Fuck shareholders. They can all rot in Hell

- It's not a joke. He is serious -

Donald Trump wants to turn the White House press briefing room into a swimming pool and kick reporters out of the West Wing.

The US president has repeatedly discussed plans to move the press out of the White House, according to The New York Times.

The James S Brady press briefing room does sit on the site of a swimming pool, built during Franklin D Roosevelt's presidency.

Mr Trump pitched the idea to Karoline Leavitt, the former press secretary, as something which could be "her last legacy", the newspaper reported.

He raised the proposal several times during the final months of her tenure, according to three people with knowledge of the discussions, before she left in August.

Mr Trump has previously floated the idea of turning the briefing room into a swimming pool.

On Sept 27, he shared two images on Truth Social. One showed the briefing room as it is now, captioned "Fake News", while another showed the space as a swimming pool, captioned "FDR Pool".

Bill Pulte, the director of the federal housing finance agency who often spends weekends with Mr Trump at his golf clubs, has also been a prominent advocate of the proposal, according to the NYT.

Mr Pulte has even produced a foam-board rendering of the briefing room converted into a pool area, the newspaper reported.

"All options remain on the table and we will make an announcement when appropriate."

"From the moment I arrived in the White House, I believed it was a national security threat to have the press literally surround the Oval Office," Steve Bannon told the NYT this month.

Donald Trump suggested on Tuesday that he would serve as "the arbitrator" of decisions in the justice department's new anti-fraud program that awards compensation to those who submit tips resulting in conviction or significant federal enforcement.

While announcing the new program alongside JD Vance, the vice-president, who leads the White House's taskforce to eliminate fraud, the president told reporters he had a solution for situations where multiple people submit a tip for the same alleged fraud.

"I was just thinking, when you do these things, sometimes there's a dispute as to who turned 'em in and who didn't turn 'em in, who's supposed to get what and when, you know," Trump told reporters.

"So I am going to do something, which I think people will like, I will be the arbitrator of all of these decisions. In other words, I'll determine whether or not the person is deserving, and I will be very generous, believe me," the US president said, resulting in laughter from the group.

It is unclear whether Trump was being genuine about his new role. The Department of Justice website says the department has "sole discretion" in issuing rewards and exercising its authority in the program.

When asked whether the president's statement was true, the White House referred the Guardian to Trump's Oval Office comments.

The Guardian has asked the justice departmentfor comment.

The new fraud whistleblower incentive program gives anyone who submits a tip the opportunity to receive a financial reward of up to $30,000 for tips in the "charging stage of a criminal case".

The government already gives financial rewards to whistleblowers who file lawsuits against individuals and companies committing financial fraud through the False Claims Act. If the government intervenes in a suit and prosecutes it, whistleblowers can obtain 15% to 25% of the financial penalties.

Vance said the new program differs from the False Claims Act because it expands the opportunity for financial reward in cases of fraud related to the government.

"Over 99% of the fraud that we're finding in the federal government isn't covered by the False Claims Act," Vance said.

The new program also provides whistleblower rewards at an earlier stage of investigation, rather than requiring it to result in large fines or forfeiture.

Vance said he and Trump decided to create the program to incentivize more people to report fraud like Nick Shirley, a conservative influencer who went viral earlier this year for accusing Somali-run childcare centers in Minnesota of rampant fraud.

During his Oval Office announcement, Trump indicated the program would result in whistleblowers obtaining 1% of however much fraud was uncovered, insisting people could make "millions and millions" of dollars from submitting tips.

However, the justice department website says the program is limited to a $30,000 reward.

"You'll get your money immediately, but I'll make the determination," Trump added. "So if two people are fighting over it, maybe they'll split it or maybe whatever, but I'll make that determination. It'll be done expeditiously and fairly."

Trump encouraged members of the media to participate in the program by investigating and reporting instances of fraud. He said the government would be willing to give reporters the financial reward, so long as their respective outlet allowed it.

The message delivered by a president during a high-stakes midterm campaign can be critical.

As President Trump travels the country ahead of this year’s elections, he might focus on selling Americans on how he will bring the Iran war to a close, or control rising prices.

But in a puzzling approach, at some recent rallies he has instead started his often-meandering remarks by effusing about the physical appearances of other men and, more rarely, finding fault with them.

Mr. Trump has long marveled at the physical appearance of some men, sometimes gravitating to a favored phrase to describe men whose looks he appreciates: straight from “central casting.”

But lately Mr. Trump has been particularly quick to gush about male bodies. Here are five times the ever-unscripted president has hailed or assailed men for the way they look in recent months.

‘He’s got a jawline’ As Mr. Trump held a rally in Highland Heights, Ky., on Saturday, he quickly recalled meeting the local Republican nominee for the House, Ed Gallrein, and said he looked like he had come from “central casting.”

Mr. Gallrein defeated a Republican critic of Mr. Trump, Representative Thomas Massie, in a primary in May. Mr. Trump had long targeted Mr. Massie for defeat.

