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Post by Webster on Mar 18, 2024 18:51:21 GMT -5
(The Guardian) Trump calls for Liz Cheney to be jailed for investigating him over Capitol attackDonald Trump has renewed calls for Liz Cheney – his most prominent Republican critic – to be jailed for her role in investigating his actions during the January 6 Capitol attack launched by his supporters in 2021, a move that is bound to raise further fears that the former president could persecute his political opponents if given another White House term. In posts on Sunday on his Truth Social platform, Trump said other members of the congressional committee that investigated the Capitol attack – and concluded he had plotted to overturn his 2020 electoral defeat to Joe Biden – should be imprisoned. Those statements followed Trump’s previous comments that he would act like a “dictator” on the first day of a second presidency if given one by voters. On Sunday, Trump wrote that Cheney should “go to jail along with the rest” of the select January 6 House committee, which he sought to insult in his post on Truth Social by calling it the “unselect committee”. Cheney, who served as vice-chair of the January 6 committee and was one of 10 Republicans who voted to impeach Trump over the attack, responded later on Sunday, saying her fellow Republican Trump is “afraid of the truth”.
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Post by Webster on Mar 19, 2024 15:32:33 GMT -5
(The Guardian) Outrage after Trump alleges Jews who vote for Democrats 'hate' their religion and IsraelCampaigning for the November election is in full swing, and true to form, Donald Trump is saying things that people find outrageous and offensive. The latest: his comments on Monday that Jews who voted for Democrats “hate” their religion and Israel. America’s relationship with Israel is a major political issue, with Congress deadlocked over approving aid to the country as well as Ukraine and Taiwan despite months of negotiations, and Joe Biden showing signs of exasperation with Benjamin Netanyahu’s handling of its invasion of Gaza. Democrats pilloried Trump for his comments, with a party spokesman saying the former president “should be ashamed of himself”. Perhaps. But Democrats are also grappling with the uncomfortable reality that Biden is stubbornly unpopular, and that Trump has a track record of saying offensive things and yet maintaining Republicans’ loyalty. But Biden’s not Hillary Clinton, it’s not 2016 any more, and we’ll see if this comment lands among voters any differently. Trump is also dealing with his own problems, namely the bond he is so far unable to secure to cover New York’s $454m civil fraud judgment against him.
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Post by Webster on Mar 19, 2024 16:08:48 GMT -5
(The Guardian) White House repudiates Trump for comment on Democratic JewsWhite House spokesman Andrew Bates sharply criticized Donald Trump for his comments that Jews who vote for Democrats “hate” Israel and their religion. “President Biden has put his foot down when it comes to vile and unhinged antisemitic rhetoric,” he said in a statement. “As antisemitic crimes and acts of hate have increased across the world – among them the deadliest attack committed against the Jewish people since the Holocaust – leaders have an obligation to call hate what it is and bring Americans together against it.” -Read more: www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/mar/19/trump-israel-interview-antisemitic-comments
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Post by Webster on Mar 19, 2024 16:10:33 GMT -5
(The Guardian) Donald Trump’s attack on Jews who vote for Democrats is part of a string of questionable comments the former president has made in recent days. As the Guardian’s Richard Luscombe reports, Trump on Saturday predicted a “bloodbath” if he lost November’s election: Joe Biden tore into Donald Trump’s mental stability at a dinner in Washington DC on Saturday – just as the former president was making verbal gaffes at a campaign rally in Ohio as well as, during remarks on the economy and auto industry, predicting a “bloodbath” for the country if he met defeat in November’s election.
Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, confused the crowd at an appearance in Vandalia by insisting that Biden had beaten “Barack Hussein Obama” in elections nationally that never took place.
Freewheeling during a speech in which his teleprompters were seemingly disabled by high winds, Trump – a frequent critic of the 81-year-old Biden’s age and mental acuity – struggled to pronounce the words “bite” and “largest”. And he left the crowd scratching their heads over the reference to Obama, whom Biden served as vice-president from 2009 to 2017 before taking the Oval Office from Trump in 2020. “You know what’s interesting? Joe Biden won against Barack Hussein Obama. Has anyone ever heard of him? Every swing state, Biden beat Obama but in every other state, he got killed,” Trump said.
Biden joked about Trump’s mental fitness at Saturday night’s Gridiron club dinner, a traditional “roast” attended by politicians and journalists dating to the 1880s.
