President Donald Trump said Thursday that he plans to expand his defamation lawsuit against The New York Times to include its latest Times/Siena poll, blasting the survey as dishonest and politically motivated.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump accused the polling operation of consistently portraying him unfairly and said the results were intentionally manipulated. “The Times Siena Poll, which is always tremendously negative to me, especially just before the Election of 2024, where I won in a Landslide, will be added to my lawsuit against The Failing New York Times,” he wrote.
Trump said his legal team is seeking detailed records related to the poll’s methodology. “Our lawyers have demanded that they keep all Records, and how they ‘computed’ these fake results — Not just the fact that it was heavily skewed toward Democrats. They will be held fully responsible for all of their Radical Left lies and wrongdoing!” he added.
The Times/Siena poll released Thursday reported that Trump holds a 40 percent approval rating one year into his presidency, while 56 percent of respondents said they disapprove.
According to the same survey, 49 percent of those polled said the country is worse off under Trump, compared with 32 percent who said conditions have improved.
Trump first sued The New York Times last year, alleging that the paper and four of its journalists defamed him while reporting on his 2024 presidential campaign. Although a federal judge dismissed the initial complaint, Trump refiled the lawsuit in October.
In a separate message, Trump argued that inaccurate polling should face legal consequences. “Fake and Fraudulent Polling should be, virtually, a criminal offense,” he wrote.
He pointed to media polling during the 2020 race as an example, saying those surveys were knowingly incorrect. “As an example, all of the Anti-Trump Media that covered me during the 2020 Election showed Polls that were knowingly wrong. They knew what they were doing, trying to influence the Election, but I won in a Landslide, including winning the Popular Vote, all 7 of the 7 Swing States, the Electoral College was a route, and 2,750 Counties to 525.”
Trump continued by naming several major outlets, arguing their polling bore no resemblance to final results. “You can’t do much better than that, and yet if people examined The Failing New York Times, ABC Fake News, NBC Fake News, CBS Fake News, Low Ratings CNN, or the now defunct MSDNC, Polls were all fraudulent, and bore nothing even close to the final results,” he said.
He also criticized media coverage of the 2024 election, accusing news organizations of deliberately publishing false data. The Times “and so many others, print Polls that are knowingly false. They have become deranged, and sick,” Trump wrote.
Trump claimed that what he described as biased reporting stemmed from personal animus. “They suffer from a major case of TRUMP DERANGEMENT SYNDROME (TDS). Their 2024 Election coverage was so bad, and so wrong, and yet they never get called out for it — But I am calling them out with the lawsuit that I have filed which is making its way through the Courts.”
He concluded by saying the media outlets should face consequences. “They have to pay a price for FAKE AND FRAUDULENT NEWS and, hopefully, in the not too distant future, they will!”
{Matzav.com}
Vice President JD Vance said Thursday that Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents can be disciplined “when justified” for errors made during deportation operations, signaling a more restrained stance after recent statements by senior administration officials suggesting officers enjoy “absolute immunity” while carrying out federal law.
Vance made the remarks during an interview with the Washington Examiner aboard Air Force Two while traveling from Toledo, Ohio, to Minneapolis, a city where immigration enforcement has come under heightened scrutiny following the fatal shooting of Renee Good by an ICE officer earlier this month.
“Well, first of all, you’re never going to eliminate, entirely, mistakes,” Vance said. “You’re talking about human beings. It’s going to happen at the local level. It’s going to happen at the federal level, you know?”
He said it is possible to hold officers accountable while still standing firmly behind law enforcement personnel.
“That’s not to say that we’re — you can acknowledge that mistakes sometimes happen while also acknowledging that 99% of our ICE officers are doing the right thing. They’re doing a very tough job in Minneapolis. They’re doing a tough job in incredibly difficult circumstances. I would say the same of police officers,” Vance said.
Pressed on whether misconduct such as excessive force or wrongful arrests of U.S. citizens would result in consequences, Vance said allegations are reviewed and can lead to punishment.
“Certainly, when we have any accusation of wrongdoing, we investigate, we look into it,” he said. “If we think that there are disciplinary actions justified, then, of course, we’re going to take those disciplinary actions.”
Vance added that the administration is working to minimize mistakes while continuing to support officers he says are acting appropriately.
“You can do both of those things at the same time,” he said. “I also think that what we’re trying to do is actually make it easier for these guys to do their job.”
Earlier Thursday, Vance addressed ICE enforcement in Minneapolis during a speech in Ohio, acknowledging that errors had occurred.
“My thought on that is, well, of course there have been mistakes made, because you’re always going to have mistakes made in law enforcement,” Vance said, adding, “It’s not what ICE is doing in Minneapolis, it’s what Minneapolis authorities are doing to prevent ICE from doing their jobs. That’s exactly what’s happening.”
