donald trump
Live Nation has elected acting Kennedy Center president and Donald Trump ally Richard Grenell to its board of directors, according to a recent disclosure from the Securities and Exchange Commission. Grenell was appointed to run the federally owned performing arts center in February following a Trump-led shakeup that saw the President appoint himself chairman of […]
Theo Wargo / Diddy
Is Diddy getting desperate? Word on the street is that the disgraced mogul is seeking a pardon from Donald Trump, despite not even liking him.
Spotted on Raw Story, via a Rolling Stone report, Sean “Diddy” Combs is angling for a pardon or kissing Donald Trump’s orange a**.
Multiple sources have confirmed that Diddy’s desperation to get out of jail has led to people in his camp to speak with Trump’s team to see if a pardon is possible despite him “Not liking Trump.
Per Raw Story:
“He’s willing to do anything to get out of jail,” a source who has known Combs for a decade told the outlet. “He’s always been this way. He’s always going to do what he has to do to get out of a situation.”
“He doesn’t even like [President] Donald Trump,” they add.
According to the outlet, “The sources describe the conversations as ongoing and preliminary.” One source called the conversations as Diddy World, “making connections with the Trump team.”
Rolling Stone made clear, “There’s no evidence that Trump is personally aware of any of these conversations, and the president has not publicly weighed in on Combs’ criminal charges or prosecution.”
Rolling Stone did contact representatives for Diddy and the White House, but neither has confirmed the reporting.
What’s Going On With Diddy’s Trial?
Combs, 55, is currently facing 15 years to life if found guilty of racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking, transportation to engage in prostitution, and fraud. His trial is currently underway, as it’s already a circus.
His ex, Cassie Ventura, has already taken the stand along with the Bad Boy general’s former artist Dawn Richard, who both dropped some scathing testimony about Diddy’s abusive ways.
The prosecution took the gloves off early, alleging that Diddy “abused, threatened, and coerced women and others around him to fulfill his sexual desires, protect his reputation, and conceal his conduct.”
Diddy has already turned down a plea deal.
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Source: MELINA MARA / Getty / Donald Trump Jr.
It should come as no surprise that Donald Trump Jr. lacks decency.
Following the awful news of President Joe Biden’s prostate cancer diagnosis, Donald Trump Jr. didn’t waste anytime showing the world how much of a complete douche he is.
At first, it appeared the alleged booger sugar abuser was following his father’s lead by “putting politics aside” and wishing Biden well.
Trump Jr. reposted a meme of Biden with the caption “Politics aside, we wish him a speedy recovery,” hours after the news broke that Biden is battling an aggressive form of prostate cancer that has spread to his bones.
At the time he wrote, “Agree 100%.”
That good would only last roughly three hours when he dropped another post mocking President Biden’s wife, former First Lady Dr. Jill Biden, who holds a doctoral degree in education, pushing a conspiracy theory that is, as expected, taking off in MAGA land with Trump Jr. leading the charge.
“What I want to know is how did Dr. Jill Biden miss stage five metastatic cancer or is this yet another coverup???”
This masterclass in stupidity is now pinned to the top of his personal X page.
Uncle Joe has since given the American people an update on his diagnosis, writing on his personal social media accounts, “Cancer touches us all. Like so many of you, Jill and I have learned that we are strongest in the broken places. Thank you for lifting us up with love and support.”
Donald Trump Jr. Is Getting Slammed On X
On the other hand, social media has been tearing Donald Trump Jr. to shreds for his tasteless post. “There’s no bottom for Don Jr. Truly despicable,” the Republican For Trump account on X, formerly Twitter, wrote.
“I lost both of my parents to Cancer. This is disgusting and an insult to every patient and family dealing with this insidious disease. Grow the fuck up,” another post read.
The Trump family is full of rotten apples.
You can see more reactions in the gallery below.
2. Damn shame
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The U.S. Department of Justice is conducting a criminal investigation into whether Live Nation and AEG illegally colluded in their concert refund policies at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Live Nation confirmed, though the concert giant is denying any wrongdoing.