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Post by Webster on Mar 19, 2024 16:40:04 GMT -5
(The Guardian) White House says 'deeply concerned' over reports of imminent famine in GazaPress secretary Karine Jean-Pierre just told reporters that the White House is “deeply concerned” over aid groups’ warning that famine in northern Gaza is imminent. “We certainly are deeply concerned about the report yesterday … about the imminent famine in Gaza,” Jean-Pierre said. “As the report makes clear, despite ongoing and tireless efforts, including by this administration, the amount of aid reaching people in Gaza, and particularly those most in need, remains insufficient. “So, we have been clear that there is more that needs to be done and this report is a stark and devastating reminder of this.” The United States has been airdropping food and other aid into the enclave, and Joe Biden announced earlier this month that the US military would build a floating pier to allow deliveries by sea. “Everyone needs to do more,” said Jean-Pierre, who called on Israel “to provide sustained and unimpeded for assistance to enter both northern and southern Gaza.”
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre was also asked if the Biden administration had looked into making its aid to Ukraine a loan, as Donald Trump has proposed. She didn’t answer the question, only restating their position that Republican House speaker Mike Johnson must allow a vote on legislation approved by the Senate to provide military assistance to Ukraine along with Taiwan and Israel. “To give Ukraine what they need is to get that national [security] supplemental passed,” Jean-Pierre told reporters. “We know for a fact that there are multiple Republican congressional members in the House who have said that they would vote for it if it goes to the floor. We know where Democrats are on this,” she continued. “The speaker has to put it to the floor and not … let politics get in the way.”
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Post by Webster on Mar 19, 2024 17:20:53 GMT -5
(The Guardian) Joe Biden is onboard Air Force One en route to Nevada and expects to touch down shortly in Reno, for a campaign event, then head on to Las Vegas and, later, Arizona and its state capital, Phoenix. The US president and his vice-president, Kamala Harris, are today launching a special push to retain and win over teetering Hispanic voters who might be leaning towards the Republicans. Donald Trump was ahead of Biden in a recent New York Times/Siena College poll of Latino voters by six points. Many respond to Trump’s conservative economic message and hardline approach to migration and future immigration. Biden and Harris have devised the “Latinos con Biden/Harris” [Latinos with Biden/Harris] campaign. Harris has posted about it on X/Twitter, with Biden reposting/tweeting. There’s a clip of her on a bilingual radio show in Phoenix, Arizona, and giving speeches and making statements, talking up the US as a nation of immigrants. “Generation after generation, immigrants have made our nation stronger,” she said. There’s also a clip of her saying the US immigration system has been “broken for years”, which in the fourth year of the Biden administration is a tough message to push, despite intransigence in Congress and unprecedented forces driving migration, from extremism to the climate crisis.
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Post by Webster on Mar 21, 2024 13:50:49 GMT -5
(The Guardian) Donald Trump’s wealth is set to increase by more than $3bn (£2.35bn) if a shareholder vote on Friday paves the way for the float of his Trump Media business. The former president is preparing to list Trump Media & Technology Group, which operates the Truth Social tech platform, via a merger with a special purpose acquisition company, or Spac. The Spac, called Digital World Acquisition, has scheduled a vote on the merger with Trump Media for Friday. However, there are complications around the planned vote after Digital World sued sponsor ARC Global Investments, which is trying to delay the deal, to back the merger. If the merger goes ahead and Trump Media goes public as soon as next week, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee would not be able to cash in immediately, however. Trump would need a waiver to circumvent a provision that blocks major shareholders from selling stock for six months. Trump’s finances are under pressure as he prepares to contest the presidency with Joe Biden for a second time. Last month Trump was formally ordered by a New York judge to pay $454m following a civil fraud case, in which the former president was found to have manipulated the value of his properties to obtain advantageous loan and insurance rates.
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Post by Webster on Mar 21, 2024 17:18:44 GMT -5
(The Guardian) The White House has announced it is waiving about $5.8bn in federal student loans for nearly 78,000 public sector workers. Another 380,000 borrowers working in public service will also receive emails signed by Joe Biden to say that they are on track to have their debt cancelled within two years. Under the public service loan forgiveness program, qualifying borrowers – including teachers, nurses, social workers, firefighters and other public servants – are eligible for student debt cancellation because they reached 10 years of payments while working in public service. A statement from the president said: These public service workers have dedicated their careers to serving their communities, but because of past administrative failures, never got the relief they were entitled to under the law.
