Author: Stephanie Gauthier

The president threatened an ABC News reporter who asked him about free speech, suggesting he might ask U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi to go after him.

The comments were the latest in a string of threats the president has made against the press in the last 24 hours.

— The Daily Beast (@thedailybeast.bsky.social) 2025-09-16T18:00:12.209669Z

In the wake of Charlie Kirk’s murder, Pam Bondi promised that the U.S. Justice Department would target “hate speech” attributed, according to Trump and his allies, to the left.

Bondi’s statements provoked an outcry, with many fearing they would threaten freedom of expression. It was against this backdrop that Donald Trump threatened a journalist who asked him about these concerns, which are shared even in his own political camp.

Asked about free speech from the White House lawn, Trump threatened Jonathan Karl, chief Washington correspondent for ABC News.

“Many of your allies say that hate speech is free speech,” the ABC News reporter challenged Trump, echoing criticism of the administration on this point and recalling Charlie Kirk’s own comments that even hate speech should be protected “by the First Amendment”.

Referring to Pam Bondi, Trump replied to the reporter:

“She’d probably go after people like you, because you treat me unfairly. That’s hate. You have a lot of hate in your heart.”

Boasting that ABC had paid him “$16 million”, Trump added:

“Then maybe they’ll come after you.”

Protected by the First Amendment

In 2024, Charlie Kirk had declared in a post on X:

“Hate speech doesn’t legally exist in America. There is ugly speech. There is rude speech. There is malicious speech. And all are protected by the First Amendment. Let’s keep America free.”

https://twitter.com/charliekirk11/status/1786189687260103119

Recall that, during a recent podcast, Pam Bondi had declared that Department of Justice “will target you and come after you, if you come after anyone with hate speech.”

These remarks immediately drew criticism from a variety of quarters, including some MAGA Republicans, concerned about a possible rollback of free speech.

Bondi later clarified to Axios that the DOJ would not prosecute or investigate mere hate speech unless it constituted unlawful incitement to violence.

https://bsky.app/profile/axios.com/post/3lyxtnpmdek2p

At a private event filmed at Bedminster Golf Club, Donald Trump said smart people don’t like him.

The president took a swipe at his critics but seemingly revealed his thoughts on his supporters in the process.trib.al/mQ769pC

— The Daily Beast (@thedailybeast.bsky.social) 2025-09-15T15:30:07.082419Z

A mocking statement, but one that some believe reveals his perception of his supporters.

A viral video at Bedminster Golf Club

In a video widely relayed on social networks, we see Donald Trump, microphone in hand, addressing a small group of people gathered around him.

The scene was filmed on September 13, at his Bedminster Golf Club in New Jersey, according to several sources.

While Trump was addressing the assassination of Charlie Kirk, which occurred a few days earlier, as well as the suspect, it was nevertheless these words that caught the eye.

A revealing statement?

This statement, obviously made in a mocking tone, triggered laughter in the room.

Yet some observers saw it as a revealing remark, likely to reflect what Trump really thinks of his own supporters, especially as he has in the past expressed ambivalent views on the education or intelligence of his electorate, most notably in 2016, when he declared:

“I like the poorly educated .”

Trump’s latest comments are part of a long list of controversial outbursts, often calculated to provoke, confuse or polarize opinion.

A presentation on the capabilities of its new “smart” glasses quickly turned into a nightmare for Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg at the Meta Connect conference on September 17.

Meta spent billions on AI-powered smart glasses so that its CEO could be humiliated onstage not once, but twice, by the tech's dismal failures.

— The Daily Beast (@thedailybeast.bsky.social) 2025-09-18T13:47:03.925871Z

Meta’s CEO had an embarrassing moment at the annual Meta Connect conference.

While presenting the new “smart” glasses assisted by artificial intelligence, the demonstration turned into a nightmare.