Bloomberg first reported Thursday (May 15) that the Department of Justice (DOJ) is investigating whether Live Nation and AEG violated federal antitrust laws by coordinating their responses to mass concert cancellations via a task force when the pandemic first hit in 2020.
Prosecutors have weighed bringing charges against Live Nation and its CEO, Michael Rapino, according to Bloomberg. No such charges have yet been filed; the statute of limitations for federal antitrust prosecutions is five years, meaning that if a case is going to be brought, it will have to be soon.
Trending on Billboard
Live Nation’s regulatory chief, Dan Wall, confirmed the criminal probe in a statement to Billboard but says the company did nothing wrong.
“It is not illegal for artist agents, promoters and ticketing companies to work together to solve the unprecedented challenges of a global pandemic,” Wall says. “While Live Nation contributed to this industry effort in good faith, we set our own unique policies and refund terms to support fans and artists. We did not collude with AEG or anyone else. We are proud of our leadership during those trying times, and if any charges result from this investigation, we will defend them vigorously.”
A DOJ spokesperson declined to comment on the matter Friday (May 16). Reps for AEG did not immediately return a request for comment.
The criminal investigation comes on top of the DOJ’s civil antitrust action accusing Live Nation and its subsidiary Ticketmaster of illegally monopolizing the live music industry. The lawsuit, filed last May, seeks to break up the two live entertainment behemoths that merged in 2010.
Live Nation and Ticketmaster insist that they are in compliance with antitrust regulations and have said they plan to “vigorously defend” against the lawsuit at trial, currently scheduled for March 2026.
The Live Nation-Ticketmaster suit was brought by then-President Joe Biden’s DOJ, and Bloomberg reports that the criminal investigation into Live Nation and AEG also began when Biden was president. But both enforcement actions have continued under President Donald Trump, who has made a priority of cracking down on issues within the live entertainment business
Trump signed an executive order in March — with musician and political supporter Kid Rock in attendance — calling for greater transparency around ticket sales and directing regulators to look into possible instances of deceptive and anticompetitive conduct in the industry.
The DOJ and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) responded by launching an official inquiry into the event ticketing business on May 7. The agencies said the probe is aimed at increasing competition in order to lower ticket prices, as well as rooting out exploitative scalpers and bots.
Source: RICHARD A. BROOKS / Getty / PlayStation 5
Sony announced its financial forecast for the next year, and the company expects Donald Trump’s tariffs to impact its bottom line greatly.
Spotted on The Verge, Sony expects Trump’s stupid tariffs to impact its financial forecast by 100 billion yen (about $680 million). Sony is weighing different options to counter the tariffs, including moving manufacturing to the United States, which could raise the price of PS5 consoles.
Sony CFO Lin Tao confirmed during a company earnings call that the company is considering “passing on” the price of tariffs to counteract the tariffs. Tao did not mention the PlayStation 5 by name during the call, signaling that the company could look to raise prices elsewhere to avoid raising the price of the PS5 console.
The PlayStation 5 has already seen price increases outside of the United States in Australia, the UK, New Zealand, and Europe.
While Tao didn’t mention the console, CEO Hiroki Totoki did when discussing possibly moving PS5 production to the US to minimize the effect of Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Totokoi said the PS5 console could be manufactured “can be produced locally,” say it could be “an efficient strategy,” that “has to be considered going forward.”
Sony Still Has To Worry About The 30 Percent Tariff On China
Sony still makes the PS5 in China, and even after the 90-day pause, the 30 percent tariff, which is a significant reduction from the 145 percent, is still above the 10 percent on imports into the United States from China.
If Sony does decide to raise its prices, it won’t be the first company to do so. Microsoft recently raised the price of its Xbox consoles by $100, while Nintendo has kept the price of the Switch 2 the same, opting to raise the prices of accessories instead.
