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Donald Trump held a rally in Ohio on Saturday night, with thousands of supporters eager to hear him spout more misinformation about his loss in the 2020 presidential election. But the news around all that misinformation continues to contradict the Big Lie that he continues to spread instead of coping with the fact that he’s no longer president. That includes among one of the biggest names in his own administration.

In a piece in The Atlantic, writer Jonathan D. Karl interviewed former Trump attorney general William Barr, who detailed what happened when Trump learned he publicly said there had been no evidence of widespread election fraud to steal the election from Trump. There are some wild excerpts, and the piece details the fallout from a December 1 instance where Barr said on the record that no fraud had been detected that would have changed the result of the election.

“My attitude was: It was put-up or shut-up time,” Barr told me. “If there was evidence of fraud, I had no motive to suppress it. But my suspicion all the way along was that there was nothing there. It was all bullsh*t.”

Trump, of course, was furious with Barr for publicly contradicting the wild conspiracies he was spouting while still in office. And when they met in person after the Associated Press story was published, well, things got weird in a hurry. The Atlantic story said Trump “went off” on Barr, making a Dr. Strangelove comparison and also noting that Trump referred to himself in the third person.

Trump brought up Barr’s AP interview.

“Did you say that?”

“Yes,” Barr responded.

“How the fuck could you do this to me? Why did you say it?”

“Because it’s true.”

The president, livid, responded by referring to himself in the third person: “You must hate Trump. You must hate Trump.”

Months later, after an insurrection attempt and a number of lies disproven again and again, Trump is still defiant about the election. His rally on Saturday was a reinforcement of just how committed he is to saying he won despite all evidence. According to the New York Times, “scores” of people left early during a rambling 90-minute speech that covered a bunch of his favorite topics.

Mr. Trump’s speech — low-key, digressive and nearly 90 minutes long — fell flat at times with an otherwise adoring audience. Scores of people left early as he bounced from topic to topic — immigration, Israel, Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s protective mask.

“Do you miss me?” Mr. Trump asked in one of his biggest applause lines. “They miss me,” he declared.

And while many in the crowd parroted Trump’s election lies, outside of Trump World his campaign to somehow undo an already-certified election six months into Joe Biden’s presidency looks to be running out of steam. As CNN reported, his surrogates were dealt another string of losses in courtrooms across the country as Trump sycophants desperately grasp for any kind of fraud.

“Our clear finding is that citizens should be confident the results represent the true results of the ballots cast by the people of Michigan,” the committee, chaired by Republican state Sen. Ed McBroom, said in its report. “The Committee strongly recommends citizens use a critical eye and ear toward those who have pushed demonstrably false theories for their own personal gain.”

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“Last year, I told President Trump and others who push the Big Lie to ‘put up or shut up.’ It’s been six months and no proof of wrongdoing has been produced. Enough is enough — this whole circus must end,” Robb Pitts, the chairman of the Fulton County Board of Commissioners, said in a statement.

In other news, Mitt Romney described Trump’s still-ongoing desperation to overturn his election loss “like WWF” and “not real.”

“Did he hear it from the intelligence community? No,” Romney said. “So where did he hear it from? The MyPillow guy? Rudy Giuliani?”

It’s clear at this point that those who want to stay in Trump’s orbit have committed to his election lies and exposing fraud that isn’t there, if only to keep the former president’s favor. But it certainly is interesting to see some of his biggest supporters finally say that enough is enough.

The Phoenix Suns are one game away from the NBA Finals, thanks in large part to the play of their third-year center, Deandre Ayton. Ayton has been nothing short of dominant in the Western Conference Finals, with his latest performance a 19-point, 22-rebound, 4-block effort in Game 4 in L.A. on a night the Suns desperately needed that kind of effort with their dreadful perimeter shooting. The big man gave them a lift while Chris Paul and Devin Booker continued their Game 3 shooting struggles, going 14-of-44 from the field combined on the night, and was the biggest reason they were able to gut out a win.

Ayton has provided the Suns with everything they could ask for on both ends, dominating on the glass, feasting in pick-and-roll (particularly early in the game), and providing a massive deterrent for the Clippers daring to enter the paint. It’s quite the leap for a player who entered the NBA with real questions about his defensive feel for the game, as his stiffness on that end was in jarring contrast to the fluidity he showed offensively. Three years later, his comfort level as a defender is night and day from his rookie season and it allows his physical tools to shine.

