
Lawmakers, media dinged for blaming Trump or ripping Israel on Iran: 'You think Kamala could've stopped them?'
Lawmakers and mainstream media figures were blasted online Friday morning over some of their responses to the development that Israel executed a widespread bombing campaign against key Iranian targets.
Sen. Chris Murphy, D-CT., wrote on X that Israel's attack was "clearly intended to scuttle the Trump administration's negotiations with Tehran," and is "further evidence of how little respect world powers - including our own allies - have for President Trump."
Murphy, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Europe, was later mocked for using the situation to slam Trump:
"Do you think Israel respected Biden, Obama, or Bush? Now is not the time for a partisan bromide," one critic replied.
"You think Kamala could've stopped them?" riffed another.
Former Ohio State Sen. Nina Turner, D-Cleveland, an occasional media figure and former campaign staffer for Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., replied to Murphy's critics, saying that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has "always wanted a broader war."
"This was inevitable, given the U.S. foreign policy towards Israel. Arms embargo now," Turner added.
Left-wing former ESPN and MSNBC host Keith Olbermann informed Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., on X that "your soul is lost" after the lawmaker celebrated Iran being attacked.
"Game on, pray for Israel," Graham originally wrote.
The oft-profane pundit did, however, receive some backhanded support from the right for the remarks, with one respondent saying, "you know society is about to collapse when I agree with Keith" – while another shared a "holy s---" meme featuring actor Keegan Michael Key.
Former Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill., who has become one of President Donald Trump's loudest critics, went after Trump's supporters following the bombings.
"Yesterday: Trump scared to death of action against Iran."
On X, several pro-Trump ripped Kinzinger, saying he "lives in a bottle," "was too scared to run for reelection" in his swing Kankakee district because of his break with Trump, and should "cry harder."
Kinzinger, however, did appear to celebrate Israel's killing of Iranian military commander Hossein Salami -- sharing a grinning GIF of the late Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain in response to a news alert.
Several "Squad" members also got in on the action Friday, including Rep. Gregorio Casar of Texas.
Casar said Netanyahu's "reckless strike risks provoking a wider war and pulling in the United States."
He called on Trump to oppose Netanyahu's escalation and "not violate the Constitution" by involving U.S. troops without congressional approval.
Reaction to Casar was mixed, with some respondents asking what his own strategy would be, while one defender of the Austin lawmaker shared a meme of Trump dressed as a chambermaid standing aside Netanyahu in his office.
Meanwhile, Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., actively sparred with critics of her statement that "regardless of what Trump thinks, Israel knows America will do whatever they want and feels confident about their ability to get into war and have the American government back them up."
"Everyone in America should prepare themselves to either see their tax dollars being spent on weapon supplies to Israel or be dragged into war with Iran if this escalates."
"Somalians belong in Somalia," one critic responded. "And in Congress," Omar shot back.
When another critic said she should focus more on issues in her Minneapolis district, the congresswoman replied, "I am focusing on my district and we don't believe our tax dollars should go to war. Thank for your input."
"This is all planned," tweeted "Squad" colleague Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich.
"Both [U.S. and Israel] are liars."
Tlaib then claimed Jerusalem's government is "genocidal" and that "war criminal Netanyahu will do anything to maintain his grip on power."
"Squad" member Delia Ramirez, D-Ill., followed by tweeting support for her "Block the Bombs Act" to withhold weapons sales to Israel in response to actions in Gaza.
The far-left lawmaker, who took over longtime moderate Democrat Dan Lipinski's district, said that Netanyahu "cannot be trusted with offensive weapons that enable dangerous actions like what we saw last night."
Elsewhere on social media, other liberal figures were raging at the Trump administration for other recent developments, like the brief detainment of Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., after he crashed Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem's Los Angeles press conference.
Col. Alexander Vindman, now retired, but a key figure in the Trump-Ukraine impeachment saga and a twin brother of Rep. Yevgeny "Eugene" Vindman, D-Va., railed against Noem multiple times, calling her a "fascist b---h."
"Hey Kristi, f--- off," Vindman wrote.
