Recent media outrage over President Donald Trump has exposed a deeper double standard, argued The Daily Signal’s senior national security and legal analyst Mehek Cooke in a television interview. 

Appearing on BBC News on Monday, Cooke responded to controversy over a White House social media image that some critics said depicted Trump as Jesus, arguing the reaction exposed a familiar pattern of selective outrage. She said the press fixates on imagery and tone while failing to respond with the same urgency when Christians face real threats. 

“There’s this moral outrage in the media today any time the White House puts something up, even in jest,” Cooke said. “But the same mainstream media never stands up for Christians.” 

Cooke pointed to a recent incident in Minneapolis in which rioters disrupted a Sunday church service. She said the lack of sustained coverage highlighted what she described as selective moral concern. 

“I don’t play this humor game,” Cooke said, arguing that media narratives often inflate symbolism while ignoring real violence. 

Cooke also addressed recent remarks from Pope Leo XIV criticizing war and warning against the use of religion to justify conflict. She argued that religious criticism of the White House over the Iran war often drowns out the nuances of Catholic doctrine and national security realities. 

While she acknowledged the importance of moral leadership and concern for human suffering, Cooke said the pope crossed a line by weighing in on U.S. military and intelligence decisions. 

“It’s one thing to talk about the human cost of war,” she said. “It’s another thing to take your pope hat off and act like the president of the United States and talk about military and intelligence that he has no business talking about.” 

A recent convert to Catholicism, Cooke emphasized that Church teaching includes just war doctrine, which allows for the use of force under certain conditions when innocent lives are threatened and when national defense is at stake. 

“When you see America being threatened, leaders have a responsibility to act,” Cooke said, adding that President Trump’s decisions reflected that. 

Cooke also criticized what she described as an imbalance in how global suffering is discussed, noting that decades of Iranian aggression, including hostage-taking and attacks on Americans, are often overlooked. 

“The pope is a pastor, not a strategist,” Cooke said. “He doesn’t have the intelligence. He doesn’t have the information.” 

While Cooke said the Church plays a critical role in reminding the world of war’s human cost, she concluded that moral authority must remain within its proper bounds—especially when national security is at stake. 

The post Outrage Over Trump’s Image, Silence for Persecuted Christians: The Media’s Double Standard appeared first on The Daily Signal.

New York City Democratic Mayor Zohran Mamdani condemned two NYPD officers after a chaotic arrest video out of Brooklyn went viral online. The footage showed a violent struggle between two […]

The post Mamdani Condemns NYPD Officers After Chaotic Arrest Video Goes Viral appeared first on The Western Journal.

Democrats in the swing state of Nevada are already preparing a lawsuit challenging the SAVE America Act if it passes the Senate and is signed into law by President Donald […]

The post Democrats Are Already on Standby to Sue if SAVE America Act Becomes Law appeared first on The Western Journal.

More than a month and a half after the Texas Rangers unveiled the "One Riot, One Ranger” statue at Globe Life Stadium, the New York Times is still moaning about the "controversy."

The post New York Times Appalled at Texas Rangers for Giving ‘One Riot, One Ranger’ Statue a Home at Stadium appeared first on Breitbart.

Republicans are going to win a Senate seat in Georgia by "blocking and tackling," Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairman Joe Gruters said during an appearance on Breitbart News Daily.

The post Exclusive – RNC Chairman Joe Gruters: ‘We’re Going to Win Georgia by Blocking and Tackling’ appeared first on Breitbart.

People in their 50s and 60s love to complain about their pain, but one soon-to-be senior citizen is making it a lot harder for them to do so.

The post ‘Miracle’: 60-Year-Old Cancer Survivor Tries to Beat Father Time by Becoming the Oldest College Football Player Ever appeared first on Breitbart.

Federal prosecutors made a surprise visit Tuesday to the construction site of the Federal Reserve’s headquarters renovation project. Workers at the site refused to admit them, saying they did not […]

The post Federal Reserve Stonewalls DOJ Prosecutors Investigating Headquarters Construction: Report appeared first on The Western Journal.