For Ayton, this regular season didn’t show a noticeable leap in productivity on offense, as he found himself in the third option position alongside Chris Paul and Devin Booker, but in the playoffs he’s shown how he can dominate from that spot. Ayton deserves a ton of credit for taking on that role and embracing how, even while a bit limiting, it allows him to do the things he does best. Most notably that is crushing on the glass and rolling hard to the rim, where he’s become one of the NBA’s best roll men alongside one of the league’s all-time great pick-and-roll ball handlers in Paul.

On Saturday night, Ayton was asked about what it’s been like playing with Paul and what that’s done for his game and he had plenty to say. He called Paul “the best thing to ever happen” to him, noting he’s like a big bro and pushes him the way no one ever has before.

It is clear that this isn’t just talk from Ayton, who has embraced the tough love aspect of being coached by Monty Williams and playing alongside Chris Paul, the latter of whom can be notoriously hard on young bigs with his expectations of them and it can be hard to deal with — just ask Blake Griffin. Ayton’s play on the court is evidence of that as is how he’s asserted himself on the court, looking to dominate on both ends and being more vocal about it this season, showing that competitive fire that wasn’t always apparent. That has been awoken in him, a combination of his environment and also just his own personal growth.

The admiration goes both ways, as Chris Paul spoke after the game about how he “genuinely loves” Deandre and that despite some heated conversations early, he’s so proud of what Ayton has become.

It’s cool to see that partnership work in the way that everyone in Phoenix hoped it could. The fit was clear with their abilities as pick-and-roll players, and you can see how Ayton has learned from the tempo and patience of Paul, who likewise seems a bit rejuvenated playing alongside a springy, energetic big man again. The Suns are enjoying the fruits of their labor, and now are on the doorstep of a Finals appearance.

Fallout 4 has a special place in the hearts of the fans of the series for any number of reasons, but your character’s animal companion is likely at the top of that list for most. Which is why news that the real-life inspiration for Dogmeat dying drew considerable mourning in the real world from Bethesda RPG fans over the weekend.

The animal companion appears in the 2015 followup to the much-loved Fallout 3. Set in Boston, Fallout 4 has your Sole Survivor exploring the Commonwealth and stumbling into a very cheerful German Shepherd who happens to be great at tracking. If you so choose, Dogmeat can be a companion the rest of the game, helping attack raiders and solve mysteries and unravel the rest of the game’s plot.

But that dog was far more than just a very useful NPC. It was actually modeled on a real-life dog named River, who belonged to the family of Joel Burgess, then-senior designer at Bethesda. Burgess, who worked on several Fallout games and is now the Capy Games studio director, shared on Twitter early Sunday that River, the dog who inspired Dogmeat in Fallout 4, had died.

Burgess shared a long thread that not only explained Dogmeat’s origins in the game, but River’s impact on the team as the project went from ambitious sequel to reality.

The name “Dogmeat” trended on Twitter by Sunday afternoon, likely confusing people not familiar with the post-apocalyptic series and its canine companion. But the tributes from fans and studio employees alike were filled with sentiment and love.

I never knew much about Bill Paxton, other than he was an absolute gem as the bullying older brother, Chet, in Weird Science and obviously near-perfect in the should-be-iconic blockbuster, Twister. Rob Lowe, however, was very dear friends with Paxton, and so he is frequently mentioned in Rob Lowe’s podcast, Literally. Given the way that Lowe frequently talks about Paxton, who died of a stroke at the too-early age of 61 in 2017, I think he could best be described as a “colorful character.” I would also say, in the way that Lowe affectionately caricatures him, that Paxton was very Texan.

In this week’s episode of Literally with Rob Lowe, Lowe spoke to Jimmy Kimmel, but in the course of his conversation, Lowe got off on a tangent while speaking about how “quotable” his friend Bill Paxton was. To wit, Paxton’s last major role was Det. Frank Rourke — the Denzel Washington role — in the CBS television adaptation of Training Day. “Bill had never done a network TV show,” Lowe said,” and when Lowe asked him how it was going, Paxton gave Lowe one of his memorable quotes. “Well, yeah, Rob, we’re making widgets on this one. I wish the scripts were better.”

Lowe also spoke of a talk show appearance that Paxton once made on Jay Leno’s The Tonight Show around the time that Apollo 13 was released. “He was clearly playing to the Academy voters,” Lowe said. “He couldn’t give a crap about getting the audience to come to the movie. It was purely, he wanted those votes for that movie. He was like, “God, it’s Apollo 13. The technology that went into putting that rocket into space. I mean, COME ON. It’s the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences,” he said, emphasizing “science” under the belief that it would get him more Oscar votes for a movie about space. “He thought that was the way in. There was science in the movie.”