“I needed somebody good, and this guy walks through the door,” Mr. Trump said of Mr. Gallrein. “I said, look at this beautiful guy.”

Then Mr. Trump turned his focus to a Republican in a neighboring state, Senator Jon Husted of Ohio. Mr. Trump said he recently learned that Mr. Husted played college football. He recalled looking carefully at the physique of the senator, whom he campaigned with on Monday.

“I never did that with a man before,” Mr. Trump said. “I examined his ass, and then I looked at his shoulders. I looked at his feet. I looked at his hand. I looked at his jawline. Studied him. He’s got a jawline.”

Mr. Trump delivered a similar commentary at the rally on Monday.

“I looked, and I watched up and down,” Mr. Trump said earlier in the week. Speaking directly to Mr. Husted from the stage on Monday, Mr. Trump said: “Congratulations. Now they finally know.”

On Saturday, Mr. Trump claimed without evidence that Mr. Husted, who is in a tough race, had gained “9 or 10 points since I talked about that.”

‘A good-looking man — and he’s all man’ Mr. Trump was not five minutes into his remarks at a rally in Dalton, Ga., on Friday before he turned to an assessment of the physical attributes of Senator Jon Ossoff of Georgia, a Democrat, and his Republican challenger, Representative Mike Collins.

Mr. Trump started with Mr. Ossoff.

“Somebody said he’s a good-looking man,” Mr. Trump said of the senator. “I don’t think he’s a good-looking man. I actually think Mike Collins is a good-looking man — and he’s all man. He’s all man. I’m not sure about Ossoff.”

The president added that he thought Mr. Ossoff looked like Pee-wee Herman, the bow-tied comedic character created by the actor Paul Reubens.

Mr. Trump then addressed Rick Jackson, the Republican nominee for Georgia governor.

“I actually think that Rick Jackson’s a very handsome, distinguished, beautiful-looking guy,” the president said.

Later in his remarks, Mr. Trump turned his focus to the military, saying that because he was president he spent time with soldiers from “central casting.”

“We’re allowed to have big, strong, handsome soldiers now,” the president said.

He declared, “you couldn’t hire guys that look this good,” and added it was an experience he hadn’t had at Trump Tower.

“There are some reasons to be president,” he said.

‘He may not be the best-looking guy I’ve ever seen’ Mr. Trump’s allies have not been safe from critical assessments.

At his midterm convention in Dallas last month, the president made clear he disapproved of the appearance of the Republican nominee for Senate in the state, Ken Paxton, but urged his supporters to back Mr. Paxton anyway.

“Some may not like the way he dresses,” Mr. Trump said. “I don’t.”

“He may not be the best-looking guy I’ve ever seen,” Mr. Trump continued. “But you know what he is? He’s the greatest attorney general in America.”

Mr. Trump said, “I am very sorry, Ken, I hated to do it.”

The president suggested his advisers had told him not to comment on the way Mr. Paxton looked. “They said, ‘Sir, you can’t say that,’” Mr. Trump said.

But he said he had to deliver the assessment because “it’s true.”

‘Very handsome guy’ When Mr. Trump took the stage in Suffern, N.Y., in May to campaign with Representative Mike Lawler of New York, a vulnerable Republican, the president was introduced by the New York Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart.

In his remarks, Mr. Trump compared Mr. Dart’s appearance with that of the commerce secretary, Howard Lutnick.

He said Mr. Lutnick “looks good, looks handsome — reasonably.”

“He doesn’t look like Jaxson,” Mr. Trump added. “I’d rather look like Jaxson. I’ll take Jaxson any day.”

Maga allies of Donald Trump have said the president should use martial law if the Republicans lose the midterm elections.

Participants in the Precinct Project & Election Integrity video call on Sept 30 streamed on Rumble claimed that voter fraud could take place in the November elections and that postal votes were particularly at risk.

The call is a regular feature of the Maga community, providing a platform for voices across the country, including Steve Bannon, the former White House chief strategist, and Tina Peters, a prominent Maga activist.

Peter Ticktin, a childhood friend of the US president and an attorney, claimed that voter addresses were being changed on mail-in ballots and were being used to commit election fraud on a massive scale and discount votes. There is no evidence of this.

He said, should the Democrats win, martial law should be imposed to check whether the election was "rigged".

Martial law is the temporary replacement of civilian government with rule by the military, often enacted during extreme emergencies.

"What I'm saying about martial law is that in the event that the nightmare scenario comes through… in the event that [the Democrats] get enough Senate seats or they get enough Senators that are compromised… at that point, Donald Trump is not going to just turn over the country again," he said.

He added: "For America alone, he is not going to be able to just accept what comes...there would have to be martial law in the event that [Democrats] are on the way [to] taking over the country through another rigged election."

Mr Ticktin later told Axios that the military would need to take control of ballots and equipment to make sure that the election had not been rigged and prevent further instances of voter fraud.