A debate over extending a controversial federal espionage power has sown disagreement between House leadership, a band of conservative rebels, and the White House.

On April 20, Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which enables the government to spy on foreigners without a warrant, is set to expire.

The program, which was last extended by Congress in 2024, has long been criticized by some House Republicans, who argue it is prone to abuse and has resulted in the surveillance of American citizens.

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., as well as House Judiciary committee chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, argue Congress has already substantially reformed the program, which they consider important for national security.

“All the abuses happened when Democrats were in the White House,” Jordan said Tuesday.

Hardliner conservatives on the House rules committee—a leadership-controlled panel that sets the conditions for debate of bills on the floor—allowed the extension bill to advance on Tuesday night.

They did so after Trump called on Republicans on Truth Social “to UNIFY, and vote together on the test vote to bring a clean [extension] to the floor.”

However, on Wednesday morning, FISA critics indicated they would still not support extending Section 702 without additional reforms, despite having allowed it to advance.

Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, a rules committee member, said conservatives wanted “greater protections for citizens with respect to warrants,” as well as “greater penalties… for government officials who abuse their authority and power.”

Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., told The Daily Signal he had reservations about the secrecy of FISA courts, which authorize government surveillance.

“I never had a really good feeling about a secret judge situation that’s not open to the public. I like transparency.” Burchett said. “It’s been abused in the past. I know they’ve reduced the rate lately.”

Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Director John Ratcliffe joined House Republicans’ Wednesday morning conference meeting to make the pitch for extending FISA.

Rep. Rick Crawford, R-Ark., who chairs the House intelligence committee, reiterated after the conference meeting his desire to extend the program, while saying there is “possibly” room for changes to FISA.

“What I’m trying to do is make sure that national security is protected,” Crawford told reporters.

Multiple FISA holdouts indicated they agreed with Ratcliffe and the administration on the importance of the program, but still desired reforms.

“Nobody’s debating the validity of whether FISA’s important or not,” Rep. Michael Cloud, R-Texas, told The Daily Signal. “The problem is the abuses we’ve seen in the past.”

“We understand and agree with the president that we need 702 authority to go after bad guys abroad,” Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, told reporters. 

“We’re fighting for greater protections, whether it’s this administration or future administrations, to ensure citizens have projections,” Roy added.

Rep. Andy Harris, R-Md., who chairs the House Freedom Caucus, acknowledged the disagreement between his faction and the president.

“Look, [Trump’s] the executive, we’re the legislative, and we’re going to see a little bit of conflict between those two today,” said Harris.

By the early afternoon, leaders indicated they needed more time to find consensus.

“We might have to do some sort of minor modification,” Speaker Johnson told a Punchbowl News reporter, citing “a few holdouts who have some ideas on what they think would be improvements to” FISA.

Johnson later indicated he believed the vote would be the following day.

Democrats made Republican leadership’s job more difficult by standing against the bill.

Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., the top Democrat on the judiciary committee, urged his colleagues to vote against a clean extension on Tuesday, calling for “independent guardrails.” 

Over 50 Democrats also signed on to a letter in opposition to a clean extension, lowering the chances of being able to rely on Democrat votes.

In March, a court granted the annual recertification of the 702 program, so it would not immediately end if Congress does not act to extend the underlying legislation. Rather, it would expire in March 2027.

The post House Conservatives Demand FISA Spy Power Reforms appeared first on The Daily Signal.

House Democrats were planning to introduce five articles of impeachment against Secretary of War Pete Hegseth Wednesday, with accusations ranging from “high crimes and misdemeanors” to abuse of power. “The […]

The post Democrats Introduce Five Articles of Impeachment Against Pete Hegseth appeared first on The Western Journal.

WASHINGTON — The Europeans are formally rooting for President Donald Trump when he travels to Beijing for a state visit in mid-May to discuss relations with China, one of the top officials of the European Union told Breitbart News exclusively. 

The post Exclusive — Top European Economic Minister Says Europe Rooting for Trump in Beijing Talks: ‘We Share Many of the Concerns’ U.S. Has with China appeared first on Breitbart.