Ted Cruz showers praise on Dem candidate with 'real chance' of beating Trump pick: report

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) showered praise on the opponent of a Trump-endorsed Senate candidate, according to reports.

While calling in on Thursday to Sean Hannity's radio show, which was being guest-hosted by Gov. Greg Abbott (R-TX), Cruz described Democratic candidate James Talarico as "charming" and "affable."

Cruz said Talarico, a state representative, has "a real chance" of beating Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in the race to replace Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), according to reporting by the Texas Tribune.

"He sounds like a preacher," Cruz said about Talarico. "I worry about the voters who may not be paying close attention to the issues, who just turn on the TV and say, 'Oh, he seems like a nice young man.'"

During the GOP primary runoff in May, Paxton was endorsed by Trump and beat the long-serving Cornyn. However, controversies surround Paxton, including a since-dismissed felony securities fraud indictment, a 2023 impeachment, a whistleblower corruption scandal, an affair, a divorce, and residency questions. Even Paxton's estranged wife, a state senator, hasn't endorsed him.

"I think this is a real race," Cruz said about the Talarico-Paxton race, according to reporting by The Hill. "I think it's going to be close. I think we're going to win. I think we're going to keep Texas red, but the polling right now shows this is a one- or two-point race."

According to The Hill, recent polling has suggested that the race will be a toss-up. Talarico has already raised a record-breaking $30 million in the second quarter of this year, which is more than triple what Paxton raised from April to June, The Hill reported.

A Trump biographer suggested that the reason Trump bombed Iran again was to get attention during the recent NATO summit.

During an episode of Inside Trump's Head podcast, biographer and author Michael Wolff said that the idea of Trump bombing Iran was to "upstage" his counterparts at the NATO summit.

"It sums up exactly who he is and what he does," Wolff said. "The only intention here is the attention paid to him."

Wolff pointed out that every time Trump visits NATO, "it has always been a kind of moment of holding their breath" because "he doesn't like to be among a group of equals, he just doesn't like the look" and "it's someplace that he dislikes, intensely dislikes being there."

Before the summit, Wolff spoke with a White House insider who worried "he's going to do something" to reclaim the spotlight from the group of equals around him.

"And I think that's exactly what we've seen," Wolff said. "He arrives there, and it's, 'What do I do to claim all of the attention?' And, I mean, this has been a series of kind of things, including going back to war in Iran."

Other examples of upstaging NATO allies included renewing demands for the U.S. to have control of Greenland and "dissing" European allies as he did with Spain, Wolff noted.

"So essentially, how could he not but become the center of attention here?" Wolff said. "This is the fundamental point to remember. That's what this is about. This is about attention. Donald Trump is about attention. He's not about policy. He's not about accomplishments. He's certainly not about cooperation, which is the nature of NATO. It's just about attention."

Celebrity podcaster Joe Rogan expressed intense anger at President Donald Trump over the war in Iran during a conversation with right-wing British politician Rupert Lowe.

Despite endorsing Trump in 2024, Rogan criticized the president for breaking a key campaign promise to avoid new wars.

Speaking to Lowe, Rogan argued most people oppose the conflict except for Israel supporters, and he repeatedly used profanity when describing Trump's decision to go to war with Iran, The Daily Beast reported.

"Most people are horrified by the idea, because Trump was elected [and] one of the pillars that he stood for, apparently, was that he doesn’t want any more wars,” Rogan said.

His outburst followed Trump's announcement that a three-week ceasefire with Iran had ended.

This marks another instance of Rogan criticizing Trump's Iran policy.

According to the Daily Beast, Rogan previously called the war "insane" and claimed people felt "betrayed" shortly after it began.

The contrast is notable given that Rogan and Trump appeared comfortable together at an Oval Office press conference where Trump announced eased restrictions on psychoactive medications in April.

Watch the video below.

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Conservative CNN pundit Scott Jennings laughed in the face of a fellow MAGA commentator and hurled insults at her during a debate.

Former Trump White House aide Caroline Sunshine interrupted a debate hosted by CNN anchor Abby Phillip on Thursday by admitting that she didn't know that conflicts between Iran and the U.S. have been going on for nearly five decades, as Jennings asserted.

The debate started over whether Congress should put more guardrails in place to check Trump's war powers in Iran. Jennings mocked the idea that guardrails should be in place so the U.S. can be "all rainbows and unicorns with the Iranians," considering that "they've been at war with us for 47 years."

That's when Sunshine chimed in by demanding why she didn't know about the 47 years of conflict, explaining, "The first time I've heard about the 47-year Iran war was like this year."

"I'm sorry you don't read much," Jennings responded before laughing in her face and shaking his head.

"We don't teach about the 47-year war with Iran in school," Sunshine continued. "Like, it's insulting to actual conflicts that we've been involved in."

Jennings kept scoffing at Sunshine as she spoke, adding, "It's an insult to your intelligence that you have no idea what the Iranians have done."

Although Sunshine and Jennings kept speaking over each other, Sunshine asked, "Why have our soldiers been over there?" and pressed Jennings to make it clear what the U.S. goals in Iran should be and what it should be prepared to lose.

"If we're going to keep going with this, what number of American troops are we willing to commit to keep going, and like, what's your number?" Sunshine asked. "Like, how many U.S. troops are you willing to expend to achieve your objectives and what amount of money?"

"What amount of money am I willing to expend to keep the American people safe from the worst regime in the world?" Jennings responded. "A fair amount."