continue to escalate, Trump is potentially betting on military conflict with not only a divided nation, but a divided propaganda apparatus.

• Podcaster Candace Owens has been receiving serious blowback from other right-wing pundits over her attacks on Erika Kirk. Ben Shapiro of The Daily Wire (where Owens used to work) called her a “conspiratorial, evil person” and called her actions “satanic.” Former FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino said, “This just can’t be what this movement is. And if it is, I don’t — I just don’t want any part of it.” 
• Former Fox News host Tucker Carlson has also been receiving a lot of blowback from right-wing pundits over a recent debate he did with Mike Huckabee during a trip to Israel. A Newsmax guest said, “Tucker Carlson at this point is not just the most dangerous antisemite in the history of the United States of America, he’s the single most dangerous man in America today.” A PBD Podcast panelist also slammed Carlson, saying, “Tucker Qatarlson cannot be trusted.”
• Steve Bannon continues to face backlash regarding his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein. Benny Johnson said, “Steve Bannon needs to answer for all of this,” and Ben Shapiro said Bannon has “somehow gotten off scot-free.”  

Another major media conglomerate teeters on the precipice of being absorbed by a deep-pocketed ally of Donald Trump and his administration. On Thursday, Netflix effectively backed out of a deal to purchase Warner Bros., ceding the purchase to Paramount. Paramount is owned by David Ellison, a Trump favorite and the son of the president’s billionaire buddy Larry Ellison. 

At the end of last week, Netflix had a signed deal to purchase the theatrical and streaming divisions of Warner Bros., with the company’s cable division — including CNN — set to be spun off into a separate company. Last weekend, Trump demanded that Netflix fire board member Susan Rice (a high-ranking member of the Obama and Biden administrations) and Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos refused Trump’s demand. 

On Tuesday, Warner Bros. announced that it was considering a new bid from Paramount, putting the Netflix deal in doubt. And then on Thursday, Warner Bros. said it considered Paramount’s bid as superior and, soon after, Netflix said it would not raise its bid, effectively ceding the purchase to Paramount. 

Trump wanted Warner Bros. assets — particularly CNN — in the hands of an ally. His public statements and White House leaks made it crystal clear both that he preferred that Paramount purchase Warner Bros., and that his administration would corruptly wield its regulatory power to thwart rival bidders. And that strategy seems to have succeeded. 

Media companies are falling to Trump’s authoritarian will. In less than a year, CBS News and TikTok have come under the thumb of a single family of pro-Trump billionaires. CNN, HBO and Warner Bros.’ movie business will be added to that list if the deal goes through. Meanwhile, the owners of The Washington Post and Los Angeles Times seem to have been suborned and are disemboweling their institutions, while ABC News’ corporate owners have repeatedly capitulated to the administration. 

• New reporting shows multiple pages missing from the recent release of Epstein documents, including notes from an interview with one woman who reported that Trump sexually assaulted her when she was a minor. Our review found that in the day following the report, Fox News ignored this reporting. 
• Fox’s Sean Hannity gave a pathetically sycophantic response to Trump’s State of the Union. 
• Daily Wire host Matt Walsh said we should “discourage families from putting their kids in day care.” 
• Rudy Giuliani attacked Rep. Ilhan Omar: “You can look Muslim and look more American than that.”

The Washington Post reported that “pro-Trump activists” Peter Ticktin and Jerome Corsi have been involved with a draft executive order for Donald Trump to “declare a national emergency” for “power over voting” and “say they are in coordination with the White House.” Media Matters previously reported on this draft order and has found that other election deniers have claimed to be involved and are advocating for a national emergency. 

Election deniers have been advocating for a national emergency, saying they were “encouraging the president to declare a national emergency right now on this issue” and urged Trump to “execute his National Emergency Act powers” to supposedly protect elections because executive orders “are permissible in states of national and foreign emergencies.” Other election deniers advocating for a national emergency include former Trump national security adviser Michael Flynn and former Overstock CEO Patrick Byrne, who alongside attorney Sidney Powell attended a December 2020 Oval Office meeting where Trump was urged to seize voting machines. 

Media Matters’ Alex Kaplan provides more information regarding this disturbing plot. I invite you to read more here.