GET THE APP
Wednesday, September 10, 2025

Tag: barack obama
May 30, 2025
William Upton
Lawfare

Disgraced Dem Senator Admits Lawfare Started with Obama and Biden.

PULSE POINTS:

❓What Happened: Disgraced former Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ) says that it was his own Democratic Party, under the former Obama-Biden administration, that weaponized the Department of Justice (DOJ) to execute lawfare campaigns against political enemies.

👥 Who’s Involved: Former Sen. Robert Menendez, former President Barack Obama, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), and federal prosecutors.

📍 Where & When: Menendez made the allegations in a series of posts on X (formerly Twitter) on Friday, May 30, 2025.

💬 Key Quote: “People talk about the Trump DOJ, but it was the Democrats who started weaponizing the Justice Dept,” Menendez wrote.

⚠️ Impact: The claims made by the New Jersey Democrat underpin allegations by Republicans and President Donald J. Trump that the Democratic Party used the DOJ to target its political enemies and prevent Trump’s reelection in 2024. However, it is essential to note that Menendez himself has political motivations to undermine the successful DOJ corruption prosecution against him.

IN FULL:

Former U.S. Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ), who was sentenced to 11 years in prison in January this year on charges of bribery, extortion, conspiracy, obstruction of justice, and acting as an unregistered foreign agent, is claiming that it was his own Democratic Party that weaponized the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to execute politically motivated lawfare campaigns. In a series of posts made Friday on X (formerly Twitter), the disgraced New Jersey Democrat pointed the finger at former President Barack Obama for upending the allegedly nonpartisan culture of the DOJ and weaponizing the agency to target political enemies.

“People talk about the Trump DOJ, but it was the Democrats who started weaponizing the Justice Dept,” Menendez wrote, revealing: “When, as the Chairman of the SFRC, I didn’t go along with Obama’s Iran deal, I was indicted, and the next day after being stripped of my position, Obama announced the Iran deal.”

Menendez continued: “Obama told me that he could not have the Democratic Chairman of the SFRC be against him. By having me removed as the Chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Obama removed my major opposition to his Iran deal. It was a bad deal for the U.S. and for our ally, Israel.”

The once-powerful Democrat Senator argued that the 2015 corruption indictment brought against him by the Obama DOJ was never meant to achieve a conviction but merely to damage his reputation and prevent him from derailing the Iran deal. Notably, the 2015 charges were eventually dropped by federal prosecutors.

Menendez concluded, writing: “So when Democrats talk about weaponizing the Justice Dept, they should look into their own past actions. Obama was willing to use the Justice Department to pursue and preserve the legacy issue he felt would earn him the Nobel Prize he had received.”

The National Pulse reported in September 2023 that Menendez and his wife, Nadine, were indicted by a federal grand jury on corruption charges stemming from their efforts to assist a donor facing legal proceedings and the political interests of the Egyptian government. After a lengthy investigation, Menendez was convicted on 16 counts of public corruption in July 2024.

Image by Christopher Dilts for Organizing for America.

show less

PULSE POINTS:

show more
April 23, 2025
News

Michelle Obama Admits Putting Her Feelings Before the Country in Missing Trump’s Inauguration.

PULSE POINTS:

❓What Happened: Former First Lady Michelle Obama discussed her choice to skip President Donald J. Trump’s inauguration and the ensuing rumors.

👥 Who’s Involved: Michelle Obama, Barack Obama, Donald Trump, and several past U.S. presidents, including Bill Clinton and George W. Bush.

📍 Where & When: The discussion was held during an episode of the podcast IMO with Michelle Obama and Craig Robinson, released recently.

💬 Key Quote: “My decision to skip the inauguration, what people don’t realize, or my decision to make choices at the beginning of this year that suited me were met with such ridicule and criticism,” Michelle Obama complained.

⚠️ Impact: Mrs. Obama’s absence led to public speculation about her personal life and sparked rumors of marital issues with Barack Obama.

IN FULL:

Former First Lady Michelle Obama has spoken publicly about her voluntary absence from President Donald J. Trump’s inauguration in January, explaining her reasons during a recent episode of the low-rated IMO with Michelle Obama and Craig Robinson. The decision sparked rumors about her personal life with former President Barack Obama, who once wrote that he “make[s] love to men daily… in the imagination.”

During a discussion with actress Taraji P. Henson, Mrs. Obama elaborated on her reasoning, emphasizing it as a personal choice. “My decision to skip the inauguration, what people don’t realize, or my decision to make choices at the beginning of this year that suited me, were met with such ridicule and criticism,” she stated. “People couldn’t believe that I was saying ‘no’ for any other reason, that they had to assume that my marriage was falling apart, you know.”

