President Donald Trump turned up the heat on progressive Democrats during his public remarks Thursday, including slamming New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez for her «horrible» efforts at diplomacy during the Munich Security Conference. 

«Her performance was horrible,» Trump told the media aboard Air Force One on the way to an event in Rome, Georgia, Thursday. «I was surprised, actually. I didn’t know she was stupid.»

Ocasio-Cortez joined the Munich Security Conference last weekend, and faced criticisms for a handful of «sputtering» and «embarrassing» responses, including when she was asked, «Would and should the U.S. actually commit U.S. troops to defend Taiwan if China were to move?»

The progressive New York Democrat delivered an answer that included a handful of pauses, punctuated by repeatedly saying «uhm.» 

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She ultimately answered: «This is, of course, a very long-standing policy of the United States, and I think what we are hoping for is that we want to make sure that we never get to that point, and we want to make sure that we are moving in all of our economic research and our global positions to avoid any such confrontation and for that question to even arise.» 

Vice President JD Vance called the response «embarrassing,» while social media corticis compared it to «Kamala cringe» or that she «SELF-DESTRUCTED» with her answer. 

Ocasio-Cortez is seen as a potential 2028 presidential contender, with Trump’s sharp critique of the left-wing Democrat lawmaker setting a tone for potential future campaign attacks. 

Ocasio-Cortez made a point to downplay 2028 speculation during the security conference. 

She said she joined the forum that attracts hundreds of world leaders, business titans and celebrities «not because I’m running for president, not because I’ve made some kind of decision about a horse race or a candidacy, but because we need to sound the alarm bells that a lot of those folks in nicely pressed suits in that room will not be there much longer if we do not do something about the runaway inequality that is fueling far-right populist movements.»

President Donald Trump attends the inaugural Board of Peace meeting at the U.S. Institute of Peace in Washington, D.C., Feb. 19, 2026.  (Kevin Lamarque/Reuters)

Earlier Thursday, when Trump held the first Board of Peace meeting, he described Ocasio-Cortez as a weak representation for the U.S. on the world stage. 

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«She was unable to answer a simple question. And she could have said, ‘Well, I’m studying it, and I’ll report back to you next week.’ You know, you can get away with that. But she just went ‘uhhh.’ I think it could be a career ending answer because for 25 years, anybody running against her, I think Susie is going to use that, that little piece of stuff. It was not good. It was not good. That was not a natural,» Trump said. 

The White House told Fox News Digital on Friday that «Trump is always transparent with his thoughts, and he’s right – AOC should be working on behalf of the American people instead of embarrassing our country on the world stage.»

«It’s ridiculous that third-rate congresswoman AOC decided to frolic around Munich, where no one knows or cares who she is, while New Yorkers are suffering as a result of Democrats’ shutdown, which is cutting off resources to FEMA, TSA, the Coast Guard, and thousands of federal law enforcement officers,» White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly said. 

Trump, later that day during a steel event in Georgia, took a shot at Democrats who have promoted a message of «affordability.» Left-wing Democrats such as New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani carried out a successful campaign in 2025 on a message of lowering costs for New Yorkers, including by increasing taxes on some high-earners in the state. 

U.S. President Donald Trump delivers remarks during a working breakfast with governors in the State Dining Room at the White House on February 20, 2026 in Washington, DC.  (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

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Trump has slammed the party for using the term, arguing sky-high inflation under the Biden era was caused by Democrat policies. 

Trump took aim at Democrats again on Thursday for their message of affordability, claiming he hasn’t heard the media specifically promote affordability in weeks because he «won affordability.» 

«I added $9 trillion, and your retirement accounts and 401 Ks are at the highest level they’ve ever been. And then I have to listen to the fake news talking about affordability. Affordability. Do you notice what word have you not heard over the last two weeks? Affordability. Because I’ve won, I’ve won affordability,» he said on Thursday from Georgia. 

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Fox News Digital reached out to Ocasio-Cortez’s office for additional comment Friday afternoon. 

Acaba de aterrizar la nueva miniserie dirigida por Marco Bellocchio para HBO Max, algo que supone un acontecimiento en el panorama audiovisual europeo dada la trascendencia del autor italiano responsable de un buen puñado de obras maestras.

Concebida a lo largo de seis episodios, Portobello aborda uno de los mayores traumas de la historia televisiva y judicial de Italia: la detención, encarcelamiento y juicio mediático del presentador Enzo Tortora a principios de los años ochenta.

Con Fabrizio Gifuni como protagonista (conocido ya por su papel de Aldo Moro en Exterior noche) la serie parte de una reconstrucción minuciosa de los hechos y de los entresijos sociales y políticos que los rodearon.

Lejos de los cauces convencionales del melodrama o la sátira, Bellocchio opta en Portobello por una aproximación intelectual y, por momentos, casi clínica al caso Tortora.

