Donald Trump, Dennis Rodman & North Korea

[jw5]

from yahoo.com:

CNN and MSNBC ignore Trump press conference on big tech lawsuit while Fox News cuts away​

Cable news networks CNN and MSNBC declined to air Donald Trump’s press conference announcing a class action lawsuit against Silicon Valley’s tech giants while Fox News cut away before the former president began reliving his list of grievances over the election, the Capitol riot and Hunter Biden’s laptop.

Right-wing cable station Newsmax TV continued covering the press conference in full.

The broadcaster double-downed on its coverage of the event, promoting an upcoming interview with Mr Trump to discuss the lawsuit later on Wednesday.


Mr Trump announced the class-action lawsuit against the three major tech giants and their respective CEOs Mark Zuckerberg, Jack Dorsey, and Sundar Pichai over what he called “blatant violations of the constitution”.

Facebook, Twitter and Google kicked Mr Trump off their platforms in the wake of the Capitol riot by a mob of his supporters on 6 January.

The former president announced he would be the lead plaintiff representing a group of broader people he argues have had their First Amendment rights violated.

The major networks began cutting away from Mr Trump, or completely ignoring him, following his election loss to Joe Biden on 3 November last year. ABC, CBS and NBC all cut short the president’s White House address to the nation as he claimed the presidential election was being stolen.

MSNBC cut away during the 5 November address while CNN aired it in full before anchor Anderson Cooper called Mr Trump an “obese turtle on his back, flailing in the hot sun realising his time was over”.

Since that moment, networks have continued to scale back on their unfettered live airing of Mr Trump’s speeches and announcements, with even Fox News becoming more judicious in covering his remarks after leaving office.

Silicon Valley, meanwhile, completely memory-holed the ex-president’s accounts following the 6 January Capitol riots, leading to today’s class-action lawsuit.

After an hour-long criticism of Silicon Valley that was mostly ignored by the major broadcasters, Mr Trump ended his press conference bemoaning the mainstream media and network news not covering “what’s going on”, pointing to the violence and people being killed on a weekly basis in “Democrat-run cities”.

“Why you’re not talking about it, you’re not helping Biden, you’re not helping the Democrats, you’re hurting the country,” Mr Trump said of the media.

“If the people don’t hear this you’ll never be able to solve the problem… The loss of human life on a weekly basis and you turn on these major newscasts and a lot of people are watching and it’s not even mentioned, you have to change, you’ve got to get your credibility back, you don’t have the credibility, you have to get it back.”

 

[jw5]

from yahoo.com:

Trump repeats call for a border wall, says election ‘rigged’ at CPAC speech in Dallas​

Former President Donald Trump gave a wide-ranging speech on Sunday at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Dallas, touching on items from purported election fraud to the U.S.-Mexico border.

The former president walked out to “God Bless the USA” as he took the stage. His entrance was met with chants of “USA” from the crowd as he began his remarks. He was the headliner for the CPAC in Dallas, which ran from Friday through Sunday.

The ballroom at the Hilton Anatole in Dallas, which holds about 3,300, was mostly full at the front and thinned out in the back.


“For a year before the election, the fake news media said Texas was in play,” Trump said. “And they were right, except it was only in play for me, for me and you actually. … It will never be in play if we have the right candidate. This state is never gonna be in play. This is a very, very special place.”

Trump vowed to, with the help of those at the conference, “defeat the radical left, the socialists, the Marxists and the critical race theorists.” He also said borders would be secured, “left-wing cancel culture” stopped and “free speech and fair elections” restored.

He later said the 2020 election was “rigged,” though experts have said there’s been no evidence of widespread voter fraud.

“And we will make America great again. Very simple,” he said.

Near the top of his remarks, Trump gave a shout-out to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who is seeking reelection and has garnered primary opponents. He called Paxton a “true Texas conservative and a real leader.”

“We love Ken,” Trump said.

He reiterated his calls for a border wall and border policies from his time as president. Gov. Greg Abbott, who Trump has endorsed for reelection, recently announced that Texas was building a wall of its own on the border.

“Wheels and walls, they never change,” Trump said. “In a thousand years you’ll say ‘wheels and walls.’ Walls work. ... Now the Biden administration has turned the border into the single greatest disaster in American history, and perhaps in world history.”

He didn’t speak until the event’s final day, but Trump was front and center at the three-day conference that drew conservatives from across the country to Texas.

Those in attendance included a number of speakers from Texas, such as area congressional representatives, Paxton and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick.

