politics
Page: 44
Former President Donald Trump is now a convicted felon, with a Manhattan jury finding him guilty of all 34 charges against him of falsifying business records Thursday (May 30) following a seven-week trial. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news The verdict makes him the first ex-POTUS to […]
As a jury enters day two of its deliberations for Donald Trump’s criminal trial in New York, comedian Randy Rainbow is training his sights on one of the former president’s most vocal allies — Republican representative Marjorie Taylor Greene.
In his latest video, Rainbow pulls clips from Greene’s 60 Minutes interview from April 2023, hosting his own fake version of the show titled 60 MAGATS to “interview” the GOP firebrand. “It’s rare for a member of the House of Representatives to become nationally well-known,” Rainbow states in the introduction of his clip. “Unless, of course, that member is a f–king lunatic like my next guest, Marjorie Taylor Greene, or MTG as she more commonly refers to herself when she can’t remember her full name.”
After calling Greene a “Q clown insurrectionist” and “bleach-blonde bad-built butch body” in their faux conversation, Rainbow launches into his newest song called “Look at Me, I’m MTG,” parodying “Look at Me, I’m Sandra Dee” from Grease. Wearing a crunchy blonde wig and a pink Trump hat, Rainbow mocks Greene by listing of her lack of credentials: “Trashy as hell, I can’t math, read or spell/ Oh well, I’m MTG,” he croons.
Trending on Billboard
As the song goes on, Rainbow takes shots at Greene’s history of antisemitic and transphobic antics, her past support of conspiracy theories such as QAnon, and her ongoing partnership with fellow GOP representative Lauren Boebert. By the time the song reaches its climax, Rainbow is wearing a red clown nose to send home his point about the representative.
“Ain’t got no class, I’m moronic and crass/ True, I’m profane, all I do is complain/ Just a hot mess, Alex Jones in a dress,” Rainbow belts in the song’s final chorus. “MT, she’s MT, her brain is so empty/ P–s off, I’m MTG!”
Check out Rainbow’s full video for “Look at Me, I’m MTG” below:
[embedded content]
HipHopWired Featured Video
Source: David Dee Delgado / Getty
Former GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy may not, at the moment, be the major player in Republican politics that he started to become before dropping out of the Republican primary race in January, but he appears to have turned his sights toward American media, which he appears to want to make great again by increasing the platforms of some of the most ignorant and least informed talking heads in right-wing “news.”
According to Variety, Ramaswamy disclosed in a filing last week that he owns 7.7% of BuzzFeed’s stock, and in a letter dated May 27 to BuzzFeed’s board of directors, he said he now holds a 8.37% stake in the company “and I continue to increase my position.” And because he reportedly owns less than 9% of what Variety described as a failing media company’s stock, he has grand ideas about how he can improve the company as the self-proclaimed authority on how to turn a media company around, which includes firing the current staff and hiring people who aren’t very smart but definitely share many of his points of view.
“BuzzFeed has lost its way,” Ramaswamy wrote in the letter. “I own your stock because I believe BuzzFeed can still become a more valuable company than at its initial listing, but this requires a major shift in strategy.”
Now, to be fair, Ramaswamy isn’t only recommending that BuzzFeed hire conservative journalists and pundits, he wants the company to hire talent from “across the political and cultural spectrum.” Still, it’s pretty revealing that the examples of conservative voices he wants to see hired include Candace Owens, Tucker Carlson and Aaron Rodgers. Sure, it’s true that the pool of halfway smart right-wing pundits has more pee in it than the dating pool, but certainly Ramaswamy can do better than a MAGA mammy who thinks diversity is anti-white cisgender straight male supremacy (and that that’s a bad thing), an ex-Fox News host who got big mad because cartoon M&M mascots aren’t as “sexy” as they used to be, and an NFL quarterback who thinks he knows more than medical experts about the efficacy of vaccines.
Of course, it isn’t terribly surprising the Ramaswamy wants more factless, pseudointellectual bigots and buffoons at the helm of BuzzFeed’s media sites. This is, after all, the guy who nodded along like an idiot while loud and proud white nationalist Ann Coulter told him to his face that she would never have voted for him because “you’re an Indian.” Also, coming from the guy who thinks Juneteenth is a “redundant” holiday because MLK Day already exists—and is a proponent of the white nationalist “great replacement theory,” despite the fact that brown people like himself are the very people white conservatives are afraid of being replaced by—it isn’t surprising that he believes political diversity is much more important than racism diversity in a media company.