An embarrassing moment

The device, which was supposed to guide a guest chef through the preparation of a “Korean-inspired” sauce, multiplied errors, giving incoherent instructions. The chef had to repeat his questions several times, without success.

Zuckerberg then tried to show a video call via the glasses and a neural bracelet, but the connection failed, forcing him to make awkward gestures on stage.

To explain these setbacks, Meta cited a poor Wi-Fi connection. Zuckerberg tried to lighten the mood with a joke, while CTO Andrew Bosworth promised to check the source of the problems.

This incident, widely mocked on social networks, underlines Meta’s persistent challenges in its AI race and highlights the fragility of technologies that are still far from infallible.

A significant cognitive disadvantage?

Mark Zuckerberg recently stated, according to CNN, that people who don’t wear smart glasses incorporating artificial intelligence could, in the near future, find themselves at a “significant cognitive disadvantage”:

“I think in the future, if you don’t have glasses that have AI, or some way to interact with AI, I think you’re kind of similarly probably be at a pretty significant cognitive disadvantage compared to other people.”

In his view, these devices will become the ideal bridge between the physical and digital worlds, capable of seeing, hearing and reasoning alongside their user.

The demonstration, with its many technical missteps, offers a striking contrast between the promise of an “indispensable” future and the still-fragile reality of the technology, which puts Meta in an uncomfortable position.

Zuckerberg has been working on his connected glasses since late 2017, with a first model launching in 2021 and a stated ambition for over 7 years to make them the must-have AI device.

But if Zuckerberg wanted to prove that “smart” glasses will soon be indispensable… for now, they’ve mostly proved that they can embarrass him.

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has told analysts that people without smart glasses may one day be at a "significant cognitive disadvantage" compared to those who do use the tech: https://cnn.it/47L2Y5a

— CNN (@cnn.com) 2025-09-15T12:00:32.858914716Z

Donald Trump was in the UK for an exceptional second visit by a head of state, welcomed with full honors by King Charles and Camilla, alongside his wife, Melania.

Protesters in Britain projected images of President Trump and Jeffrey Epstein onto Windsor Castle on Tuesday night before the president arrived for a state visit. More protests are planned for Wednesday. Follow live updates on Trump's state visit: nyti.ms/3VTtyBH

— The New York Times (@nytimes.com) 2025-09-17T11:46:30.377079Z

Since arriving in the UK yesterday, Donald Trump has received a royal welcome orchestrated by Charles III and Camilla.

Trump welcomed in style by Charles III

In Windsor, a solemn ceremony honored him: national anthem, official salute, inspection of the guard and military escort.

The King shared a carriage with Trump, while Camilla accompanied Melania. After an official luncheon, an exhibition on American-British ties was presented. Finally, Trump laid a wreath on Elizabeth II’s grave in St. George’s Chapel, sealing a welcome imbued with prestige and diplomatic symbolism.

But the specter of scandal linked to his past relationship with Jeffrey Epstein caught up with him all the way to Windsor Castle, as compromising photos of him with Epstein resurfaced everywhere.

“Welcome to the UK, Donald.”

Trump is no exception: everywhere in the town of Windsor, from souvenir stores to the grounds near the castle, right down to the images projected directly onto its walls, he is being targeted.

The British collective “Everyone Hates Elon” set about mocking his second official visit to royalty.

A special relationship

The group’s actions included decorative plates depicting Trump alongside Epstein, accompanied by the inscription “a special relationship”, as well as a dog toy featuring the American president sold in a local store.

A truck equipped with a giant screen showing a photo of Trump next to Epstein, taken at Mar-a-Lago in 1997, also drove through the streets of Windsor with the message “Welcome to the UK, Donald.”

A huge poster showing Trump and Epstein was also deployed on a field near Windsor Castle, while a giant projection of their photo illuminated the castle’s very walls.

U.S. influence

A spokesman for the “Everyone Hates Elon” collective actually commented on their actions, reported by The Daily Beast.