Tarrant County Sheriff Bill Waybourn, after doing an interview in a exhibit hall with booths set up by candidates and shops selling Trump gear, said he was there as an attendee to listen to candidates and see what the Republican Party is doing.

Congressional District 6 candidates Susan Wright, who has been endorsed by Trump, and Jake Ellzey also made stops at the conference. Ellzey said he went to a ticketed dinner that was held Saturday evening where former Texas Gov. Rick Perry spoke.

The event also attracted Stewart Rhodes, founder of the Oath Keepers militia, and two men wearing Proud Boys hats, who were seen walking around the event, according to the Dallas Morning News.

Many at the conference wore Trump gear as they explored the Dallas hotel. Matthew Jow, 18, from Fort Worth waited on Sunday afternoon for what would be his first time hearing the former president speak in person.

Ahead of the speech, Jow said he was hoping to hear Trump “roasting” Hunter Biden and the Biden administration. He was also seeing more insight on whether Trump would again run for president.

“If Trump runs again, it’s going to be a landslide — a landslide the votes will actually show or reflect,” Jow said, fashioned in a shirt promoting Trump for president in 2024 that he bought from one of the vendors Sunday.

Before Trump spoke, CPAC announced the results of a straw poll taken of attendees. In a survey of who they’d like to see as president in 2024, Trump got 70% of the votes in the version of the question where he was among potential candidates. In the version where Trump’s name wasn’t among contenders, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis got 68%. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott got 1% in that version of the poll and Ted Cruz 4%.

Camie Chandler of Royse City said she too planned to watch Trump’s speech. She wanted Trump to discuss the border wall as well as “what our teachers are teaching our children,” referring to critical race theory. She wore a red cowboy hat emblazoned with the words “Make America Great,” a Texas spin on a “Make America Great Again” ballcap.

“I’m a big Trump supporter,” she said.

 

[jw5]

from huffpost.com:

Trump Wins CPAC Straw Poll As Conservatives Urge Him To Run Again In 2024​

If he doesn’t run, GOP respondents said they’d heartily vote for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis instead.

Former President Donald Trump handily won the straw poll at the Conservative Political Action Conference on Sunday as attendees said they would overwhelmingly like to see him run for another term in the White House in 2024.
The poll, a hypothetical survey asking respondents who they would vote for in the Republican primary if it were held today, saw Trump win 70% of the votes. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) came in second with 21% of the votes. A smattering of other contenders all garnered about 1% each, including Sens. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and Ted Cruz (R-Texas), former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem.

Former Vice President Mike Pence received zero percent of the votes.

“I want to personally thank each and every one of you for your incredible support,” Trump said later that evening as he spoke at the conference, which was held in Dallas.

The CPAC convention is an annual gathering of leading conservatives and has heartily embraced Trump since his election in 2016. The convention’s straw poll doesn’t directly correlate to broader support for candidates among the general public, although other polls have shown strong support for the former president in future elections.

The results, however, are ongoing evidence that Republicans are sticking by the former president as well as his lasting hold over the party, despite his ongoing legal woes and perpetual lies about the 2020 election that saw him lose to Joe Biden by more than seven million votes.

The former president also won CPAC’s straw poll earlier this year, although his margin was smaller at the time with just 55% of votes.
It’s unclear if Trump will run again, but he told Fox News host Sean Hannity earlier this month that he had personally made a decision but wouldn’t tell the public just yet. He did say that he would consider adding DeSantis to his ticket rather than Pence.
The CPAC poll found that if the former president does not run, DeSantis held the commanding lead were the race held today. 68% of respondents said they would vote for him.

 

[jw5]

from yahoo.com:

Trump Organization removes CFO Allen Weisselberg from leadership positions following his indictment​

The Trump Organization has removed its chief financial officer from his leadership position at dozens of subsidiary companies following the longtime executive’s indictment.

Allen Weisselberg, who has served as the longtime financial officer for the Trump Organization, pleaded not guilty to 15 New York state charges, including grand larceny, for his alleged involvement in a 15-year tax fraud scheme involving the company.

He has since been removed from his leadership position at more than 40 subsidiaries, including Mar-a-Lago, according to reports.

Additionally, Mr Weisselberg’s position with the Trump Organization could change, but he would still remain employed with the company, CNN reports.

One of the subsidiaries Mr Weisselberg was removed from was Trump Payroll Corp, where he was previously listed as having multiple officer positions. But after he and Trump Payroll were charged with the Trump Organization earlier this month by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, Mr Weisselberg was removed, The Wall Street Journal first reported.