Speculation of possible marital discord was widespread after Mrs. Obama no-showed at the inauguration, particularly after former President Obama also appeared at former President Jimmy Carter’s funeral alone.

“I’m here really trying to own my life and intentionally practice making the choice that was right for me,” Mrs. Obama insisted, adding that it “took everything in my power to not do the thing that was right, or that was perceived as right, but do the thing that was right for me. That was a hard thing for me to do.”

On April 3, former President Obama admitted he was “in a deep deficit with my wife” during his time in office. Speaking at Hamilton College, he revealed he has “been trying to dig myself out of that hole” since then by doing “fun things.”

In 2022, Mrs. Obama admitted “there were 10 years where I couldn’t stand my husband”—roughly a third of their marriage.

Image by Gage Skidmore.

show less

PULSE POINTS:

show more
April 4, 2025
Politics
The Resistance

Obama Calls on Americans to Sacrifice in Opposing Trump Policies.

PULSE POINTS:

❓What Happened: Former President Barack Obama addressed the necessity of potential sacrifices to oppose the policies of President Donald J. Trump.

👥 Who’s Involved: Barack Obama and the Trump administration.

📍 Where & When: Hamilton College, Clinton, New York, on Thursday night.

💬 Key Quote: “You may actually have to do something and possibly sacrifice a little bit.” — Barack Obama.

⚠️ Impact: Obama criticized the Trump administration for challenging the post-World War II global order and urged active resistance against Trump’s policies, especially from law firms and universities.

IN FULL:

During a speech Thursday at Hamilton College, former President Barack Obama said it is no longer enough for those on the political left to call themselves progressives or say they are for social justice, emphasizing that action and sacrifices may be needed to resist the policies of President Donald J. Trump. Speaking to the college’s students, the Democrat former president also argued that universities and law firms must become more active in partisan political action against the Trump administration.

“It has been easy during most of our lifetimes to say you are a progressive, or say you are for social justice, or say you are for free speech, and not have to pay a price for it,” Obama said. “And now we’re in one of those moments when… it’s not enough just to say you’re for something. You may actually have to do something and possibly sacrifice a little bit.”

Demanding that universities, law firms, and other typically non-political organizations become more active in partisan resistance to Trump, former President Obama argued: “It’s unimaginable that the same parties that are silent now would have tolerated behavior like that from me or a whole bunch of my predecessors.”

The Democrat went on to defend the post-World War II global order, which has aligned itself against American interests in recent decades. “All of you have grown up in an international order that was created by America after World War II. … This is an important moment because, in the last two months, the U.S. government has been trying to destroy that order,” he said, repeating the Democrat trope that Trump is a threat to democracy: “Democracy is pretty recent in its vintage. An international order where you cooperate instead of fight is new. It’s fragile.”

Obama’s comments come in response to actions by President Trump to sanction law firms that have engaged in partisan lawfare action against conservative officials, candidates, and members of his administration—including himself.

Additionally, the Trump administration is moving to deport foreign nationals in the U.S. on student visas if they engage in pro-Hamas activities.

Image by Gage Skidmore.

show less

PULSE POINTS:

show more
March 13, 2025
William Upton
Media
Politics

Michelle Obama Podcast Only Draws a Few Thousand Subscribers Despite Media Blitz.

Former First Lady Michelle Obama launched a new podcast with her brother, IMO with Michelle Obama and Craig Robinson—but you can’t be blamed if you didn’t know. Despite an intense marketing campaign, the digital offering garnered only around 12,000 subscribers in its first 14 hours on YouTube earlier on Thursday. Even several hours later, that number still stood at just over 20,000.

While Apple Podcasts and Spotify do not publish real-time subscriber numbers, on neither site does IMO boast more than a few thousand reviews, with around 8,000 on Apple and just under 5,000 on Spotify. The podcast has received disproportional media attention and paid promotion, which typically translates to fairly quick success. However, that isn’t the case with the Michelle Obama offering.

Dramatic media headlines speculating about a possible divorce, based on a rather mundane complaint the former First Lady makes regarding her husband Barack Obama, do not even seem to be enough to generate listener interest.

Discussing their marriage, Mrs. Obama told her brother, “Barack, you know, he had to adjust to what ‘on time’ was for me.” She continued, revealing that former President Obama would wait until the last minute to use the bathroom or find his glasses when the family was about to leave.

