The situation in Iran is unravelling for Donald Trump, with talks over ending the war stalling, the US economy suffering and the President experiencing his worst poll ratings ever.
But Trump – at least outwardly – appears blissfully detached from the seriousness of the problem, instead spending his time bombarding his Truth Social platform with reposts of adulatory memes from his supporters.
In the space of less than ten minutes on Sunday night, from 10.22pm to 10.31pm, Trump reposted 17 memes mostly focused on his own greatness, as well as referencing the discredited theory that the 2020 election was stolen, the construction of his White House ballroom and the addition of his face to Mount Rushmore.
Shorts – Quick stories
Multiple Labour MPs warned, however passionate or persuasive Sir Keir Starmer is, his remarks are unlikely to help (Photo: Leon Neal/Getty)
POLITICS
Who are the main threats to Starmer’s leadership?
As Sir Keir Starmer faces calls to step down following a blistering defeat in the local elections, The i Paper examines the front runners to a potential leadership contest.
The Labour Party lost around 1,400 council seats overall, foregoing majority control of around 38 councils, and prompting dozens of MPs to demand a resignation.
Who are the front runners to replace Starmer?
Wes Streeting, Health Secretary
Angela Rayner, backbench MP and former deputy leader
Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester
Ed Miliband, Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero
Catherine West, former under-secretary of state at the FCDO
OPINION
4 min read
A look at the contenders
Caption: FILE PHOTO: Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner exits a vehicle in Downing Street in London, Britain, March 26, 2025. REUTERS/Hannah McKay/File Photo Photographer: Hannah McKay Provider: REUTERS Source: REUTERS
Health Secretary Wes Streeting is thought to be the most ready for a leadership contest.
The former deputy PM Angela Rayner is pipped to be a potential successor to Starmer. While she has not confirmed a bid, her allies say she is getting prepared.
Exclusive
7 min read
Who else is in the running?
The Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham has previously said he would stand against Starmer if there were a contest. However, Burnham cannot run for Labour leader unless he is first elected as an MP.
Energy Secretary Ed Miliband is thought to be a strong contender for PM, if a contest is launched before Burnham has returned. However, he was already rejected by the electorate against David Cameron in 2015.
NEWS
3 min read
Exclusive
3 min read
PM says he will not resign
Former parliamentary under-secretary of state at the FCDO Catherine West has said she would challenge Starmer for leadership. “You know what sometimes happens to stalking horses? They become the candidate,” she said.
The Prime Minister has repeatedly said he will not resign despite mounting pressure after a poor set of local election results.
Caption: LONDON, ENGLAND – MAY 11: Prime Minister Keir Starmer gives a speech at Coin Street Community Centre on May 11, 2026 in London, England. Prime Minister and Labour Leader Keir Starmer is making a major speech in a bid to secure his premiership, following the devastating losses the Labour Party suffered in last week’s elections. Starmer says the government “will face up to the big challenges” the country faces after Labour relinquished nearly 1500 seats in local elections across England and power in the Welsh Senedd. In the wake of Labour’s historic losses, Labour MP Catherine West has said she will attempt to trigger a leadership contest against Starmer if his cabinet ministers fail to challenge him. (Photo by Carl Court/Getty Images) Photographer: Carl Court Provider: Getty Images Source: Getty Images Europe Copyright: 2026 Getty Images Caption: Catherine West MP, Labour appears on BBC TV’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg in London, Britain, May 10, 2026. Jeff Overs/BBC/Handout via REUTERS THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVES. NOT FOR USE MORE THAN 21 DAYS AFTER ISSUE. ANY USE AFTER THAT TIME MUST BE CLEARED THROUGH BBC PICTURE PUBLICITY. Photographer: Jeff Overs/BBC Provider: via REUTERS Source: Handout
ENTERTAINMENT
The Beatles to open museum on site of iconic last gig
Caption: Ringo Starr, Paul McCartney, John Lennon, and George Harrison in THE BEATLES: GET BACK. Photo courtesy of Apple Corps Ltd. THE BEATLES GET BACK Film Still
Disney Plus
Image via https://press.disney.co.uk/ Copyright: ? 2021 Apple Corps Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
The Beatles are turning the seven-floor venue where they played their last ever gig into an exhibition space.