Lowe also spoke about the 2010 Golden Globes and his “obsession” with the “box moments,” when the nominees are all pictured in a box on a telecast as the reader is being read. “My two favorite ‘box moments,’” Lowe said, “were Burt [Reynolds] losing for Boogie Nights where everybody thought he was going to win, he thought he was going to win, and his face! If he had an actual thought balloon, it could not have been more clear,” and his face would have said, “‘I knew these guys would f**k me.” That is his exact face, although he lost to a very worthy nominee, Robin Williams for his role in Good Will Hunting.

The other one, however was “my dear departed friend, Bill Paxton. When he was nominated for Big Love. Big Love was out, and he was opposite a lot of great people, including Dexter, the serial killer show on Showtime, and Michael C. Hall, who is great. And Michael C. Hall had bravely battled and won a lymphoma battle. Remember that?”

“So the show is off the year, come back, and he’s sitting [in the audience] and they got the box on him, and they go, ‘And the winner is … Michael C. Hall.’ Bill turns to his wife, and I can remember it because I’m a lip reader. Clear as day, he goes, ‘Aww. the cancer card.”

Lowe is not wrong. If you rewatch it, it’s fairly obvious that is what Paxton is saying at the 48-second mark.

“It was right before social media is what it is today,” Lowe said, “Because today, for sure [he’d have been called out] because you don’t get away with anything.”

For the record, Michael C. Hall very much deserved that award, having been nominated for an Emmy six times, including five times for his role as Dexter. He was also nominated five times for a Golden Globe in that role, although his only win was in 2010. This particular nomination and win came after the series fourth season, which was one of the best if not the best season of Dexter. Moreover, the voters wouldn’t have even known because Hall didn’t go public with his cancer diagnosis until that very Golden Globes ceremony in which he won, arriving with his wife at the time (co-star Jennifer Morgan) while wearing a knit cap to cover his head, after having lost his hair due to chemotherapy treatment.

Source: Literally with Rob Lowe

It feels like every few weeks, the pandemic box office faces another big test. Godzilla vs. Kong proved that HBO Max’s strategy of releasing movies at home and in theaters at the same time could work. Demon Slayer showed that the box office could still produce a sleeper hit. Over Memorial Day, A Quiet Place Part II illustrated that moviegoers were still anxious to return to theaters.

This weekend, however, F9, the latest installment in the Fast & Furious franchise, was meant to show us what the ceiling for the post-pandemic box office might be. The much-anticipated, long-delayed F9 would show us how much might was left in the box office, and provide us with. a status update on the health of the moviegoing audiences.

The good news is: F9 easily broke the pandemic box-office record, racking up $70 million over the three-day weekend. Many are saying this is great news, and proof that the box office is returning to health. F9 did, after all, fare better than Hobbs and Shaw, the Fast and Furious spin-off, which recorded a $60 million opening weekend before the pandemic. That’s true, but it’s also $28 million less than the opening of The Fate of the Furious, the last F&F movie, which arrived in 2017.

Is the $70 million opening a reflection of Fast and Furious fatigue, or is this as much as we can expect a blockbuster to earn during opening weekend right now? After a year and a half without movies, have moviegoers readjusted to a new reality where they expect to be able to watch movies at home? Right now, it’s hard to imagine any other release this summer besting F9. Disney has two blockbusters coming in July — Black Widow and Jungle Cruise — but both will also be available for home viewers on Disney+. How much will that cannibalize their box office prospects? It’s certainly cut into the theatrical profits for Cruella and Raya and the Last Dragon, both of which are considered successes despite earning less than $75 million because of those premium access grosses. Some of the other big titles (Space Jam: A New Legacy, The Suicide Squad) will be available for free at home on HBO Max. The two biggest titles remaining this summer that won’t be accessible to home viewers on the day of their release are Snake Eyes, the G.I. Joe movie, and Ryan Reynolds’ Free Guy, but I don’t anticipate that either will beat the $70 million opening of F9.

In fact, we may need to wait until September before the next major test for the box office, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, although even that film is an unproven MCU title and it’s still unclear whether it will also release simultaneously on Disney+. In other words, the next complete test on the health of the box office may not come until the October release of the next Bond film, No Time to Die.