He declared that they were fed up with the influence of the US on the UK, whether it’s billionaires like Elon Musk or Donald Trump.

Authorities arrested four people after Trump’s embarrassing image was projected onto Windsor Castle.

His first visit to Windsor in 2018

On his first visit to Windsor in 2018, Donald Trump was received by Queen Elizabeth II in a high-profile official meeting.

After a military ceremony and the national anthem, he inspected the guard of honor alongside the sovereign. But the visit sparked widespread criticism in the UK, with massive protests in London, satirical balloons caricaturing him as “baby Trump” and controversy over his attitude towards the Queen, which was deemed disrespectful, particularly when he walked in front of her. This episode marked a controversial stage in U.S.-British relations.

Trump’s state visit to Britain was crashed by pictures of the president with friend Jeffrey Epstein.

— The Daily Beast (@thedailybeast.bsky.social) 2025-09-17T13:31:06.870666Z

According to Wired, OpenAI has taken the intelligent robot race to the next level by actively recruiting robotics experts.

The company behind ChatGPT is putting together a team capable of developing algorithms to control robots and appears to be hiring roboticists who work specifically on humanoids. www.wired.com/story/openai…

— WIRED (@wired.com) 2025-09-15T10:03:10.154Z

New goals

This suggests that the company is now turning its attention to designing complete, autonomous robots.

Open AI is no longer limited to software development, as had been assumed for several months.

According to Wired, robotics expert Chengshu Li, who has collaborated with Stanford, DeepMind, NVIDIA and Google Brain Robotics, joined the OpenAI team in June 2025 after conducting research into evaluating the capabilities of humanoid robots in performing various domestic tasks.

Specific profiles

In January 2025, job offers revealed that OpenAI was planning to develop robotic hardware by recruiting experts in sensors, actuators and platforms, showing that the company no longer intended to limit itself to software.

OpenAI’s recent vacancies target profiles with skills in mechanical engineering, manufacturing and prototyping, as well as in the design of robotic systems integrating motion and touch sensors, with possible experience in large-scale production.

We’re releasing GPT-5-Codex — a version of GPT-5 further optimized for agentic coding in Codex.

Available in the Codex CLI, IDE Extension, web, mobile, and for code reviews in Github. https://t.co/OVGrUovgHN

— OpenAI (@OpenAI) September 15, 2025

As Donald Trump left the White House for a state visit to the UK, a tense interaction with ABC journalist John Lyons drew attention, once again marking his conflicted relationship with the media.

Trump lashed out at a reporter who asked him whether it was “appropriate” that the president is enriching himself while in office.

— The Daily Beast (@thedailybeast.bsky.social) 2025-09-16T15:07:06.604397Z

Shortly before boarding Marine One for his official trip to the UK, Donald Trump was challenged by reporters in the White House driveway.

“Quiet!”

-Donald Trump

Since his return to the presidency

Among them was John Lyons, Americas bureau chief for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), who was preparing a report for the Four Corners program. Lyons asked Trump a question about how his wealth has changed since he returned to the presidency in January 2025.

Trump’s response was swift and incisive. His tone escalated when he accused the journalist of damaging relations between the United States and Australia. Trump said the question was unwelcome and warned that it could have diplomatic repercussions, particularly in the context of the upcoming visit between him and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.

Then, in a curt gesture, he shouted “Quiet!” at the journalist, ordering him to… well, be quiet, before continuing to his helicopter for departure.

The role of a journalist

John Lyons, ABC’s Americas bureau chief, defended his approach after the tense exchange.

He explained the role as a journalist is to hold the powerful to account, and that it’s perfectly acceptable to ask legitimate questions, politely, of the President of the United States.

Freedom of expression

Let’s not forget that Donald Trump is in hot water as ABC’s suspension of Jimmy Kimmel provokes outrage. The talk show was taken off the air after the host criticized the Trump administration’s handling of the murder of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk. The decision was immediately interpreted as an attack on free speech, fueled by the president’s public attacks and pressure from FCC Chairman Brendan Carr.

