chaos

There really is something about Mary. I’m talking, of course, about Mary Todd Lincoln of Cole Escola’s runaway camp hit, “Oh, Mary!,” which opened Thursday at the Ahmanson Theatre.

Escola, who won a Tony Award for playing Mary, has created a role that has become a holy grail for the most fearless and demented of naughty clowns. Bowen Yang is starring in the play on Broadway, and Betty Gilpin, Maya Rudolph and Tituss Burgess are among the luminaries who have staggered to great acclaim in the character’s high heels.

In the show’s Los Angeles premiere, singer, actor, drag star and winner of “RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars 2” Alaska Thunderf— commandeers this camp ship with the authority of a pirate armed with an AK-47. She’s undeterrable — and exactly what the production needs to live up to its frenzied hype in a venue as large as the Ahmanson.

But just who is this Mary Todd Lincoln sprung from Escola’s feverish imagination? Well, she’s a frustrated first lady and a desperate lush, married to a man who is busy fighting two Civil Wars, one against the South and the other against his homosexual urges. (And like the South, those urges keep threatening to rise again.)

By her account she’s “a rather well-known niche cabaret legend,” whose career was “cut short by a love affair gone horribly right.” Mary’s Husband (delectably played by John-Andrew Morrison) has another take on Mary’s aborted stint in showbiz. But his main concern is making sure that she doesn’t get her hands on any more booze and embarrass him when his political fate is hanging by a thread.

The South wants him out and the North isn’t much happier. The stress is maddening, and his young male assistant (Michael Lepore) is so eager to please that the president can barely control himself.

A chaperone (Pooya Mohseni) has been engaged to keep Mary in line, but an exorcist would be more in order. This goody two-shoes, with an erotic fetish for ice cream that she mistakenly shares, is defenseless against Mary’s unbridled assault.

Standing tall in a mourning hoop gown and Shirley Temple curls, Alaska’s Mary is like a cross between “The Bad Seed” and “Mommie Dearest.” Joan Crawford herself would back down in a standoff.

Her savagery knows no check. Bored, she amuses herself by throwing her chaperone down a flight of stairs, setting fire to her house and spilling the poor woman’s dirty secret, which she has pried out of her as though it were another bottle of booze locked in her husband’s desk drawer.

An acting teacher (Wesley Taylor) has been brought in to keep Mary from basically destroying the White House. But her talent for reciting Shakespeare is even less obvious than her self-proclaimed gift for cabaret medleys.

“Oh, Mary!” has its L.A. premiere at the Ahamanson Theatre.

(Evan Zimmerman for MurphyMade)

What a polymorphously perverse web Escola weaves! Everywhere you look, there are furtive sexual shenanigans afoot. Does Mary want to run off with her acting teacher? Does her chaperone have designs on Mary’s Husband? Does Mary‘s Husband really want to kill off his gay compulsions?

The production, directed by Tony winner Sam Pinkleton, treats the play like a Victorian toy melodrama. Blackouts and clanging piano music italicize the sardonic tension.

The scenic design by dots and the costumes by Holly Pierson create a dollhouse world of inverted morality. Pinkleton ensures that the arch aesthetic of the mise en scène is rigorously observed in the playing.

The cast is terrific across the board, with Alaska and Morrison valiantly leading the madcap charge. Morrison’s lusty humor brings the Oval Office temptations of his character fiendishly to life. His aide’s obedient presence is like a casserole that has been especially prepared to derail Mary’s Husband from his abstemious diet.

Alaska struggles to make one bit of physical comedy work. (She may be too tall for the seduction scene with her teacher in which she has to somehow gracefully slide off her husband’s desk.) But I loved the malicious spin she inflects on her lines, the voice of a cat fiddling with its prey before sinking in its murderous claws.

I can’t pretend that “Oh, Mary!” is my idea of comic heaven. I grew up watching brilliant drag acts during my days in the New York clubs in the 1980s and early ’90s, and my theatrical sensibility was shaped by the peerless camp parodies of the Ridiculous Theatrical Company.

In becoming more mainstream, drag has lost some of its dangerousness. “Oh, Mary!” owes as much to “The Carol Burnett Show” as it does to a queer tradition of underground performance. Had Alaska stormed out wearing curtains with the rod still attached, à la Burnett in the famous “Gone With the Wind” send-up, I would not have been at all surprised, even though I’ve seen the play twice before, both times with Escola.