On the other hand, maybe the $70 million opening isn’t because of the pandemic but a function of F9 itself? After all, critics weren’t as enamored with this one (60 percent on Rotten Tomatoes), and the B+ Cinemascore is down from the A for The Fate and the Furiuous and the A- for Hobbs and Shaw. After nine films (and one spin-off movie), maybe moviegoers are simply getting tired of the franchise, or at least are more willing to wait to watch it at home. Ultimately, however, $70 million is hugely impressive for an eighth sequel.

The overall box office, meanwhile, also hit another pandemic record, earning $97+ million for the weekend, led by F9. A Quiet Place Part II continues to perform well, earning another $6.2 million in its fifth week. That number should continue to trickle downwards, however, with its release on Paramount+ arriving on July 12th thanks to the new shortened 45-day theatrical window. It’s earned $136 million, so far.

The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard had a fall in its second weekend, falling to number three at the box office. It earned $4.875 million to bring its total to $25.87 million. Peter Rabbit 2 is hanging in there at number four, earning $4.8.5 million to bring its total to $28.5 million after three weeks, which is around what the first one earned in its opening weekend alone. Disney’s Cruella, meanwhile, remains fairly consistent, earning another $3.7 million to bring its total to $71 million.

The upside for F9, however, is that it should have at least one more weekend at the top of the box office. There are three new wide openers over the 4th of July weekend, although I doubt any of the three — Lola, The Forever Purge and The Boss Baby: Family Business — will be a significant threat to the second-weekend totals for F9. Black Widow‘s release on July 8th, however, should knock F9 of its perch.

Source: Deadline, Box Office Mojo

(WARNING: Massive spoilers for Loki will be found below, so get the heck outta here if you still haven’t caught up on Episode 3.)

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Through three episodes of Loki, we’ve learned a lot of things about time travel and the show’s titular antihero. We’re also starting to see that some of those things may not actually be what they initially seemed. But one thing that seems certain to stick is the reveal that Loki is bisexual.

In a scene where Loki and the recently-revealed Loki variant Sylvie chat while on a train, Tom Hiddleston’s Loki admits he’s encountered “a bit of both” when it comes to potential princes or princesses courting him over the years. It’s a confirmation of something fans have long suspected about the trickster god, and it caused considerable celebration last week after the episode aired.

And as one of the stars of the show detailed, the moment was certainly notable among those making the show as well. Though they tried not to “overthink” things when it came to actually getting the scene in the can. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, actress Sophia Di Martino, who plays Sylvie, said everyone understood the significance of the moment, starting with director Kate Herron.

“We knew it was an important scene and that representation was super important,” Di Martino shares. “And Kate was really hot on getting it into the show because people have been waiting such a long time for that. So we knew it was important, but we didn’t really overthink it. We sort of just approached it like we would any other scene and just enjoyed the chat. But I don’t think I realized how much engagement that scene would have and how excited and pleased people would be with it. It’s just wonderful to see how happy people are after watching that.”

That train scene turns out to be one that she read for ahead of snagging the role, which had its own complications because, at the time, Hiddleston was on stage in New York and Di Martino was pregnant in London. In the interview, she said a lot of secrecy was involved: she read the lines on camera and sent the recording to those casting the show, with the names Sylvie and Loki changed to “Bob” and “Sarah.”

The piece touches on a number of other things we’ve seen in the show’s first three episodes, including some other important reveals about the nature of the TVA and why Sylvie didn’t go back to get her crown (“she’s got more important things to do”). But it’s nice to know a moment that’s meant so much to some Marvel fans was given the weight it deserves, even if it’s ultimately just two Variants chatting on a train.

[via THR]

After the Clippers ran away with a big win in Game 3 to get into this series, the Suns came out eager to respond in Game 4, jumping out to a big first half lead, holding a 14-point advantage at halftime as the Clippers could not buy a bucket from three-point range, at one point going on a six-minute scoring drought in the second quarter.

Leading the way for Phoenix was Deandre Ayton, who was spectacular on both ends for a Suns team that desperately needed it with both of their backcourt stars looking out of sorts. Chris Paul continued to struggle with his shooting touch after more than a week off after testing positive for COVID-19, and Devin Booker’s dalliance with wearing a mask lasted barely into the third quarter of Game 4 before he took it off and chucked it away after missing a layup. After combining for a 10-of-40 night in Game 3, that duo wasn’t significantly better in Game 4, going 14-of-44 — although Booker started better and was able to get to the free throw line more effectively to get to 25 points.

