Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

Outgoing GOP Senator Explains Why He's 'Sad' For Trump In Brutal Parting Shot

2 photos side by side: to the left is former Senator Ben Sasse and on the right is former President Donald Trump
Anna Moneymaker-Pool/Getty Images; Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Ben Sasse, who stepped down from the U.S. Senate to be president of University of Florida , said he was 'sad' for 'needy and desperate' Trump.

Outgoing Nebraska Republican Senator Ben Sasse and former GOP President Donald Trump have butted heads for quite a while now. Sasse leaving his Senate seat definitely hasn't changed that.

Sasse, who officially stepped down from his Senate seat on Sunday, did an interview with Omaha World-Herald in which he said that he was "sad" for the former President.


He told the World-Herald:

"I’m just sad for him as a human because obviously there’s a lot of complicated stuff going on in that soul."
"Just at a human level, I’m sad for him to be that needy and desperate."
"But at a policy level, I always loved that he kept his word on the judges. ... And so we got to work closely on judges."


Sasse is a staunch conservative and actually voted with Trump 85% of the time.

But he never pulled any punches in his criticism of the man himself—which Sasse disclosed resulted in "significant death threats" though he declined to provide further details.


Among the seven Republican Senators who voted to convict Trump during his second impeachment trial, Sasse said during the trial:

"President Trump lied that he ‘won the election by a landslide'."
"He lied about widespread voter fraud, spreading conspiracy theories despite losing 60 straight court challenges, many of his losses handed down by great judges he nominated."

He made it no secret that he thought Trump should be held completely responsible for his actions related to the insurrection.

"The president repeated these lies when summoning his crowd—parts of which were widely known to be violent—to Capitol Hill to intimidate Vice President Pence and Congress into not fulfilling our constitutional duties."
"Those lies had consequences, endangering the life of the Vice President and bringing us dangerously close to a bloody constitutional crisis."

The criticism definitely hasn't been one-sided, though.

Trump verbally lashed out at Sasse on multiple occasions. These criticisms ranged from saying Sasse was "a liability to the Republican Party, and an embarrassment," to attacks on his appearance, claiming Sasse looked "more like a gym rat than a U.S. Senator."

Sasse left his seat as Senator to take up the position of president of the University of Florida despite widespread protests by students and faculty.

Given his history in academic administration, the career move is hardly surprising. He served as president of Midland Lutheran College—now Midland University—from 2010 to 2014.

Though the Board of Trustees and Board of Governors of the University of Florida chose Sasse as the next president, many of the students and faculty disagreed strongly with the decision.

In October, before Sasse was selected, the university's faculty senate passed a no-confidence resolution with a vote of 72-16—expressing their concerns with the selection process. The University of Florida chapter of the United Faculty of Florida union also passed a resolution declaring their concerns with Sasse, and the process that led to him being the only finalist for the position.

Students also expressed strong opposition to Sasse's appointment as president, even protesting during his visit to the campus.

Sasse will officially assume the presidency of the University of Florida on February 6, 2023.

More from People/donald-trump

Elon Musk and Grimes
Kevin Tachman/Getty Images for Vogue

Elon Musk's Ex Grimes Calls X Platform A 'Poison' And 'Theatre' After Social Media Hiatus

Claire Boucher—who performs and creates under her stage name Grimes, but prefers her birth name or just "C" offstage—recently returned to her musical persona's social media accounts after taking a hiatus for her own well-being.

Once extremely active, she noted on X in April:

Keep ReadingShow less
Mark Ruffalo; Screenshot of Joe Rogan
Roy Rochlin/Getty Images for Tribeca Festival; The Joe Rogan Experience

Mark Ruffalo Blasts Joe Rogan For Being Shocked By ICE Raids On Non-Criminal Immigrants

Actor Mark Ruffalo took podcaster Joe Rogan to task, saying he is being either "not that smart or not that dumb" for thinking that the Trump administration's ongoing immigration crackdown would only target criminals.

News outlets have reported numerous examples of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arresting individuals, including U.S. citizens, who have no criminal record, or whose criminal record is limited to minor offenses.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshots of Peter Doocy and Karoline Leavitt
Fox News

Peter Doocy Brings The Receipts After Leavitt Tries To Deflect Away From His Question About 'Epstein List'

Fox News White House correspondent Peter Doocy was not buying what White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt was selling when she did her best to gaslight him over Attorney General Pam Bondi's claim that the so-called Epstein files do not exist.

Given the fascination surrounding documents related to late financier, pedophile, and sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein—rumored to contain the names of Epstein's most high-profile enablers—Bondi's remarks stunned critics and supporters of the Trump administration alike.

Keep ReadingShow less
Australian conservationist Robert Irwin accidentally dined and dashed at The Jetty Pavilion, as shown on the right.
@robertirwinphotography/Instagram; @jettypavilioncoffs/Instagram

Robert Irwin's Sweet Dine and Dash Apology

Conservationist and all-around good guy Robert Irwin apologized for an unintentional dine-and-dash after grabbing a salad at The Jetty Pavilion in Coffs Harbour, Australia. In an Instagram post, Irwin explained that he was traveling along the east coast of New South Wales and stopped for dinner.

Irwin shared the funny story with his 7.6 million followers.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshots from Department of Homeland Security's video
@DHSgov/X

Pastor Gives Homeland Security An Epic Bible Lesson After Video Misuses Well-Known Bible Verse

After the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) shared a video on X featuring the “send me” phrasing of the Bible verse Isaiah 6:8 while showing border patrol searching for migrants, Pastor Zach W. Lambert called out the agency's hypocrisy, noting how it is twisting Scripture to suit the Trump administration's ends.

The agency shared the video that includes the following narration:

Keep ReadingShow less