Donald Trump Jr, Donald Trump’s eldest son, was now listed as taking over each officer position previously held by Mr Weisselberg, according to the publication.

Other subsidiaries Mr Weisselberg was also removed from was Trump International Golf Club and Trump National Golf Club.

On 1 July, Manhattan prosecutors served a 15-count indictment to Mr Weisselberg, the Trump Organization, and Trump Payroll Corp accusing them of a tax fraud scheme that spanned back to 2005.

Prosecutors said that the scheme benefited some top executives at the company, with higher-ups like Mr Weisselberg receiving non-cash benefits like free apartments, cars, or school tuition. The executives were accused of then hiding the non-cash income from the IRS in order to avoid paying payroll and income taxes on the benefits.

Mr Trump was not charged in the case.

The lawyers for the Trump Organization have denied all wrongdoing on the company’s part.

The Independent has contacted the Trump Organization for a comment.

A person who is familiar with the company told The Washington Post that, “Allen Weisselberg’s at the company. He’s got a job. He’s going to remain at the company.”

Mr Weisselberg, 73, has worked for the Trump Organization since the 1970s, working his way up to now be one of the top executives for the company.

His position as a top executive became more apparent when Mr Trump won the presidency, with the president handing the day-to-day operations of the Trump Organization to Mr Weisselberg, Don Jr, and son Eric Trump in January 2017.

Manhattan prosecutors have accused Mr Weisselberg of evading more than $900,000 in taxes.

 

[jw5]

from yahoo.com:

Donald Trump Calls Jan. 6 Capitol Insurrectionists 'Great People'​

Twice-impeached former President Donald Trump on Sunday praised his supporters who stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 in a violent attempt to overturn President Joe Biden’s 2020 election victory.

“These were peaceful people, these were great people,” Trump said in an interview with Fox News host Maria Bartiromo.

Recalling the events of Jan. 6, Trump claimed “there was love in the air” at his rally earlier that day at the White House, and falsely said there was a “lovefest between the Capitol Police and the people that walked down to the Capitol.”

“They are military people, and police officers and construction workers,” he added. “They are tremendous. In many cases, tremendous people.”

The Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol was a shocking and horrifying event, as captured by countless testimonials from lawmakers who fled the scene and Capitol Police officers who faced off with the insurrectionists in hand-to-hand combat. Trump supporters assaulted Capitol Police officers and hurled racist insults at them as they forced their way into the building.

Approximately 140 police officers were injured during the attack. Dozens of people have been charged with using a deadly or dangerous weapon or causing serious bodily injury to an officer.

“Is this America? They beat police officers with Blue Lives Matter flags. They fought us, they had Confederate flags in the U.S. Capitol,” Capitol Police officer Harry Dunn later recalled in an interview with ABC’s “Good Morning America.”

Body camera footage recently released by the Justice Department shows the terrifying carnage facing police officers on the steps of the U.S. Capitol:

Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.), one of the few Republicans who voted to impeach Trump over the Jan. 6 insurrection, called on his party to speak out following Trump’s comments on Sunday. He also alluded to a phone call between Trump and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) that took place during the attack.

“Would be good the hear @GOPLeader McCarthy confirm that the former guy said this very thing as it happened,” Kinzinger tweeted Sunday evening. “My fellow Republicans, SPEAK OUT NOW. History remembers.”

 

[jw5]

from yahoo.com:

Trump claims people refusing vaccine because they 'don't trust the Election results'​

Former President Donald Trump claimed on Sunday that one of the reasons some people are unwilling to take the COVID-19 vaccine is because they "don't trust the Election results" from November 2020.

The former president's comments come after President Joe Biden's administration failed to meet its vaccination goal to ensure 70% of the nation's adults receive at least one shot by July 4. Still, 161 million people are fully vaccinated and 68% of adults have received at least one dose, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Trump has touted his administration did a "great job" in regard to handling the coronavirus pandemic through programs like Operation Warp Speed, which saw vaccine development and disbursement happen in record time. While he has encouraged people to get vaccinated, a large group of his supporters has erred on the side of caution surrounding the COVID-19 jabs.

"Joe Biden kept talking about how good of a job he's doing on the distribution of the Vaccine ... He's not doing well at all," Trump wrote in a tweemail, adding, "He's way behind schedule, and people are refusing to take the Vaccine because they don't trust his Administration, they don't trust the Election results and they certainly don't trust the Fake News, which is refusing to tell the Truth."

