Reid Jones

President Donald Trump is not backing down from his battle with Pope Leo XIV, resharing an AI-generated image showing him being embraced by Jesus. The latest post, which shows Trump with an angelic light and the U.S. flag circling him and the AI Jesus, follows another AI-generated image that he posted - and later took down - earlier in the week, of himself in red and white robes with a light in one hand and blessing a sick man with the other. The post evoked imagery of Jesus healing the sick and sparked backlash from some of Trump's political party. The president denied that it depicted him as Jesus.

After President Donald Trump clashed with Pope Leo XIV over the war in Iran, Vice President JD Vance said the leader of the Catholic church should be careful when talking about theology. Vance, who converted to Catholicism and calls himself deeply religious, told the audience on April 14 at a Turning Point USA rally in Georgia that he welcomed the pope commenting on immigration and abortion. But Vance said the pontiff was wrong to say that political figures should never wield the sword because that would have opposed the U.S. liberation of France and the Holocaust concentration camps during World War II. "I think it's very, very important for the Pope to be careful when he talks about matters of theology," Vance said.

President Donald Trump is following through on a threatened blockade of Iranian ports by U.S. forces after peace talks broke down between the United States and Iran on April 12. The blockade started close to 10 a.m. ET April 13. It will affect "vessels of all nations entering or departing Iranian ports and coastal areas, including all Iranian ports on the Arabian Gulf and Gulf of Oman," according to the U.S. Central Command. At least 15 U.S. warships will be part of the blockade, according to an unidentified official cited by The Wall Street Journal. The U.S. military has not officially released specifics of the blockade, nor has it released information about the number of warships involved and whether warplanes will be used. NATO allies are refusing to join the blockade.

Tucker Carlson called President Donald Trump a "slave" to Israel and said his handling of their war on Iran is "awful to watch" as the feud between the two continues to escalate. "I've always liked Trump and still feel sorry for him, as I do for all slaves," the former Fox News host told Newsmax on April 10. He added that Trump "can't make his own decisions" and that the president is "hemmed in by other forces." Carlson doubled down on his interpretation of the president when asked whether he think Trump is a "slave to Benjamin Netanyahu" in an interview on the BBC's "Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg" on April 12.

Vice President JD Vance said the United States was unable to reach an agreement to end the war in Iran after a marathon meeting in Islamabad, Pakistan, that saw U.S. and Iranian officials meet face-to-face, the first peace talks between the two nations in 47 years. "The bad news is that we have not reached an agreement, and I think that's bad news for Iran, much more than it's bad news for the United States of America," Vance said at a press conference early Sunday. A sticking point continued to be Iran's refusal to commit to not developing nuclear weapons now or in the future, the vice president said.

President Donald Trump lashed out at MAGA media figures who have criticized him in recent days over the Iran war, declaring that MAGA as a whole is on his side and accusing the conservative influencers of trying to get "cheap publicity." The president took aim at Tucker Carlson, Megyn Kelly, Candace Owens and Alex Jones, all of whom raised concerns about the president's recent threats against Iran. "They're not 'MAGA,' they're losers, just trying to latch on to MAGA," Trump said in an April 9 social media post. Trump threatened dire consequences for Iran if its leaders didn't agree to his demands, writing April 7 on social media that "a whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again." That prompted Owens and Jones to suggest invoking the 25th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution to remove Trump from the presidency.

Vice President JD Vance will lead in-person talks in Pakistan this weekend, the White House said, as the United States' ceasefire with Iran faced tests over Israeli attacks on Lebanon and the Strait of Hormuz. Vance will be accompanied by U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff and President Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner for the negotiations in Islamabad, said White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt. Iranian state media said the country again closed the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday in response to Israeli bombardments on Lebanon. Leavitt called those claims "false" but reiterated Trump's demand that the trade route is "reopened immediately, quickly and safely." Deep confusion also emerged over whether Lebanon was included in the ceasefire. Pakistan, which brokered the deal on Tuesday, and Iran said the pause in fighting would extend to Lebanon. Israel and the White House have denied this, and Israel vowed to continue its war against Hezbollah.

President Donald Trump announced the United States reached a ceasefire with Iran for two weeks after earlier threatening to destroy Iranian energy and transportation infrastructure and wipe out a "whole civilization." The pause came less than two hours before the 8 p.m. ET deadline Trump set for a deal. The agreement, the president said, will be contingent on Iran allowing oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, the waterway used to ship much of the world's oil. The president had threatened to launch the sweeping attacks if the country did not relinquish its grip over the critical area. Iran has blocked traffic through the strait, driving up fuel prices and causing the global economy to wobble.

The Supreme Court on April 6 paved the way for the Trump administration to wipe out longtime Trump ally Steve Bannon's contempt of Congress conviction. At the request of the Justice Department, the court effectively erased lower court rulings upholding the conviction and sent the case back to the district court where the department has asked for the case to be dismissed. Bannon, now a host of a popular MAGA podcast, was convicted in 2022 for defying a subpoena from the House committee that investigated the Capitol attack on Jan. 6, 2021. Bannon has already served his four-month prison sentence, after the Supreme Court in 2024 rejected his bid to remain free while he appealed.