But the guy who baselessly claimed the Jan. 6 Capitol riot was an inside job and that critical race theory is a “secular religion” and also “psychological slavery for children” is now telling BuzzFeed it should “distinguish yourself from competitors by openly admitting your past journalistic failures and redefine BuzzFeed’s brand around the pursuit of truth,” not that he would know anything about truth or journalism.
Paramore is joining the latest round of celebrity support for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza following this week’s intensifying violence between Israel and Hamas in the southern city of Rafah. On Instagram Stories Wednesday (May 29), the punk-rock trio posted information about Save the Children and Doctors Without Borders, two organizations currently providing humanitarian aid […]
Travis Kelce has finally weighed in on Harrison Butker’s controversial Benedictine College commencement speech, during which the Kansas City Chiefs kicker quoted a Taylor Swift song while condemning President Joe Biden, abortion, birth control, LGBTQ Pride, the “cultural emasculation of men” and more.
On the Friday (May 24) episode of his and brother Jason Kelce’s podcast New Heights, the tight end noted that while he disagrees with “a majority” of the beliefs Butker shared during the Catholic school’s graduation ceremony, he thinks his teammate is “a great person.”
“I’ve known him for seven-plus years,” Travis said. “I cherish him as a teammate. I think [Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes] said it best, where he is every bit of a great person and great teammate. He’s treated friends and family that I’ve introduced to him with nothing but respect and kindness, and that’s how he treats everyone.”
Trending on Billboard
As mentioned by Travis, the episode comes shortly after Mahomes defended Butker during a press conference at the Chiefs’ recent training complex in Kansas City. The quarterback told reporters that while he doesn’t share his teammate’s beliefs, he thinks Butker is “trying to do whatever he can to lead people in the right direction.”
On Friday, Travis gave a similar sentiment. “When it comes down to his views and what he said … those are his,” the Ohio native said on the podcast as Jason nodded in agreement. “I can’t say I agree with the majority of it, or just about any of it outside of him loving his family and his kids. I don’t think I should judge him by his views, especially his religious views, of how to go about life. That’s just not who I am.”
During his speech on May 11, Butker also promoted antisemitic misinformation about a congressional bill as well as discouraged the female graduates in attendance from focusing on careers outside of homemaking after earning their degrees. “I would venture to guess that the majority of you are most excited about your marriage and the children you will bring into this world,” he said at the time. “I can tell you that my beautiful wife, Isabelle, would be the first to say her life truly started when she started living her vocation as a wife and as a mother.”
Later on, Butker quoted Swift’s Midnights single “Bejeweled” while admonishing church leaders who gain too much satisfaction “from the adulation they receive from their parishioners” and “become overly familiar.”
“This undue familiarity will prove to be problematic every time,” he said with a smile. “Because as my teammate’s girlfriend says, ‘Familiarity breeds contempt.’”
In the weeks since Butker’s speech went viral, several stars — including Flavor Flav, Maren Morris and Eddie Vedder — have publicly denounced the kicker. On New Heights, Jason revealed that his wife, former field hockey player Kylie Kelce, was “a little bit frustrated” with his comments.
Travis, on the other hand, did not share how Swift reacted to Butker’s address — however, one could argue that the 14-time Grammy winner’s history of identifying as a feminist and advocating for LGBTQ rights speaks for itself.
Watch Travis open up about Butker’s commencement speech on New Heights below.
[embedded content]
HipHopWired Featured Video
CLOSE
Source: @amberrose / Instagram
Amber Rose has declared she is a full-blown Donald Trump supporter. The alleged Slut Walk champion posted a photo of herself, Donald Trump and Melania Trump, and Xitter has been dragging her ever since.
With a simple caption of “Trump 2024 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸” there stands Trump with a cheesy smile and thumbs up sandwiched between MAGA Muva Rose to his left and his alleged wife Melania on the right.
Social media was quick to point out the hypocrisy of Rose, who sees herself as a feminist, announcing her support of Trump, the same guy who proudly says he helped walk back Roe Vs Wade thanks to his three Supreme Court Justice picks.
There’s also the fact that he’s an adjudicated sexual assaulter who is currently on trial for paying a porn star, Stormy Daniels, hush money to keep quiet about the one-night stand he had with her, while he was married to Melania, his third baby momma.
A quick peruse of Yeezy’s ex’s socials reveals she has been toying with being the Op for a minute. If you’re aligning with Piers Morgan, MAGA ignorance is right up your alley.
Then, there’s the whole transphobia struggle that has reportedly caused many of her old friends to abandon ship.
Many are also noting that Joseline Hernandez called out the jig.