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Post by Webster on Mar 21, 2024 17:50:03 GMT -5
(The Guardian) Biden hits out at conservative budget proposal, warning of cuts to social security, abortion banCongress is in the midst of passing a consensus budget that will avert a government shutdown set to begin over the weekend. But, as it does every year, the conservative Republican Study Committee (RSC) yesterday released a budget proposal that would enact a number of rightwing policies on everything from immigration to abortion to taxation. The RSC is the largest caucus among House Republicans, and its budget is meant to show where lawmakers stand on various issues. It’s also fodder for Democrats, as they seek to convince voters that Republican intend to enact extreme policies. Here’s what Joe Biden has to say about it, in a statement: My dad had an expression, “Don’t tell me what you value. Show me your budget, and I’ll tell you what you value.” The Republican Study Committee budget shows what Republicans value. This extreme budget will cut Medicare, Social Security, and the Affordable Care Act. It endorses a national abortion ban. The Republican budget will raise housing costs and prescription drugs costs for families. And it will shower giveaways on the wealthy and biggest corporations. Let me be clear: I will stop them.
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Post by Webster on Mar 22, 2024 13:55:39 GMT -5
(The Guardian) Fresh fundraising push by Trump to cover massive legal costs while RNC election coffers struggleDonald Trump may be on course to once again win the Republican presidential nomination, but he’s also dealing with big legal bills brought on by the four criminal cases against him, along with several civil suits that have won pricey judgments thus far. The Associated Press reports that the former president has come up with a solution: an agreement with the Republican National Committee that will allow him to first funnel donations to organizations that cover his legal bills, before they reach the RNC. He’ll hope to start raking it in – and potentially cover his massive finance gap with Joe Biden – on 6 April, when Trump has invited donors to a fundraiser in Florida. He may be behind the president in money, but polls continue to indicate Trump is leading Biden in public support. CNN and SSRS this morning released new polling that found the two men are tied in Pennsylvania, and Trump is ahead of Biden in Michigan – both swing states crucial to either’s path to victory. The survey also found a familiar dynamic: less than half of voters in the two states say they are happy with their choices for president, confirming other polls that have found Americans are not exactly fired up about the 2020 rematch expected to play out in November. Trump's unorthodox fundraising strategy indicates concerns over legal billsBy prioritizing organizations authorized to pay his legal bills, Donald Trump is signaling that the multi-pronged court offensive against him is taking a financial toll, experts told the Associated Press. “The reason most candidates don’t do this is because the hardest money to raise is money that can be spent directly on the campaign,” executive director of the Campaign Legal Center Adav Noti said. “No other candidate has used a leadership PAC the way the Trump campaign has.” According to the AP, donors at Trump’s 6 April fundraiser in Florida will see their funds first channeled to the former president’s campaign. After that receives the maximum allowable under law, money will go to Save America Pac, which spends most of its money on Trump’s lawyers. “No other candidate has used a leadership PAC the way the Trump campaign has,” Noti said. Campaign finance attorney Brett Kappel summed it up: “Trump is in dire need of money to pay his legal fees and he’s draining his PAC and he’s spending huge amounts of money out of his campaign committee.”
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Post by Webster on Mar 22, 2024 13:58:09 GMT -5
(The Guardian) During his first presidential campaign, Donald Trump was greeted with skepticism, if not outright opposition, from conservative talk show hosts in swing state Wisconsin. Eight years later, the Guardian’s Alice Herman reports that they have become ardent backers of his quest to return to the White House. Here’s why: It was March 2016. Wisconsin’s Republican primary was just days away, and the GOP establishment was making a desperate last attempt to block Donald Trump from the Republican nomination.
Vicki McKenna, a popular Wisconsin-based conservative talkshow host, had just spent 25 minutes grilling Trump on policy when she turned to Trump’s decision to mock the physical appearance of Ted Cruz’s wife, Heidi. “So, no more wife-bashing?” she asked. When Trump tried to excuse the attack, she wouldn’t let it go: “How about this: how about wives and kids, off-limits?”
Trump began to push back again – then decided better. “Best of luck to you, Vicki. Best of luck,” he said before a click. “He just hung up on me,” McKenna said after a long pause. “That’s OK, he gave me 25 minutes. That was fun.”
Charlie Sykes, who was then the state’s biggest conservative radio star on the Milwaukee-area station WTMJ, told Trump in another contentious interview that he was like “a 12-year-old bully on the playground”.