As such, Ayton found himself needing to carry the load and he did so in a big way, scoring 19 points on 14 shots and hauling in an outrageous 22 rebounds in a game where neither team could shoot the ball.

In the third quarter, the Clippers turned their shooting woes around to claw their way back into the game, cutting the lead to one late in the period and trailing by just three going to the fourth. Reggie Jackson, as he has been all playoffs, was huge for the Clippers, having another 20-point game to provide L.A. with some needed scoring alongside Paul George.

George, like pretty much everyone in Game 4, struggled from the field at just 5-of-20, but had a solid third to help reel in the Suns, who went cold themselves. The Clippers star finished with 23 points and 16 rebounds — as seemingly everyone had a lot of boards in this one thanks to the numerous missed shots.

Ivica Zubac was also terrific for the Clippers with 13 points and 14 rebounds of his own, matching Ayton’s minutes almost throughout and giving the Clippers a needed presence inside as Ayton was feasting. The third quarter also produced the best moment of the game, which was Mike Breen’s call of “Kawhi Leonard is going CRAZY!” as the camera cut to a deadpan Kawhi in his luxury box during L.A.’s big third quarter run.

In the fourth quarter, the Clippers cut the Suns lead back down to one at 71-70 and then the score remained there for four minutes of game time as each team just completely shut down on offense (and, to give them credit, played some excellent team defense).

The drought was finally broken on an Ayton lob finish to mercifully put some more points on the board, which seemed to take the lid off the basket for both teams briefly.

However, things remained rough after that, with neither team able to mount any kind of run to take full control. The Suns were able to stay ahead, playing some incredible defense, but saw Devin Booker foul out in the closing minutes after a blocking call on Patrick Beverley was overturned following a review as their offense continued to stall out.

With a three-point lead, Mikal Bridges fouled Paul George with 13 seconds to play, with George hitting both free throws cutting the lead to one and Phoenix without one of their best free throw shooters. After the initial inbounds play got very dicey, with Cam Payne getting stripped out of bounds and there being no review on a play eerily similar to the one in Game 2 that got reviewed and overturned off of Devin Booker, Chris Paul got the ball and calmly knocked down both of his free throws to push the lead back to three.

The Suns chose to foul Paul George up three on the ensuing inbounds play and in a painfully similar spot to Game 2, he missed the front end. On the second, with George intentionally missing to give the Clippers a chance at a rebound and a tying three, DeMarcus Cousins was fouled by Dario Saric fighting for position and had a chance himself to make two to cut it to one with 5.8 seconds left. He made the first, but airballed the second. Chris Paul got the ball on the next inbound and got a foul call to go to the stripe — on a play the Clippers felt was a travel before a foul — and could only split his free throws, once again leaving the door open for L.A.

They again fouled Paul George immediately as he grabbed the rebound on the free throw miss, and this time, George hit the first and then purposefully missed the second again. The ball got batted around and eventually tipped out to Chris Paul by Dario Saric, with George fouling CP3 for one final time, icing the game for good finally in what became a somewhat hideous 84-80 win to put Phoenix up 3-1.

The shooting numbers for both teams were comical in Game 4. The Suns, who again won the game, were 4-of-20 from three (20 percent) and 31-of-86 from the field (36 percent). The Clippers were somehow worse in both areas at 5-of-31 from three (16.2 percent) and 27-of-83 from the field (32.5 percent). The difference though was really at the free throw line, where the Suns were 18-of-21 compared to 21-of-32 from L.A. — even considering some purposeful misses.

The fourth quarter was the worst of all of it, with the two teams combining for a 7-of-38 shooting quarter, with the shot charts just being a lot of blood.

It was not a pretty game, nor a particularly good one from most anyone outside of Deandre Ayton, for the Suns, but they got the win and that’s what matters. They will now head back to Phoenix looking to wrap things up and advance to the Finals with a win in Game 5. The Clippers, meanwhile, have to be kicking themselves. They took advantage of an awful Booker-Paul game in Game 3 and somehow got another gift from those two in Game 4 and could not capitalize on a perfect opportunity to even the series. George and Jackson were a combined 3-of-18 from three-point range, and their inability to figure out how to consistently get any kind of quality looks inside against Ayton and the Suns length was their ultimate downfall (along with free throw shooting). Now they have to regroup and figure out how to get a win in Phoenix, which will be rocking for Game 5, against a Suns team that will be feeling very good about themselves after gutting out a win in a game where they really weren’t close to their A-game.

