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Mamdani allies push to ban chatbots from answering questions about law, medicine, and psychology

New York state senators are looking to gatekeep information from more than a dozen professions.

In an alleged attempt to block AI chatbots from providing harmful advice to users, New York Democrats have proposed a bill targeting any program that is “impersonating certain licensed professionals.”

‘A chatbot user would also be allowed to bring civil action against the chatbot provider.’

The bill would prohibit a chatbot from giving “substantive responses,” information, or advice that when taken by a “natural person” would constitute illegal advice or practice. Specifically, it would relate to occupations that require licensing.

The legislation specifically referred to professions listed under official New York state articles and includes the following: medicine, dentistry, veterinary medicine, physical therapy, pharmacy, nursing, podiatry, optometry, engineering, architecture, psychology, social work, and mental health services (including various counselors, therapists, and “psychoanalysts”).

If passed into law, a chatbot user would also be allowed to bring civil action against the chatbot provider to recover damages, attorneys’ fees, and any money spent as a result of following the AI’s advice.

RELATED: Shock report reveals Gen Zers and Millennials dislike AI ads more than ever — as executives double down

Photo by Neil Constantine/NurPhoto via Getty Images

First proposed in April 2025, the bill (S7263) is sponsored by state Senator Kristen Gonzalez (D) of the 59th district, with co-sponsors state Senators Michelle Hinchey (D), John C. Liu (D), and Julia Salazar (D).

According to outlet City & State New York, Hinchey appears to be the only one of the senators who did not endorse Democratic New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani during his campaign.

The bill recently passed through the Internet and Technology Committee of New York with a 6-0 vote and will now go to the state Senate floor.

RELATED: Sam Altman says NSA can’t use OpenAI — then tells staff they don’t have a say in military actions

Photo by Udo Salters Photography/Getty Images

An interesting and perhaps overlooked part of the bill — aside from the fact that it mirrors a 2024 “South Park” episode — includes the declaration that chatbot providers must provide “clear, conspicuous, and explicit notice to users” that they are interacting with AI.

The notice would have to appear in easily legible language, in the same format the chatbot is using. This would likely avoid confusion for consumers who are wondering if a business’ support platform is utilizing prewritten answers, providing human customer support, or simply using an AI chatbot assistance program.

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DB Sweeney: ‘Protector’ star finds Hollywood longevity without selling his soul

A young D.B. Sweeney circled a juicy role in the 1989 miniseries “Lonesome Dove,” based on the best-seller by Larry McMurtry.

Sweeney later demurred, opting for a somewhat smaller part. Why? Playing “Dish” Boggett meant sharing scenes with Robert Duvall. And that, he figured, would be priceless.

‘There’s so much desperation. People want to be famous so bad, that energy leads to some dark pathways.’

Good call.

Lessons from a master

“He was my hero,” Sweeney tells Align of the legendary actor, who passed away at 95 last month. “I learned more from film acting from him than anybody else.”

Sweeney marveled at Duvall’s meticulous approach to his craft, like hiring a real-life tracker at his own expense so that he could better capture that skill set for a single scene. Duvall also called in a “quick-draw specialist” to hone his skills with a firearm.

“He wasn’t just being thorough or method-y,” Sweeney says. “It was all very specific to what his character is going to do in the movie.”

And, Sweeney adds, Duvall had fun along the way. Always.

Those lessons hit home for the rising star, who landed key roles early in his career with films like “Gardens of Stone” (1987), “Eight Men Out” (1988), and “The Cutting Edge” (1992).

Troubling subject

He’s been working ever since, including a part in 2024’s “Megalopolis,” Francis Ford Coppola’s return to filmmaking after a 13-year pause.

Now, he’s co-starring in “Protector,” an action yarn hitting theaters today in which a military veteran (Milla Jovovich) is forced to use her skills to save her daughter from human traffickers. Sweeney describes his role as like the corrupt cop Brian Dennehy played in 1982’s “First Blood.”

He says the new film has some of that Sylvester Stallone hit in its creative DNA, along with the 2008 smash “Taken.” The troubling subject matter hit home for Sweeney, from the unending Epstein files saga to his own experience around major cultural events.