El relato arranca en los platós del legendario programa homónimo que el propio Tortora creó y condujo junto a su hermana Anna, un espacio televisivo que, bajo su apariencia de mercado de antigüedades y variedades, reunía a millones de personas frente a la pantalla cada viernes.

La audiencia superaba los 28 millones de espectadores, abarcando desde monjas en conventos hasta reclusos en las cárceles napolitanas. El plató se convertía en escenario de juegos imposibles (como conseguir que el loro repitiese el nombre del programa) y de la exposición pública de inventos, talentos y anhelos personales.

La serie despliega, especialmente en su episodio inicial, una reconstrucción detallada de aquel universo televisivo aparentemente inofensivo. Sin embargo, todo cambia de forma abrupta poco antes del inicio de la séptima temporada: Tortora es acusado de colaborar con la mafia, concretamente con la Nuova Camorra Organizzata (NCO), tras las declaraciones de varios mafiosos arrepentidos.

Uno de los elementos dramáticos más perturbadores es la figura de Giovanni Pandico, interpretado por Lino Musella, un escritor y colaborador del capo Raffaele Cutolo, obsesionado con el presentador tras una insólita disputa epistolar por unas artesanías enviadas al programa.

La denuncia de Pandico (quien afirma que el presentador utilizó “pañitos de encaje” como argot para referirse a envíos de cocaína) se integra en un contexto de histeria nacional por la lucha contra el crimen organizado.

A través de una narración, que combina distintas líneas temporales y perspectivas, el maestro Bellocchio entrelaza la caída pública de Tortora con la deriva de los propios acusadores. Lo hace a través del recurso de montaje paralelo por el que el estrellato de Tortora se alterna de manera inteligente con la desesperada maniobra de Pandico, un secretario mafioso dispuesto a declarar cualquier cosa que beneficiara a la Fiscalía.

La serie, lejos de regodearse en la caricatura o el humor fácil, explora el “teatro del absurdo” en el que las pruebas parecen derivar de malentendidos o venganzas personales, y en el que incluso el loro protagonista es implicado en una supuesta red de tráfico de estupefacientes.

La reacción del propio Tortora queda sintetizada en una de sus líneas de diálogo: “Esto es teatro del absurdo”. Esta frase encapsula la incredulidad del acusado ante un proceso judicial caótico que amenaza con destruirle sin pruebas sólidas. Bellocchio opta por el realismo procedimental antes que por la comedia, apostando por un tono grave donde cada denuncia contribuye a una maquinaria mediática y judicial devastadora.

La serie no solo retrata la tragedia personal de Tortora, sino que también examina cómo la opinión pública y los propios medios de comunicación contribuyen a su linchamiento. La RAI, cadena productora y emisora original del programa, queda aquí en entredicho por su nulo apoyo al presentador tras la acusación. Este ambiente mediático feroz, donde la multitud asume su culpabilidad sin pruebas, es presentado como un anticipo de fenómenos contemporáneos de linchamiento en redes sociales.

Uno de los hallazgos formales de Portobello reside en su capacidad para mezclar el drama judicial con notas de surrealismo y metáforas visuales. Bellocchio, a sus 86 años, sigue explorando con destreza las zonas grises de la historia y la política italianas.

A lo largo de su carrera el cineasta ha examinado fenómenos tan dispares como el terrorismo de las Brigadas Rojas Buenos días, noche, las estructuras mafiosas El traidor y conspiraciones eclesiásticas El rapto, navegando por universos morales movedizos e inestables.

Este enfoque se traslada a Portobello no solo por la reconstrucción del proceso judicial, sino por la atención obsesiva al detalle, desde las reacciones del público hasta la representación de figuras supuestamente secundarias, como fiscales y otros denunciantes.

La serie introduce gradualmente elementos oníricos y metáforas, como ratas correteando por instituciones, la continuada presencia de objetos triviales como los pañitos de encaje, que refuerzan el carácter absurdo y grotesco del proceso.

Uno de los aspectos más señalados por la crítica internacional ha sido el paso de Tortora de héroe mediático a chivo expiatorio, una transformación representada visualmente cuando es esposado ante las cámaras de su propia cadena. El salto del entretenimiento ligero al drama judicial se convierte así en una versión moderna de las tragedias italianas clásicas, donde lo personal y lo político, lo mediático y lo judicial, se entrelazan hasta volverse indistinguibles.

La fuerza de la serie reside en mostrar hasta qué punto el proceso contra Tortora alcanza dimensiones extraordinarias y absurdas. Episodio tras episodio, y especialmente en los capítulos dedicados al juicio, Bellocchio exhibe la progresiva multiplicación de denunciantes y acusaciones, muchas de ellas insustanciales o fruto de la paranoia colectiva.