Across the media landscape, reaction was immediate. Stephen Colbert, Jon Stewart and Seth Meyers denounced what they saw as direct censorship, pointing out that sanctioning a host for government criticism sets a dangerous precedent. Several elected Democrats, but also some Republicans, have expressed their concerns, believing that the state should not weigh in on the programming of TV channels.

Beyond the Kimmel case, the affair rekindles the debate on the fragile relationship between executive power and the media in the United States. Combined with Trump’s injunctions for journalists to remain “silent”, it is seen by many as an attempt to silence dissenting voices, a move they argue endangers the constitutional principle of press freedom.

In @nytopinion.nytimes.comThe silencing of Jimmy Kimmel, following an explicit threat by Brendan Carr, the head of ABC’s regulator, the F.C.C., “is the mask of ‘free speech’ coming off for good,” Michael Hirschorn writes.

— The New York Times (@nytimes.com) 2025-09-19T17:30:04.577824Z

A 16-year-old has been identified as the prime suspect in the shooting at Evergreen High School in Denver, Colorado, which occurred on the same day as the high-profile murder of Charlie Kirk.

Officials have identified the 16-year-old suspect who opened fire at a Denver-area high school, saying he was "radicalized by some extreme network."

— CNN (@cnn.com) 2025-09-11T22:57:01.658275271Z

According to the authorities, he had been “radicalized”, one of the only elements put forward during the press briefing.

Less than an hour after the murder of Charlie Kirk

The shooting, which occurred less than an hour after conservative activist Charlie Kirk was gunned down at an event at Utah Valley University, seriously injured two students at Evergreen High School.

Authorities provided little information about the suspect, indicating only that he was a 16-year-old student who arrived at the school that day by school bus, and who died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound after the events.

UPDATE: Social media accounts that appear to be connected to the Evergreen High School shooting suspect are littered with references to mass shootings and antisemitic views, The Denver Post found.

— The Denver Post (@denverpost.com) 2025-09-12T01:15:22.659457Z

But, among the items released by Jacki Kelley, spokeswoman for the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office, is the assertion that the suspect have been “radicalized by an extreme network”.

The Evergreen High School shooter has been identified as 16 year-old Desmond Holly. pic.twitter.com/h0tXtrUYvj

— Jeffco Sheriff (@jeffcosheriffco) September 11, 2025

However, she said that more details would be provided “at a later date”, which left room for much speculation.

Social networks

According to investigations by the Denver Post and the Colorado Sun, social networking accounts linked to the suspect are replete with references to mass shootings, in particular the Columbine shooting in 1999, where he posted himself wearing a T-shirt bearing the word “WRATH”, as one of the shooters at the time.

The suspect’s accounts also allegedly disseminated conspiracy, anti-Semitic and white supremacist-tinged content. A few days before the shooting, he allegedly posted on X a photo of himself holding a revolver, accompanied by the caption, the same caliber of weapon used in the attack.

In the wake of the shock announcement that Jimmy Kimmel’s talk show would be shut down, Donald Trump rushed to Truth Social to rave about the news.

The late-night host’s show is suddenly off the air after years of complaints.

— The Daily Beast (@thedailybeast.bsky.social) 2025-09-18T02:31:06.315817Z

Trump sees Jimmy Kimmel’s cancellation not as a consequence of his attacks on Charlie Kirk, but as a personal victory to silence an opponent, which he staged in a veritable victory lap on Truth Social.

“Great news for America,” Donald Trump opened his message.

Colbert led the way before Kimmel

Trump follows this up by asserting that “Kimmel has NO talent, and worse ratings than Colbert, if that’s possible,” a dig thrown in reference to the cancellation of Stephen Colbert’s talk show a few weeks earlier, which he had already celebrated on Truth Social.