But “Oh, Mary!” is a welcome diversion — a revisionist lark with an irreverent LGBTQ+ spirit. The success of the production hinges in large part on its impressive tonal execution. Pinkleton’s production hits every mark of Escola’s alt-comedy.

Audiences are clearly eager to buy what “Oh, Mary!” is selling — athletically performed cheeky fun. Maybe the third time for me was the charm. Instead of longing for more depth, I let the mildly subversive high jinks carry me away on a much-needed holiday from reality.

REVELLERS travelling to a famous Bonfire Night event this weekend will be forced to change their plans ahead of a train station closure.

Those heading to the Sussex town of Rye on Saturday (November 14) for the bonfire celebrations will have to make alternative travel plans because the station will close at 3pm.

The decision has been taken to shut the station early to prevent ‘trouble-causing youths’ who in previous years have travelled in from other areas to make mischief.

Those coming in by train will need to arrive before 3pm, as services after that will run straight through Rye to the next station without stopping.

Southern Rail area manager Paul Wyborn explained: “As with previous years, Rye railway station will be closed for reasons of public safety, from 3pm on the day of the town bonfire celebrations.

“Community organisers and members of the local multi-agency Safety Advisory Group have helped us reach this decision.”

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He added: “Trains will run through Rye without stopping until the normal start of service next day, Sunday 15 November, and online journey planners such as nationalrail.co.uk have been updated with this revised timetable.

“Please consider your alternatives if you’re planning to travel that day.”

James Foster, chair of Rye Bonfire Society, echoed his comments.

“We support Southern’s decision. The closure of Rye station limits the numbers coming from out of town and prevents an influx of youths who, in the past, have caused trouble,” he revealed.

“It has a noticeable positive impact on crowd behaviour, and this is clearly demonstrated by the reduction in police incidents.”

Other towns with proud bonfire traditions, like Lewes in East Sussex, have brought in similar measures to control crowd flow and reduce the risk of violence.

Lewes, which each year hosts a massive event for all of the local bonfire societies, closed its station from 5pm on Thursday, November 5.

Chief Inspector Sarah Taylor of Sussex Police added: “To ensure public safety, a decision has been made to close Rye Station during the bonfire event.

“Police officers will be working closely with partners to maintain order, prevent crime, and respond swiftly to any incidents.”

Rye’s bonfire celebrations will kick off with a pagaent procession starting out from Mason Road on the Tilling Green Estate at 7pm.

The procession route will go down Ferry Road to the Crown Inn then turn left into Cinque Ports Street.

It will then head down Tower Street, through Landgate Arch to Hilders Cliff, then into High Street down to The Mint, where it will turn right into Wish Ward.

The final part of the route is back on to Cinque Ports Street, down Tower Street, left down Landgate, right into Bedford Place and then on to the bonfire site, where ‘Rye Fawkes’ will light the fire at 8pm.

The grand finale will be the dazzling fireworks display starting at 8.15pm on the same site.

Those thinking of driving in to Rye on the day have been warned that all streets on the processional route will be closed to traffic from 5.30pm until around 10pm, and there is to be no parking on the route from 4pm.

Any vehicles parked on the route are likely to be removed by tow trucks, the organisers said.

And dogs should be left at home in case they are spooked by the loud bangs of firecrackers, drums and fireworks.

“This is a traditional custom, not a carnival or ordinary fireworks display, it can be loud and frightening, there will be fire and very loud bangs,” the organisers added.

“Keep children with you and do not push them to the front. If you are nervous, worried, or have a medical condition, we respectfully suggest you keep away.”

Chloe Smith explained why there were so many on her flight

A woman says all she could see were dead people when she looked down the aisle of her recent flight – describing it as ‘absolutely chaos’. A ghost whisperer has explained there is one place where your loved ones are always with you even after they are gone – every plane you board. Chloe Smith says she has been seeing spirits for over a decade – dedicating her life to exploring the unknown.

The 29-year-old psychic medium, author, and podcaster has now made her latest claim as she believes that the “dead” are “on planes”.

“Before boarding a plane, my loved ones will be by my side as well as spirits from other passengers,” said Chloe, from Ashbourne, Derbyshire. “Whispering, standing next to people, or surrounding them in white light for protection. Flying is the most anxiety-inducing thing for me, but instead of closing my eyes, I opened them and saw angels and loved ones surrounding people.

“Knowing that even in the times we feel most scared and worried, our loved ones are still by our side. Not because they choose to travel by plane but because they want to be by our side.”