RISE IN COVID-19 INFECTIONS THREATENS UNVACCINATED AND SOME HOSPITALS

Since the election, the former president has repeated baseless allegations the 2020 election was stolen due to alleged widespread fraud, despite former Attorney General William Barr saying in December that the Justice Department found no evidence of extensive voter fraud that could have altered the election.

Nearly 56% of people who lean Republican said they planned to or had already received the vaccine, according to data collected by Pew Research in March. By comparison, Democrats were 27 percentage points more likely than Republicans to say they plan to receive the vaccine. The study issued questions to 10,121 panelists.

Despite Trump's positive view of vaccines, there appears to be a disconnect between his stance and others in the GOP in recent weeks.

During the Conservative Political Action Conference in Texas this month, the crowd cheered when writer and speaker Alex Berenson said: "The government was hoping that they could sort of sucker 90% of the population into getting vaccinated, and it isn’t happening."

On July 11, House GOP freshman Marjorie Taylor Greene tweeted, "Thousands of people are reporting very serious life changing vaccine side effects from taking covid vaccines," telling followers to “just say NO!” to the vaccine. The post was later flagged by Twitter for being "misleading."

In April, Republican Sen. Ron Johnson asked why there was a "big push" by the Biden administration to get everyone vaccinated, adding, "I'm getting highly suspicious of what's happening here."

The White House has acknowledged an apparent drop in the rate of vaccines being administered and is seeking to correct misinformation spread about the vaccines online, noting its outreach to popular platforms like Facebook.

 

[jw5]

Fuck the twitter ban!

from huffpost.com:

Donald Trump Is Brazenly Flouting His Twitter Ban With Aide’s Help​

All of Trump’s incendiary website messages are immediately posted by former GOP spokesperson and new aide Liz Harrington on her Twitter account.

Former President Donald Trump is boldly defying his Twitter ban-for-life with daily posts on the Twitter account of his paid assistant.
Former Republican Party spokesperson Liz Harrington — hired last month to replace Trump’s former top aide, Jason Miller — each day posts every one of Trump’s messages from his blog. In many cases, the posts appear on Harrington’s Twitter account even before showing up on Trump’s site.

Harrington began posting Trump’s messages — often several a day — after she was hired in mid-June.

The Trump messages include the same provocative, bombastic rhetoric about a “rigged and stolen” election and an appeal to “patriots” linked to the U.S. Capitol insurrection on Jan. 6 — which is the reason Trump was kicked off Twitter.

In a post on Trump’s website that went straight to Harrington’s Twitter account Monday, the former president also appeared to defend Americans refusing to be vaccinated against COVID-19 because they “don’t trust [the Biden] administration, they don’t trust the Election results, and they certainly don’t trust the Fake News.” Medical experts have warned that the unvaccinated in the country are a health risk for all Americans because they can act as incubators for more powerful COVID-19 strains.
Harrington always chimes in, touting Trump’s messages with each post and often repeating them word for word.

Twitter banned Trump two days after the Capitol insurrection because of fears his messages risked inciting violence and violated Twitter’s ban on “glorification of violence.”
“After close review of recent Tweets from the @realDonaldTrump account and the context around them ... we have permanently suspended the account due to the risk of further incitement of violence,” Twitter said in a statement at the time.
The company referenced Trump’s repeated lies about election fraud and his appeal to “American patriots.” Such tweets “are likely to inspire others to replicate the violent acts that took place on January 6, 2021,” warned Twitter.

Trump on Monday demanded in a post on Harrington’s account that internet routers be turned over to the inexperienced Cyber Ninjas company that is conducting the controversial Arizona audit of 2020 presidential election ballots. He again railed about a rigged election, adding ominously, “They are fighting for life and death.”

Last Friday, Trump falsely insisted in a post on Harrington’s Twitter account: “Arizona shows Fraud and Voting Irregularity many times more than would be needed to change the outcome of the Election.”
Earlier that same day, Trump blasted reporting by The Associated Press that there were only 182 suspicious ballots out of 4 million in Arizona, and of voters charged with election crimes, two were Democrats and two were Republican.
“When the real numbers are released, people will be shocked,” Trump insisted in the message Harrington posted. “This is a concerted effort by the Fake News to discredit and demean.”
(Ironically, in an even earlier post that day — one of six carried by Harrington’s Twitter account that day — Trump insisted he was “not on any social media platform.”)

