ICYMI: Weekend Roundup Rapid Fire Edition

This weekend, a lot of consequential things happened, so this week we're going to go through our topics a little differently. Let's get into the Weekend Roundup - RAPID FIRE EDITION.

The Trump Administration Keeps Using AI in the Worst Ways Possible

The White House posted an AI image of a muscular Trump wielding a lightsaber for the Star Wars-themed “May the 4th” day.

“Happy May the 4th to all, including the Radical Left Lunatics who are fighting so hard to bring Sith Lords, Murderers, Drug Lords, Dangerous Prisoners, & well-known MS-13 Gang Members, back into our Galaxy. You’re not the Rebellion—you’re the Empire. May the 4th be with you."

However, the image features Trump holding a red lightsaber, a color that EVERYONE knows is associated with the Sith, the evil villains known for their tyrannical rule of the Star Wars galaxy. Freud is right agian!

This wasn't the only AI faux pas. Trump pissed off a lot of catholics by sharing a disgusting, disrespecfu, AI image of himself as the Pope. The White House amplified the photo by sharing it across its official social media platforms.

Former Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele tweeted that he will set the “offense aside because Trump, in his narcissism, gets off on our being offended.”

“More to the point, this affirms how unserious and incapable he is,” he added. “At 78, he remains a 10-year-old child, emotionally scarred and broken, while desperate to prove he could be somebody. His problem: he can’t grow up to prove it.”

Continuing the trend is Pete Hegseth, who uploaded a cringe, war propaganda-style AI image in which he is missing a finger. Twitter users then used the AI tool Grok to mercilessly bully the Sec Def, using his alcoholic past (and alleged present) against him.

Air Traffic Controller Warns Major Airport Unsafe: ‘Avoid Newark at All Costs’

An air traffic controller warned Friday that Newark Liberty International Airport is unsafe for travelers due to staff shortages.

“He said, ‘It is not safe. It is not a safe situation right now for the flying public,’” MSNBC's Tom Costello said of his conversation with an air traffic controller, which he described as, “Really an incredible statement, unsolicited. He just said that to me, and separately: ‘Don’t fly into Newark. Avoid Newark at all costs.”

Flights to and from the busy airport just outside New York City have been plagued by delays, which the Federal Aviation Administration said are being caused by a shortage of air traffic controllers.

United Airlines even announced that it would cancel 35 of its daily flights from Newark beginning this weekend. United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby said in the statement that more than 20 percent of controllers at the airport had “walked off the job.”

“Keep in mind, this particular air traffic control facility has been chronically understaffed for years and without these controllers, it‘s now clear—and the FAA tells us—that Newark airport cannot handle the number of planes that are scheduled to operate there in the weeks and months ahead," Kirby added.

In a news conference on Thursday, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy called for more Americans to become air traffic controllers. He announced new incentives for doing so, such as a $5,000 bonus for those who make it through the academy.

Trump Crashes Out on Air Force One

Trump is so hurt by his disastrously low approval ratings that he blew up on./...Fox News?! An agitated Trump became incensed when he was forced to tell the truth - that his terrbile economic plan is hurtling america into a recession. Or worse.

On his taxpayer-backed flight to Mar-a-lardo, he did a low-stakes interview with his favorite propaganda arm, FOX. On his jet, Trump smiled, promising “good news”. However, instead, he started berating reporters, perceived media enemies, pollsters, and, for whatever reason, Joe Biden. This comes after he realized there was a WSJ reporter on the flight. WSJ, usually a huge pro-Trump platform, has recently turned against Trump due to his terrible tariffs. Fox also posted unfavorable approval ratings earlier in the week, drawing Trump's ire.

“There’s a lot of fake polls where they interview Democrats and not Republicans.”

His run-in with Fox News had begun before he boarded the flight. He targeted long-time Fox host Howard Kurtz in a Truth Social meltdown after the 71-year-old didn’t defend him with enough gusto during a segment on his economic performance.

Things You May Have Missed

Donald Trump had a lengthy conversation with Enrique Tarrio, the leader of the far-right group the Proud Boys. Tarrio spent 10 minutes thanking Trump for his Jan. 6-related pardon.

Trump attacked foreign films, calling them "threats to national security." He called for a 100% tariff on movies made outside of the US. “The Movie Industry in America is DYING a very fast death,“ Trump wrote. ”Other Countries are offering all sorts of incentives to draw our filmmakers and studios away from the United States. Hollywood, and many other areas within the U.S.A., are being devastated.”

The president declared efforts by other countries to enhance their own movie industries as a “concerted effort” and “therefore, a National Security threat.” I wonder if this has anything to do with Jon Voight's "Hollywood MAGA Makeover" pitch or Mel Gibson's....everything.

In another cartoonishly evil proposition marking America's rapid slide into authoritarianism, Trump revealed his intentions to “rebuild and open” Alcatraz just months after his idiot son, Donald Trump Jr., made the suggestion on social media. “When we were a more serious Nation, in times past, we did not hesitate to lock up the most dangerous criminals, and keep them far away from anyone they could harm. That’s the way it’s supposed to be.” He's right, I miss when rapist felons with 34 counts against them were put into jail instead of elected to president.

Marjorie Taylor Greene is rebelling against Trump. Since she announced her run against Jon Ossofff for his senate seat, Greene has seemingly been distancing herself from Trump to more allign herself with MAGA as a movement. “I gave my vote for a Biden/Democrat funding and policy once because my President asked me to, but I will not do it again,” Greene tweeted after she went on a rambling rant against the Trump administration. Greene said she would not vote to fund “a single penny or bullet” to Ukraine or Iran, with whom the administration’s nuclear talks were recently postponed. Greene also said she would vote against policies related to the COVID-19 vaccine, abortion, and “the trans agenda.” Greene also vowed to vote against any fund reconciliation and tax law that doesn’t include Trump’s long-promised no tax on tips, overtime, and social security: “For the love of God, give the American people and those who have suffered and worked the hardest a break.” If Republicans can’t support her agenda, she said, “then they have no idea why we won the election.”

Other Notable News

• Stephen Miller wants to teach nationalistic patriotism in elementary schools, aka indoctrinate the youth.

• No one tell JD Vance's wife, but he just admitted to having constant dreams, sorry, nightmares, about AOC.“President AOC: the stuff of nightmares,” he told Bret Baier, laughing. “You’ve ruined my sleep for this evening.”

• Trump's super illegal meme coin donor dinner at Mar-a-largo is worrying republicans.

• The White House says, despite Trump's Truth social rants, they are NOT renaming Veterans Day.