Chloe made the revelation whilst boarding an easyJet flight. In the clip, she says: “There are so many dead people on this plane with me, and I’m not even exaggerating. You’re most likely thinking they can travel wherever they want to be – why would they want to travel on a plane?

“But when you’re feeling anxious and not yourself – that is when your loved ones are with you the most. So as I look down the aisle of the plane, it is full of spirits. I’m not even exaggerating, but I feel good for it. I feel healed, I feel protected, but it is absolutely chaos.”

The psychic medium believes that spirits of your loved ones help ‘change’ the outcome of the flight. She claims this is done by surrounding you to calm your nerves and flight anxieties.

Even on flights, her work is never done, as some spirits linked to other passengers are allegedly urging her to pass messages onto others on board, Chloe said: “I would say they change the outcome, but there have been many moments I myself have panicked at the thought of not being able to get off the plane, feeling claustrophobic and trapped; my loved ones have soothed that.

“So much love and calm surrounds you, allowing you to switch off from the anxiety of flying. Knowing your loved ones is truly by your side no matter what.

“But if they have something they want to say, they will make themselves known, for example. I look up; there is a man right there in my face telling me to tell the passenger four rows down that the hidden jewellery is in a box on top of the wardrobe.”

LESS than a week after Married At First Sight UK was axed amid rape allegations behind-the-scenes, bosses of the Australian version of the show fear it will meet the same fate.

Concerns have sparked after a second producer on the series has been stood down by production company Endemol Shine Australia, while an investigation is carried out concerning private messages sent by one of the upcoming contestants were played to his on-screen bride. 

Groom Kayne Buik has issued a complaint, prompting an internal inquiry and corresponding police investigation, according to The Daily Mail.

Buik will appear on the forthcoming season of the show, and is said to have flagged his concerns to the police while filming was underway, stressing that his privacy had been compromised.

Buik alleges that his on-screen bride Kristen Goedecke was played personal audio messages Buik had exchanged with a woman he knew prior to taking part on the show.

The woman is said to have heard about Buik’s involvement on the show via an online article, contacting producers and supplying texts and voice notes, as well as taking part in video interviews.

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She denied that any other media was provided, telling Inside Mail: “No photos or videos were sent.”

Buik is said to have refused to ignore the matter ahead of the show’s debut, worrying producers that the series will be axed, similarly to the UK version which airs on Channel 4.

NSW Police referred the matter to WA Police, and an investigation was subsequently launched, in which phones were seized from the Endemol Shine Australia office and staff involved were given access to legal representation.

A spokesperson from Australia’s Channel Nine, who broadcast the show, told the Daily Mail that any enquiries should be directed to Endemol Shine Australia, who declined to comment.

Channel Nine counts Married At First Sight as one of its biggest ratings hits averaging 2.76 million viewers per episode across total TV, and is scheduled to air in the first quarter of 2027. 

“There is a lot riding on the new season,” a source told the Mail. “‘No one wants this to be the last season.

“While it might seem unthinkable, all it takes is one big scandal combined with ratings or revenue not being where they need to be and Nine could make that call.”

Contradicting this, a source on the MAFS production team told the publication that the new season is set to be “a change of pace” than previous seasons, focusing on various couples instead of one main pairing.

This scandal comes after one couple on the new season left the show early, after things became “too toxic” between them during filming.

Since the British series was hit by scandal, Australian showrunners are said to be ensuring any “risky” couplings are removed from the process if things look to turn unsavoury in any way.

The Australian version of MAFS will already no longer air on Channel 4 or E4 in the new year, as it has done in the past.

The broadcaster “has no plans” to televise or stream any international seasons of the show after axing the UK’s incarnation of the reality series.

The external investigation into MAFS UK was commissioned by Channel 4 Chief Executive Priya Dogra following serious allegations made by three female stars in a Panorama special.

Two former brides claimed they were raped by their on-screen husbands, while a third accused her show husband of performing a non-consensual sex act.

All three men have denied the claims.

Dogra said she was “very sorry for the distress the women felt” but the review could not adjudicate on their claims.

The decision to drop the show means a full pre-recorded MAFS UK series that was filmed before the review took place will never be broadcast on the channel.

While the programme has been scrapped, the review found that Channel 4 and production company CPL did provide an adequate duty of care and did not breach Ofcom’s Broadcasting Code

Lawyers pored over 20 hours of aired and unaired footage from series three to six, analysed 31,172 documents and carried out 15 interviews with show stars.