In a particularly chilling tweet last Thursday — reminiscent of Trump’s goading of his supporters at the Capitol on Jan. 6 — he railed about a hearing over the Arizona vote. “The Senate patriots are moving forward with final results to be announced in the not-too-distant future, but based on today’s hearing, why even wait?”
Twitter has a “ban evasion policy” that bars attempted run-arounds to a Twitter shutout. “We prohibit attempts to circumvent prior enforcement, including through the creation of new accounts,” as well as “repurposing” existing accounts, according to the policy.
Several other accounts that served to post Trump’s messages in the past were pulled down in May by Twitter — including his own team’s attempt: @DJTDesk, which was created as a landing site for the messages now being posted by Harrington.

After Trump was bounced off Twitter, he boasted that he was going to launch his own bigger and better social media platform. That plan turned into his not-very-popular “blog” of messages from “The Desk of Donald J. Trump.” The scheme to roll it out into a social media powerhouse died a month later.
His overheated messages soon ended up back on Twitter.
Twitter did not respond to multiple requests for comment from HuffPost.

 

[jw5]

from yahoo.com:

Donald Trump’s Inner Circle Is Afraid to Ask These Questions About Melania Trump​

There have always been a lot of questions about Donald Trump’s marriage to Melania Trump because we often witnessed moments that looked less-than-happy during their time in the White House. Now author Michael Wolff is questioning whether the former First Lady is even living with her husband.

Wolff had a bird’s eye view of the couple when he interviewed them at Mar-a-Lago for his new book, Landslide: The Final Days of the Trump Presidency. He’s now offering his insight on their relationship to the Daily Mail because he believes that “nobody really knows where Melania lives.” It’s a topic that has been discussed many times, especially since Melania stayed behind in Florida after Donald had already made his move to his summer residence at Trump National Golf Club Bedminster in New Jersey. It wasn’t until early July that she was spotted in Manhattan and without Donald at her side.

Wolff confirms, “She is not with him a lot of the times. This was true when he was in the White House and it’s true now.” During the Trump administration, Melania spent the first five months of his term in New York City while Barron Trump finished out his semester in school. Once she moved into the White House, she and the former president reportedly spent “very little to no time together,” according to a Washington Post source.

That cloud of suspicion has followed their marriage around ever since and Wolff is speculating that people still have questions as to whether this is now a marriage of convenience. “People around Trump still have questions, but they don’t want to ask those questions,” he told the Daily Mail. “It remains the third rail that nobody wants to touch.” And that’s likely because Melania prefers a quieter life and doesn’t want the attention and headlines her husband constantly draws to the family.

Back in 2018, Melania’s spokesperson Stephanie Grisham said her core focus is on “being a mom” to Barron and that likely hasn’t changed any in the last three years. Her rep added, “The rest is just noise.” So it’s likely Melania will continue to lead her independent life away from Donald, and that works just fine for both of them.

 

[jw5]

from yahoo.com:

Trump, too, was 'unsettled' when Rudy Giuliani's hair dye melted and dripped down his face: book​

Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, a lawyer for President Donald Trump, was speaking at a news conference at the Republican National Committee headquarters last November when his hair dye started to drip down the sides of his face. Jacquelyn Martin/AP Photo

• It turns out that Trump was alarmed by Rudy Giuliani's hair dye malfunction, too.
• The new book "I Alone Can Fix It" said the former president was "unsettled" when Giuliani's hair dye dripped down his face.
• The book said Trump aides were "humiliated" and called the Giuliani news conference a "freak show."

A new book says Trump was also alarmed when Rudy Giuliani's hair dye started melting and dripping down his face during a press conference last November.

An excerpt from "I Alone Can Fix It: Donald J. Trump's Catastrophic Final Year" by Washington Post journalists Carol Leonnig and Philip Rucker said that Trump was "riveted" while his legal team, led by Giuliani, appeared on TV to float conspiracy theories about the election.

But Trump soon became "unsettled by Giuliani's dripping hair dye," wrote the authors.

This happened during a press conference Giuliani chaired last November 20, during which the lawyer asserted multiple times that Trump won the 2020 election. This was despite the votes showing that the former president definitively lost. At the time, there was already clear evidence that the election was the most secure in US history, safeguarded by cybersecurity officials.

When the press conference wore on past the 40-minute mark, Giuliani's hairline started to bleed black dye, with dark rivulets trickling down both sides of his face.