“It’s a huge problem,” he says of sex trafficking.

“Protector” casts Jovovich as a heroine who uses her military background for good. It’s a far cry from how Hollywood depicted soldiers during the 2000s, a time when many films showed the darkest side of the U.S. military.

Think “Redacted” (2007), “Lions for Lambs” (2007), and “Green Zone” (2010).

Nailing the details

More recent films like “Thank You for Your Service” (2017) and “American Sniper” (2014) showed a more balanced side to the modern soldier. Sweeney credits part of that shift to studios leaning on military veterans as advisers. That not only helps nail the smaller details but influences storytelling in general.

That has impacted him, too.

He worked on the CBS series “Jericho,” a postapocalyptic thriller that relied on military veterans for military accuracy. Sweeney bonded with the veterans advising the show along the way.

At 64, Sweeney is still working in an industry that’s convulsing under the weight of new technologies and streaming wars. AI fears aren’t make-believe, he warns.

“I’m worried about actors being replaced with digital avatars. That’s a real thing,” he says. It helps that “Protector” relied on old-school stunt work over CGI trickery. He says that’s what could help his fellow artists: a reliance on authenticity over digital ones and zeroes.

“It’s one thing AI can’t master,” he says.

Mega moviemaking

His time on the set of “Megalopolis” reminded him how hard it can be to shoot a film, above and beyond the standard-issue struggles like budget constraints and evasive sunlight. The film endured brutal headlines tied to sexual harassment allegations against the 80-something Coppola.

Sweeney, who first worked with the legendary director on “Gardens of Stone,” has the auteur’s back.

“I was there almost every day. He’s a hugger,” he says of Coppola. “He doesn’t have a pervy bone in his body.”

Those salacious reports, plus talk of the film’s massive budget ($120 million), hurt the film’s box office tally.

“The movie got put into a box before anyone has seen it,” he says.

RELATED: EXCLUSIVE: DB Sweeney on surviving Hollywood and moving to ‘Megalopolis’

Michael Loccisano/Getty Images

Staying in the light

Some actors who came of age alongside Sweeney saw Hollywood’s seedy side. Think Charlie Sheen, his co-star in “Eight Men Out.” Sheen is currently on a comeback of sorts after years of hard living and outlandish behavior.

Sweeney didn’t follow that path, but he saw it all the same.

“I was invited to all the biggest parties, a dark underbelly with drugs and sex. … I couldn’t put my finger on it, but I knew this is not for me,” he says. “I gravitated toward using my celebrity for sports tickets. That’s a much more wholesome world to me.”

Others weren’t so fortunate, and he understands why.

“There’s so much desperation. People want to be famous so bad, that energy leads to some dark pathways. You’ll do anything to get that fame,” he says. “People talk about selling their soul to Satan for fame. It’s figuratively true.”

​Entertainment, Culture, Movies, Protector, D.b. sweeney, Epstein files, Hollywood, Align interview 

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Watch Joe Rogan deprogram Steve-O after stuntman makes claim about transgender ‘internment camps’

Wanting to get breast implants as a stunt led to “Jackass” star Steve-O believing transgender-identified people are oppressed.

In 2024, the stuntman planned to get the surgery done for the sake of comedy, telling podcaster Joe Rogan, “This is where the bar is at.”

‘You can’t escape your f**king chromosomes.’

However, the plan fell through when an absent anesthesiologist delayed the procedure. While a doctor was trying to reschedule Steve-O — real name Stephen Gilchrist Glover — the 51-year-old recalled having a change of heart after speaking with a transgender person at a grocery store.

He told Rogan that the “level of oppression” described to him by the person “genuinely f**king broke my heart.”

Washroom woes

“They said, ‘Hey, let me tell you, I am not allowed to use the bathroom at my own place of work,'” Steve-O claimed before Rogan immediately jumped in.

“That’s not true. They’re just not allowed to use the bathroom that doesn’t align with their biological sex,” Rogan began.