It was found that a number of “isolated incidents” didn’t follow the welfare framework fully and that both C4 and CPL could have conducted a more structured long-term review of contributor welfare.

A second part to the review, carried out by ex BBC One Controller Lorraine Heggessey, concluded that the show could run in the future with format adjustments in place.

However, it also stated that the show’s focus on intimacy could put pressure on contributors to be intimate with their partners.

Panorama’s Mafs UK exposé aired in May.

In the programme, one of the brides who claimed she was raped said she had suicidal thoughts for the first time after her series aired.

While another bride, Shona Manderson, who appeared on the show in 2023, said she had an abortion after claiming her on-screen partner Bradley Skelly ejaculated inside her without permission.

She admitted she did not know if the pregnancy resulted from the alleged incident.

The couple stayed together for six weeks after leaving the show, but separated shortly afterwards.

Bradley said he understood Shona had consented to him ejaculating inside of her.

In a statement to the BBC, he said he categorically denied “any allegations of sexual misconduct” or that he was “controlling”.

He said their relationship “was based on mutual consent, care and affection.”

A third bride told bosses she was raped before her series was aired.

She said both she and her on-screen husband had been engaging in consensual sex, but he had proceeded on one occasion after she said no.

A SERIES of tube strikes is set to take place in the coming months, expected to spark chaos for travellers over the festive period.

London Underground has confirmed a walkout will occur over eight dates between November and February, running from midday-to-midday.

The Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) confirmed the strike action this week, with drivers set to walkout on eight dates between November and February.

Each strike will be in place for 24 hours, with the industrial action starting at noon on November 26.

Further strike dates will occur on December 17 and 19 sparking travel chaos for Brits in the run-up to Christmas.

Two more days of strikes will take place on January 4 and 6, with three further dates in February – 17, 23 and 25.

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Festive shoppers are reminded that these dates mean that strikes will roll into both the morning of Black Friday and the last Saturday before Christmas.

Typically, walkouts affect the entire tube network, with all London Underground lines likely to be impacted.

This doesn’t include the Elizabeth line, DLR or Overground network.

RMT general secretary Eddie Dempsey said: “London Underground is attempting to dress up a wholesale attack on drivers’ working conditions as a voluntary four-day week.

“But there is nothing voluntary about a scheme that forces drivers to give up existing protections whether they would work four days or five, and threatens those who refuse with displacement from their depots.

“Our members are being asked to spend more time driving trains, accept longer and more unpredictable shifts and surrender agreements that have been negotiated and defended over many years.”

The industrial action announced by RMT follows long-running disputes over working arrangements for drivers.

Many believe that current plans to move to a four-day working week would result in increased time spent driving trains, longer duties, earlier starts and later finishes.

This next round of walkouts follows on from serious disruptions on the London Underground earlier this year, when strike action was announced through March and May.

Running the strikes from midday-to-midday is thought to maximise the level of disruption, with the delays hitting peak commuter times and morning and evening rush hours.

Finn Brennan, Aslef’s (the British trade union for train drivers) full-time organiser on London Underground, said: “We are surprised that the RMT has, once again, decided to take strike action to try to prevent Underground drivers moving to a four-day week on a voluntary basis.

“We are in discussions with Transport for London about how the final details of this will work in practice.”

TUBE drivers have announced a series of 24-hour strikes over the Christmas period, bringing misery to shoppers over the festive period.

London Underground drivers have confirmed they will strike for eight days between November and February.

The Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) have said today that they will walkout from November 26 and into the New Year.

The 24-hour strikes will begin at noon on November 26, as well as December 17 and 19, January 4 and 6 and February 17, 23 and 25.

This means that strikes will continue until the morning of Black Friday, which is on November 27 this year, and the last Saturday before Christmas.

RMT general secretary Eddie Dempsey said: “London Underground is attempting to dress up a wholesale attack on drivers’ working conditions as a voluntary four-day week.

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“But there is nothing voluntary about a scheme that forces drivers to give up existing protections whether they work four days or five, and threatens those who refuse with displacement from their depots.

“Our members are being asked to spend more time driving trains, accept longer and more unpredictable shifts and surrender agreements that have been negotiated and defended over many years.”

The RMT’s decision to strike comes as a result of long-running disputes over working arrangements.