The book's authors also wrote that Giuliani's hair dye fiasco "humiliated" Trump aides who were watching behind the scenes.

According to Leonnig and Rucker, a West Wing staffer viewing the press conference blurted out: "Oh, my God, this is just like a freak show. This is embarrassing."

And according to video recordings of the Trump campaign's official feed, a staffer who left the audio on can be heard saying, "You see f---ing Rudy's hair dye dripping down his face?"

The meme-worthy moment later spawned articles speculating about what exactly the liquid was, and scores of jokes from late-night show hosts like Stephen Colbert, Trevor Noah, and Jimmy Kimmel.

 

[jw5]

from yahoo.com:

Donald Trump's Former Attorney Thinks Son-In-Law Jared Kushner Turned on Him​

Donald Trump’s former personal attorney Michael Cohen made an interesting observation to his Twitter followers on Wednesday, one that has us even scratching our heads. He discussed the fact that son-in-law Jared Kushner, who has been notably out of the public eye since leaving the White House, has been “absent from all the controversy, indictments and arrests.”
Cohen was referencing CNN’s 2017 article, which labeled Kushner as Trump’s “Secretary of Everything,” when he wrote the curious post. “Interesting how @jaredkushner(#SecretaryOfEverything) name appears to be absent from all the controversy, indictments and arrests,” he tweeted. “Is he next to fall or a cooperating witness? Knowing what a snake he is, I bet the latter!” He didn’t offer any further proof as to why he felt this way, but many political insiders have noted Kushner’s retreat from Trump’s side.

In late June, there were reported tensions between the father-in-law and Kushner because Trump wasn’t happy about his son-in-law’s book deal. CNN insiders were saying the former president was “suspicious of Jared” for quite some time and was questioning his loyalty to the business of Trump. Now, Kushner could be squirreled away writing his book and focusing on his young family with wife Ivanka Trump — that could easily be the reason we don’t hear from him much.

But Cohen seems to be implying that Kushner’s low profile has more to do with the ongoing Manhattan District Attorney’s Office and the 2017 Washington D.C. inauguration investigations. The attorney is suggesting that the former senior adviser would rather flip on his father-in-law than get in any hot water over the current legal situations circling the 45th president.

Of course, Cohen would probably love it if Kushner testified against Trump because that’s exactly what he did in the aftermath of the Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal hush-money payments. He is still serving his time under home confinement for tax evasion and bank fraud, but Cohen won’t let up his relentless pursuit of Donald Trump.

 

[jw5]

from yahoo.com:

A falling stock? Donald Trump-backed candidate loses U.S. House race to GOP's Jake Ellzey.​

WASHINGTON – The market value of a Donald Trump election endorsement just took a hit.

A Trump-endorsed candidate lost Tuesday to a fellow Republican in a closely watched Texas congressional race, undermining Trump's claims that his endorsement is essential to a candidate's success and emboldening his political opponents ahead of the 2022 elections.

The victory by Texas state legislator Jake Ellzey makes Trump's endorsement look something like a new smartphone in a world of rapidly evolving technology, analysts said.

"Yeah, it’ll still do stuff for you, and you’d rather have it than nothing, but it’s becoming more obsolete by the day," said Republican strategist Liz Mair. "And its firepower looks increasingly weak when contrasted with newer models."

Ellzey scored a come-from-behind victory over Trump-backed Susan Wright, the widow of the late U.S. Rep. Ron Wright, in a special congressional election runoff near Dallas. Ellzey took more than 53% of the vote in Texas' 6th Congressional District, with results from almost all precincts reported.

The value of a Trump endorsement faces another test next week in Ohio, where he has endorsed one candidate in a crowded field for a U.S. House seat.

Next year, the former president plans to back primary challengers to Republicans who supported his impeachment over the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, or otherwise opposed attempts to overturn his election loss to President Joe Biden.

As for the loss in Texas, Trump allies said he did deliver Republican votes, but Ellzey prevailed with the help of the district's Democratic voters. "The Democrats went out to vote and they all voted for Ellzey," said Trump spokesperson Liz Harrington.

Trump remains popular among rank-and-file Republicans, and GOP candidates will continue to seek his endorsement, an analyst said. But the nod from the ex-president does not appear to be an automatic ticket to victory for challengers.

"They will love having it and hate losing it, but it will not win races," said Cal Jillson, a political science professor at Southern Methodist University in Dallas.

"Candidates and their campaigns win races," he said.