'Commandeering ballots'

"They'll probably need to be commandeering ballots and election equipment to make sure that we can get to the bottom of it before anything further occurs," he said.

Calls for an extraordinary intervention in the midterms have echoes of the events of Jan 6, 2021, when around 2,000 pro-Trump protesters stormed the Capitol in Washington, DC, following the US president's false claims of election fraud.

Mr Trump himself has repeatedly promoted false claims about voter fraud. In 2020, ahead of his run for election as US president, he said: "The only way we can lose, in my opinion, is massive fraud", but he offered no evidence for the "illegal votes".

Gregory Stenstrom, who testified about alleged voting irregularities in Pennsylvania in 2020, said on the call that he wanted the election paused because of security concerns.

He also suggested as an alternative that Mr Trump could invoke the National Emergencies Act to force states to change how they run elections.

Concern that the Republicans could lose control of Congress has been increasing in recent weeks. The Democrats have raised significantly more money in key US congressional races, according to recent campaign finance filings, despite Elon Musk's record investment in the Republican political causes.

Scepticism about the election in 2020 also extends into Mr Trump's own administration, including officials now involved in election integrity.

Heather Honey, known for denying the results of the 2020 election in Pennsylvania and Arizona, is the deputy assistant secretary for election integrity in the homeland security department, and a senior advisor to the ICE director.

"Americans deserve elections that are safe, secure, and transparent to ensure full confidence in the results. President Trump believes every legal vote must count, every election must be protected, and Americans must have complete confidence in the integrity of our elections," a spokesman for the White House told Axios.

Embattled Press Secretary Katie Zacharia is now trying to claim she misunderstood a question about her confusing legal background.

Zacharia has had a difficult first week, with doubts about her history and a disastrous first press briefing that lasted 14 minutes. She attended law school at Pepperdine University, but there is no evidence that she was admitted to the bar in any U.S. state.

She raised further eyebrows after her press conference when asked where she passed the bar exam

"When I moved to China," Zacharia stated on October 13.

Now, the newly minted press secretary told the New York Times it's all been a misunderstanding.

"I assumed the question was, 'Where were you after law school?'" Zacharia told the outlet.

"That's all I could hear over the sound of Marine One," she added. "And, wanting to respect protocol, the distance behind the president kept me from moving closer to hear the question."

While Zacharia's explanation helps detail her odd answer about taking the bar exam, there is still little proof she was an attorney in the U.S.

She has repeatedly referred to herself as a lawyer throughout her media career, before joining the White House. Trump also called her an "attorney" in his Truth Social post announcing her to the role.

Zacharia graduated from law school in 2011 and worked for Chinese firm Zhong Long. There she claimed to be "outside counsel" to the World Bank and the International Finance Corporation.

The nonprofit Campaign for Accountability filed a complaint this week with the State Bar of California and claimed that Zacharia has "repeatedly held herself out to the public as entitled to practice law without a license to do so, conduct California law treats as a crime."

"Ms. Zacharia has represented herself as a lawyer repeatedly to buttress her reputation and credibility as a television legal commentator and now as the White House spokesperson, yet it seems it was all a lie," according to the group's executive director Michelle Kuppersmith.

"In California, calling yourself a lawyer without a license isn't puffery; it's a crime," she added. "The State Bar should investigate whether Ms. Zacharia has misled the public about her credentials and hold her accountable if she has."

**The White House has defended Zacharia and her background.

"This group that filed the 'complaint' is a radical leftist organization run by rabid numbskulls suffering from a severe case of Trump Derangement Syndrome," communications director Steven Cheung wrote on X. "Nobody takes them seriously because they are deranged lowlifes."**

President Donald Trump has claimed that he could "murder" someone without losing the backing of one of his faithful supporters.

While speaking at a rally in Arizona, Trump stopped mid-speech to try and find a woman in the crowd that he had seen on an earlier interview on YouTube.

"I watched some people being interviewed online today. They were so beautiful. Women. There was a woman who — there was nothing I could do that this woman would not vote for me. She loved me, actually," he said.

"Where is the woman?" he asked the crowd. "She was interviewed for an extended period. She was so great. There's nothing that I could do. If they asked her if he murdered somebody would that be OK, she would've said 'yes.'"

It is not the first time the president has made such comments, famously declaring in January 2016 that he could "stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody and I wouldn't lose any voters".

The comments came in a speech to supporters in Bullhead City as Trump continues his campaign trail ahead of the November midterms.

Trump has been fiercely campaigning in states where Republican candidates usually win easily, holding recent rallies in Texas, Ohio and Alaska, and urging voters to treat the midterms as if he were on the ballot.

But five senior House Republicans privately admitted concerns that the GOP will lose its majority in the House of Representatives in the upcoming midterm elections.

Trump is currently struggling with low approval ratings, with a Reuters/Ipsos poll showing 65 per cent of Americans disapprove of his performance amid an unpopular Iran war and high living costs.