Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

MAGA Podcaster Brutally Dragged After Complaining About World Cup Teams From Countries He's Never Heard Of

Mark Halperin; Curacao fans
Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images; Steph Chambers - FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images

Conservative commentator and podcast host Mark Halperin took to X to gripe that one of the requirements for countries to qualify for the World Cup should be that people "have heard of" them—and was swiftly dragged.

The World Cup is the most prestigious soccer competition on Earth, and it should be considered an honor to host it.

But when you're one of the few remaining MAGA conservatives still clinging to the far-right train for dear life, you have to find a way to turn absolutely everything into a grievance.


Enter MAGA commentator Mark Halperin, one of a litany of conservatives who used to be a normal journalist but have staked all their hopes on doing the MAGA shuck-and-jive till the wheels come off, no matter how low the President's approval rating sinks.

And Halperin has a bee in his bonnet that countries he's never heard of are allowed to compete in the World Cup.

Halperin testily tweeted:

"Shouldn't one of the requirements for a country to qualify to play in the World Cup that it be a country that people have heard of?"

Who's "people" exactly, Mark?

Because given the timing of the tweet, Halperin seemed to have been referencing the country of Curaçao, the Caribbean island nation that faced off against Germany the day of Halperin's tweet.

And according to the country's tourism board, it plays host to some 1.7 million tourists per year, aside from being the namesake of a the popular liqueur Blue Curaçao.

Not exactly some obscure backwater. But even if it were, it's called the "World" Cup. The only qualification is, uh, being part of the world.

So what we have here, it seems, is a classic self-own, because all Halperin really said with his tweet, aside from revealing what a jerk he is, is that he doesn't have any idea where Curaçao is.

Pretty embarrassing for a Harvard-educated "journalist," Mark! And even more embarrassing, as someone on X pointed out, given that Halperin is a huge baseball fan.

Curaçao has produced the highest number of major league baseball players per capita in the world, roughly 1 per 10,000 people. This has been reported on for years by the sports press.

Of course, Halperin surely knows all of this stuff—he's just doing what MAGA acolytes do, rage-baiting for clicks. And it definitely worked. Just not likely in the way he intended.

Because instead of the chest-beating MAGA xenophobia he was likely going for, what he got was the whole internet dunking on him.







Remember the good old days when "one of the requirements" for being a journalist was not being a slavering ignoramus and having a sense of shame? Ah, halcyon days.

Anyway, as for the country of Curaçao, their first foray into the World Cup didn't go exactly as planned, with the country losing to Germany 7 to 1.

But they did set a world record as the smallest country to ever play in the tournament, and there's no other way to construe a first-time World Cup appearance as a major milestone in a team career that is definitely on the up-and-up.

Meanwhile, 14 years after the film version of his book about the 2008 election Game Change won a Peabody Award, one of the most prestigious awards in media, Halperin's now doing self-own MAGA rage-bait on Twitter.

You know what they say about throwing stones in glass houses, Mark!

More from Trending/post

Seth Rogen Is Being Praised For His Comments About Ending His Friendship With James Franco
The Interview/The New York Times; Paul Archuleta/Getty Images

Seth Rogen Is Being Praised For His Comments About Ending His Friendship With James Franco

For years, Seth Rogen and James Franco were one of Hollywood's most recognizable comedy duos. From Freaks and Geeks to Pineapple Express and The Disaster Artist, the pair built a friendship and creative partnership that spanned more than two decades.

But in early 2018, that relationship began to unravel.

Keep ReadingShow less
Timothee Chalamet
Gregory Shamus/Getty Images

Resurfaced 2010 Tweet Of Young Timothée Chalamet Winning Twitter Scavenger Hunt For Knicks Tickets Has Fans Stunned

Hollywood star and native New Yorker Timothée Chalamet has been a courtside mainstay at Knicks games during the NBA playoffs, and it turns out his fandom goes back decades.

During the team's sensational underdog victory run against the San Antonio Spurs, Chalamet has been photographed again and again, jubilant about his favorite team's win.

Keep ReadingShow less
Oliver Tree
Kayla Bartkowski/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

Tributes Pour In After Pop Star Oliver Tree Dies In Tragic Helicopter Crash At Age 32

On the morning of June 14, two helicopters crashed into one another midair while flying over Recreio dos Bandeirantes, in the southwestern area of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. CNN Brazil reported that one helicopter was carrying four artists involved in music and video production while the second helicopter had only the pilot on board.

All six people were killed in the crash.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshot of Robert De Niro; Donald Trump
@HQNewsNow/X; Ken Cedeno / AFP via Getty Images

Robert De Niro Just Ripped Trump With Some Blunt NFSW Advice About Free Speech—And The Crowd Went Wild

On Sunday, legendary actor Robert De Niro criticized President Donald Trump at a "Rise Up" event in New York City where he joined other celebrities and activists in speaking out against the Trump administration.

In particular, De Niro decided to use his right to free speech to criticize Trump for recently claiming that he doesn't "think about Americans' financial situation" when negotiating terms with Iran.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshot of Spencer Pratt

Spencer Pratt Dragged After Declaring 'War' On Democratic 'Morons' In Video Rant Following LA Primary Election Loss

Following his loss in the Los Angeles mayoral primary election to Democrats Karen Bass and Nithya Raman, Republican candidate Spencer Pratt—the former reality TV star of The Hills—lashed out at the opposition, declaring "war" and threatening to "expose this corrupt machine."

Pratt announced his mayoral campaign roughly a year after his home was destroyed in the Pacific Palisades wildfire. He traveled to Washington to meet with then-Attorney General Pam Bondi and other federal officials about pursuing an investigation into California Governor Gavin Newsom and incumbent Los Angeles Mayor Bass, whom he criticized over their handling of the disaster.

Keep ReadingShow less