Frequent "Special Report" All-Star panelist Mollie Hemingway responded to Vindman, remarking on how the mainstream media regularly characterized him as a "stable," nonpartisan whistleblower.

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CBS News
37 minutes ago
- CBS News
Satellite photos show before and after U.S. strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities
New satellite photos show the aftermath of the U.S. military strike that dropped multiple 30,000-pound "bunker-buster" bombs on Iran's Fordo nuclear facility and hit two other key locations in Iran's nuclear program. The stealth U.S. mission, dubbed "Operation Midnight Hammer," struck three nuclear facilities in Iran — Fordo, Natanz and Isfahan — in the early hours of Sunday local time. Gen. Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said at a Pentagon briefing Sunday that seven B-2 Spirit bombers each carried two of the bombs known as GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrators, or MOPs. Over 25 minutes, a total of 14 MOPs were dropped on two target areas at Fordo and Natanz, while Tomahawk missiles from a U.S. submarine targeted the Isfahan site, he said. He said it was the first time those massive bombs have ever been used in an operation. "Final battle damage will take some time, but initial battle damage assessments indicate that all three sites sustained extremely severe damage and destruction," Caine said. Satellite photos show impact of strikes on Fordo Satellite images from Maxar Technologies, taken Sunday after the strikes, show damage to the mountainside where the underground nuclear site at Fordo is buried about 300 feet down. They can be compared to images of the same location taken before the strikes. Satellite image by Maxar Technologies shows the Fordo underground nuclear facility in Iran before U.S. strikes. Satellite image ©2025 Maxar Technologies Satellite image by Maxar Technologies shows the Fordo underground nuclear facility in Iran after U.S. strikes taken on June 22, 2025. Satellite image ©2025 Maxar Technologies A layer of ash caused by the airstrikes can be seen across a large swath of the area. The images by Maxar show several large diameter holes or craters on the top of the ridge over the underground complex. Satellite photo taken on June 22, 2025, by Maxar Technologies, shows craters and ash on the ridge at Fordo underground complex in Iran after U.S. strikes. Satellite image ©2025 Maxar Technologies Additionally, several of the tunnel entrances that lead to the underground facility appear blocked by dirt following the strikes. Satellite image by Maxar Technologies shows the tunnels leading into the Fordo underground nuclear facility in Iran before U.S. strikes. Satellite image ©2025 Maxar Technologies Satellite image from June 22, 2025, by Maxar Technologies shows the tunnels leading into the Fordo underground nuclear facility in Iran after U.S. strikes. Satellite image ©2025 Maxar Technologies Asked at the briefing whether any of Iran's nuclear capability remains, Caine said, "I think (battle damage assessment) is still pending, and it would be way too early for me to comment on what may or may not still be there." Iran has yet to offer a damage assessment of the site. The United Nations' International Atomic Energy Agency said in a social media post that it had seen "no increase in off-site radiation levels" in the wake of the U.S. strikes. In a statement on Sunday to the U.N. Security Council, IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said his team was unable to assess the underground damage at Fordo. Following the attacks, he said there's a "window of opportunity to return to dialogue and diplomacy." "If that window closes, violence and destruction could reach unthinkable levels and the global non-proliferation regime as we know it could crumble and fall," Grossi said. Craters, destroyed buildings in Isfahan and Natanz At Isfahan, which was targeted by about a dozen Tomahawk missiles, satellite images from Sunday show extensive building damage across the facility, compared to images taken June 16. The Israeli military had also heavily bombed Isfahan in recent days Grossi told the UN Security Council that affected buildings include some related to the uranium conversion process. Entrances to tunnels used for the storage of enriched material appear to have been hit, the IAEA director general said. Satellite image by Maxar Technologies shows the Isfahan nuclear facility in Iran on June 16, before U.S. strikes. Satellite image ©2025 Maxar Technologies Satellite image by Maxar Technologies on June 22, 2025 shows the Isfahan nuclear facility in Iran after U.S. strikes. Satellite image ©2025 Maxar Technologies At the Natanz uranium enrichment facility, a satellite image captured Sunday by Maxar shows an approximately 5.5-meter diameter hole or crater in the dirt directly over part of the underground military complex. Satellite image by Maxar Technologies shows the Isfahan nuclear facility in Iran on June 15, before the U.S. strike. Satellite image ©2025 Maxar Technologies Satellite image by Maxar