A reversal in Texas​

Trump is trying to use endorsements as a way to maintain control of the Republican Party, but that strategy depends on wins. "Look, almost everybody I endorse wins," Trump told Fox News host Sean Hannity earlier this year.

After Ron Wright in February became the first member of Congress to die after being diagnosed with COVID-19, his widow Susan Wright declared her candidacy. She picked up support from numerous Republicans, including Trump, and finished first in an open special election in May with 19% of the vote.

Ellzey, who had noteworthy endorsements of his own, finished second in the May vote with 14%, edging out a Democrat for a spot in the runoff with Wright. He did not run an anti-Trump campaign, but often embraced Trumpian ideas in seeking to overcome the endorsement.

"One of things that we've seen from this campaign is a positive outlook, a Reagan Republican outlook, for the future of our country is what the people of the 6th District really, really want," Ellzey said to supporters following his victory.

Trump redoubled his support of Wright just this week, cutting a get-out-the-vote Robocall in which he described himself to Texas voters as "your hopefully all-time favorite president."

Ellzey's victory demonstrates that a Trump endorsement is "not very important to the bulk of GOP voters as long as the other candidates share the voters’ positions and priorities," said Henry Olsen, a senior fellow with the Washington-based Ethics and Public Policy Center.

Olsen also called Trump's influence "a mile wide and an inch deep."

Trump needs to do more work for his candidates​

The North Texas district is considered Republican country, but Trump's support has fallen since his election as president in 2016. He carried it by just 3 percentage points in his failed 2020 re-election bid.

Local factors played a role in the race, as they always do, analysts said, and Ellzey apparently worked harder than Wright during the run-off.

While Trump put out statements on Wright's behalf, he did not visit the district himself.

Matt Mackowiak, a Texas-based Republican consultant, said Wright's loss proves that "Trump must be all-in" with his endorsements.

"He didn’t raise money or show up in the district," Mackowiak said. "A half-hearted endorsement can be overcome. Susan never actively or effectively raised money. Campaigns matter, and that’s the lesson tonight."

Trump is also endorsing in a number of state races next year, including a high-profile contest in Texas.

This week, the president announced his support for Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. He faces a Republican primary challenge from Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush, the son of former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and nephew of former president and Texas resident George W. Bush.


Some Texans said Trump went with Wright in this year's special election because of the perception that she had early momentum and would face little resistance in her run for Congress. She also had support from the Club For Growth, the conservative economic organization.

Yet Ellzey had his own endorsements, including one from former Texas governor and Trump-appointed Energy Secretary Rick Perry.

"Donald Trump couldn't pick Susan Wright out of a lineup," Perry told Capital Tonight, a Texas news outlet. "He has no idea who she is, has no idea what she believes."

Next up: Ohio special election​

The true value of a Trump endorsement gets another test next week in a special election in Ohio.

Trump is backing former energy lobbyist Mike Carey in a race to replace Rep. Steve Stivers, R-Ohio, who retired from Congress to become president and CEO of the Ohio Chamber of Commerce. Carey is part of an 11-candidate field that includes what Trump has called a "gang of RINOS," which stands for Republicans In Name Only.

J. Miles Coleman, an associate editor with the University of Virginia Center for Politics, said Trump's loss in Texas puts more of a premium on the race in Ohio.

"Trump may risk another black eye," Coleman said. "Two losses in a row would have some people really questioning his relevance."

 

[jw5]

from yahoo.com:

Donald Trump builds war chest of $102 million entering 2nd half of 2021​

Donald Trump has not yet said whether he'll run for president in 2024, but he's already raising a huge war chest in case he does.

New disclosure reports filed Saturday night show that his affiliated political committees have a total of $102 million in cash on hand going into July, after bringing in more than $80 million in the first six months of 2021.

The massive fundraising sum the committees reported include transfers of donations dated December 2020, though the exact amount transferred from last year is unclear.

According to his team, the latest fundraising total, which spans from Jan. 1 through June 30, comes from 3.2 million contributions.

The money will also come in handy in the midterm elections in 2022, where he could pump tens of millions of dollars into a quest to take back the House and Senate from Democrats.

The latest figures are a show of continued fundraising prowess from Trump, whose massive post-election fundraising success has come amid baseless fraud claims about the 2020 presidential election.

Since the election, Trump and his team have solicited hundreds of millions of dollars for an "Election Defense Fund" and seeking support to fight the 2020 results. But little of that has actually gone to such efforts so far, disclosure filings show.