It will be the first museum in London dedicated to the iconic band, once it is opened next year.
The Beatles at 3 Savile Row
The museum, called The Beatles at 3 Savile Row, is expected to include a series of exhibitions using unseen archival material, as well as a recreation of the studio where the band recorded their final album, Let It Be.
Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, the LP “gold standard”A Hard Day’s Night was filmed in crisp black and white in London at the height of Beatlemania (Photo: United Artists/Archive Photos/Getty Images)
The Grade II listed mansion served as the band’s headquarters between 1968 and 1972. On 30 January, 1969, the band performed their last-ever concert on the rooftop of the site after the Let It Be sessions.
McCartney visits soon-to-be museum site
There are so many special memories within the walls, not to mention the rooftop. The team have put together some really impressive plans and I’m excited for people to see it when it’s ready.
Sir Paul McCartney
Caption: Ringo Starr, Paul McCartney, John Lennon, and George Harrison in THE BEATLES: GET BACK. Photo courtesy of Apple Corps Ltd. THE BEATLES GET BACK Film Still
Disney Plus
Image via https://press.disney.co.uk/ Copyright: ? 2021 Apple Corps Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
Biopics in the works
Sir Paul McCartney, Sir Ringo Starr and the estates of their fellow band members John Lennon and George Harrison have all committed their support for the museum. It will be funded by Apple Corps, the entity set up by The Beatles in 1968.
It comes ahead of the planned release of four biopics in 2028, which each focus on a band member with Paul Mescal as McCartney, Barry Keoghan as Starr, Harris Dickinson as Lennon and Joseph Quinn as Harrison.
FILM
5 min read
MUSIC
5 min read
HEALTH
How weight-loss drugs can help obese breast cancer patients
CARDIFF, WALES – NOVEMBER 8: A close-up of a Mounjaro KwikPen injection pen on November 8, 2025 in Cardiff, Wales. (Photo by Matthew Horwood/Getty Images)
Weight loss drugs could improve survival rates and lower the risk of cancer returning in breast cancer patients with obesity, a new study suggests.
Researchers said GLP-1 weight loss drugs such as Mounjaro and Wegovy “may offer protective benefits beyond glycaemic and weight control, potentially improving survival and recurrence risk in some female patients with breast cancer”.
A survival boost
Researchers from the US-based Massey Comprehensive Cancer Centre said breast cancer patients living with obesity or type 2 diabetes tend to have poorer survival outcomes.
While GLP-1 drugs are already known to help treat both conditions, researchers added that their links with breast cancer survival and recurrence “remains unclear”.
HEALTH
4 min read
LIFESTYLE
5 min read
The mystery link
With researchers unsure of the mystery link, they set out to examine the connection among breast cancer patients over a 10-year period. Here’s how it went:
The study, published in the journal JAMA Network Open, examined data on 841,831 US patients aged 18 and over.
They used prescription data to see whether patients had used GLP-1s before or after they were diagnosed.
They compared 1,610 patients who used, and 1,610 patients who did not use, the weight loss drugs at any point.
The weight loss drugs appeared to carry a 65 per cent reduced risk of death among women with obesity during the 10-year follow up period, researchers said.
Use of the drugs were also linked to 56 per cent reduced risk of the disease returning.
Landmark study
All-cause mortality was approximately 60 per cent lower at both five and 10 years among GLP-1 RA users compared with non-users. No study has found a survival difference this large associated with GLP-1 RA prescriptions in a population of women with breast cancer or any other cancer.
Dr Richard Wender, the University of Pennsylvania
Clinical trials suggest that trastuzumab deruxtecan, also known as Enhertu, can increase the amount of time patients live and gives them more time before their disease progresses (Photo: PA)
What next?
The researchers said their findings support the launch of clinical trials to further evaluate the effects of the drugs.
