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Tucker, Elon Real Winners Of First GOP Debate Night

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Photo via Gage Skidmore Flickr
The true winners of last night’s debate are former prime-time Fox News host Tucker Carlson and Elon Musk, owner of X – formerly Twitter. If you’ve spent the last 24-48 hours under a rock – here’s what transpired last night. Eight Republican candidates running to be the next President of the United States took the stage in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to talk about their visions for the future of America – and how they are the proper alternatives not only to the babbling buffoon currently in the White House Joe Biden, but also to America’s 45th President Donald Trump – now running for the office for a third time. The Wisconsin event was moderated, albeit poorly, by Fox News anchors Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum. Of course, the debate in itself was probably somewhat staged. According to multiple reports, the candidates and their prep camps were given the questions in advance. While the debate was going on in Milwaukee, Tucker Carlson aired an opposing pre-recorded interview with America’s 45th President Donald Trump, who himself is set to be arraigned in a Fulton County, Georgia court on Thursday where he is expected to front up a bail payment of $200,000. (RELATED: Trump Agrees To Release Conditions, Including $200,000 Bond) Tucker Carlson has enacted fully-fledged revenge on his former employer and put millions of dollars in the pockets of a new corporate overlord, Elon Musk. X, formerly Twitter, has been working to position itself as the preeminent alternative to the mainstream media since the Musk buyout earlier this year. By the view numbers still rolling in on the video posted last night, they seem to have succeeded in doing that to a level even Musk himself may have never imagined. As of the writing of this piece, Tucker’s 46-minute long X video has been viewed over 186.4 million times. Mediaite noted the following in a piece published yesterday:
“The interview, which was taped this week and is dropping to coincide with the debate, is intended as additional salt in the wound for Fox executives wary that a Trump-less event will not bring in the major ratings typically expected from these kinds of nights.”
Notably, video-sharing platform Rumble which was the the first place to try and pitch itself as the free speech alternative to YouTube partnered with the RNC and probably boosted their own profits last night as well. The Rumble stream of the debate from the GOP’s channel has amassed 1.54 million views. Definitely a respectable number, but making up less than 1% of the views amassed by Carlson on X. For the record the Rumble stream via Roku is how I personally watched the debate, refusing to give my dollars to the Fox News machine. Fox News has yet to officially release numbers on last night’s debate but here are some viewership numbers reported by Mediaite from past presidential debates:
“In 2015, Fox’s primary debate – with Trump and nine other candidates – drew 24 million viewers, smashing previous records and earning the distinction of being one of the most-watched cable programs ever. Overall, 2016 was a blockbuster year for debate ratings: the 12 Republican primary events averaged 15 million viewers.”
Even if Fox’s numbers last night were close to their past viewership – which they are not expected to be without Trump – Carlson’s X video dwarfed those numbers as well. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the positions of Great America News Desk. This piece is republished with permission from American Liberty News.

NYT’s Maggie Haberman Reveals Trump’s Next Potential Running Mate

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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.”

Trump Plans to Bring Michael Flynn Back if He Wins 2024

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Susan A. Romano, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Donald Trump says he wants to bring former national security adviser Michael Flynn back if he wins the 2024 presidential election.

“I will say, General Flynn, he’s some general. He’s some man. He took abuse like nobody could have handled, and he came out bigger, better, stronger than ever before,” Trump said via phone to the “ReAwaken America” rally at Trump National Doral Miami, according to a Rolling Stone report.

“He’s a leader, and you just stay wealthy and healthy and well, and everything. I want you to have great lives and, General, you just have to stay healthy because we’re bringing you back. We’re gonna bring you back,” the former president said. 

Trump fired Flynn early in his administration. The former adviser pleaded guilty in 2017 to lying to the FBI about speaking with the Russian ambassador before ultimately withdrawing his plea.

Biden Wins Debate Coin Toss, Trump To Deliver Closing Remarks

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CNN Headquarters via Wikimedia Commons

One more week…

The first presidential debate is nearly here and the details are being finalized.

On Thursday, CNN announced former President Trump will have the final word in next week’s first presidential debate after Joe Biden won the coin toss.

The Biden campaign won the coin toss, selecting tails, and choosing to pick the president’s standing position instead of reserving a speaking slot. Biden will stand on the right side of the stage from the viewer’s perspective, and Trump on the left.

Trump’s campaign decided to select to speak last, meaning Biden would be the first to give his closing argument.

Biden and Trump will be the only two candidates on the debate stage next Thursday night in Atlanta, CNN announced. Anchors Dana Bash and Jake Tapper have been selected as the moderators. Independent Robert F. Kennedy Jr. did not qualify for the debate stage

It’s the first of two debates agreed to by the candidates and will feature a number of new rules.

CNN said there will be two commercial breaks during the debate, and candidates will not be allowed to consult with other members of their campaign during that time.

The network also noted that candidates’ podiums and positions will be determined by a coin flip, their mics will be muted outside of speaking time, and they will only be provided with a pen, a notepad and a bottle of water.

There will be no opening statements. President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump will each have two minutes to answer questions — followed by one-minute rebuttals and responses to the rebuttals. Red lights visible to the candidates will flash when they have five seconds left, and turn solid red when time has expired. And each man’s microphone will be muted when it is not his turn to speak.

Candidates will not be allowed to bring props or prepared notes.

Additionally, for the first time in recent history, the debate between presidential contenders won’t have a studio audience.

