Monday, February 23, 2026

Obama’s Speechwriter Admits Biden ‘Looks Weak.’

Jon Favreau — a former speechwriter in the Obama White House — says President Joe Biden‘s refusal to increase pressure on Israel to stop its military from killing civilians in Gaza makes him look “weak.” The former Obama speechwriter and host of the liberal Pod Save America podcast has joined a growing list of influential Democrats who have publicly criticized Biden for what they see as a soft response to an Israeli military strike that killed seven humanitarian aid workers earlier this week.

“The President doesn’t get credit for being ‘privately enraged’ when he still refuses to use leverage to stop the IDF from killing and starving innocent people,” Favreau wrote Wednesday in a post on X (formerly Twitter). He added: “These stories only make him look weak.”

On Tuesday, President Biden said those responsible for the Israeli strike and civilian deaths should be held accountable. “Israel has not done enough to protect aid workers trying to deliver desperately needed help to civilians,” the President said in a statement. He continued: “Incidents like yesterday’s simply should not happen. Israel has also not done enough to protect civilians.” On background, White House officials insisted to the corporate media that Biden was “angry.”

For an increasing number of Democrat lawmakers on Capitol Hill, however, the statement by Biden wasn’t enough. Over the past two days, several of the President’s top allies in the Senate called for a shift in his approach to Israel. On a Wednesday appearance on MSNBC, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) warned the White House: “The polling is very clear: The Democratic base wants to stop funding Netanyahu’s war machine.” Meanwhile, Sen. Chris Coons told CNN on Thursday that he was open to conditioning any further aid to Israel on the reduction of civilian casualties.

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Jon Favreau — a former speechwriter in the Obama White House — says President Joe Biden's refusal to increase pressure on Israel to stop its military from killing civilians in Gaza makes him look "weak." The former Obama speechwriter and host of the liberal Pod Save America podcast has joined a growing list of influential Democrats who have publicly criticized Biden for what they see as a soft response to an Israeli military strike that killed seven humanitarian aid workers earlier this week. show more

Ex Dem Tulsi Gabbard to Headline Mar-a-Lago Fundraiser.

Former Democrat Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard is set to headline a conservative group’s fundraising dinner at Mar-a-Lago in early March. Though unconnected with former President Donald Trump’s presidential campaign, the 917 Society’s choice of Gabbard as its dinner’s headliner is fueling speculation that Gabbard could be tapped for a role in a future Trump administration. Some even believe she could be a dark horse candidate for Trump’s vice-presidential nominee.

The 917 Society — which provides pocket Constitutions to schools nationwide — says their event will be an “occasion that promises to shape the future of America.” Conservative political commentator and former Republican presidential primary candidate Larry Elder will join Gabbard as a guest speaker. Elder endorsed Donald Trump for president after dropping out of the race last year.

WALK AWAY.

Before her right-ward shift, Gabbard was considered a rising star among left populists in the Democrat Party. When Gabbard was first elected in 2012 as a U.S. Representative for Hawaii, MSNBC host Rachel Maddow said: “I’m going to tell you right now that her name is Tulsi Gabbard because she is on the fast track to being very famous someday.”

In 2020, Gabbard ran for the Democrat presidential nomination — announcing she would not seek re-election in the House of Representatives. While her campaign failed to gain traction among Democrats, her anti-war and populist policy positions gained a following among a segment of Donald Trump’s MAGA movement. In 2022, Gabbard left the Democrat Party entirely, becoming a frequent guest on Laura Ingraham’s Fox News show.

VP?

As former President Trump continues to poll ahead of Biden in the 2024 presidential election contest, speculation regarding Gabbard’s future continues to heat up. The National Pulse previously reported that Gabbard and Trump met recently to discuss reforms to the Pentagon. Whether the former Democrat is tapped for a cabinet secretary role or even Vice-President, many in MAGA would prefer to have her on their side. The Daily Beast recently reported one Trumpworld source as saying: “I don’t know what the deal is with Tulsi, but I’d certainly rather have her on our side than on somebody else’s.”

