“Are you concerned, Mr. President, about the latest inflation number which came out this morning?”

A simple enough question from a reporter unravels Trump into first ripping off a line on inflation that is now haunting every Republican member of Congress in press conferences, and then into a somehow worse slip of international piracy secrets.

“No, I love it, the numbers were great,” Trump says. “You know what I really love? I love inflation. You know why? Because as soon as this war is over, you know I can say it now… something you didn’t know…”

At this point you can see in his eyes that he considers the moment. It’s not too late to stop himself, but the thrill of spilling is too good.

“Did you know we’ve been taking out millions of barrels of oil? Nobody knows it. You know who doesn’t know about it? Iran.” He thinks quick. “Until right now.”

And the fallout’s been immediate. Mike Johnson and Republican congresspeople all the way down are being forced to dodge questions from reporters about why Trump loves inflation (we watch one guy embarrassingly get caught faking a phone call while running away). And even worse for the MAGA camp, Energy Secretary Chris Wright got blasted in Congress when pressed on whether he was aware that the US has been illegally stealing millions of barrels of oil from Iran:

Subscribe to support Useful Idiots and watch our Friday Free-for-All:

Did you know that Congress is working on a new plan to “distance” the US-Israeli relationship by slowing US aid to Israel and replace it with a “financial partnership”? A partnership which has the power to not only increase the amount of money and weapons the US sends to Israel but also future-proof it from being dismantled by future presidents and lawmakers?

And do you know who invented this plan that allows members of Congress to become more independent from Israel?

Let the words of GOP Rep. Marlin Stutzman speaking on CNN enlighten us all: “This was actually something that came from Prime Minister Netanyahu.”

This, and a whole slew of other remarks that will make your skin crawl were topics of what many people are calling the antisemitic events of the year! The American Jewish Committee’s Global Forum, where Zionists gave speeches on and cheered for things that, if we had said them, would get us immediately kicked off YouTube for being antisemitic.

From bragging that the “Jewish coalition” spent five million dollars to oust Thomas Massie and control US elections, to explaining that Jews can now use AI to “manage and control” social media content, to laughter at John Fetterman’s celebration of Israel’s pager attacks in Lebanon that killed and blinded children and civilians, it was one antisemitic trope after another.

And no condemnations from the Fraudfather over at the ADL yet…

This week at the Emmy Awards for News, student journalist Santiago Campos won CBS’s Mike Wallace Memorial Scholarship. Here’s what he said in his speech:

“While I want to thank CBS News for funding this generous gift towards my education, I want to also acknowledge how the recent direction of the outlet stains the legacy of Mike Wallace.

As corporate elites take hold over the very pipes through which our information flows, journalism that serves the people becomes increasingly harder to come by, yet ever more crucial. And what people want is the truth.

So if at any time you hesitate to utter the word genocide or remain silent in the face of blatant lies, remember to ask yourself: who is this for? I hope you choose us.”

There is currently an existential battle over the future of journalism, with pro-Israel billionaires like the Ellisons and Jeff Bezos attempting to suck up media outlets and install pro-Israel activists like Bari Weiss, Jake Tapper, and Jeffrey Goldberg into positions of power, taking on the rapidly accelerating explosion of independent media, which has brought on the mass exodus of viewers from corporate news outlets like CNN, Fox News, and the New York Times.

With young journalists like Santiago boldly taking the side of independent journalists, the corporate elites may not stand a chance.

Also in this Friday Free-for-All: DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin thinks he can shut down international flights to sanctuary cities during the World Cup, Fraudfather/ADL head Jonathon Greenblatt tries to talk away a mass shooting at a San Diego mosque, and Debbie Wasserman-Schultz wants Democrats to get credit for being more Israel-first than Donald Trump.

It’s a sickening week as always, but with a bright twist that gives us some hope. Keep on supporting independent journalism and catch the full episode here: