New York Times reporter and avid Trump critic Maggie Haberman revealed to “The View” panel who former President Trump is considering to be his next running mate and has reportedly narrowed the pool of candidates down to two lawmakers.
While promoting her upcoming book on the 45th President of the United States, Haberman admitted Trump is laser-focused on Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and his potential to torpedo Trump’s chances of winning the Party’s nomination with his own presidential campaign.
Trump is “focused on Ron DeSantis in a way he isn’t on anybody else,” Haberman said, according to Mediaite.
“There are a couple of people whose names get mentioned,” Haberman answered, “and the one ho gets mentioned the most by people close to him is Tim Scott from South Carolina, the senator. And then Sarah Huckabee Sanders, who is possibly the next governor of Arkansas.”
The mention of Trump’s former White House press secretary drew very audible groaning from Whoopi Goldberg, others at the table, and the audience.
“I didn’t mean to cause that. I’m sorry,” Haberman said, to which, Goldberg replied “it just came up out of my system.”
Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. finds himself embroiled in controversy today as accusations of sexual assault from 1998 have come to light. According to a revealing exposé in Vanity Fair, Kennedy is accused of groping his family’s nanny, Eliza Cooney.
The Allegations and Kennedy’s Response
Cooney, who worked as the Kennedy family’s weekend nanny in the 1990s, claims the incident occurred when she was 23 years old. At the time, RFK Jr. was 45 and married with five children. Cooney, who told her story to Vanity Fair earlier this month, passionately claims that Kennedy assaulted her, leading to a wave of outrage and calls for accountability.
Kennedy’s response has been far from ideal. In an unsolicited text message reported by The Washington Post, he issued a non-apology to Cooney. Kennedy claimed he couldn’t recall if he committed the assault but expressed regret if he did anything to make her uncomfortable. “I never intended you any harm. If I hurt you, it was inadvertent. I feel badly for doing so,” he wrote. Cooney called the message “disingenuous and arrogant.”
“I’m not sure how somebody has a true apology for something that they don’t admit to recalling. I did not get a sense of remorse,” she told the Post.
Potential for More Accusers?
When questioned about the possibility of other women coming forward, Kennedy’s response was vague and unsettling: “I don’t know, we’ll see what happens.”
RFK Jr was asked straight up if he denied sexually assaulting the nanny. His answer was that he lived a wild life, he was a rambunctious youth, “I am who I am”, and “I’m not going to comment” .
Polls show Kennedy at around 9% nationally. Independent candidates often struggle to secure a significant number of electoral votes, but RFK Jr.’s high profile could siphon votes from both President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump, potentially altering the dynamics of the race.
Key Takeaways:
Independent candidate RFK Jr. accused of groping nanny in 1998.
Issued a nonapology, expressing regret without clear admission.
Potential for more accusers remains uncertain.
Polls show Kennedy at 9% nationally.
This article originally appeared on American Liberty News. Republished with permission.
Joe Biden’s incompetence should make the 2024 election an easy one…
Former ESPN host Sage Steele told Fox News Digital that she is planning to vote for Trump in the next election, saying that she strictly focuses on policy not personality when casting her vote.
“To me, Donald Trump is the obvious answer based on what he believes, what he can do, what he has shown that he can do starting with the defense of our country, our safety, etc. and nothing to do with the personal stuff. I don’t care anymore,” Steele said. “It’s about policy, not emotion. And that’s what I wish people could get over is that emotional stuff. It’s maddening.”
Steele had a laundry list of reasons why she thought Biden has been so unpopular, which included inflation, the border crisis, how people feel less safe, as well as his “decline mentally.”
“You can even go back to those Chinese balloons, you know, over our territory for over a week. And little things like that, that aren’t so little. If that’s happening, what else is happening?” Steele said. “So even people who don’t go deep and take deep dives on everyday politics and the goings-on across the country, you don’t need to take a deep dive to understand that we are in a dire situation. And to me, it really is now or never.”
Steele also expressed her “fear” of the looming Biden-Trump rematch and how “we have seen the depths” to which Democrats have tried to keep the former president off the ballot.
“I’m nervous for him. Sometimes I get nervous for his safety. Honestly, like it’s crazy,” Steele said. “The 91 charges, and you know, all the lawsuits and awarding $83 million… What happened with the Fani Willis case. Like, I am blown away. Every time I think, ‘OL, this is a new low. It can’t go any lower.’ What happens?!”
The Wisconsin Senate race is shaping up to be one of the most competitive and expensive races in the 2024 election cycle. Let’s take a deeper dive into this contentious race.
Tammy Baldwin: Meet The Incumbent
Senate Democrats, CC BY 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons
Senator Tammy Baldwin has represented Wisconsin in the U.S. Senate since 2012, making history as the first openly gay member of the chamber. She has built a reputation as a progressive champion, focusing on key issues like health care, LGBTQ+ rights and so-called economic fairness—advocating for reducing income inequality, expanding access to social safety nets and promoting the redistribution of wealth and resources. Over the course of her two terms, she has built a strong base of support in urban areas like Milwaukee and Madison but has alienated voters elsewhere over her support of far-left policies.
Baldwin faces a tough reelection battle in 2024 as Wisconsin’s political landscape has become increasingly competitive. However, with her incumbent status and a robust war chest, Baldwin remains a formidable candidate with deep connections to Wisconsin voters.
The Republican Challenger: Eric Hovde
Eric Hovde 2012 Senate campaign. WisPolitics.com, via Wikimedia Commons
Eric Hovde, a prominent businessman, philanthropist and Madison native, is making his second bid for the U.S. Senate in Wisconsin. As a successful entrepreneur, Hovde built a career in real estate investment and banking, having served as CEO of Hovde Properties and Hovde Capital Advisors. His business acumen has fueled his platform of fiscal conservatism, emphasizing reduced government spending and tax reform. Hovde is also known for his philanthropic work, particularly through his foundation, which focuses on supporting veterans, health care initiatives and combating homelessness. His campaign has receive significant support from conservative PACs, including the Fix Washington Political Action Committee, which received $1 million from Hovde’s brother days after its creation.
Key Policy Issues:
Fiscal Conservatism: Hovde emphasizes reducing government spending, cutting taxes and addressing the national debt through economic policies aimed at shrinking government intervention.
Health care Reform: He advocates for market-based solutions in health care, promoting competition and reducing the influence of government in the U.S. health care system.
Economic Growth: Hovde supports deregulation to help businesses thrive, focusing on reducing what he sees as overregulation that hinders job creation and economic expansion.
Critical Issues in the Race
The 2024 Senate race in Wisconsin will likely hinge on a few key issues that have shaped recent elections in the state. These include the economy, health care and the rural-urban divide that has become increasingly pronounced in Wisconsin politics.
The Economy: Wisconsin’s economy, like much of the Midwest, is heavily reliant on manufacturing and agriculture. Job creation, wage growth and trade policies will be at the forefront of voter concerns. Baldwin has championed policies aimed at revitalizing Wisconsin’s industrial base, such as her efforts to protect manufacturing jobs from outsourcing. However, Republicans argue that her policies have not gone far enough to stimulate economic growth, particularly in rural, GOP-leaning areas.
Health care: Health care continues to be a top issue for Wisconsin voters, particularly in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Baldwin has been an advocate for expanding health care access, including supporting Obamacare.
The Rural-Urban Divide: Like many other swing states, Wisconsin has a stark political divide between its urban and rural areas. Baldwin’s challenge will be to maintain her strong support in liberal strongholds like Madison and Milwaukee, while making inroads in rural areas that have increasingly turned to Republicans in recent elections. Hovde is working to bridge the gap between the party’s base in rural Wisconsin and more moderate, suburban voters. Waukesha, a historically suburban Republican stronghold west of Milwaukee that has shifted leftward in recent cycles, may play a decisive role depending on the margin of victory for Trump and Hovde there.
Campaign Spending and Fundraising
With control of the Senate at stake, both parties view Wisconsin as a true toss-up, guaranteeing that fundraising and spending will continue at unprecedented levels.
When all said and done, the 2024 Senate race is expected to be one of the most expensive in Wisconsin’s history, with both candidates benefiting from significant outside spending by national political action committees (PACs). According to Federal Election Commission (FEC) data, Baldwin has raised over $30 million, positioning her campaign to compete on a national level. Her campaign has benefitted from support from Democrat-leaning groups such as the Senate Majority PAC and organizations focused on health care and LGBTQ+ rights, according to Open Secrets.
On the Republican side, Hovde has brought considerable personal wealth to his campaign, as he did during his 2012 run according to FEC data. Prominent conservative PACs, Americans for Prosperity and Club For Growth have also been strong supporters of the Hovde campaign. Fix Washington PAC endorsed Hovde for his pro-business policies.
Yesterday was our biggest online fundraising day EVER. In fact, we doubled our previous high. Help us keep the momentum going. We need all the help we can get to fight back against Tammy Baldwin’s lies. Let’s win this thing! https://t.co/fvoHEJTLry
Senator Baldwin’s approval ratings remain relatively strong, but Republicans see an opportunity to exploit national dissatisfaction with President Joe Biden’s administration, particularly on issues like inflation and immigration and uncertainty surrounding a potential Harris presidency.
Recent polling data highlights the competitiveness of the 2024 Wisconsin Senate race between the incumbent Senator and Republican businessman. Several sources point to a tightening contest:
RealClearPolitics polling average shows Baldwin with a slim lead of around 3 percentage points over Hovde, with Baldwin polling at 49% and Hovde at 46%.
Wisconsin Watchreported Baldwin leading Hovde by 52% to 44%, but this lead appears to be outside the poll’s margin of error. Other polls, such as those from Emerson College and Marist College, also reflect a smaller gap, with Baldwin holding leads within 3-5 points.
A Cook Political Report poll marked the race as a “toss-up,” with a significant swing among independent voters toward Hovde, further tightening the race to a 49% to 47% split.
A Quinnipiac University poll released October 9th, reported incumbent Democrat Senator Tammy Baldwin has a slight lead over Republican challenger Eric Hovde 50% to 46%.
The Wisconsin Senate race is crucial for both parties as they fight for control of the upper chamber. With Democrats holding a narrow 51-49 majority in the Senate, every competitive seat counts, and Wisconsin’s swing-state status means the race could play a decisive role in determining which party controls the Senate after 2024.
For Republicans, flipping Baldwin’s seat would not only bolster their chances of retaking the Senate but also signal a continued shift in the Midwest toward the GOP.
Whenever I turn on the TV, I have to laugh at the latest attacks on me.
But, what else should you expect from a career politician like Tammy Baldwin?
The 2024 Wisconsin Senate race will be one of the most closely watched contests in the nation, with both parties pouring significant resources into the state. Senator Tammy Baldwin’s bid for a third term will test her ability to maintain support in a politically divided state, while Republicans look to capitalize on national trends and local concerns to flip the seat.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is reportedly planning to announce his entrance to the 2024 Republican presidential primary on Wednesday.
Sources familiar confirmed to Fox News that the popular, conservative two-term governor will declare that he’s a candidate for president, on Wednesday at 6 p.m. ET during a conversation with Elon Musk on Twitter.
Along with his announcement, DeSantis is expected to file paperwork with the Federal Election Commission, which officially launches his GOP presidential campaign.
A formal campaign kickoff event will likely take place sometime after this week’s donor gathering, but no details have been shared by the campaign.