The Xitter peanut gallery has been going in on Rose. See for yourself in the gallery.
How much do you think her loyalty cost? Asking for a friend. Also, over under her “research” consisted of memes and Steve Bannon podcasts?
1. Never forget.
11. Feasible…
With Donald Trump spending much of his time in court as of late, internet sensation Randy Rainbow decided to serve up his latest take on the former president’s legal troubles with a little help from Dolly Parton. In his new video published Monday (May 20), Rainbow parodied Parton’s iconic work anthem “9 to 5,” replacing […]
HipHopWired Featured Video
CLOSE
Source: James Devaney / Getty / Cardi B
President Biden and Donald Trump don’t have to worry about Cardi B pulling the lever for either of them in the voting booth in the upcoming presidential election.
Speaking with Rolling Stone, the Bronx Hip-Hop star got candid on numerous topics, including her highly anticipated sophomore album, love life, parenting with her ex-husband Offset, and politics.
The “Bodak Yellow” crafter has never been one to shy away from sharing her thoughts on political matters and what’s going on in the country, so it should come as no surprise that she had something to say about our choices when picking a president.
In the interview, Cardi B doubled down that neither the incumbent, President Joe Biden, nor his rival, disgraced former president Donald Trump, will be getting her support.
“I don’t fuck with both of y’all n*ggas,” Cardi B told the publication.
Cardi B’s Beef With The Current Government
This is not the first time Bardi has expressed her disdain for President Biden, whom she supported in the 2020 election. She explained that her current stance is due to “layers and layers of disappointment.”
“I feel like people got betrayed,” in reference to wages not going up (wage growth is outpacing inflation), the cost of living going up at a staggering rate, and no one in the government is doing anything.
We can attribute the lack of production due to the House GOP, who instead participate in culture wars and spend their time standing behind Trump in solidarity while he is on trial for illegal hush money payments he made to porn star Stormy Daniels.
“It’s just like, damn, y’all not caring about nobody,” she told Rolling Stone. “Then, it really gets me upset that there is solutions to it. There is a solution. I know there’s a solution because you’re spending billions of dollars on any fucking thing.”
She’s No Fan of “Endless Wars”
Cardi B also spoke out against President Biden’s commitment to supply military aid to allies Ukraine and Israel last fall and told Rolling Stone the United States should not “pay for endless wars for countries that have been going through shit for a very long time.”
“There’s countries [where] kids are getting killed every single day, but because the [U.S.] won’t benefit from that country, they won’t help,” she explained.
“I don’t like that America has this superhero cape on. We never did things to be superheroes. We did things for our own convenience.”
Ukraine is currently fending off dictator Vladimir Putin’s Russia, who illegally invaded the neighboring country on February 22, 2024, in an attempt to restore Russia’s strategic depth and counter NATO’s eastward expansion.
Israel is currently locked in a battle with Hamas to free hostages taken by the terrorist organization on October 7 during the bloody surprise attack on the country.
Gaza has been ground zero for the Israel-Hamas conflict, which has seen the death and displacement of Palestinians, leading to massive protests breaking out on college campuses and city streets across the United States.
X Users Are Reminding Cardi B She Is Speaking From A Place of Privilege
Following the article’s release, Cardi B received plenty of flak for her stance on not voting. Users on X, formerly Twitter, didn’t waste time reminding her that she could afford not to vote because she was in a position most Black and Brown US citizens were not.
“Cardi B and celebrities like her are fortunate enough to not have to care about who the president or any elected official is bc the decisions they make likely will not affect them. The rest of us don’t have that luxury,” one user on X wrote.
Another X user wrote. “YOU do not have the financial means to ignore. YOU will be the first to suffer. When the plague comes it strikes your home and your body first.”
Responding to the backlash, Cardi B explained her decision to not support Biden due to the Israel-Hamas conflict.
“I just can’t support that. My heart can’t support that, “Cardi B said during a Twitter Spaces stream. “I can’t see children under rubble. Im not with that. I hate that. It disgusts me. My heart hates it.”
Cardi B has every right to feel the way she does, but keeping it a buck, there is a lot at stake in our democracy, and who is sitting in the Oval Office after November 5 will most definitely impact our future.
Do your due diligence and read up on Project 2025 before mindlessly following Cardi B’s lead.
You can see more reactions in the gallery below.
1. An excellent explainer video
2. Another video you should watch
3. Civics 101
Cardi B is deeply unhappy with the state of political affairs, inside and out of the United States. And in a new Rolling Stone cover story published Thursday (May 6), the rapper goes as far as denouncing President Joe Biden for his administration’s involvement in the ongoing Israel-Hamas war, as well as the issues she sees happening here at home.