“I was like, ‘Dude, a 3 o’clock departure means you’ve done all that,’ you know, it’s like, don’t start looking for your glasses at the 3 o’clock departure,” Mrs. Obama recalled, though she conceded her husband has gotten more timely: “He’s improved over 30 years of marriage, but that was a ‘you must adjust.'”

While the former First Lady’s absence from Jimmy Carter‘s funeral and President Donald J. Trump‘s inauguration—both attended by former President Obama—has fueled separation rumors, this remains speculation.

Image by Gage Skidmore.

show less
Former First Lady Michelle Obama launched a new podcast with her brother, IMO with Michelle Obama and Craig Robinson—but you can't be blamed if you didn't know. Despite an intense marketing campaign, the digital offering garnered only around 12,000 subscribers in its first 14 hours on YouTube earlier on Thursday. Even several hours later, that number still stood at just over 20,000. show more
February 28, 2025
News

Trump Reveals Biden Believes Obama & Pelosi Engineered His Exit from the 2024 Presidential Race.

President Donald J. Trump disclosed a conversation he had with his predecessor, former President Joe Biden, in which the octagenarian Democrat allegedly pointed fingers at former President Barack Obama and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) as being responsible for his removal from the Democratic ticket during the 2024 election. The revelation came during a recent interview President Trump gave, stating that Biden relayed the details leading to his dropping out of the race during a post-election Oval Office meeting between the two.

According to President Trump, Biden—speaking softly at first—recalled some of the events that led to his exit from the presidential race, eventually becoming more emotive and blaming Obama and Pelosi for engineering it. When prompted by Trump about the role of former Vice President Kamala Harris, Biden reportedly did not attribute any responsibility to her.

“But I asked him, you know, I went to the White House a few months before this all happened… But I went there and he asked for a meeting, and I went and we talked for a little while… He talked so low,” President Trump said, adding: “And then he started getting more [emotive]. And I asked him, I said, ‘So who do you blame?’ Because he was very angry, you know, he was a very angry guy, actually. And he said, ‘I blame Barack.’ And I never think of him as ‘Barack.’ You know, you always hear ‘Obama.’ … And he said, ‘And I also blame Nancy Pelosi.’”

Both Obama and Pelosi are believed to have pressed White House aides close to Biden to pressure the 82-year-old Democrat to end his reelection bid following his disastrous June presidential debate performance.

Image via Wikimedia Commons.

show less
President Donald J. Trump disclosed a conversation he had with his predecessor, former President Joe Biden, in which the octagenarian Democrat allegedly pointed fingers at former President Barack Obama and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) as being responsible for his removal from the Democratic ticket during the 2024 election. The revelation came during a recent interview President Trump gave, stating that Biden relayed the details leading to his dropping out of the race during a post-election Oval Office meeting between the two. show more
February 25, 2025
William Upton
Politics

The Truth About Those ‘21 DOGE Staffers’ Who ‘Resigned’ in Protest.

The corporate media is running with a new narrative that 21 federal technology staffers with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) have resigned over proposed cuts to “critical” services. Corporate media outlets like the Associated Press—currently barred from White House press briefings and the press pool on Air Force One—are running headlines claiming, “Federal technology staffers resign rather than help Musk and DOGE.” However, the truth of the matter paints a very different picture.

“We swore to serve the American people and uphold our oath to the Constitution across presidential administrations,” the 21 staffers wrote in a joint resignation letter. “However, it has become clear that we can no longer honor those commitments.”

Notably, the 21 technology staffers who resigned from DOGE predate the department’s creation under President Donald J. Trump. All 21 individuals were employed by the United States Digital Service—the entity renamed as DOGE—which was created by former President Barack Obama. These federal civil service staffers are not political appointees, and their employment predates President Trump’s election.

As for the supposed demands that they use their expertise to “dismantle critical public services,” thus far, DOGE has predominately focused on employment redundancies—recommending the firings of probationary employees to prevent duplicative work. Additionally, DOGE has gone after the federal government’s use of American taxpayer dollars to fund wasteful overseas projects through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) that often undermine U.S. interests abroad. Neither of these instances reflects what most Americans consider “critical public services” like Social Security, Medicare, or Medicaid.

The National Pulse has previously reported that the Elon Musk-led DOGE has found billions in savings for American taxpayers in a little over a month of its existence.

Image by Ted Eytan.

show less
The corporate media is running with a new narrative that 21 federal technology staffers with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) have resigned over proposed cuts to "critical" services. Corporate media outlets like the Associated Press—currently barred from White House press briefings and the press pool on Air Force One—are running headlines claiming, "Federal technology staffers resign rather than help Musk and DOGE." However, the truth of the matter paints a very different picture. show more
February 12, 2025
Jack Montgomery
Corruption

Obama Aides Admit They Should Have Implemented Trump’s DOGE Reforms: ‘We Didn’t Know You Could Do Some of This.’