Those remarks differed in tone from comments Vance made earlier this month during an unusual appearance in the White House briefing room following the shooting death of Good, 37, during an ICE operation in Minneapolis.
At that briefing, Vance said footage he reviewed was conclusive, telling reporters, “What you see is what you get in this case.”
He placed responsibility for the tensions surrounding the incident on Good and political opponents.
“I can believe that her death is a tragedy, while also recognizing that it’s a tragedy of her own making and a tragedy of the far left who has marshaled an entire movement — a lunatic fringe — against our law enforcement officers,” Vance said at a White House press briefing the day after the shooting.
President Donald Trump has also said that large-scale enforcement efforts can result in errors.
“They’re going to make mistakes,” Trump said Tuesday at a press conference. “Sometimes, ICE is going to be too rough for somebody. They’re going to make a mistake. Sometimes it can happen.”
Vance’s recalibrated message comes as the administration continues to push an aggressive deportation strategy while facing mounting political and legal pressure tied to raids, detentions, and the reach of ICE authority.
{Matzav.com}
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Thursday that a meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump in Davos focused on moving forward with peace-related discussions and strengthening Ukraine’s air defense capabilities.
In a post shared on X, Zelenskyy described the encounter as “productive,” noting ongoing coordination between Ukrainian and American teams. “We discussed the work of our teams, and practically every day there are meetings or communication,” he wrote, adding that the materials under negotiation between Kyiv and Washington were “now even better prepared.”
Zelenskyy also linked the current discussions to earlier engagement with Trump, crediting that interaction with bolstering Ukraine’s defensive posture. “Our previous meeting with President Trump helped strengthen the protection of our skies, and I hope that this time we will reinforce it further as well.”
{Matzav.com}
A Palestinian organization announced Thursday that it has submitted a criminal complaint in Switzerland against Israel’s Economy Minister Nir Barkat, accusing him of what it described as “international crimes,” while he is attending the World Economic Forum in Davos.
The group, Al-Haq, which Israel has designated a terror organization, wrote online that the Likud lawmaker and former Yerushalayim mayor “is currently present in #Davos and the public prosecutor is obliged to examine it while he is present in the country.”
Davos is hosting the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum, an event that draws senior political leaders and top business figures from around the globe. Barkat traveled there to promote investment in Israel and hold meetings with foreign officials. President Isaac Herzog is also participating, alongside numerous other international leaders.
The statements issued by Al-Haq did not outline specific acts that Barkat is alleged to have committed, nor did they identify the other organizations said to be involved in filing the complaint. The move nevertheless fits a broader pattern in which pro-Palestinian groups attempt to pursue legal action against Israeli officials and citizens abroad over alleged war crimes connected to Gaza or the West Bank.
“Davos cannot be a safe haven for war criminals, where individuals facing serious allegations are granted impunity,” the group said in the post thread.
Another organization, the Hind Rajab Foundation, has in recent months pushed for the detention of Israelis overseas who served in Gaza, frequently relying on social media posts to identify targets and then submitting complaints to foreign authorities. Earlier this week, an Israeli comedian who shared a provocative video from Gaza reported being held for six hours in Canada following a complaint linked to the group.
There was no indication that the Hind Rajab Foundation played any role in the complaint involving Barkat, and the group did not reference him on its own X account.
In another post, Al-Haq asserted that Barkat, in his capacity as economy minister, “is responsible for unlawful Israeli colonization of Occupied Palestinian Territory and Israel’s actions in Gaza,” and claimed that he had encouraged “genocide,” without pointing to specific remarks to support the allegation.
The organization further argued that during Barkat’s tenure as mayor of Yerushalayim from 2008 to 2018, he was “individually responsible for illegal Israeli settlement-related international crimes, including apartheid.” It added, “He should be investigated for his role in planning, permits, enforcement and demolitions in occupied Jerusalem.”
Many countries view eastern parts of Yerushalayim as territory illegally occupied by Israel. Israel, which captured the area during the 1967 Six Day War and later annexed it, regards the city as its undivided capital. Al-Haq’s posts did not clearly distinguish whether the accusations referred specifically to eastern Yerushalayim.
Responding publicly, Barkat shared an image of an article discussing the complaint and wrote, “No terror group will deter me. I will continue to develop the Israeli economy and represent the state fearlessly everywhere in the world.”
Israel designated Al-Haq a terror organization in 2021, alongside several other Palestinian NGOs, alleging they operate as fronts for the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. The group has previously sought international legal measures against Israeli officials and institutions.
{Matzav.com}
The Supreme Court has ruled that the name of the man accused of posing as a military officer and penetrating sensitive command facilities at the start of the war may be released, bringing an end to a long-running publication ban. The individual identified as the alleged “imposter officer” is attorney Asaf Shmuelovitz.