“I absolutely love that Colbert got fired. His talent was even less than his ratings. I hear Jimmy Kimmel is next. Has even less talent than Colbert!”

Jimmy Kimmel saw his show Jimmy Kimmel Live! suspended indefinitely by ABC on September 17. This decision follows controversial remarks he made during his monologues about the death of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.

In particular, he had accused certain members of the MAGA movement of profiting politically from the murder.

Media under pressure

According to various media sources, ABC found itself under pressure, with several of its affiliates, including Nexstar, refusing to program the show, deeming the statements “offensive and insensitive”. FCC Chairman Brendan Carr also threatened the network with sanctions if it failed to act.

“Mr. Kimmel’s comments about the death of Mr. Kirk are offensive and insensitive at a critical time in our national political discourse,” said Andrew Alford, president of Nexstar’s Broadcasting division.

Its next targets

In addition to rejoicing over the news on Truth Social, Trump named Seth Meyers and Jimmy Fallon as his next targets, showing that Kimmel’s comments deemed offensive were not the real reason for the cancellation.

“That leaves Jimmy and Seth, two total losers, on Fake News NBC. Their ratings are also horrible. Do it NBC!!!” wrote Trump, demanding that these hosts suffer the same fate as Colbert and Kimmel.

Numerous personalities have expressed their outrage at ABC’s indefinite suspension of Jimmy Kimmel Live!

Dangerous for freedom of expression

Former President Barack Obama has denounced a worrying drift:

“This kind of government coercion is exactly what the First Amendment was designed to prevent.”

Actor Ben Stiller reacted sharply:

“It’s unfair and dangerous for our free speech.”

Actress Sophia Bush added on X:

“Free speech is under threat.”

Finally, Rosie O’Donnell, whose war with the former president is well documented, expressed her indignation:

“This is censorship.”

The SAG-AFTRA (actors’ union) issued a statement:

“Punishing an artist for his opinions is incompatible with a free democracy.”

Disney's ABC is taking Jimmy Kimmel's late-night talk show off the air indefinitely amid a controversy over his recent comments about Charlie Kirk's suspected killer.Read more: https://cnn.it/46HBPyT

— CNN (@cnn.com) 2025-09-18T00:55:32.739875002Z

Epstein dodged questions about his personal relationship with Trump.

A video of a Jeffrey Epstein deposition from March 17, 2010 recently resurfaced, relayed by MeidasTouch and reported by HuffPost, in which Epstein is questioned about his ties to Donald Trump.

The convicted sex offender was asked about his "personal relationship" with the future president in this 2010 deposition video.

— HuffPost (@huffpost.com) 2025-07-24T04:02:06.257Z

Breaking down the tape

In the video, Epstein is asked whether he had a “personal relationship” with Donald Trump and whether they had ever socialized together.

To these questions, the disgraced financier and convicted sex offender replied, “Yes, sir.”

Increased questioning

Have you ever socialized with Donald Trump in the presence of females under the age of 18

After again answering in the affirmative when asked by the questioner to confirm his answer, Epstein was then asked a more specific question.

He is then asked if these moments of socializing with Donald Trump had involved the presence of girls under the age of 18: “Have you ever socialized with Donald Trump in the presence of females under the age of 18?”

Epstein then responds enigmatically, beginning by saying he’s like to answer the question, just to invoke his Fifth, Sixth and Fourteenth Amendment rights in order not to answer.

Consistently vague

This video reaffirms the ambiguity surrounding the relationship between Trump and Epstein from the 1980s to 2005. While Trump now seeks to downplay their friendship, he finds himself at the center of a controversy, with his administration accused of trying to discreetly close the Epstein files, a subject that has long fueled conspiracy theories and raised doubts about Trump’s potentially criminal past. Trump and Epstein’s relationship was well documented in the 90s and early 2000s, but the Trump administration is working to dispel any connection between the two.