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Former Democrat Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard is set to headline a conservative group's fundraising dinner at Mar-a-Lago in early March. Though unconnected with former President Donald Trump's presidential campaign, the 917 Society's choice of Gabbard as its dinner's headliner is fueling speculation that Gabbard could be tapped for a role in a future Trump administration. Some even believe she could be a dark horse candidate for Trump's vice-presidential nominee. show more

BERNIE’S REVENGE: Sanders Group Tells 312K Dems Not to Commit to Biden as Nominee.

Our Revolution, the progressive political action organization birthed from Senator Bernie Sanders’s 2016 presidential campaign, is urging some 312,000 members to pressure Joe Biden to “change course” on the Israel-Gaza war. This includes 87,000 Michiganders, who are asked to vote ‘Uncommitted’ in the Great Lake State’s Democratic primary on February 27th.

“Our Revolution is planning to send an email to 87,000 members in Michigan and to about 225,000 supporters in other states, encouraging them to vote Uncommitted in the state’s Feb. 27 primary to ‘push Biden to change course on Gaza now’,” the New York Times reports.

“I am working with some people who feel like they will never vote for Joe Biden, but there are many, many, many I feel will vote for Joe Biden on Nov. 5 if he changes course,” explained Andy Levin, a signatory to the letter who claims the pressure campaign “is the best way [to] help Joe Biden.”

Biden also faces pressure from Arab-Americans in Michigan, with dozens of Muslim officials backing the new ‘Listen to Michigan’ initiative aimed at convincing primary voters to turn in a protest vote against him during the primary.

Establishment Democrats are rallying around the President, however, and attempting to use Donald Trump to scare primary voters into falling in line behind him.

“There’s a lot at stake in this upcoming election, and I would just encourage people not to lose sight of that, too,” said Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer.

“A potential second term for [Trump] would be very hard on all the communities that are still being impacted by what’s happening overseas as well, and that’s something that shouldn’t be lost on people’s calculation, too,” she added.

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Our Revolution, the progressive political action organization birthed from Senator Bernie Sanders's 2016 presidential campaign, is urging some 312,000 members to pressure Joe Biden to "change course" on the Israel-Gaza war. This includes 87,000 Michiganders, who are asked to vote 'Uncommitted' in the Great Lake State's Democratic primary on February 27th. show more
trump

DATA: Trump is Most ‘Respected’ Leader in America.

Donald Trump enjoys the respect of a strong plurality of American voters, polling far ahead of Joe Biden, Nimarata ‘Nikki’ Haley, and a host of other leading Democrats and Republicans according to new Rasmussen data. Forty-two percent of likely voters opted for Trump as the person they “most respect as a leader” when offered the choice between the former president, the incumbent, Haley, Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders, and Mitt Romney.

Biden was the choice of only 21 percent of likely voters, rising slightly to 25 percent among men but dropping to 18 percent among women. He performed even worse among voters aged 16 to 39 — a key demographic for the Democrat in 2020 — earning the support of just 16 percent of the cohort, compared to 34 percent for Trump.

Significantly, Trump appears to be far more successful at winning over not only his party’s base but also earning the respect of Democrat voters and independent voters. Seventy-five percent of GOP voters chose Trump, but only 43 percent of Democrats chose Biden. Trump was also the choice of 13 percent of Democrat voters and 39 percent of ‘Other’ voters, while Biden was the choice of just seven percent of Republicans and 13 percent of ‘Other’ voters.

Among the also-rans, Obama had the strongest performance but was still far behind Trump on respect, being the choice of just 17 percent of likely voters. Haley was the choice of five percent of likely voters and three percent of women, whom she claims she appeals to.

The worst performer was Clinton, chosen by just two percent of likely voters and an even lower one percent of Democrat voters.

Romney, the former GOP presidential candidate and leading ‘Never Trump’ voice, did not perform much better, being chosen by just three percent of likely voters.