The Phoenix Suns were in control for much of Game 4, taking a 14-point lead into halftime as the Clippers came out flat offensively and struggled to knock down outside shots, but much like Game 3, the third quarter saw L.A. come alive, making an extended run to cut the lead down to as little as a one-point game late in the period.

Midway through the quarter saw the Staples Center crowd reach a fever pitch, with Paul George hitting a tough midrange jumper to cut the Phoenix advantage to six points as L.A. started to really get it going on the offensive end. Mike Breen, the master of matching his call to the intensity of the moment noted that the crowd was going wild and ESPN made the incredible choice to cut to Kawhi Leonard showing absolutely no emotion in his box seats at that very moment, leading to an all-time great Breen call.

Breen’s emphasis on “Kawhi Leonard’s going crazy!” is just sensational, and gets a laugh out of Mark Jackson who enjoyed the joke about the ever-stoic Leonard just sitting there, taking it all in as the crowd is in total pandemonium. Breen isn’t known for his levity, particularly compared to contemporaries like Ian Eagle or Kevin Harlan, but when he does make a joke it is almost always a delight for that very reason because it feels so unexpected. Leonard provided the perfect opportunity and Breen knocked it out of the park.

Disc golf has become a wildly popular sport, at least in the world of niche sports, and that boom is partly because it was a thing people could play outside during the pandemic, gaining more and more popularity over the last year and a half.

On Saturday, the Professional Disc Golfers Association World Championships took place in Ogden, Utah where it turned into a battle between James Conrad and Paul McBeth down the stretch. McBeth looked to be in control, as when Conrad arrived at 18 he needed a birdie to force a playoff and found himself 247 feet out and needing a miraculous shot to have a chance at a world title. The result was absolute pandemonium in Utah, as he pulled off an impossible shot to send it to extra holes.

I am not a disc golf expert by any stretch, but I feel confident in saying this is a ridiculous shot. Also, look at that crowd! They are fired up for my guy’s heave. This seems like the basketball equivalent of a three-quarter court heave catching nothing but net to force overtime. McBeth had to watch that and hit a par putt from a pretty decent distance to force the playoff himself, and did so pretty calmly — which is impressive given what had just happened around him.

In the playoff, Conrad got the win on this short putt to close out McBeth in a wild turnaround from where he was on 18 needing a miracle just to have a shot to win his first world championship.

It’s an incredible finish and, honestly, makes me want to watch some disc golf in the future because that shot from Conrad was one of the wildest things I’ve seen in sports this year.

On Saturday, while much of America was enjoying yet another semi-post-pandemic summer weekend, Donald J. Trump held his first rally since losing a second term as president. He’s been lying low the last six months, which is to say he’s been living, it seems, alone in various resorts, peddling strangers with unhinged tales of a “stolen” election. But don’t call it a comeback. Indeed, arguably the closest thing to a big breakout wasn’t from him but one of his hype people, Marjorie Taylor Greene, who spent part of her time at the mic railing against her arch-nemesis in Congress, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

At the rally, in Wellington, Ohio — which was ostensibly to support White House aide-turned-representative hopeful Max Miller, who’s running against incumbent Anthony Gonzalez — Greene fell back on some good old fashioned Republican red meat. “I didn’t go to Washington, DC to make friends,” she said in reference to her being booted from committee assignment after another based on her dangerous rhetoric, which involved conspiracy theories and even threatening language. Then she turned her ire towards AOC, whom she used to harass before they became colleagues.

Greene called the representative “the little communist from New York City.” When the crowd launched into a kneejerk “love ‘er up” — although it’s not clear how Greene, much less Trump, can throw a colleague in jail — she joined in. “Yeah, lock her up, too. That’s a good idea.” She then questioned her patriotic bona fides, or at least did some dog whistling. “She’s not an American. She really doesn’t embrace our American ways.”

She then launched into a diatribe about the Green New Deal, which she confessed to not reading.

Greene’s comments soon came to the attention of its target, who took the time to clap back.

“First of all, I’m taller than her,” Ocasio-Cortez joked. For the record, the New York congresswoman is 5’4”, and Greene is a mere inch shorter. Still, the point remains. And besides, like she said, that’s just for starters.

Like a lot of Republicans, Greene knew what to say to get them worked up. She doesn’t do so well, though, when asked by reporters to give even a shred of evidence for her loony claims, as CNN’s Jim Acosta recently found out.