Recognizing the reality of “gender dysphoria,” Rogan said at least some men were being given a “golden ticket to go into the women’s locker room … and pretend you’re a woman when you’re just a crazy man and you’re actually into women.”

He added, “You can’t escape your f**king chromosomes … what you’re dealing with is a form of gender dysphoria, which has always been classified as a mental illness until people became much more empathetic and sensitive to people that have this problem.”

Camp canard

In one of several cases where Steve-O agreed he had been out-dueled, he then moved on to his next claim: that politicians are trying to put transgender people “in internment camps.”

RELATED: Two trans-identifying men file lawsuit against ‘dehumanizing’ Kansas law that invalidated their driver’s licenses

While Rogan agreed there “might be one kook” trying to get attention, he added, “There’s no movement to try to put transgender people in internment camps.”

Steve-O’s claim likely stemmed from reports about Republican Rep. Nancy Mace (S.C.), who was speaking about Charlie Kirk’s alleged assassin’s alleged transgender partner.

“It was a transgender. … It was a tranny,” Mace said to reporters in 2024. Noting that she has received death threats from transgender activists, she added, “They are mentally ill and should be in a straight jacket with a hard steel lock on it.”

As well, Republican Rep. Ronny Jackson (Texas) told Newsmax that transgender people have “legitimate psychiatric issues.”

“We have to do something about this, we have to treat these people, we have to get them off the streets, and we have to get them off the internet, and we can’t let them communicate with one another.”

His statements were also in response to Kirk’s assassination, and both his and Mace’s remarks were made within five days of Kirk’s death. The comments were labeled as calls for institutionalization by some outlets, but there does not appear to be any mention of “internment camps” by any politicians.

Tapping out

During the discussion, Rogan also told Steve-O that transgender people had actually been responsible for more death than Immigration and Customs Enforcement, an agency Steve-O had spoken out against in February.

RELATED: Supreme Court sides with Catholic parents against California on student gender notification — for now

Photo by Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic

“Do you know who’s killed more people than ICE this year? Trans shooters. Do you know the majority of these high school shootings have been transgender people?” Rogan asked.

“I did not know that,” Steve-O replied.

After Rogan referenced medications and hormones as not being good to mix with “mental struggles,” being “ostracized,” and propaganda about trans “genocide,” Steve-O soon admitted that Rogan was making good points.

“You’ve convinced me,” the stuntman said.

Rogan then summarized his argument by comparing it to a country’s borders.

“Can’t have an open border. Doesn’t mean that all immigrants are murderers. … But some people that sneak across the border, if you don’t check, are going to be murderers. It’s just a fact. So you have to have a f**king closed border to check. And you have to have a gender border too.”

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​Align, Joe rogan, Podcast, Steve-o, Gender, Women’s sports, Bathroom, Transgenderism, Entertainment 

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Jasmine Crockett claims she was ‘targeted’ and cheated out of the Senate by Republicans

Jasmine Crockett has long been a source of entertainment for BlazeTV host Sara Gonzales, who is upset that the congresswoman lost to James Talarico in her bid for a Texas Senate seat.

“We lost Jasmine Crockett. … I am actually upset about it,” Gonzales says, before playing a clip of Crockett angrily responding to the news that she would not immediately have election results on election night.

“My news is that we’re not going to have election results tonight, in my opinion, based upon what specifically is taking place in Dallas County. Unfortunately, this is what Republicans like to do. And so they specifically targeted Dallas County. And I think we all know why,” Crockett announced while she was waiting for the voting results.

“Maybe I’m the dumb one … Republicans didn’t vote in the Democrat primary, so I’m unclear on how Republicans cheated. I don’t know, like orange man bad. It must be Donald Trump’s fault,” Gonzales comments, before playing another clip of Crockett’s speech.

“But I can tell you now that people have been disenfranchised,” Crockett said.

After feeling as though she’d been cheated out of the Senate, Crockett is now calling for Americans to “remain resilient” and not allow cheaters to be “rewarded.”

“We encourage each and every one of you to remain resilient. We cannot allow this type of behavior to be rewarded because so long as they know that they can win, even if it means cheating, then they will continue to do it,” Crockett said in another speech.