Former aides to President Barack Obama are “lamenting” the fact they did not implement at least “some of” the federal government reforms spearheaded by President Donald J. Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) themselves. “Honestly, some of this is pretty annoying because it’s some of the stuff we should’ve done,” said former Obama speechwriter Jon Lovett on the Pod Save America podcast, admitting: “We didn’t know you could do some of this.”

Co-host and fellow ex-Obama speechwriter Jon Favreau appeared to concur, saying, “We all know that government is slow. We all know government can be inefficient. We all know that the bureaucracy can be bloated. We all worked in f***ing the White House. We tried to reorganize the government. We tried to find efficiency. It’s hard to do.”

President Trump signed an executive order on Tuesday requiring federal agencies to collaborate with DOGE, led by tech mogul Elon Musk, in its efforts to downsize the federal government. Recent initiatives by DOGE have included significant budget cuts across various sectors, including a near-total shutdown of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and trimming over $100 million in funding for diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs within the Department of Education.

Democrats have brought various lawfare cases against President Trump and DOGE for their cost-cutting efforts. Musk has observed, “The louder that any given politician yells about cutting government waste, the more corrupt they are.” 

Some judges are indulging the Democrat-led lawfare campaign, such as U.S. District Court Judge Paul Engelmayer, who is bizarrely attempting to block DOGE and potentially even Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent from accessing the Treasury Department’s federal payments system. Consequently, Congressman Eli Crane (R-AZ) is preparing articles of impeachment against Engelmayer for abusing his judicial authority.

show less
Former aides to President Barack Obama are "lamenting" the fact they did not implement at least "some of" the federal government reforms spearheaded by President Donald J. Trump's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) themselves. "Honestly, some of this is pretty annoying because it’s some of the stuff we should’ve done," said former Obama speechwriter Jon Lovett on the Pod Save America podcast, admitting: "We didn’t know you could do some of this." show more
February 10, 2025
Wake Up Right
Corruption

Obama Judge Blocks DOGE from Uncovering Corruption at Treasury.

A federal judge has temporarily barred President Donald Trump’s political appointees—potentially including Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent—from accessing Treasury Department data, a roadblock in the administration’s attempt to cut government waste and abuse.

The details: On Saturday, Judge Paul Engelmayer—an Obama appointee—responded to a lawsuit brought by 19 Democrat attorneys general, arguing that allowing Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) violates federal law because he has “full access” to U.S. Treasury payments.

  • Englemayer’s ruling halts DOGE’s access until at least February 14, when a hearing is scheduled.
  • The lawsuit was spearheaded by anti-Trump New York Attorney General Letitia James, who previously sued Trump in 2022 for “financial fraud”—a case that is currently in appeals.

Zoom in: The lawsuit specifically targets a new policy handed down by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, which expanded access to the department’s payment system known as the Bureau of Fiscal Services (BFS).

  • This allowed Trump political appointees like Elon Musk to examine the payments made by the Treasury, to look for wasteful spending.
  • DOGE’s mission is to eliminate waste, fraud, and abuse within our federal budget. To date, it has identified $50B in fraudulent entitlement payments — and estimates the total could exceed $100B per year.

Not so fast: Despite the judge’s sweeping — and potentially unconstitutional — check on the powers of the executive branch, the Treasury Department has clearly stated that DOGE only has access to “read-only” files — and cannot affect, edit, or terminate any expenditures.

Out of bounds: Some legal minds believe the judge’s ruling is so sweeping it could even bar Treasury Sec. Bessent from accessing department data. Federalist senior legal correspondent Margot Cleveland said:

  • “The judge’s order is rightly being attacked as, at worse, barring the secretary of the Treasury from accessing the Treasury Department’s databases and at best, at being hopelessly ambiguous and confusing.”

Elon Musk responded to the ruling, writing on X: “A corrupt judge protecting corruption. He needs to be impeached NOW!”

The last word goes to Vice President J.D. Vance, who responded to the ruling, writing on X:

  • “If a judge tried to tell a general how to conduct a military operation, that would be illegal. If a judge tried to command the attorney general in how to use her discretion as a prosecutor, that’s also illegal. Judges aren’t allowed to control the executive’s legitimate power.”

Democrats spent the law four years using lawfare to try and stop Trump from being re-elected. It failed. Now they’re running the same play. Hopefully, it leads to the same result.