Drivers believe that plans to introduce a four-day working week would increase time spent driving trains, longer duties, earlier starts and later finishes.

These fresh walkouts come after serious disruptions on the London Underground due to strikes in March and May.

The midday-to-midday format is thought to maximise the level of disruption, severely disrupting both the morning and evening rush hours.

Finn Brennan, Aslef’s (the British trade union for train drivers) full-time organiser on London Underground, said: “We are surprised that the RMT has, once again, decided to take strike action to try to prevent Underground drivers moving to a four-day week on a voluntary basis.

“We are in discussions with Transport for London about how the final details of this will work in practice.”

ITV bosses are said to be left scrambling to come up with ideas as This Morning faces the possibility of being off air for a second day following a power outage at the studios

This Morning could be off air for the rest of the week. Earlier today, ITV was plunged into chaos after a power cut wreaked havoc at its studios in Covent Garden, London.

It was first revealed by Lorraine Kelly that her show wouldn’t air due to the outage, although she explained that bosses were hopeful that normal scheduling would resume as soon as possible. However, This Morning and Loose Women were then cancelled due to the outage.

Good Morning Britain was extended by an additional half hour to fill the void. However, sources now claim that bosses behind the scenes are worried that the power issues will not be resolved in time for tomorrow’s daytime schedule.

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“It appears to be a wider area outage rather than just the studio, and it’s not an easy fix,” a source told The Sun. They added: “Daytime is worried about plans going south for the rest of the week. Lots of work and planning could go to waste.”

Earlier today, ITV addressed the scheduling issues caused by the power cut. In a statement, the network said: “Following a power cut overnight in the wider area where our Covent Garden studio is based, we are unable to broadcast Lorraine, This Morning and Loose Women live today. We will return to our normal schedule as soon as possible.”

The trouble began this morning when Lorraine Kelly was the first to reveal ITV were having issues with their daytime shows. She revealed she was on the way to work when she was told there was a power outage and her show couldn’t run.

Meanwhile, Lorraine said on social media: “Hello there, I’m on my way to work, but there’s been a little bit of a hoo-ha. There’s a power outage at the studio, so my show won’t be on today. But you can still watch GMB.

“They’re going to fix it around 11 o’clockish. So, This Morning will still be on as well, just a bit later. It’s a bit of a shame. I was really looking forward to Sharleen Spiteri from Texas, but we shall reschedule, and it’ll all be fine. I will see you tomorrow!”

Although it was originally planned for This Morning to be delayed, it was subsequently replaced by best bits from past episodes of This Morning. Loose Women was also completely off air.

Fans were left fuming by the outage, and had hoped it would be fixed in time for both This Morning and Loose Women but that wasn’t the case. “Ahh, the gremlins have got in! #ThisMorning,” one fan wrote, as another added: “@itv all over the place today.. no #lorraine cutting #gmb off.”

The Mirror has approached ITV for comment.

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Tiffany Pollard has entered the Big Brother house as a special guest

TV star Tiffany Pollard has re-entered the Big Brother house and things have already become explosive.

Just last night (October 28), the Big Brother house welcomed a familiar face and it wasn’t long before things erupted into chaos. During a Halloween party, Tiffany arrived as a special guest, with her welcome coming as a huge surprise to the housemates.

Her arrival comes after celebrity guests Jedward caused drama and Gemma Collins also had her say. But last night, tensions reached boiling point when an exclusive row broke out.

Despite a warm reception, Tiffany said: “This f***** house is absurd. I’m literally honoured to be seated at this table.” However, things turn sour when Tiffany offended Philip who confronted the special guest.

He said: “I’m very upset with what you said Tiffany, to be honest with you.” But with Tiffany’s presence causing rising tensions in tonight’s episode (October 29), here’s everything you need to know about Tiffany Pollard.

How old is Tiffany Pollard and where is she from?

Tiffany Pollard is 44 years old and is an American TV personality from New York.

Tiffany Pollard net worth

According to Celebrity Net Worth, it is estimated that Tiffany’s net worth could sit at around $500 thousand , which equates to around £375,587.

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Tiffany Pollard’s rise to fame and Big Brother stint

Tiffany Pollard is known to UK residents from her stint on Celebrity Big Brother. But she rose to fame before that. In 2006 the star appeared on Flavor of Love, a reality dating show where she became known as ‘New York’.

She made her mark as her unforgettable one liners and bold personality caught the attention of viewers, making it to the final in seasons one and two.