Technologies on June 22, 2025 shows the Natanz nuclear facility in Iran after U.S. strikes. Satellite image ©2025 Maxar Technologies Natanz had been previously damaged by the first Israeli strikes on Iran on June 13. Grossi confirmed Sunday that the fuel enrichment plant in Natanz had been hit again, with the U.S. confirming that it used ground-penetrating munitions. He said Iran has informed the nuclear watchdog there has been no increase in off-site radiation levels following the attacks. However, bombing nuclear facilities "could result in radioactive releases with grave consequence," Grossi warned, urging "maximum restraint." U.S. military used decoys and deception in attack President Trump announced Saturday evening that the U.S. had launched strikes against Iran. He said in a national address later Saturday night that the sites "have been completely and totally obliterated." Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said Sunday that the U.S. used decoy B-2 bombers, which flew west over the Pacific from their base in Missouri earlier Saturday, to throw off the Iranians from the true plans. The bombers actually involved in the strike took off on an eastward path, refueling several times on their way to the Middle East. Hegseth added that the U.S. used other methods of deception to protect the B-2 bombers that dropped the 14 "bunker-buster" bombs. He said the tactics helped the U.S. drop the bombs without tipping off Iran's fighter jets or its air missile systems. "Our B-2s went in and out … and back without the world knowing at all," Hegseth said. "In that way, it was historic. A strike that included the longest B-2 Spirit bomber mission since 2001, and the first operational employment of the MOP, a Massive Ordnance Penetrator."
Yahoo
42 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Mahmoud Khalil speaks to ABC News in 1st broadcast interview after ICE release
Watch more of Linsey Davis' broadcast interview with Mahmoud Khalil on "Good Morning America" Monday at 7 a.m. ET and ABC News Live Prime at 7 p.m. ET. Mahmoud Khalil, the Columbia University pro-Palestinian activist who was detained by ICE for more than three months, spoke with ABC News Live Prime anchor Linsey Davis in the first on-camera interview since his release. In the interview, which is set to air on Monday at 7 p.m. ET, Khalil pushed back against the Trump administration's claim that he is a threat to U.S. national security. "The White House has said that you distributed pro-Hamas fliers. Secretary Rubio said that you created an environment of harassment toward Jewish students. President Trump said we got to get him the hell out of our country. Why do you think that you are perceived as such a threat?" Davis asked Khalil in the exclusive interview. "Because I represent a movement that goes against what this administration is trying to do," Khalil responded. "They try to portray me as a violent person. They try to portray me as a terrorist, as some lunatic, but not presenting any evidence, not presenting any shred of credibility to their claims." Khalil was released Friday evening from an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility in Jena, Louisiana, after U.S. District Judge Michael Farbiarz issued an order granting his release on bail. The judge said the government made no attempt to prove that Khalil's release would irreparably harm them in some way and that Khalil represented a flight risk. "What all that evidence adds up to is a lack of violence, a lack of property destruction, a lack of anything that might be characterized as incitement to violence," Farbiarz said of Khalil. The judge said that the conditions of Khalil's release shall not include electronic monitoring or a requirement that a bond be immediately posted. "The hundreds of men who are left behind me shouldn't be there in the first place," Khalil told reporters on Friday, referring to others being detained. "The Trump administration are doing their best to dehumanize everyone here. Whether you are a U.S. citizen, an immigrant or just a person on this land, doesn't mean that you are less of a human." MORE: Mahmoud Khalil released from ICE custody in Louisiana The ruling to release Khalil came at the same time an immigration judge in Jena, Louisiana, denied Khalil's request for asylum and ordered him to remain detained. Farbiarz's order superseded that ruling. The Department of Homeland Security sharply criticized the judge's decision to release Khalil, claiming in a statement on Friday that the ruling is "yet another example of how out-of-control members of the judicial branch are undermining national security," and arguing "an immigration judge, not a district judge, has the authority to decide if Mr. Khalil should be released or detained." "Their conduct not only denies the result of the 2024 election, it also does great harm to our constitutional system by undermining public confidence in the courts," the statement continued. Khalil, a green card holder who is married to an American citizen, was a graduate student at Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA) during a