We may learn soon enough if Sony does raise the price of the PS5. Until then, you can see reactions to this unfortunate news that we can all blame on Donald Trump.
2. Great question
4. We’re begging Sony
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Source: SAUL LOEB / Getty
On Monday (May 12), President Donald Trump took questions from reporters after a White House event, and was pointedly asked about welcoming white South Africans as refugees through a February executive order despite the administration’s feverish agenda of detaining and deporting migrants and others from the United States. “Why are you creating an expediting path into the country for Afrikaners but not others?” he was asked.“Because they’re being killed and we don’t want to see people be killed,” Trump responded. “But it’s a genocide that’s taking place that you people don’t want to write about. Farmers are being killed. They happen to be white. Whether they are white or Black makes no difference to me. White farmers are being brutally killed and the land is being confiscated in South Africa.”But the data, and further research, disproves those claims. According to Willamette University Professor of History Seth Cotler, such claims have only been sourced to neo-Nazi publications which have promoted the claim for decades. An expert on right-wing propaganda, he detailed the instances that fueled the myth in a thread of posts on BlueSky, noting that conservative William F. Buckley was the lone exception, writing about it in a column. White South Africans, while victims of violence in the country, experience it far less than those who are Black.According to a report from the Wall Street Journal, Afrikaners (who compose two-thirds of South Africa’s white population) possess half of South Africa’s land and produce 90% of its agricultural products, which amounted to be worth $13.7 billion in exports last year alone. Only 1% of white South Africans are in poverty as opposed to two-thirds of Black South Africans, due in large part to the historic system of apartheid in that nation which was abolished in 1994.When interviewed, some Afrikaners expressed their gratitude to Trump for the offer of resettlement but weren’t keen on going to the States. “But it’s good to know that [Trump] will back us … if sh*t happens,” farmer Maritz Gobler said. He also nixed the idea proposed by one Trump official that it would be easier for them to assimilate. “I don’t want to speak English for the rest of my life,” he said, highlighting that most Afrikaners primarily speak Afrikaans, a version of Dutch influenced by the indigenous peoples of Namibia and South Africa.
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Source: picture alliance / Getty / Elmo
Elmo might be a puppet, but like everyone else, he feels the sting of Donald Trump’s unstable economy and is now searching for new employment.
The internet has been in stitches since a debunked viral post featuring the lovable puppet monster from Sesame Street popped up on LinkedIn. The post features Elmo updating his profile after the Trump administration’s stupid budget cuts.
“Hi LinkedIn, Unfortunately Elmo was recently laid off because of the federal budget cuts,” the post begins. “Elmo worked at Sesame Street for 45 years. Elmo is sad. Elmo loved his time at Sesame Street.”
Like a normal profile on the job-search site, the puppet provided his credentials while sending a heartfelt farewell to friends and other longtime residents of Sesame Street, Big Bird, and Cookie Monster.
“Elmo is looking for his next opportunity,” the post continued. “Elmo is good at so many things. Like hugs. Elmo LOVES giving hugs. Elmo can also recognize the letter E, spell his name, feel empathy, sing ‘Elmo’s Song’ and ask how you are doing. Elmo is open to full-time or freelance roles.”
Elmo’s Post Reflects What’s Going On In The US Right Now
While the unemployment rate in the United States remains steady, currently sitting at 4.2%, it’s not looking good for those who reside on Sesame Street.
Thanks to an executive order issued on May 1 by the Trump administration calling for the cutting of federal funding to PBS and NPR in an effort to save money.
If you’re wondering exactly how much money in the federal budget goes to both entities, Katherine Maher, NPR President and CEO, said, “The appropriation for public broadcasting, including NPR and PBS, represents less than 0.0001% of the federal budget.”
The LinkedIn post has also garnered reactions, which you can see in the gallery below.
3. Blame Donald Trump and Elon Musk
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The Trump administration has fired the nation’s top copyright official, Shira Perlmutter, days after abruptly terminating the head of the Library of Congress, which oversees the U.S. Copyright Office.
