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May 13, 2026 - World

President Donald Trump's high-stakes three-day China visit has revealed one person conspicuously missing — his wife, First Lady Melania Trump. Trump was accompanied to Beijing with his cabinet, his son Eric, and daughter-in-law Lara, and 16 corporate CEOs, The Daily Beast reported. And hours before taking off to leave the United States, the first lady's office dropped a cryptic confirmation in a statement to the South China Morning Post, without any explanation for why she would miss out on the trip. "First Lady Melania Trump is not travelling this time," Melania's spokesperson said. When pressed for additional details, her team went silent.The snub marks the latest chapter in what insiders describe as a widening rift between the first couple. "The move comes amid speculation about the first lady increasingly breaking with her husband as she seems to be trying to charter her own course," The Beast reported. "Trump and his White House aides were reportedly blindsided last month when she called a surprise press conference to read a statement declaring she had no ties to the late sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein. The move appeared only to revive the scandal that Trump himself had been eager to put to rest."Melania has been noticeably absent at the White House throughout the second Trump administration and often does not travel with the president. And although first ladies don't always attend trips, the questions around her attendance have raised eyebrows. "Her absence is all the more glaring because it follows a trend that has stood out in Trump’s second term: She’s been appearing alongside him less and less on state visits," according to The Beast.

May 13, 2026 - World

New signs of strain were bubbling up among Republicans on Wednesday after three GOP lawmakers sided with Democrats on a vote to end the Iran war, Politico reported.The war has grown more unpopular among Americans as gas prices soar and Republicans consider the economic fallout ahead of the midterm elections, according to Politico. The 49-50 vote on Wednesday was the closest the Senate has come to having a war powers vote as the Trump administration has missed the legal deadline to tamp down its military operation, "which several Republicans have signaled would be a turning point for their support."Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) supported the resolution, joining Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) and Susan Collins (R-ME). Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) broke with Democrats again to oppose the vote."Paul has supported all seven attempts to rein in Trump, while Collins broke ranks for the first time last month, just ahead of the 60-day benchmark," Politico reported.Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) told Politico before the vote that he expected Republicans to oppose the war sooner, but that was not the case. Many Republicans have "still opted not to cross Trump, a sign of his continued sway over the bulk of the party." But Kaine and Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR), the resolution's co-sponsor, think that GOP lawmakers could be pressured by the economy to change their minds."We know what our colleagues are hearing. We know what they’re hearing from their constituents, and we’re starting to hear doubt creep into their words," Kaine told Politico. "There will be a day — and it might be soon, I believe — where the Senate will say to the president, ‘stop this war.’"

May 13, 2026 - World

A Democratic lawmaker laughed at a Trump administration official during a congressional hearing on Wednesday after the cabinet member made a peculiar claim that soaring gas prices were "exciting." Rep. Jared Huffman (D-CA) pressed Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum to answer questions about the rising costs at the pump for Americans as Burgum testified about President Donald Trump's 2027 budget request before the House Natural Resources Committee in Washington, D.C."Mr. Secretary, while you're funneling billions into these vanity projects, gas is up by an average of $1.40 a gallon from last year," Huffman said. "In March, President Donald Trump posted this message. He said, 'the United States is the largest oil producer in the world by far, so when oil prices go up we make a lot of money," Huffman said, making air quotes with his hand while saying "we," and asking, "Who's the we?"Burgum responded to Huffman's question. "It could be states, the federal government, the American people, when we collect royalty rates on oil production on federal lands and so prices are higher than there's more revenue coming into the system," Burgum said.But Huffman wasn't satisfied with that response. "So this is good for American families that they're paying $1.40 more for gas?" Huffman asked."I'm not saying that, but I'm thrilled that they're paying about a buck less than they were during the Biden administration. I mean, that's exciting," Burgum said. "And these prices are going to drop quickly again because now we actually have supply, you know prices are based on supply."Huffman interjected and called out Burgum's claims."There's a real disconnect here," Huffman said. "Americans are not celebrating this spike in gas prices, that you seem to think is just great. And your only answer is to harken back to the depths of the pandemic."Burgum tried to argue again, and Huffman chuckled at his remarks."Americans are paying $1.40 more a gallon and there's no end in sight to this energy crisis created by the war in Iran," Huffman added. "They're the ones who can't afford to keep the lights on and keep food on the table, but the 'we' that's making a lot more money — let's be honest about it — are the big oil billionaires."BURGUM: I'm thrilled Americans are paying about a buck less for gas than they did during the Biden administration. That's excitingHUFFMAN: There's a real disconnect here. Americans are not celebrating this spike in gas prices, and your only answer is to harken back to the… pic.twitter.com/F1JbYUwz8x— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) May 13, 2026

May 13, 2026 - World

Senior Director for Counterterrorism Sebastian Gorka, a former radio host, revealed that President Donald Trump left orders for Vice President JD Vance in case he is assassinated in China.As Trump was visiting China this week, Pod Force One host Miranda Devine asked Gorka what would happen if the country's leaders "take him out" during the trip."Now, they may not do it there, obviously, but as someone said to me, they could just put something in the air that makes him sick," the podcast host said. "I have no fear at all of them doing something," Gorka insisted. "Everybody wants recognition from this man. This is the most powerful individual we have seen since the likes of Eisenhower, right? This is a man — everybody wants to be at the table with him, to have the state dinner, to have the recognition.""Secondarily, remember what the president said about another country trying to do that?" he continued. "He said, you know, there is a letter in the drawer in the resolute desk that is addressed to the vice president, should something happen to him. So that is the language of power that nations like China, Iran, and Russia understand.""So no, for both of those reasons, the president, in my estimation, is very safe."Devine observed that Trump could also be killed in a tragic accident."The letter is there," Gorka repeated. "Yeah, but unfortunately, you know, China could do something so sneaky as they did with COVID that you wouldn't be able to really tell if the president just got Lyme disease and fell ill in America," Devine pointed out."We have protocols, trust me," Gorka replied. "Not ones I can discuss, but we have protocols."

May 13, 2026 - World

Trump has already delivered China's ambitions with "self-inflicted" wounds, an ex-GOP strategist warned ahead of the president's visit with the country's leader, Xi Jinping."China's ambitions, whether they are military or economic, have been delivered up by Donald Trump," Rick Wilson said on a Tuesday episode of his podcast. Trump was set to meet with Chinese leader Xi Jinping from May 12-15 with business leaders like Elon Musk, and Wilson noted he's going in with "cataclysmically low poll ratings" and "tremendous political weakness" amid the war in Iran.However, while "we've lost the war in Iran," Trump started delivering "self-inflicted" wounds that benefit China's ambitions well before that, Wilson said."Trump starts a trade war. Almost every nation in South America is on the wrong side of Trump's trade war," Wilson explained. "What happens in South America? They cut deals with China. They're selling their products to China."Looking at Trump's government cutbacks, Wilson said that the DOGE decision to dismantle USAID is also helping China's global standing rise above that of the United States. "If you had gone into any African country two years ago, where there's a famine, where there's sickness, where there's poverty, where there's disease, where there's misery, you would have seen USAID workers," Wilson said. "You know what you'd see now? China. Because Elon and DOGE cut USAID and killed the program. So now those bags of food don't say, 'A gift from the people of the United States.' Now those bags of food say 'A gift from the people of the People's Republic of China.'"Wilson predicted that as people watch Trump's visit to China, they'll see him "with a sense of discomfort, with a sense of embarrassment," even though Trump will "bluster and yell and try to pretend that he's got the strong hand here. He does not. Xi Jinping has the strong hand."