The decision was handed down following an appeal that sought Supreme Court review of an earlier Beersheba District Court ruling permitting the disclosure of his identity.
Prosecutors allege that Shmuelovitz falsely presented himself as a reserve officer, enabling him to enter headquarters and classified command centers connected to the Southern Command. Shmuelovitz has maintained that he acted out of a belief that he was helping during the chaotic opening days of the war.
After the court partially lifted the gag order, members of Shmuelovitz’s family released a statement denouncing the move and disputing the seriousness of the allegations. “Once part of the gag order was lifted, the entire narrative collapsed,” the family said. “At most, Asaf committed a classified-information offense that should have been handled through military disciplinary proceedings. This is a clear case of selective enforcement.”
In their statement, the family contended that Shmuelovitz operated in a capacity approved by his standing-duty commander, and that any classified material involved was either relayed by others during discussions or consisted of imprecise and unclear information. They further claimed that those with whom he communicated possessed higher security clearances within the military or other security bodies.
The family also noted that, with the prosecution’s agreement, a medical evaluation concluded that Shmuelovitz was unfit at the time of the alleged incidents. “Despite this, Asaf chose to continue with the trial in order to see the process through to the end,” the statement said. “He is confident that he will be acquitted and that it will be proven beyond doubt that the charges against him were exaggerated and unfounded.”
Deputy Minister Almog Cohen, who has taken an active role in the matter and participated in combat against Hamas during the October 7th massacre, voiced harsh criticism of how long the court took to issue its ruling. “It took the Supreme Court ‘only’ 838 days to rule on whether the name of the accused in the Southern Command espionage case – Asaf Shmuelovitz – could be published,” Cohen said.
Cohen further claimed that Shmuelovitz entered the Southern Command base on October 7 carrying a cellphone and recorded extremely sensitive material inside the command bunker. “He is only the tip of the iceberg,” Cohen added. “I will continue to fight to expose the full picture – who directed him, what his intentions were, and why the name Yair Golan appeared in his notebook and why they spoke on the phone. The people of Israel deserve to know who abandoned them, and all those responsible must be brought to justice.”
{Matzav.com}
President Donald Trump said the United States is closely watching Iran’s nuclear activity and will not tolerate any move toward developing nuclear weapons, cautioning that Washington could respond if Tehran refuses to change course.
“We’re going to find out where they stand right now on nuclear,” Trump said. “They can’t have nuclear weapons. They have to stop,” he told CNBC.
Trump also said Iranian authorities backed away from killing protesters after he publicly warned last week that the United States might resort to military force. He claimed Iran’s leadership had been preparing for mass executions before reversing its plans following his statement.
“They were going to hang 837 people on Thursday,” he said. “I told them, ‘You can’t do that.’”
The president said he hopes no further steps will be required, while alleging that Iranian security forces had been shooting civilians in public areas.
Turning again to Iran’s nuclear efforts, Trump argued that without U.S. intervention last June under Operation Midnight Hammer, Tehran would have achieved a nuclear weapon within weeks.
“We hit them hard with B-2 bombers,” Trump said, adding that the aircraft were undetectable and that every strike reached its intended target. He noted that the United States has since ordered 25 additional bombers.
“They keep experimenting with nuclear, but at some point they’re going to get the idea that they can’t do that.”
{Matzav.com}
A draft arrangement taking shape between the United States and Hamas would center on the group’s disarmament while recasting the process as a political understanding rather than a formal surrender, according to details aired Thursday on i24NEWS.
The report said Hamas would issue a declaration stating that “at Israel’s request, it no longer poses a threat.” The framework would differentiate between heavy, offensive weaponry and lighter, personal, and defensive arms, using definitions to be drafted by Hamas itself.
If finalized, the document would carry the title “Understanding Agreement on the Issue of Weapons,” deliberately avoiding language that frames the move as an outright capitulation.
The outline of the deal was initially disclosed by Sky News Arabic, which reported that Hamas would agree to give up its weapons and hand over maps of tunnel networks in the Gaza Strip in return for recognition as a political entity.
Sources familiar with the talks said the terms would also provide that “the cessation of weapons use will allow some members of Hamas’ leadership, both military and political, to leave the Gaza Strip with an American assurance that Israel will not harm them in the future.”
Those sources added that Washington would permit a limited number of former Hamas police officers and officials to take part in administering a restructured “New Gaza,” contingent on their passing Israeli and American security vetting.
According to the reporting, U.S. officials have told mediators that Israel has expressed concerns about the proposal, particularly over the prospect of Hamas continuing to operate as a political party within the Palestinian Arab political arena.
{Matzav.com}