Great chatting with Franklin Graham about fighting against the woke culture and the importance of family and faith. pic.twitter.com/0SyQ1IljbZ
DeSantis joins a growing primary field. Earlier this week Sen. Tim Scott (S.C) announced his bid for the White House. Former United Nations ambassador Nikki Haley, tech mogul Vivek Ramaswamy, and former Arkansas governor Asa Hutchinson have also jumped into the race.
Former president Donald Trump has consistently commanded polls since announcing his third presidential campaign.
This is a breaking news story. Click refresh for the latest updates.
As Vice President Kamala Harris continues her campaign, avoiding direct interviews and carefully selecting debate settings, questions about the authenticity of her support base are growing. The latest example is the endorsement from a group called “Police Leaders for Community Safety,” which Harris’s campaign and media outlets touted as a “stunning endorsement” from a group that typically backs Trump.
However, scrutiny reveals that the group is far from a major law enforcement organization. USA Today notes that “Police Leaders for Community Safety” was only formed in 2024, describes itself as representing “dozens of police officials,” and is led by Sue Riseling, a former chief of the University of Wisconsin-Madison Police Department. The group is primarily composed of former law enforcement members, many of whom lean left politically.
The newspaper explained that “as the group has only been around since June, this marks the first endorsement for Police Leaders for Community Safety, with the group throwing their support for Harris.”
The organization – which says it is led by a diverse group of prominent police professionals who have been at the helm of numerous major national law enforcement leadership groups – highlights that its mission is to champion “policies to make communities and the people in them safer, improve and evolve policing, and safeguard the rule of law.”
Photo via Gage Skidmore Flickr
“This endorsement reflects Vice President Harris’ track record and unwavering commitment to public safety and the rule of law,” Sue Riseling, chair of Police Leaders for Community Safety, said.
Police Leaders for Community Safety board member David Mahoney, a former Dane County, Wisconsin, sheriff and past president of the National Sheriffs’ Association, said that Harris “spent her prosecutorial career protecting people, supporting victims and holding accountable those who have harmed others and betrayed the public trust. As a lawmaker, she has fought hard for the critical law enforcement-backed policies needed to fight crime and protect the public.”
Critics have accused the Harris campaign of astroturfing, creating a façade of grassroots support by highlighting endorsements from groups with little influence in the law enforcement community. This comes in stark contrast to Donald Trump’s endorsement from the National Fraternal Order of Police (FOP), the nation’s oldest and most influential law enforcement organization, which has supported Trump in the last three elections.
FOP President Patrick Yoes emphasized the importance of public safety and border security, stating that Trump’s policies align with the values of law enforcement officers across the country.
The White House from Washington, DC, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Fox News anchor Bret Baier suggested this week that former President Donald Trump may be the “holdup” preventing a potential Fox News debate between him and Vice President Kamala Harris. During an interview with radio host Hugh Hewitt, Baier expressed his belief that the Harris campaign would likely agree to a debate on Fox News.
“I actually believe – this is me talking – that the Harris campaign would do a Fox debate,” Baier said, adding that Trump seems hesitant to move forward with the idea.
Others feel differently, as The Daily Caller reports:
CNN’s Chris Wallace said on Sept. 13 that there is no chance that Harris will debate Trump on Fox News.
“I would say that there is an absolutely 0%, what’s lower than 0, chance that she would agree to debate on Fox,” Wallace said. “Let me tell you a quick story. Back in 2019 when she was running, the president of Fox News and I, who was seen as being pretty even handed, went to meet with a bunch of the Democrats to try and get them to do town halls or do an interview. [Democratic Massachusetts Sen.] Elizabeth Warren met with us, [independent Vermont Sen.] Bernie Sanders met with us, the only Democrat who refused to meet with us off-the-record just to consider the possibility of going on Fox was Kamala Harris. There is a 0% chance that she will agree to an interview on Fox.”
Harris accepted an Oct. 23 debate with CNN, but Trump said it is “too late” because of how close it would be to the November election.
“As President Trump has said, only losers request a rematch. Kamala Harris lost the debate, and she knows it,” Karoline Leavitt, Trump campaign national press secretary, told the Daily Caller News Foundation.