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Donald Trump enjoys the respect of a strong plurality of American voters, polling far ahead of Joe Biden, Nimarata 'Nikki' Haley, and a host of other leading Democrats and Republicans according to new Rasmussen data. Forty-two percent of likely voters opted for Trump as the person they "most respect as a leader" when offered the choice between the former president, the incumbent, Haley, Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders, and Mitt Romney. show more

Who is Pedro L. Gonzalez, Anyway? Marxist, Son of a Mexican Murderer?

Pedro L. Gonzalez – a vocal supporter of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’s presidential campaign who is often boosted by official DeSantis staffers – has a known history of wildly racist posts, which he now blames on having once supported President Donald J. Trump. What is less known about Gonzalez, however, is where he came from, and why he now feels the need to attack right-wing conservatives online in his pursuit of political internet relevance.

In recent months, Gonzales has lashed out at Trump-supporting individuals such as Jack Posobiec, Charlie Kirk, and Laura Loomer, often accusing said figures of being bought and paid for.

Gonzalez, also recently supported DeSantis press secretary Jeremy Redfern’s calls to deport conservative reporters who disagree with him.

The tactic is perhaps less surprising when you learn of Pedro’s “former” Marxist past. A keen supporter of the authoritarian leftist Bernie Sanders, Gonzalez’s own Mexican father – also apparently named Pedro Gonzalez – is said to have stabbed a man, possibly to death, before fleeing Mexico for California in the 1940s.

Gonzalez, who has also admitted his parents are poorly integrated Mexican migrants who learned little English, is one of many California leftists who supported the far-left Sanders. But his journey into Trump world, before flipping once again to try and ingratiate himself with the Florida Governor, raises questions over his motives.

Nightmares From My Father. 

Writing for a now defunct journal, Gonzalez has admitted to his father’s shady past, raising questions over Pedro Senior’s entry into America, and the status of Gonzalez as a possible “anchor baby” with “birthright citizenship” as a result. Asked about his background, Gonzalez has usually offered cagey responses, and he was especially shifty when asked to discuss his family during a YouTube interview in 2022:

“[M]y mom’s, she’s retired, you know. My dad kind of just worked until the day that he died, and so, uh, long life, long productive life, he worked a lot of different jobs,” Gonzalez said. “I don’t have, like, uh, a remarkable background… My parents were just, you know, like, typical, socially conservative, like, first-generation Hispanic immigrants.”

But “typical Hispanic immigrants” don’t tend to have a murderous – attempted or otherwise – background, with Gonzalez writing about how “all but one of [my father’s] five brothers had been murdered in Mexico” before relating an equally disturbing story about how his dad likely murdered a man before fleeing justice like a coward.

In 2020, he related what he called a “quixotic” tale about how his father “rode all throughout Mexico on his beautiful brown horse” before getting into “a knife fight over a woman” in the 1940s. Gonzalez himself was born several decades later, in the United States – an impossibility had his father murdered or tried to murder a man and then gain entry to America legally. As a criminal, he would have been refused entry.

“My father fled town not knowing whether he had mortally wounded his challenger,” Gonzalez explained in his essay. “The last words shouted by the man he stabbed in the chest, ‘Me mataste!’ (You have killed me!), rang in his ears as he galloped away.”

While some bracero laborers were allowed across the southern border in the 1940s and ’50s, the immigration system still strongly favored Western Europeans, with fugitive murderers and attempted murderers finding it suitably difficult to secure visas.

Having been made aware of The National Pulse’s interest in his family history, Gonzalez hurriedly posted a story to his Substack and X account last night, insisting “I’m not an anchor baby” and claiming the story of his dad is now just “family lore.”

Gonzalez also omitted other details, such as how his family apparently never integrated into America, and failed to explain whether migrants like his parents would be allowed into the country under his latest political crush, Governor Ron DeSantis.

Under an ideal immigration system, would an unskilled laborer with no English and a history of stabbing people in the chest be allowed to stay in America, and should his U.S.-born progeny receive citizenship? The answer is obviously no.

Nazism… Like, Really.

Gonzalez’s open endorsements of racism and anti-Semitism, clear from various leaked messages, are clearer still in light of comments made to fellow DeSantis booster David Reaboi concerning his grandfather-in-law.