The office said in a statement Sunday (May 11) that Perlmutter received an email from the White House a day earlier with the notification that “your position as the Register of Copyrights and Director at the U.S. Copyright Office is terminated effective immediately.”
On Thursday (May 8), President Donald Trump fired Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden, the first woman and the first African American to be librarian of Congress, as part of the administration’s ongoing purge of government officials perceived to oppose the president and his agenda.
Trending on Billboard
Hayden named Perlmutter to lead the Copyright Office in October 2020.
Perlmutter’s office recently released a report examining whether artificial intelligence companies can use copyrighted materials to “train” their AI systems. The report, the third part of a lengthy AI study, follows a review that began in 2023 with opinions from thousands of people including AI developers, actors and country singers.
In January, the office clarified its approach as one based on the “centrality of human creativity” in authoring a work that warrants copyright protections. The office receives about half a million copyright applications per year covering millions of creative works.
“Where that creativity is expressed through the use of AI systems, it continues to enjoy protection,” Perlmutter said in January. “Extending protection to material whose expressive elements are determined by a machine … would undermine rather than further the constitutional goals of copyright.”
The White House didn’t return a message seeking comment Sunday.
Democrats were quick to blast Perlmutter’s firing.
“Donald Trump’s termination of Register of Copyrights, Shira Perlmutter, is a brazen, unprecedented power grab with no legal basis,” said Rep. Joe Morelle of New York, the top Democrat on the House Administration Committee.
Perlmutter, who holds a law degree, was previously a policy director at the Patent and Trademark Office and worked on copyright and other areas of intellectual property. She also previously also worked at the Copyright Office in the late 1990s. She did not return messages left Sunday.
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Source: Getty Images / Donald Trump / Jeanine Pirro
One drunkard from Fox News isn’t enough to fill Donald Trump’s heada** cabinet. The Orange Menace tapped one of his biggest fans, Jeanine Pirro, as the interim top DC prosecutor.
Clearly, with Trump, the only qualifications you need to land a job in his administration are a talent for kissing his oversized orange a**, being a douche and have some run-in with law enforcement.
Jeanine Pirro Is The Perfect Candidate For A Role In The Trump Administration
Pirro easily checks all of those boxes. She staunchly defends her president on Fox News and was ticketed for excessive speeding in Upstate New York after she was clocked at 119mph on the radar.
Oh, and she also had an episode on her show Justice With Judge Jeanine in 2020, when she appeared visibly drunk, leading to her stumbling to form sentences and delaying the show.
The incident earned her the nickname “Judge Box O’ Wine” and has since resurfaced following Trump’s announcement that he was stupidly giving her the job she has no business having.
“I am pleased to announce that Judge Jeanine Pirro will be appointed interim United States Attorney for the District of Columbia,” Felon 47 wrote on crappy platform, Truth Social. “Jeanine was Assistant District Attorney for Westchester County, New York, and then went on to serve as County Judge, and District Attorney, where she was the first woman ever to be elected to those positions. During her time in office, Jeanine was a powerful crusader for victims of crime.”
He continued, “Her establishment of the Domestic Violence Bureau in her Prosecutor’s Office was the first in the Nation. She excelled in all ways. In addition to her Legal career, Jeanine previously hosted her own Fox News Show, Justice with Judge Jeanine, for ten years, and is currently Co-Host of The Five, one of the Highest Rated Shows on Television,” he added. “Jeanine is incredibly well qualified for this position, and is considered one of the Top District Attorneys in the History of the State of New York. She is in a class by herself. Congratulations Jeanine!”
Jeanine Pirro’s Husband Is Also A Crook
Of course, Pirro’s husband is a despicable person in his own right. He was indicted on 66 counts of federal tax fraud.