“Uh, can we get Jasmine’s opinion on the SAVE Act?” Gonzales asks. “Cause like, I don’t know, maybe you guys should all support the SAVE Act and then there will be no more cheating.”

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To enjoy more of Sara’s no-holds-barred takes on news and culture, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.

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February jobs report subverts economists’ expectations after a seemingly strong start to the year

The employment situation report for February was released on Friday, showing a slowdown after an ostensibly strong start to the year.

The United States lost 92,000 nonfarm jobs in February, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics report.

The unemployment rate saw a slight uptick compared to January, rising 0.1% to 4.4% in February.

The Hill reported that economists were confronted with an unexpected downturn in total jobs, saying they generally expected the United States to add 60,000.

Additionally, The Hill marked a concerning trend, reporting that the BLS revised December 2025’s initial gain of 48,000 jobs to a loss of 17,000 jobs.

However, consistent with previous trends in President Trump’s first year, the federal government accounted for 10,000 of those jobs losses. BLS reported that federal employment is down by 330,000, or 11% of the federal workforce.

RELATED: ‘Golden Age of America is upon us!’ Delayed January jobs report exceeds expectations

CentrallTAlliance/Getty Images

The unemployment rate saw a slight uptick compared to January, rising 0.1% to 4.4% in February.

“Just as the January jobs report overstated any emerging strength in the labor market, the February employment data give a false impression of deteriorating labor market conditions,” Nancy Vanden Houten, lead economist at Oxford Economics, said in an email to CBS News on Friday.

The employment situation report for March is scheduled to be released on April 3.

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​Politics, President trump, Donald trump, Trump, Jobs report, Employment situation report, United states, The hill, Bureau of labor statistics, February jobs 

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‘That is bad for him’: Trump hints at final endorsement in Paxton vs. Cornyn Senate runoff

Tuesday’s Senate Republican primary election in Texas between incumbent Sen. John Cornyn and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton triggered a runoff after neither received at least 50% of the vote.

Heading into the May 26 runoff election, both Cornyn and Paxton are hoping to secure President Donald Trump’s endorsement.

‘That is bad for him. So maybe, maybe that leads me to go the other direction.’

Trump has stated he will endorse one of the candidates, but that he expects the one he does not select to withdraw his bid.

Paxton appeared to stir up some drama with the president when he stated on Wednesday evening that he would continue in the race even if Trump decides to support Cornyn.

Trump, who told Politico on Thursday that he will announce his support for one of the candidates “pretty soon,” seemed to scold Paxton, stating that it is “bad for him to say” that he would not leave the race.

“That is bad for him. So maybe, maybe that leads me to go the other direction,” Trump told Politico, indicating that Paxton’s comments may prompt him to endorse Cornyn.

RELATED: Trump to intervene in Texas’ Senate race, anoint his preferred candidate

Ken Paxton. Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images

Later that day, Paxton walked back his earlier statement, writing in a post on X that he would “consider” withdrawing from the race if Senate leadership passes the SAVE America Act.

“The Save America Act is the most important bill the U.S. Senate could ever pass, and I’m committed to helping President Trump get it done,” Paxton said.

“John Cornyn is a coward who has refused to support abolishing the filibuster to pass this bill. Now, Fake News reporters and the establishment are trying to destroy me with misinformation.”

“The truth is clear: No one has been more loyal to Donald Trump than me — fighting the stolen 2020 election, being in Mar-a-Lago when he announced his 2024 campaign, and standing with him in NY in the face of lawfare,” Paxton continued. “For the good of our country and for the good of passing President Trump’s agenda, I am determined to help him get this done.”

RELATED: Jasmine Crockett claims voters were ‘disenfranchised’ following crushing defeat in key Texas primary

John Cornyn. Photo by Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images

In his comments to Politico, Trump described the Democrat nominee, state Rep. James Talarico, as “a terribly weak candidate.”

Talarico defeated his opponent, Rep. Jasmine Crockett, by over 7.5 points on Tuesday.

Trump expressed confidence that a Republican candidate could defeat Talarico, concluding that he is “more woke than even the very highly untalented Jasmine Crockett.”

