Skip to main content

TOP OF THE DAY by Howard Polskin

Dec. 22, 2025

Greetings! Food fight in Phoenix: Turning Point USA just concluded its annual conference in Arizona yesterday and it turned into something close to a MAGA civil war. The headline attraction featured right-wing heavyweights Tucker Carlson and Ben Shapiro who attacked each other in separate speeches. For progressives looking for cracks in MAGA World, this event ranks close to being exhibit #1. Axios has the details and a killer headline: “MAGA Mess Deepens at Turning Point Convention”…Another story broke yesterday evening in what should have been a sleepy Sunday just days before Christmas.  CBS News yanked a “60 Minutes” story about Venezuelan migrants in the U.S. who have been deported to a notorious prison in El Salvador. Suffice to say, it would have reflected poorly on the Trump administration.  Correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi charged that CBS News’s top editor and anti-wokester Bari Weiss killed the segment.  Alfonsi also noted that the piece was snuffed for political reasons. The network says it will air the segment at a later day. This story ain’t over, by a long shot. (Politico)…Monster House: In the avalanche of last week’s fast-breaking news and Trump’s insults, I missed this story from the Daily Beast about the “secret plans for the monster Trump White House ballroom.” The story contains some head-spinning details about the new structure including a multi-level passageway that will link the new structure to the White House, guest suites (for MAGA royalty, no doubt), and a grand staircase. Sounds like it’s a ballroom fit for a king..If you keep reading, I’ll keep Righting. Howard