Tiffany also secured her own solo dating show I Love New York. She then expanded her television footprint with New York Goes to Hollywood in 2008 and New York Goes to Work the following year in 2009.

In 2016, Tiffany entered the Celebrity Big Brother house, not shying away from sharing her opinions as she became considered one of the most iconic runs in reality television history.

One iconic moment is the “David’s dead” misunderstanding when housemate Angie Bowie was informed off camera that her ex husband and music legend David Bowie had died.

Confiding in Tiffany, she instantly panicked thinking Angie had meant fellow housemate David Gest as she burst into tears and ran to tell the rest of the housemates. She was eventually told it was the “wrong David”.

Her explosive love-hate relationship with Gemma Collins has also provided endless entertainment. Known as the Queen of reality TV, Tiffany also competed on House of Villains which brings together the most iconic and infamous ‘TV villains’ who aim to out smart one another to be titled America’s Ultimate Supervillain.

Big Brother continues tonight at 9pm on ITV2 and ITVX

A federal judge in Los Angeles denied a Trump administration request Wednesday to immediately block California elections officials from counting the ballots of 20,000 voters whose citizenship the administration questions in a blistering opinion.

U.S. District Judge David O. Carter ruled that the administration’s allegations were “not credible” and that the intervention it sought would violate a host of federal laws, sow chaos in the ongoing midterm election, likely lead to the disenfranchisement of legitimate voters and foster future political meddling in elections.

“This request violates longstanding constitutional principles mandating that states have control over their elections,” Carter wrote. “If [the Trump administration’s] last-minute request for relief were granted, either party could create chaos for their own political purposes to disrupt the election process.”

Carter, an appointee of President Clinton, wrote that never in American history “has the federal government, on the eve of an election, sought to coerce a state and local government to abandon their own Constitutional elections procedures and bend to the will of the Executive Branch,” and that, in bringing its suit, the Trump administration was asking the court to “believe that it reigns as a sole sovereign.”

“But California and its people are sovereign, too,” Carter wrote.

Carter’s ruling was the second to deny the Trump administration a temporary restraining order against the state and Los Angeles County this week, after a three-judge panel of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals denied the government’s emergency request in a separate order Monday.

Carter ruled following a 3½-hour hearing Tuesday, where a slew of attorneys for the state, county and independent voting rights groups argued against the administration’s demands.

First Assistant U.S. Atty. Bill Essayli — who is the top federal prosecutor in L.A. and argued for the Trump administration at Tuesday’s hearing — did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the ruling Wednesday. After Tuesday’s hearing, he suggested the administration was likely to appeal Carter’s ruling if it didn’t immediately halt the counting of the flagged ballots.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

Saracens owner Dominic Silvester says he has “full confidence” in chief executive Ed Coetzee and dismissed a newspaper article suggesting there was “executive-level chaos” at the club.

In an open letter on Saracens’ website, external, responding to an article in The Times last week, Silvester said Coetzee had achieved an “extraordinary amount” since being appointed in July.

“The board has full confidence in Ed and his team,” Silvester wrote.

“We believe they have the experience, capability and determination to raise standards across every area of the club, strengthen our financial sustainability and ensure that Saracens continues to be an organisation of which our players, staff, partners and supporters can be proud.”

The Times article, published on Friday, external, claimed the 2022 takeover in which Silvester assumed control from former owner Nigel Wray had “triggered a period of executive-level chaos”, pointing to Coetzee being Sarries’ third chief executive in two years and alleging a high turnover of staff.

“With such a churn in executive staff, club sponsors may well be reluctant to engage in relationship-building,” the article added.

But Silvester used his open letter to reject the suggestions and listed Coetzee’s achievements, such as bringing the all-female athletics meeting Athlos and the Gaelic football fixture between Mayo and Kerry to the club’s StoneX Stadium.

He also highlighted the securing of new commercial and hospitality partnerships and a beefed-up executive team, with Jason Thomas as chief financial officer and Rob Cook as chief operating officer.

“Together, Ed, Jason and Rob bring significant experience, complementary expertise and a clear commitment to building a financially sustainable business while maintaining Saracens’ high-performance sporting ambitions,” Silvester wrote.

“We are ambitious about our future, realistic about the work required to achieve our goals and united in our commitment to taking Saracens forward.”

WASHINGTON — President Trump bypassed his White House chief of staff last week in selecting Katie Zacharia as his press secretary and chief messenger, triggering days of scathing headlines about her credentials and abilities before her ignominious resignation on Friday.