During the conversation, Gonzalez boasted that his wife’s grandfather “served in the German military in World War II,” spinning an unlikely tale about the Nazi soldier dying when the Allies bombed Dresden because, “he was helping people get into a bomb shelter, and he… stayed outside and made sure the doors were closed.”

In his aforementioned racist messages, Gonzalez also said he chose a German wife because Germans are the “master race,” advising fellow group members to “keep it hwhite [sic]” when dating.

While it is clear Gonzalez harbors deep racial resentment and perhaps even shame over his own family history, what remains unclear is to what extent the U.S. authorities knew about his father’s murder, or attempted murder, just a few years before entering America. Gonzalez appears more than happy to attack others on the basis of background, but when it comes to his own, he remains awkwardly imprecise.

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Pedro L. Gonzalez – a vocal supporter of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis's presidential campaign who is often boosted by official DeSantis staffers – has a known history of wildly racist posts, which he now blames on having once supported President Donald J. Trump. What is less known about Gonzalez, however, is where he came from, and why he now feels the need to attack right-wing conservatives online in his pursuit of political internet relevance. show more

Editor’s Notes

Behind-the-scenes political intrigue exclusively for Pulse+ subscribers.

RAHEEM J. KASSAM Editor-in-Chief
Rather than targeting conservative journalists for deportation, a DeSantis administration (lol) would be much better served looking at people like Pedro’s old man, who sounds like he was a true basket case until the very end: In his final hours, as we were discussing what is best in life as he prepared to depart from it, my father raised his trembling fist in the air
Rather than targeting conservative journalists for deportation, a DeSantis administration (lol) would be much better served looking at people like Pedro’s old man, who sounds like he was a true basket case until the very end: In his final hours, as we were discussing what is best in life as he prepared to depart from it, my father raised his trembling fist in the air show more
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daily caller

Daily Caller ‘Fact Checker’ Is Socialist Who Attacks Trump, Posts About ‘Queer Liberation’.

A ‘fact check’ reporter employed and aggregated by conservative news sites appears to be an avowed radical leftist. Anna Mock, a reporter for The Daily Caller’s “Check Your Fact” website has posted political support for U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) – a self-described socialist – as well as being a proponent of far-left unionization efforts.

Despite the potential for political bias, Mock regularly is the source for fact checks of former President Donald Trump, Vivek Ramaswamy, and other conservative leaders. Mock also felt compelled to defend the globalist Atlantic magazine from what was clearly a parody making it appear the outlet believed orcas, an aquatic mammal, were a new white supremacist threat.

A review of Mock’s social media feed on X (formerly Twitter) shows her having retweeted multiple left-wing political accounts including that of Sen. Sanders, anti-Trump Jim Acosta, and the South Carolina branch of the Industrial Workers of the World – a radical labor union that supports “revolutionary industrial unionism”, “queer liberation“, and has ties to socialist and anarchist organizations.

While most of Mock’s fact checks are of clear satire and parodies, the fact that she is employed by a supposedly right-leaning website to “fact check” conservatives is concerning. The Daily Caller has previously employed CNN’s Oliver Darcy, Kaitlin Collins, and Michelle Fields.

A fact check Mock authored in late July, entitled “No, Planned Parenthood Does Not Aid Sex Traffickers” was pulled from the Check Your Fact website – the editor’s note reading: “Check Your Fact is retracting this fact check article about a Live Action claim about Planned Parenthood. After further review, we found this article did not meet editorial standards.”

Check Your Fact “…is a for-profit subsidiary wholly owned by The Daily Caller, Inc. The majority owner of The Daily Caller, Inc. is co-founder and publisher Neil Patel.” Fact checks from the site are often aggregated by other conservative news sites like Conservative Review, owned by Blaze Media LLC, founded by leading 2016 Never Trump activist Glenn Beck.

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A 'fact check' reporter employed and aggregated by conservative news sites appears to be an avowed radical leftist. Anna Mock, a reporter for The Daily Caller's "Check Your Fact" website has posted political support for U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) – a self-described socialist – as well as being a proponent of far-left unionization efforts. show more