While addressing America’s ongoingfinancial aid to the Israeli military, as well as Ukraine’s military efforts against Russia, Cardi told the publication, “[America] don’t pay for endless wars for countries that have been going through s–t for a very long time.”
Trending on Billboard
“There’s countries [where] kids are getting killed every single day, but because the [U.S.] won’t benefit from that country, they won’t help,” she continued. “I don’t like that America has this superhero cape on. We never did things to be superheroes. We did things for our own convenience.”
Since Hamas terrorists attacked Israel on Oct. 7 – taking about 250 hostages and killing an estimated 1,200 – Israel and Hamas have been engaged in a deadly war. According to the Associated Press, more than 34,500 Palestinians have been killed, while ABC News reports that an estimated 1,700 people in Israel have been killed. Reuters reported on May 14 that Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani had said talks of a ceasefire in Gaza had reached a stalemate due to Israel’s operations in Rafah.
As for average Americans’ economic struggles on the home front, the “WAP” rapper says she feels “layers and layers of disappointment” about Biden’s inaction. “I feel like people got betrayed,” she said. “It’s just like, ‘Damn, y’all not caring about nobody.’ Then, it really gets me upset that there is solutions to it. There is a solution. I know there’s a solution because you’re spending billions of dollars on any f–king thing.”
The interview comes just six months ahead of the 2024 presidential election, during which Biden will once again run against the twice-impeached former president Donald Trump. Leading up to the former’s victory against the latter in 2020, Cardi both interviewed and endorsed the current POTUS, telling SiriusXM at the time, “It’s either we go with Joe Biden or Donald Trump … I have spoken to Joe Biden before. I think he gets it. I don’t know if it’s sympathize, but I think that he understands what we want. I think he understands that what we want are simple things.”
But now? “I don’t f–k with both of y’all n—-s,” she said of Biden and Trump.
See Cardi B’s Rolling Stone cover and photos from the shoot below.
Flavor Flav thinks Harrison Butker needs to take a step back. Following the Kansas City Chiefs kicker’s controversial commencement speech at Kansas liberal arts college Benedictine University over the weekend — during which the athlete advised women to focus on being homemakers rather than building careers — the rapper took to X Tuesday (May 14) to offer up some advice of his own.
“Sounds like some players ‘need to stay in their lanes’ and shouldn’t be giving commencement speeches,” Flav tweeted.
Trending on Billboard
The next day, the “Shake Your Booty” artist returned to the platform to write, “God is Good,,, imma man of faith and am grateful for all the opportunities I have in my life to support women and their choices. My whole team is women with a WoManager and LawyHers and am blessed to be surrounded by great women in life.”
Flav’s tweets come as Butker’s Saturday (May 11) speech has been blowing up online, particularly thanks to the kicker’s use of Taylor Swift lyrics in his remarks. Referring to the pop star only as “my teammate’s girlfriend” rather than by her name, he went on to quote her Midnights single “Bejeweled.”
“Familiarity breeds contempt,” he said while admonishing church leaders who he thinks gain too much satisfaction “from the adulation they receive from their parishioners.”
Elsewhere in the commencement address, Butker condemned everything from abortion to birth control, President Joe Biden, Pride month and “the cultural emasculation of men” before directly telling female graduates, “I think it is you, the women, who have had the most diabolical lies told to you.”
“How many of you are sitting here now, about to cross this stage, and are thinking about all of the promotions and titles you are going to get in your career?” he continued. “Some of you may go on to lead successful careers in the world, but I would venture to guess that the majority of you are most excited about your marriage and the children you will bring into this world.”
Billboard has reached out to the NFL and Kansas City Chiefs for comment.
Swift, on the other hand, has been vocal for years about her support of the LGBTQ community and her feminist beliefs. Flavor Flav has long been a fan of the “Anti-Hero” singer and refers to himself as the “King Swiftie,” and he attended her Eras Tour show in Detroit as well as the Eras Tour film premiere in Los Angeles last year.
See Flavor Flav’s tweets below.
Sounds like some players “need to stay in their lanes” and shouldn’t be giving commencement speeches.— FLAVOR FLAV (@FlavorFlav) May 14, 2024
God is Good,,, imma man of faith and am grateful for all the opportunities I have in my life to support women and their choices. My whole team is women with a WoManager and LawyHers and am blessed to be surrounded by great women in life 🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾— FLAVOR FLAV (@FlavorFlav) May 15, 2024