The latest filings show that much of the amount raised by Trump's various committees in the first six months of this year have been saved in the bank, while much of the rest has been used for various fundraising and consulting expenses.

Roughly $3.8 million of the spending from Trump's old presidential campaign committee were labeled as various "recount" expenses, including $2 million in recount legal consulting and $76,000 paid to Giuliani Security & Safety for "recount travel expenses."

Another $5.8 million was reported as general legal consulting fees.

Trump's newly formed PAC also reported giving $1 million in contributions to the America First Policy Institution, affiliated with pro-Trump super PAC America First Action.

More than $80,000 has also gone to lodging at Trump's properties, filings show.

Trump has remained very popular among his base in the first six months of the Biden administration.

Over the past few months, the Republican National Committee as well as multiple Republican candidates vying for key races in the 2022 midterms have fundraised off of Trump, using his name and appealing to his supporters in fundraising emails and messages, hosting fundraisers at Trump properties and even flocking to Mar-a-Lago to feature the former president himself at supporter events.

 

[jw5]

from yahoo.com:

Donald Trump is selling another one of his helicopters, report says​

Donald Trump is reportedly selling off another one of his multi-million-dollar personal helicopter fleet—but don’t worry, he’s still got one left, plus the small matter of the Boeing 757 that he owns.

There’s no price listed for the chopper, a 1990 Sikorsky S-76B, but similar craft have sold for more than $1.5 million in recent years.

“Sources tell TMZ ... the former President recently put one of his personal choppers on the market, but there’s no exact asking price, and potential buyers can just submit offers,” wrote TMZ, which first reported the news.


The six-seat helicopter has been scrubbed of its iconic TRUMP logo on the tail, but its tail number, N76TE, remains from when the copter was in the former president’s fleet.

The interior also looks distinctly Trump-y, with cream white leather seats, gold fittings, and a lavish African mahogany accents throughout.

The larger-than-life New York businessman seems to be downsizing since losing the 2020 election, having put another of his helicopters up for sale last November.

Mr Trump’s helicopters, the same kind used by the Queen of England and the late basketball star Kobe Bryant, were a key part of his images as a high-flying New York real estate developer, then a political candidate. They made frequent appearances on his reality show The Apprentice, as well as the campaign trail.

Despite selling off some of his choppers, he still owns a third helicopter, plus a customized full 757 jumbo jet.

The former president is facing numerous lawsuits and criminal investigations, wracking up enormous legal fees.

And if he’s in the need for extra cash, apparently customized jetliners are selling well, as ultra-high net worth individuals shuttle between homes during the pandemic, Forbes has reported.

After the election and particularly the events of 6 January, many of Mr Trump’s former banks and business partners cut ties with the former president, who faces hundreds of millions of dollars of personally guaranteed debt coming due in the next few years.

 

[jw5]

from yahoo.com:

Donald Trump's Ex-CFO May Have to Choose Between Protecting His Son or the Former President​

Former Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg has remained fiercely loyal to Donald Trump even as the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office has tried hard to get him to flip on the former president. But investigators may be holding a card close to the vest that could change the tone of the tax fraud case.

While Allen has been charged with dodging taxes after receiving corporate perks from the Trump Organization in lieu of pay, something the IRS still counts as income, The Daily Beast is reporting his son, Barry Weisselberg, received the same type of benefits while working for the company. And that could be the key to getting Allen to flip now that “prosecutors also have evidence” and Barry could be in jeopardy just like his father.

A lot of this evidence came to light, thanks to Barry’s 2018 divorce from Jennifer Weisselberg, who provided investigators with the documents. The items in question include the tuition at Columbia Grammar and Preparatory School for the couple’s two children, the leases on a 2015 Lexus RX 350 and a 2018 Range Rover Velar, a monthly parking garage spot (a premium situation in Manhattan living) and the rent for a Central Park apartment.

Jennifer likened her family’s “stuck” situation with the Trump Organization to “a mob.” because “it all stays quiet because they end up owning you.” She explained to The Daily Beast, “It’s all about control. The apartment, the car, the parking garage, the tuition, your vacations, your life, really. You’re embedded with them. You’re indebted to them… when you work there, you end up doing crimes.”

The publication is also saying prosecutors have been slow to indict Barry because the statute of limitations has run out on a few of the items in question, like the apartment. But there are plenty of other taxable perks that the Manhattan District Attorney could dangle before Allen to pressure him to cave on his former boss. Only time will tell what the ex-CFO will decide to do — save himself or share all of the Trump Organization’s dirty secrets.