El clima en la sala, descrito como “un caótico teatro público donde se supone que se imparte justicia”, sirve tanto de crítica a los defectos sistémicos del sistema judicial italiano como de advertencia sobre los peligros de los linchamientos mediáticos.

A lo largo de los seis episodios, la miniserie equilibra la minuciosidad documental y la tensión narrativa, permitiendo al espectador sumergirse en la angustia y perplejidad del protagonista. La serie guarda distancia respecto a la sátira o el sentimentalismo, apostando por una mirada aguda sobre las relaciones entre justicia, política y los medios y sociedad.

Aunque los hechos pasaron hace mucho tiempo, la serie mantiene la vigencia de la denuncia y la modernidad en su reflexión sobre el poder de la fama y de los medios para moldear destinos individuales. La comparación entre el fenómeno Tortora y la posterior irrupción de figuras como Berlusconi o Trump, sitúa a Portobello como un relato de advertencia sobre las conexiones peligrosas entre celebridad, política y criminalidad organizada.

Portobello, en definitiva, se ha presentado como una clase maestra de un gran observador de las intersecciones entre justicia, política y medios, ha dejado constancia de la vigencia de la mirada de Bellocchio sobre los mecanismos, tan absurdos y devastadores, del escándalo público, el proceso penal y la fabricación colectiva de la culpa.

The Department of Government Efficiency’s release of years of anonymous, open-source Medicaid data was hailed by former DOGE chief Elon Musk as a transparency win that will make fraud «easy to find.» But turning internet sleuthing into prosecutions could prove far harder for the Justice Department— and legally messy.

Prosecutors and privacy experts warn the leap from anonymous tips to a courtroom case runs through three choke points: patient privacy, proof standards and the uneven quality of state-reported Medicaid data.

The DOGE data will include aggregate-level information about providers, claims, and other general information, according to the Department of Health and Human Services. Senior Trump administration officials have stressed that any information released will be done in accordance with federal privacy laws, in order to avoid identifying individuals or sharing private medical information. 

The release comes as the Justice Department ramps up healthcare fraud enforcement, particularly targeting schemes involving Medicaid and other taxpayer-funded programs. Its healthcare fraud «strike force» now operates across 25 federal districts and has brought charges against roughly 5,000 individuals, according to information shared with Fox News Digital.

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But before the Justice Department can chase down new leads, it may have to sort through mountains of flawed data.

Information shared by DOGE in its early days may be imperfect due to its reliance on state data submitted through the Transformed Medicaid Statistical Information System, or T-MSIS — a system that has struggled with data quality and reporting issues that vary widely from state to state. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is actively working to improve state compliance.

There are open questions as to how the federal government might seek to retroactively «claw back» Medicaid reimbursements from states, in the event fraud is detected.

Others have cautioned that investigations could be hindered by new or thorny legal challenges — including privacy concerns, statute of limitations questions and evidentiary hurdles.

The emphasis on healthcare fraud reflects a broader enforcement priority for Trump and Attorney General Pam Bondi, who built her prosecutorial profile in Florida cracking down on opioids, drug trafficking, and so-called «pill mills.»

Elon Musk and President Donald Trump are seen at the Oval Office. (JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images)

That enforcement posture has translated into expanded resources for federal prosecutors, particularly within the Justice Department’s Health Care Fraud Unit. Formed in 2007, the unit has grown in scope and funding in recent years as officials confront increasingly complex and large-scale fraud schemes.

The unit has benefited from the creation of its data analytics team in 2017 and the newly announced healthcare fraud data «fusion center» late last year. The center draws on DOJ’s criminal and fraud divisions, the FBI and outside agencies, including HHS-OIG, to leverage cloud computing, artificial intelligence and other analytics tools to more quickly identify and prosecute sweeping healthcare fraud in the public and private sectors, at a rate and scope that would have been unimaginable just years ago.

A Justice Department official with knowledge of the unit’s operations told Fox News Digital that the effort allows prosecutors to identify so-called «outlier» providers earlier.

«It’s an area of work that’s not only reactive prosecutions — but proactive prosecutions, using data analytics,» this person said. 

Attorney General Pam Bondi accompanied by Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche  and FBI Director Kash Pate, speaks during a news conference.  (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

The new data analytics have been crucial to helping DOJ develop and prosecute widespread instances of healthcare fraud cases, as well as major prescription drug cases.   

One official pointed to the recent conviction of a California telehealth company founder and CEO who was sentenced to 20 years in prison for illegally prescribing and distributing roughly 40 million Adderall pills, a Schedule II controlled substance, over the internet using false and fraudulent information.

The tools the Justice Department used in that case were critical in quickly identifying the $100 million scheme.

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The Justice Department’s Health Care Fraud Unit announced the largest-ever national healthcare fraud takedown in its history in 2025, securing an estimated $15 billion in losses and forfeitures and returning a record $560 million to the public.