Susie Wiles, that senior-most aide ostensibly in charge of the president’s team, is facing his scrutiny over a different set of problems: widespread public anxiety over corruption in government under the Trump administration. The issue has surpassed the economy as the top concern of voters entering next month’s election, according a Fox News poll released this week.

Marco Rubio, the president’s secretary of State and national security advisor, has been silent on Trump’s decision to cut a deal with Moscow on diesel sales that could fuel Russia’s war against Ukraine. The president’s poll numbers have been below water across the board, but especially so on foreign policy, where over two-thirds of Americans disapprove of his job performance and support Kyiv’s fight for freedom.

Trump aides walk to board Air Force One on Tuesday: Natalie Harp, Trump’s executive assistant, left; Walt Nauta, director of Oval Office operations (in sunglasses); Chief of Staff Susie Wiles; and then-Press Secretary Katie Zacharia.

(Alex Wong / Getty Images)

And on Thursday, the president was forced to reverse a course set out by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and the Pentagon to live-stream the execution of a convicted mass shooter by firing squad.

In the final stretch of the 2026 midterms, nearly two weeks out from election day, a White House that has enjoyed relative stability over the past two years has returned to the state of disarray that characterized much of Trump’s early political career, anticipating sweeping losses to Democrats in the House and Senate.

Staff upheaval is expected as officials brace for a blame game over Republican performance, with some distancing themselves from what they see as a fading political movement.

Polls suggest that Republicans are likely to lose control of the House, setting up two years of relentless congressional probes through the twilight of the Trump era, and that Democrats could even flip the Senate, winning in ruby red states from Ohio to Alaska.

It is historically a time for closing arguments, when politicians deliver their final pitches to voters in neat, disciplined packages.

Yet Trump’s campaign blitz across the country in recent weeks has generated a muddled message, dismissing the importance of the election itself at the risk of depressing Republican votes, overshadowing local candidates seeking distance from his record and touting an economy unrecognizable to most Americans.

President Trump walks ahead of Katie Zacharia at the White House.

(Win McNamee / Getty Images)

The president’s selection of Zacharia, who lasted just five days on the job, raised fresh questions about his message discipline in the final stretch.

And infighting within the White House has reinforced a narrative among political pundits that Democratic gains are a fait accompli, despite Zacharia, in her first and only press briefing, foretelling of Republican energy and excitement “never seen before in the history of midterms thanks to President Trump.”

Election officials across the country fear that, anticipating inevitable losses, Trump may be laying the ground to challenge the authenticity of the election results themselves.

“You know, this is the only guy that — it’s ‘promises made, promises kept,’ but he did more things than he promised,” Trump said Thursday, referring to himself in the third person. “I think we did. We did much more than we promised.”

The extent of the coming West Wing shakeup could be extensive, reaching into a Cabinet that has had far less turnover than Trump experienced in his first term.

Zacharia is the second senior official forced out by Trump in just three days, after Kimberly Guilfoyle, the former fiancée of one of Trump’s sons who served as U.S. ambassador to Greece, was revealed by the Wall Street Journal to have asked a Trump donor to pay off her $100,000 credit card bill.

Now, the president has begun asking political allies and donors about Wiles’ job performance, according to a recent Politico report, and several top administration officials are vying for her role, anticipating her resignation after the elections next month.

The conclusion of the midterms will also kick off the start of the 2028 presidential election season, when Republican hopefuls — including many from Trump’s Cabinet — are expected to launch exploratory committees.

British Defense Secretary Wes Streeting and U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth stand for anthems at the Pentagon on Thursday.

(Finn Gomez / Getty Images)

“We have to get through the midterms first,” Trump said at the end of August, asked about Hegseth reportedly considering a run. “I bet there’s a lot of people considering it that you don’t know about. You have a lot of people.”

The party of incumbent presidents regularly loses seats in midterm elections, and it is common for presidents to shake up their staffs halfway through a term.

But the last time a term-limited Republican president faced voters in midterm elections, in 2006, Democrats swept into power in both houses of Congress — and President George W. Bush’s political capital never recovered.

That year, 37% of voters said they approved of Bush’s job performance. Polls published this month by AP and Reuters have found Trump already below that threshold.

In the GOP presidential primaries that followed, candidates jockeying to replace Bush distanced themselves from his legacy. He ultimately left office with an approval rating of 25%.