The administration of US President Donald Trump faced criticism on social media, after publishing a cartoon of a man who looks similar to Jeffrey Epstein, the late businessman convicted of sex crimes.
The British newspaper “The Telegraph” said that the cartoon, which was published by the Ministry of Education on the “X” platform, shows Trump driving a race car, with Linda McMahon, the Minister of Education, on his left, while an unidentified man with gray hair appears behind him, in what appears to be the “Freedom 250” race scheduled to be held in Washington this weekend.
She added that the image was generated by artificial intelligence using the Gork tool of the “X” platform, and it appears to be inspired by the famous “Mario” video game series. The official account of the Democrats in the House Oversight Committee wrote on the “X” platform: “This is Jeffrey Epstein.”
On the other hand, the Ministry of Education confirmed to the newspaper that the man shown on the right is a depiction of Sean Duffy, the Minister of Transport. Trump, who was a former friend of Epstein, faced widespread criticism over his relations with the convicted sex offender. In January, the Department of Justice revealed more than 3.5 million documents related to Epstein, after Trump initially resisted the matter, before last November he agreed and signed a law allowing the publication of Epstein’s files.
Trump announced that he had severed his ties with Epstein and banned him from entering his Mar-a-Lago resort long before his conviction, due to inappropriate behavior and attempts to attract resort employees to work for him.
The US Army announced that a charter plane carrying 8 people crashed at a radar site in a remote area, western Alaska, yesterday, Thursday, killing all those on board, according to the Associated Press.
The accident occurred at the airport at the Cape Newenham Long-Range Radar Site, about 450 miles (725 kilometers) west of Anchorage, Alaska.
“This is a devastating loss to our military family and the communities we serve,” Lt. Gen. Robert Davis, commander of U.S. Alaska Command, area commander of the Alaska Air Defense Command, NORAD Alaska Area, and 11th Air Force, said in a statement.
The US Air Forces Pacific Regional Support Center manages the radar site, which is part of a network of remote radar sites that monitor aircraft operating in Alaska's airspace and along its borders, according to a statement issued by the US Alaska Command.
Clint Johnson, head of the Alaska chapter of the National Transportation Safety Board, said earlier Thursday evening that the plane was carrying two pilots and six passengers.
He added that the plane took off from Anchorage and is believed to have crashed early Thursday afternoon while approaching Cape Newenham.
A number of Republican candidates backed by US President Donald Trump suffered defeats in the primary races, in what some saw as an early indication of his weakening grip on the party, only about ten weeks before the midterm congressional elections.
Last spring, Trump overthrew the Republicans who opposed him with relative ease, in clear evidence of the influence he has gained since his second return to the White House nearly two years ago. He was able to bring down Senator Bill Cassidy, Representative Thomas Massie, and then Senator John Cornyn in front of competitors he supported.
However, the last rounds of the primaries witnessed losses for a number of candidates who received the support of Trump, who is viewed by some as the “kingmaker” in the Republican Party.
In Florida's 19th district, local media mogul Jim Schwartzel defeated Catalina Love, even though she is supported by Trump and committed to his "Make America Great Again" (MAGA) movement. Likewise, Florida Representative Corey Mills did not remain in office despite Trump's support for his re-election campaign amid investigations into his mistreatment of women. He lost to a former local news anchor.
Like Mills, another Trump ally, Representative Max Miller of Ohio, is facing increasing pressure and warnings that he will lose re-election. Another loyalist to the president, Andy Oglis of Tennessee, fell in his bid for re-election this month after facing angry backlash over his anti-Muslim and anti-immigrant statements.
Trump faced extreme difficulty this year in choosing the winners of the five state governorship elections in recent months. In Wyoming, a vet who promised to calm partisan conflicts in the state defeated a Trump-backed candidate who pledged to appoint “tough guys” to local government.
Last week, Mike Lindell, who denied the election results, failed in his Trump-backed bid to obtain the Republican nomination for governor of Minnesota.
Likewise, candidates supported by Trump stumbled in gubernatorial elections in Iowa and Georgia over the summer. He also lost his first candidate for governor in South Carolina.
However, Trump picked the winners in key swing states for the gubernatorial election. His old ally, Representative Andy Biggs, easily defeated another Republican candidate in Arizona. John James, the president's nominee for governor of Michigan, will face the state's Secretary of State, Jocelyn Benson, on November 3.
Senator Darlene Graham is waging a battle in South Carolina, where Governor Henry McMaster appointed her temporarily to fill the position vacated by the death of her brother, Senator Lindsey Graham. Trump supports her to obtain a full term of six years in the Senate. She did not receive enough votes to avoid a runoff.
In addition, in what is considered a victory for Republicans in a months-long battle over redistricting, Cole County District Court Judge in Missouri Daniel Green issued a ruling allowing the state's new electoral district map to be used in the midterm elections. Judge Green rejected an attempt by Democrats to subject the new map, which favors Republicans, to a statewide referendum on November 3. He said in his ruling that “changing the maps at this late stage is not only impractical, but impossible.”
As a result, the defense agent for the “People Not Politicians” organization, which filed the lawsuit and proposed the referendum on the new map, lawyer Charles Hatfield, announced that he would appeal the ruling before the state Supreme Court. “There are still some rounds left here,” he said. “We are optimistic about our chances on the Supreme Court.”
This decision is considered a victory for Republicans who hope to maintain their limited control over the US House of Representatives in the midterm elections. Missouri was one of the first states to attempt to redraw its electoral maps as part of Trump's national campaign to enhance Republicans' chances of retaining the House next November.
In parallel, the Democratic Party achieved a remarkable achievement for the second time in an area closely linked to the place where President Trump was subjected to an assassination attempt during the summer of 2024, in the state of Pennsylvania.
Democrat Brandon Dukes narrowly led Republican Scott Timko in a byelection for a seat in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. Although the final result has not yet been decided, Dukes's lead seems remarkable, especially since Trump won this district by 18 percentage points in the 2024 elections, and that Republicans have controlled this seat for decades.
This achievement comes months after Democrat Emily Gregory's surprise victory in a by-election for a seat in the Florida House of Representatives, defeating a candidate supported by Trump in this Republican-majority district, in which the president casts his vote. With their unexpected performance, Dukes and Gregory won the elections in Republican strongholds, continuing the Democrats' continued superiority in the by-elections during Trump's second term, and thus strengthening the gap in enthusiasm between Democrats and Republicans ahead of the upcoming midterm elections.