Photo: Bret Hartman / TED.

Be sure to subscribe to the Wake Up Right newsletter! 

show less
A federal judge has temporarily barred President Donald Trump’s political appointees—potentially including Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent—from accessing Treasury Department data, a roadblock in the administration’s attempt to cut government waste and abuse. show more
churchill
January 21, 2025
TRUMP TRANSITION 2024/5
UK

Trump Once Again Restores Churchill Bust to Oval Office.

President Donald J. Trump has restored the bust of Sir Winston Churchill to its place of display in the Oval Office. The bronze likeness of the late Prime Minister was originally a gift from the United Kingdom in 2001. However, both Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden removed the bust during their tenures in office.

After the 2016 presidential election, The National Pulse’s Editor-and-Chief, Raheem Kassam, and Nigel Farage, Brexit crusader and now leader of Britain’s Reform Party, urged then President-elect Trump to restore the Churchill bust after it had been removed by Obama.

‘A CHEEKY FAVOR’

“I’m reminded of November 12th, 2016, when [Nigel Farage] and I went to visit President Trump in his penthouse apartment in New York. After our meeting, Nigel and I realized we had forgotten to mention something we had discussed ahead of time: the Churchill bust that Obama had removed from the Oval Office,” Kassam recalled in a post on X (formerly Twitter) last year. He continued: “So as we were approaching the door to leave, I said to then President-Elect Donald Trump, something along the lines of, ‘Er, excuse me Mr. President-Elect, but I couldn’t ask a cheeky favor could I?'”

“He said: ‘What’s a cheeky favor?’ I explained that his predecessor had removed the Churchill bust. He was aware, and I asked if he planned to put it back. He thought about it for a second, and asked us, ‘Would that mean a lot to you?’ We all said it would. He then asked, ‘Would that mean a lot to your country?’ Again, we all said yes, it would,” Kassam wrote. He concluded: “And I remember finding out, that on his first day in office, he had the Churchill bust put back in its rightful place. ”

REMOVED BY BIDEN & OBAMA.

After its initial placement, the Churchill bust was moved by President Barack Obama in 2009. This action ignited controversy, with allegations suggesting an underlying anti-British sentiment. In its place, a bust of Martin Luther King Jr. was installed.

President Trump reinstated the Churchill bust in 2017. The bust’s return was highlighted during Prime Minister Theresa May’s visit to the White House in 2017. In 2021, President Joe Biden once again removed the Churchill bust, replacing it with the busts of Robert F. Kennedy Sr., Cesar Chavez, Rosa Parks, and Eleanor Roosevelt.

show less
President Donald J. Trump has restored the bust of Sir Winston Churchill to its place of display in the Oval Office. The bronze likeness of the late Prime Minister was originally a gift from the United Kingdom in 2001. However, both Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden removed the bust during their tenures in office. show more
January 14, 2025
Christopher Tomlinson
Politics
TRUMP TRANSITION 2024/5

Michelle Obama Will Not Attend Trump Inauguration, But Barack Will.

Former First Lady Michelle Obama will not attend President-elect Donald J. Trump’s inauguration on January 20, although her husband, former President Barack Obama, will. The Office of Barack and Michelle Obama released a statement on Tuesday, January 14, noting that Michelle Obama would be absent from the inauguration ceremony but did not provide any details as to why.

Michelle Obama was also missing from the state funeral held for former President Jimmy Carter last week. At the funeral, Barack Obama was seated next to President-elect Trump and his wife Melania.

After President Joe Biden dropped out of the presidential race last year following a catastrophic debate, some briefly considered Michelle Obama to replace him. However, both Obamas later endorsed Kamala Harris as the Democrat nominee, despite sources claiming that both held a very low opinion of the Vice President, regarding her as incompetent.

President-elect Trump’s inauguration will be attended by all living U.S. presidents, including Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Barack Obama, and Joe Biden. Several world leaders are also expected to attend the event, including Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Argentina’s President Javier Milei, Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban, El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele, and others.

China’s President Xi Jinping was reportedly invited to the inauguration but declined. Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro was also reportedly invited, but Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes has seized his passport and may refuse to allow him to attend.

Image by Gage Skidmore.

show less
Former First Lady Michelle Obama will not attend President-elect Donald J. Trump's inauguration on January 20, although her husband, former President Barack Obama, will. The Office of Barack and Michelle Obama released a statement on Tuesday, January 14, noting that Michelle Obama would be absent from the inauguration ceremony but did not provide any details as to why. show more