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Nurse lied about patient sexually assaulting her to hide what actually were consensual trysts. Now she’s paying a big price.

A Wisconsin nurse who accused a patient of sexually assaulting her is headed to prison after investigators discovered she fabricated the accusations and repeatedly engaged in consensual sexual intercourse with the patient, according to authorities.

The Monroe County District Attorney’s Office announced Monday that Melissa R. Knutson of Readstown pleaded guilty to misconduct in public office and obstructing an officer.

‘Not only did she violate the sacred trust between a patient and a nurse, but she compounded that by falsely accusing the patient of sexual assault.’

Juneau County Circuit Court Judge Paul Curran sentenced Knutson to 18 months of initial confinement in state prison, followed by two years of extended supervision for the conviction of misconduct in public office.

Knutson also received a concurrent 180-day jail sentence for obstructing an officer.

The district attorney’s office said Knutson was a nurse assigned to a drug court participant with whom she “repeatedly engaged in sexual intercourse.”

“When the facts of her intercourse with a patient/participant were reported to the Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services, Knutson responded by falsely accusing the patient of sexual assault,” the district attorney’s statement read.

However, investigators determined that Knutson “fabricated that allegation to avoid consequences for her sex acts with the patient/participant,” the DA’s office stated.

Knutson later confessed to lying about being sexually assaulted by the patient in a letter and with her guilty plea, according to the district attorney.

RELATED: How a rope and free STD test exposed a South Dakota woman’s fake rape accusation as an extramarital tryst in Florida

Monroe County District Attorney Kevin Croninger declared that Knutson caused “deep and significant” harm.

“Not only did she violate the sacred trust between a patient and a nurse, but she compounded that by falsely accusing the patient of sexual assault,” Croninger said.

The DA noted, “This situation is particularly egregious given the patient in this situation was a participant in drug court.”

Croninger said all of the officers who worked on the case “demonstrated a tremendous commitment to seeking the truth, through evidence.”

“All involved take every sexual assault very seriously,” Croninger said in the press release. “When Ms. Knutson reported she was sexually assaulted, that allegation was taken seriously.”

Croninger praised the officers for being “highly professional in investigating that allegation and determining that Ms. Knutson was lying.”

“Officers then completed an extremely thorough and effective investigation, which uncovered a plethora of evidence that Ms. Knutson was in fact the perpetrator, not the victim,” Croninger continued.

Croninger warned that investigators’ commitment to seeking the truth prevented a possible “unjust result.”

“Instead, the truth was discovered, and justice was served,” Croninger proclaimed.

Judge Curran described Knutson’s actions as “despicable” and stressed that she was “an embarrassment to nurses everywhere.”

Curran said Knutson’s purported remorse was “a mile wide and an inch deep.”

According to the Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services, Knutson has had her nursing license suspended.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services describes drug courts as alternatives to incarceration and places to “help participants recover from use disorder with the aim of reducing future criminal activity.”

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Do they hate Trump — or do they just hate America?

Do the protesters angry about Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s death hate America — or do they hate the fact that Donald Trump pulled it off?

The question sounds simple. Nobody outside Khamenei’s supporters can mourn his death. The answer becomes more difficult because the protesters in question rarely limit their hatred to one target.

Trump’s return tore off the mask. When America acts like America again, the people who resent America stop hiding behind the language of peace.

Almost 15 years ago, U.S. Navy SEALs killed Osama bin Laden in Pakistan. Bin Laden led Al-Qaeda, which carried out terrorist attacks against the United States and others for years. The worst came on Sept. 11, 2001, when Al-Qaeda terrorists hijacked four American airliners, flew three into the Twin Towers and the Pentagon, and crashed the fourth in Pennsylvania. Nearly 3,000 people died.

When President Obama announced bin Laden’s death, he said: “Bin Laden was not a Muslim leader; he was a mass murderer of Muslims. Indeed, Al-Qaeda has slaughtered scores of Muslims in many countries, including our own. So his demise should be welcomed by all who believe in peace and human dignity.”