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Post by Webster on Mar 22, 2024 14:37:26 GMT -5
(The Guardian) In the latest twist in the power struggle between the right-wing leaders of Texas and the federal government, a group of migrants got into a struggle with Texas National Guard troops under the control of the governor yesterday – while they were waiting to turn themselves in to federal border patrol agents to request asylum. In footage that dominated morning news TV in the US on Friday, ABC reported that border agents said that troops under state control were trying to corral and apprehend a group of migrants stuck behind one of Texas governor Greg Abbott’s razor wire fences in El Paso, which was installed as part of Abbott’s controversial Operation Lone Star program. The people were on US soil and the fence was on public land, ABC reported. Speaking to the El Paso Times, migrants said that Texas national guard soldiers were forcefully pushing them back behind the fencing in US territory. In a caption accompanying a video of the border unrest, Mexican journalist J Omar Ornelas wrote, “Hundreds of migrants were pushed south of the concertina wire in the middle of the night by Texas National Guard. Hours later they again breached the concertina and made a rush for the border wall in El Paso, Texas.” During the unrest, some migrants appeared to raise their hands in surrender while others ran to the federal border wall. Customs and Border Patrol later said the group had been moved elsewhere for processing. Earlier this week, Texas was thrust into a state of confusion after an appeals court blocked a controversial new state law that would allow local police to arrest anyone that they believe entered the US illegally – a jurisdiction typically granted to federal immigration authorities, not local police. The freeze came just hours after the US supreme court allowed the law to go into effect.
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Post by Webster on Mar 25, 2024 13:38:52 GMT -5
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Post by Webster on Mar 25, 2024 13:39:39 GMT -5
(The Guardian) A key plank of Donald Trump’s pitch to presidential election voters has been a return to what he characterizes as the good old days of his first term in the White House. The Guardian’s David Smith reports that the former president appears to mean what he says, as he gets together his old team of problematic campaign advisors: Donald Trump’s getting the band back together. But this time they come with political baggage, conspiracy theories and, in some instances, criminal convictions.
The former US president’s old acolytes are returning to the fold, eager to exert influence on his bid for the White House and have their say in a potential second administration. That poses a headache for his election campaign team, whose efforts to run a disciplined operation can be upended at any moment by the mercurial Trump.
“Trump always wants to feel comfortable about the people who surround him and what better way to do that than to get the band back together?” said Bill Galston, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution thinktank in Washington DC. “We could look forward to the greatest hits ad nauseam.”
If a man is judged by the company he keeps, Trump’s speaks volumes. There was uproar in 2022 when when the rapper Kanye West brought the white supremacist Nick Fuentes to dinner at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida.
Trump’s inner circle includes the far-right representatives Matt Gaetz of Florida and Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia; Tulsi Gabbard, a former Democrat turned rightwing media personality and outspoken critic of aid to Ukraine; and Vivek Ramaswamy, a biotech entrepreneur who has pushed the “great replacement” theory and claimed that the 6 January 2021 insurrection was an inside job.
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Post by Webster on Mar 25, 2024 13:44:14 GMT -5
(The Guardian) The White House press briefing is running later than originally scheduled today. Press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre is due to be joined in the west wing briefing room by national security spokesperson John Kirby. Jean-Pierre usually deals with most of the domestic issues while Kirby deals with foreign policy issues. The situation in Russia after the probable-Islamic State attack last Friday night at a concert hall and the latest on Israel-Gaza will be prominent on the agenda. The US abstained on a UN security council vote on an immediate ceasefire and hostage release earlier today, following which Israel cancelled its diplomatic government visit to Washington to discuss Rafah. The briefing is getting underway now.
National security spokesperson John Kirby just spoke to the press about the US abstaining on the vote at the UN security council in New York earlier today calling for an immediate ceasefire in Israel’s war in Gaza. “Our vote does not represent, repeat, does not represent, a shift in our policy,” he said. Kirby added: “We wanted to get to a place where we could support this resolution.” The US did not support it because it did not contain language condemning Hamas, he said. He was just asked about Israel then cancelling the high-level diplomatic delegation visit to the White House tomorrow. “We are kind of perplexed by this,” he said. He said it was a non-binding resolution at the UN so does not hamper “Israel’s ability to go after Hamas”. He emphasized that the US has not changed its policy, no matter what the Israeli government is implying.
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