Following the Sept. 10 debate on ABC News, Trump has declared there will be no further debates. Meanwhile, Harris has agreed to a CNN debate on Oct. 23. A prior Fox News debate proposal, which Trump had agreed to, never materialized.
Florida Governor and presidential contender Ron DeSantis is refusing to stand in the shadow of Donald Trump.
DeSantis plans to participate in the first Republican presidential nomination debate “regardless” of whether former President Donald Trump takes the stage at the August showdown.
“I’ll be there regardless. I hope everybody who’s eligible comes. I think it’s an important part of the process and I look forward to being able to be on the stage and introducing our candidacy and our vision and our leadership to a wide audience,” DeSantis said Thursday on “Fox News Tonight.”
Trump, who’s the commanding front-runner in the latest GOP presidential primary polls, has indicated that he may skip the debate. However, Trump campaign officials say the former president has yet to make a final decision on his participation. Trump’s aides have also been looking into options for an alternative event should the former president skip the debate, according to Fox News.
The debate is scheduled for August 23 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and will be hosted by Fox News.
The Republican National Committee (RNC), which is organizing all the GOP presidential nominating debates, is requiring a high donor threshold as well as polling thresholds for candidates to make the stage.
The RNC is also mandating that candidates that meet the thresholds sign a loyalty pledge to back the eventual 2024 GOP nominee, in order to participate in the debate.
The state of Florida is adding a similar loyalty requirement for candidates to be included on the state’s ballot, according to POLITICO.
The new oath, which includes a promise to “endorse” the GOP nominee and requires a candidate to pledge not to run as an independent or third-party candidate, mirrors language adopted by the Republican National Committee for its first debate.
“We were trying to be consistent with what the debate was requiring,” said Evan Power, vice chair of the Republican Party of Florida, who said that campaigns were notified about the changes. “I don’t think this will come as a surprise.”
Journalist Mark Halperin broke the news on his Substack after speaking with two anonymous sources.
Halperin wrote that the Christie campaign was expected to make an announcement at 5 p.m. Eastern time. Christie is not expected to immediately announce an endorsement.
(Los Angeles - EUA, 09/06/2022) Presidente da República Jair Bolsonaro, durante Sessão Plenária de Abertura da IX Cúpula das Américas..Foto: Alan Santos/PR
This is big news…
Prominent polling guru and FiveThirtyEight founder Nate Silver is sounding the alarm for Republicans after he re-labeled the presidential election a “toss-up.”
In a post online, Silver recalled a past article where he argued that the race wasn’t a toss-up because of how poor Biden was performing in key swing states, even before his debate performance shocked Democrats into action.
“Now that the election is in kamala_mode, however, it’s far from clear whose position you’d rather be in, and I wouldn’t blame if you wanted to bet either on Harris or on Trump,” he wrote.
As of Thursday, Silver argued, Harris and former President Trump each have at least a 40 percent chance of winning the election. Harris earns 44.6 percent compared to Trump’s 54.9, he said.
“It’s not exactly 50/50, but close enough that a poker player would call it a ‘flip’: Democrats have ace-king suited, and Republicans have pocket jacks,” Silver said.
The FiveThirtyEight founder said Harris is performing well in swing states but it’s still up in the air. He said she has a 54 percent chance of winning Michigan, a 50 percent chance of winning Wisconsin and a 47 percent chance of winning Pennsylvania.
Silver echoed similar warnings that Democrats shouldn’t be too excited. His model has accounted for the excitement that’s generated for Harris after she became the likely nominee but it could be “a temporary surge of Democratic enthusiasm.”
“Still, we’re not exactly going out on a limb here. Betting markets agree with the assessment that the race is about 50/50,” he said.
“And although we can’t tell you who’s going to win, there’s one thing I think we can say with some confidence: Democrats are lucky that they’re getting a second chance in this election with Harris instead of Biden,” Silver concluded.