While the findings are promising, more work is needed before changing treatment practices for breast cancer patients.
(Photo: Shutterstock)
LIFESTYLE
7 min read
The White House has said that Trump’s late-night posts are made either by the President or by staff who are catching up on articles and posts he read the day before.
The frenzy of social media activity came after Trump branded Iran’s response to US proposals to end the war, which included compensation for war damage and an emphasis on Iranian sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz, “TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE.”
The President is experiencing his worst disapproval rating across both of his terms at 62 per cent as his unpopular war drags on, with fuel prices rising as the vital shipping route remains closed, battering the US and global economy.
Dr David Andersen, associate professor of US politics at Durham University, told The i Paper: “Trump only gets information that he wants to hear, so according to his advisers, he is the most beloved president in history right now, and I think he believes it.”
Trump’s ‘monstrous ego’
Trump is known for filling his cabinet with mostly unquestioning acolytes, and this appears to translate to Truth Social, too. Andersen said that the US President probably spent so much time on the platform that he owns because “he enjoys the flattery that the echo chamber of Truth Social offers him”, which functions as an extension of the information Trump receives from those close to him.
Much like what he hears from his cabinet, Trump mainly receives praise from the echo chamber that is Truth Social (Photo: @realDonaldTrump/Truth Social)
“He famously has a person whose job it is to hand him a stack of positive headlines every day,” Andersen noted, suggesting that this atmosphere in the White House has created a culture where officials have to be loyal to the point of being sycophantic towards the President.
“Trump holds these cabinet hearings that are in some ways humiliating because they go around the table and everybody has to just heap praise and glory upon him,” Andersen said. “They even try to outdo each other by congratulating him on his greatness more than everybody else has.”
He said that with Trump facing a raft of problems from Iran and the economy to the Epstein files and the looming midterms, “for a long time he has been rather out of touch with reality”.
The White House told The i Paper in a statement: “The ultimate poll was November 5th 2024 when nearly 80 million Americans overwhelmingly elected President Trump to deliver on his popular and commonsense agenda. No other President in history has accomplished more for the American people than President Trump, who is working tirelessly to create jobs, cool inflation, increase housing affordability, and more. The President has already made historic progress not only in America but around the world, and this is just the beginning as his agenda continues taking effect.”
John Mark Hansen, a professor of political science from the University of Chicago, believes that most of this adulation is not genuine and is a calculated strategy by those with ulterior motives. “Trump’s monstrous ego means that he pumps himself up on the flattery of other people, but those same people have been able to manipulate him because of it.”
Hansen added that Trump’s posts indicate “that he’s becoming more and more desperate to change the narrative, and that he believes that he can change it just by talking more and shouting louder”.
The professor also pointed out that Trump has changed how he carries out press briefings. “He basically doesn’t call on anybody who is going to ask him a tough question and if they do, he berates them and then immediately switches to a more favourable reporter.”
US politics expert John Mark Hansen believes that Trump’s latest flurry of posts are an attempt to distract people from his failings (Photo: @realDonaldTrump/Truth Social)
‘Art of distraction’
Dr Andrew Wroe, a senior lecturer in US politics at the University of Kent, said that Trump may not be oblivious to reality, but deliberately uses the “art of distraction” for political gain.
Trump, who regularly reposts memes from fans that label him “The Greatest of All Time” and thank “GOD FOR TRUMP”, knows that many Americans don’t share the same sentiment.
“The volume of his posts and the level of their outrageousness may be correlated with a desire to distract people from more pressing and difficult matters that are dominating the media cycle. Trump is a wily political operator, and he’s learned the art of distraction,” said Wroe.
“Many posts are not aimed at the wider American public but are instead designed to appeal specifically to his Maga base who revel in his norm-busting antics, especially ‘owning the libs’.
“Trump’s narcissistic and insecure personality may be comforted by reposting fawning messages of devotion from his loyal supporters. More emotionally secure presidents have not needed to do this.”
But with Trump’s political future looking ever shakier, his efforts to rewrite the narrative are not having the desired effect.