Nobody marched in grief for bin Laden — at least not publicly outside Al-Qaeda’s circles, which included Iran.

Khamenei’s record goes further. Under his rule, Iran financed terrorism across the region and around the globe. The U.S. State Department reported in 2020 that Iran “has been the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism,” and for more than 40 years, its “malign behavior and support for terrorist proxies has spread across the region.”

Iran’s clients form a who’s-who of the heinous: Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Shiite militias in Iraq, and others. For nearly half a century, Iran’s regime threatened Iranians first, then the Middle East, then the United States and Israel.

The beneficiaries of that system were predictable: regime insiders, terrorist networks, and pariah states that profit from chaos — Russia, North Korea, Cuba, Venezuela — along with China, which seeks advantage from the disorder Iran helped sow.

So who, exactly, shows up in America to lament Khamenei’s death and denounce U.S. strikes as illegitimate?

The protests arrived quickly in familiar cities: New York, Minneapolis, Portland.

The left-wing Guardian observed that New York’s rally was sponsored by a host of left-wing groups that included the ANSWER Coalition, National Iranian American Council, 50501, American Muslims for Palestine, the People’s Forum, Palestinian Youth Movement, Code Pink, Black Alliance for Peace, and Democratic Socialists of America. Organizers called Trump’s strikes “unprovoked” and “illegal,” warned of “unthinkable death and destruction,” and promised to take to the streets.

RELATED: Hegseth just delivered a precision strike on the legacy media

Photo by Brendan SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images

They did not explain how action against a regime that has sponsored terrorism for decades and chants “Death to America” qualifies as “unprovoked.”

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani (D) went further, calling the strikes a “catastrophic escalation in an illegal war of aggression,” then added: “Bombing cities. Killing civilians. Opening a new theater of war.”

He ignored the war Iran has waged for years through its proxies. He also ignored the brutality Iran’s regime has inflicted on its own people. Reports from within and outside Iran have described mass crackdowns, large death tolls, and systematic violence against dissent. The precise numbers vary — it could top 30,000 — and the regime itself manipulates information, but nobody disputes the core point: Tehran kills its own citizens to preserve power.

Minneapolis offered the same posture. Minnesota Public Radio quoted Andrew Josefchak of the Minnesota Anti-War Committee saying: “These wars don’t benefit ordinary people in the U.S., and they certainly don’t benefit ordinary people in countries like Venezuela or Iran.” That claim dodges the obvious. Iranians have risked their lives for decades against this regime. Many celebrated Khamenei’s death because they know what his rule meant.

In Portland, a protest organized by Portland for Palestine featured signs reading “U.S. hands off Iran” and “Stop the war on Iran now.” Hamas, Iran’s most prominent Palestinian client, tells you plenty about the moral framing at work.

The sympathies here are not hard to locate. The protesters show little concern for the victims of Iran’s terror machine, whether in Israel, Iraq, or inside Iran itself. Their energy targets the United States — and Trump.

If that judgment sounds harsh, consider a post from a Columbia University group that has organized activism since 2024. Columbia University Apartheid Divest posted “Marg bar Amrika” on X.com — “Death to America” in Persian — then later wrote that the platform forced deletion to regain account access but that “the sentiment still stands.”

RELATED: Conservatives can’t barbecue their way through national collapse

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That brings the question into focus.

Iran chanted “Death to America” long before Trump entered politics. The chant softened in elite American spaces when Washington adopted a posture of accommodation. Under Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, the United States projected restraint even as Iran financed proxies and pushed its nuclear program forward. Now with Trump back in office and Khamenei dead, “Death to America” appears on social media feeds tied to elite American campuses.

So what do these protesters hate more: America or Trump?

They carry plenty of hate for both. The better answer may be that Trump’s return tore off the mask. When America acts like America again, the people who resent America stop hiding behind the phony language of peace.

​Opinion & analysis, Iran war, Donald trump, Death to america, Ayatollah ali khamenei, Osama bin laden, Al qaeda, Hamas, Hezbollah, Protest, Subversion, Islam, Houthis, Jihad, Answer coalition, Leftism, Leftists, Zohran mamdani, Columbia university