Per Crooks & Liars:
Albert J. Pirro was indicted on 66 counts of federal tax fraud. The Feds say Pirro hid $1 million in income between 1988 and 1997, claiming dozens of personal luxuries as business expenses, from his $123,000 Ferrari to his wife’s Mercedes-Benz, New York Magazine reported in 1999. And she hasn’t practiced law in 20 years. Just normal stuff!
X Is Dragging Both Trump and Jeanine Pirro
Like with Trump’s head-scratching choice for Surgeon General, X, formerly Twitter, is absolutely dragging Trump’s decision to give Pirro the job for now.
“Jeanine Pirro, Sean “Real World” Duffy, Pete “Whisky Leaks” Hegseth, Linda “A1” McMahon, and the entire trash trump cabinet are proof that they don’t give a FUCK about “merit hires.” They’re unfit clowns. ALL OF THEM,” one post read.
Another post read, “After hiring unqualified and incompetent drunk Pete Hegseth to be Defense Secretary, Trump’s doubling down by giving serious consideration to unqualified and incompetent drunk Jeanine Pirro as US Attorney for DC. There has never been a more incompetent president than Trump, EVER.”
Lord help us, it hasn’t been a year, and this crazy ride is far from over.
You can see more reactions in the gallery below.
1. Lol, don’t show Trump this
2. Judge Box O’ Wine LMAO
3. This will land you any job in the Trump administration
4. Trump uses Fox News like it’s LinkedIn
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Source: Getty Images / Donald Trump / Casey Means / Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Donald Trump continues to put on a masterclass in nominating people to positions in the United States government that they have no business being in.
On his mission to “Make America Healthy Again,” Donald Trump is enlisting the best quacks the country has to offer to solicit bad health advice to American people coming off a once-in-a-generation pandemic, and as diseases that were once considered 100% neutralized, like the measles, are on the comeback.
We already have vaccine skeptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in charge of HHS and TV doctor and Oprah’s biggest blunder, Dr. Mehmet OZ, as Administrator for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. To make matters worse, Trump has nominated “Dr” Casey Means to take on the role of Surgeon General.
What could go wrong?
Well, a lot.
According to MSNBC, Trump nominated Means after yanking Dr. Janette Nesheiwat, a Fox News contributor, ‘s nomination for the position without explaining the move.
The website points to right-wing activist, radical conspiracy theorist, and one of Trump’s closest confidants, Laura Loomer, criticizing Nesheiwat, specifically being BIG MAD about her support for life-saving Covid vaccines.
Trump claims the Nesheiwat will work at HHS in “another capacity,” giving Means the lane to become the nation’s top doctor.
Casey Means Lack of Experience For The Job
The AP went ham in their description of Means and perfectly explained why she is not qualified for the position, calling her just a “wellness influencer. ” They noted that she dropped out of her surgical residency program and has no experience in public health administration, something very much needed for the Surgeon General job.
The same report also describes her as a snake oil salesman who makes a living selling “dietary supplements, creams, teas, and other products sponsored on her social media accounts.”
Bruh.
When asked why he chose someone with no experience to be the top doctor in the country, Trump told reporters in the Oval Office that he said, “I don’t know her,” but only picked her because Kennedy “thought she was fantastic.”
What a glowing recommendation. We are being sarcastic, of course.
Social Media Is Freaking Out About Casey Means & Pointing Out How Fringe She Is
Social media has been responding to the latest nomination, and as expected, folks are apprehensive about another fringe doctor pushing bullsh*t health alternatives while disregarding proven medical science.
“Trumps’s new surgeon general nominee is Casey Means withdrew from her medical residency at age 30. She thinks you can stay healthy by focusing on metabolic health?! And Laura Loomer got rid of the original nominee for being too pro-vaccine? We’re living in an SNL skit,” one user on X, formerly Twitter, wrote.
We are in deep trouble. All folks had to do was vote for the Black lady, but, of course, they couldn’t do that.
You can see more reactions in the gallery below.
2. Face palm
3. The American Dream has become nothing but just scamming your way to top.
4. Not Dr. Nick, LOL
6. A thread