series of pro-Palestinian protests on campus against the Israeli military campaign in Gaza. MORE: Judge rules Trump administration cannot continue to detain Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil Khalil was detained in March, with the Trump administration saying then in part that his continued presence in the country would pose a risk to U.S. foreign policy. However, Judge Farbiarz issued a preliminary injunction last week barring the Trump administration from continuing to detain him based on that assertion. Khalil was detained for an additional week until his release on Friday after the government argued for his continued detention based on their allegation that he misrepresented information on his green card application, an allegation that Khalil and his attorneys deny. Khalil, a grandson of Palestinian refugees who was born in Syria and has Algerian citizenship, welcomed his first child, a son named Deen, while he was in custody. Khalil thanked his supporters during a press conference in New York on Saturday and vowed to continue to speak out for Palestinian human rights. "Even if they would kill me, I would still speak up for Palestine," Khalil said.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
US strikes on Iran could hit American economy at a fragile time
The U.S. attack on Iranian nuclear sites over the weekend could ratchet up the pressure on an American economy that's turned increasingly fragile as a weekslong global trade war takes a toll. America's entry into what had been attacks between Israel and Iran is most likely to impact oil prices, investors said, which could ripple through the economy by causing higher transportation and gas prices, just as overall inflation throughout the economy has seemed to be contained. Energy analyst Rachel Ziemba told USA Today on June 22 oil prices may not trade much higher until and unless there's a sustained supply shock, like Iran deciding to block the crucial Strait of Hormuz. Iran's parliament on June 22 reportedly approved a measure endorsing exactly that, though whether it happens comes down to Iran's Supreme National Security Council. Ziemba calls that a 'low probability, high impact' risk – and one that commodities traders will likely struggle to price. That means energy prices may be volatile until conditions settle down – even as summer vacations start in earnest and a massive heat wave grips the central and eastern parts of the country. Any shock to financial markets and disruption of American consumers' expectations for the summer months comes as the overall economy is weakening quickly. "The world economy is not in a strong position to absorb another energy shock," warned Nigel Green, chief executive of deVere Group, a financial advisory firm. The U.S. joining the conflict between Israel and Iran raises the risks of a "sharp, global reaction," Green added. 'Investors are currently positioned for rate cuts, stable energy prices and an orderly global outlook," he said in a June 18 note. "A sudden and serious expansion of this conflict would force a violent repricing of risk across all major asset classes.' On June 18, the Labor Department reported that claims for unemployment insurance continued to rise. 'Uncertainty is leading companies to trim staff ahead of what could be a downturn in the economy. Batten down the hatches is what company executives are saying as the trade war and rumors of real war are starting to take a toll on the business outlook,' said Christopher Rupkey, chief economist with market research firm FWDBONDS LLC, in an email. Analysts at Oxford Economics take a more benign view. 'Rising Middle East tensions represent another adverse shock to an already weak economy,' they wrote on June 18. Their models suggest that oil prices at about $130 a barrel would pressure inflation to 6%. Post-pandemic inflation peaked at 9.1% in June 2022. That would put the Federal Reserve in a difficult position. The Fed raises interest rates to tame inflation, and cuts them to support borrowing and economic growth. So far this year, the central bank has held rates steady as it waits to see more information about how tariffs are playing out in the economy, but that may change. Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell, speaking after the central bank held interest rates steady for the fourth consecutive meeting on June 18, told reporters the Fed is watching the situation in the Middle East, "like everybody else is." "What's tended to happen is when there's turmoil in the Middle East, you may see a spike in energy prices," Powell said prior to the U.S. strikes. "Those things don't generally tend to have lasting effects on inflation, although of course in the 1970s, they famously did, because you had a series of very, very large shocks. But, we haven't seen anything like that now." The U.S. economy is far less dependent on foreign oil than it was back in the 1970s, Powell added. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: US strikes on Iran nuclear sites could hit weakening American economy Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data