Trump Calls For Pence’s Endorsement After Abruptly Ending Campaign

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Mike Pence via Gage Skidmore Flickr

Former President Trump is calling for his former running mate to throw his support behind his latest campaign after announcing the decision to pause his campaign on Saturday.

Former Vice President Mike Pence suspended his presidential campaign earlier in the day during a speech at the Republican Jewish Coalition Conference in Las Vegas, Nevada. 

“People are leaving now and they’re all endorsing me,” Trump said. “I don’t know about Mike Pence. He should endorse me. He should endorse me. You know why? Because I had a great successful presidency and he was the vice president. He should endorse me. I chose him, made him vice president, but people in politics can be very disloyal.”

In his speech, Pence told the crowd it was not his time to lead the country but said he would “never leave the fight for conservative values.” He did not make an endorsement but called on Republicans to stay away from the “siren song of populism.”

“We always knew this would be an uphill battle, but I have no regrets,” Pence told the crowd. “The only thing that would have been harder than coming up short would have been if we’d never tried at all.”

In Trump’s speech to the Republican Jewish Coalition, he said that “everybody that leaves” the race was endorsing him, referring to conservative talk radio host Larry Elder and Michigan businessman Perry Johnson. Elder endorsed Trump after suspending his presidential campaign just days ago, saying that Trump’s “leadership has been instrumental in advancing conservative, America-first principles.” 

According to the RealClearPolitics average of polls, Pence’s polling average was 3.5%, well behind Trump’s average of 59.1%. He was polling in fifth place, behind Trump, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, and tech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy. 

Trump Teases ‘Big Announcement’

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Gage Skidmore Flickr

What is Donald Trump planning now?

Trump who recently launched his third presidential campaign teased a “big announcement” coming on Thursday.

“AMERICA NEEDS A SUPERHERO! I will be making a MAJOR ANNOUNCEMENT tomorrow. Thank you!” he wrote on Truth Social.

The post contains a video showing Trump as a comic book character of sorts outside Trump Tower.

Trump didn’t share any other details about the upcoming announcement.

Trump Says Legal Battles Will Not Deter 2024

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Former President of the United States Donald Trump speaking with attendees at the 2022 Student Action Summit at the Tampa Convention Center in Tampa, Florida. [Photo Credit: Gage Skidmore from Surprise, AZ, United States of America, CC BY-SA 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons]

Despite Trump facing a heap of legal battles, the former president says nothing will cause him to waver from his 2024 plans.

During an appearance with radio host Hugh Hewitt, the 45th president remarked that despite the ongoing legal woes he doesn’t expect an indictment, according to The Washington Examiner.

“I can’t imagine being indicted. I’ve done nothing wrong. Look, if you look, you know it better than anybody,” Trump told conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt. “Everything was declassified.”

Hewitt noted “a prosecutor can indict a ham sandwich if they want to” before repeating Trump’s remark that even if he were to be indicted it wouldn’t make him change his mind in regard to 2024.

Criminal charges do not necessarily preclude running for the presidency, however, Trump predicted the country would likely react negatively to an indictment.

“If a thing like that happened, I would have no prohibition against running,” Trump added. “It would not. But I think if it happened, I think you’d have problems in this country the likes of which perhaps we’ve never seen before.”

“I think they’d have big problems, big problems. I just don’t think they’d stand for it. They will not, they will not sit still and stand for this ultimate of hoaxes,” the former president replied. “I don’t think the people of this country would stand for it, especially since they know, especially since they know I’m totally innocent.”

Trump has insisted the documents taken from Mar-a-Lago during the FBI’s infamous raid last month were declassified but some legal experts have cast doubt on Trump’s claim.

Trump has repeatedly hinted at launching a third presidential campaign and says now the last remaining detail is exactly when he will make the announcement.

Battleground State Tips To Trump In Latest Poll

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New reports indicate Donald Trump is leading in the battleground state of Pennsylvania.

A new Marist College Poll indicates Trump at 47% support and Biden at 45% backing among registered voters in Pennsylvania. 

The new poll from Marist, conducted June 3-6, points to problems for Biden with parts of the Democratic Party’s base.

Fox News has more:

“While still strong, Biden has lost his formidable support among Black voters. 68% break for Biden to 23% for Trump. Biden handily won the support of most Black voters in the 2020 presidential election, 92% to 7% for Trump,” the poll’s release spotlights.

The poll also points to a Trump surge among voters under age 45 in Pennsylvania. Biden carried the group by 24 points in his victory four years ago, but the survey indicates Biden’s edge at just two points over Trump.

However, the survey also highlights that “Trump’s advantage among older voters has evaporated. He carried voters 45 or older by 12 percentage points in 2020. Now, three percentage points separate Trump (48%) and Biden (45%) among this group.”

Trump became the first Republican in nearly three decades to win Pennsylvania when he carried it by a razor-thin margin in his 2016 White House victory over Hillary Clinton. Four years later, Biden narrowly carried his native state en route to defeating Trump and winning the presidency.

Judge Rules Trump Assassination Attempt Suspect Ryan Routh Held Without Bail

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On Monday afternoon, a judge ruled that Ryan Routh, the man accused of attempting to assassinate former President Donald Trump, will be held indefinitely without bail, citing the strength of the evidence against him.

Prosecutors disclosed chilling new details about Routh’s plans in a memo aimed at convincing the court to detain him while he awaits trial. A letter found at Routh’s home, made public on Monday, revealed that Routh had predicted his failure in the assassination attempt and even offered a $150,000 bounty for anyone who successfully kills Trump.

During a search of Routh’s Nissan SUV, investigators discovered a handwritten list outlining dates and locations where Trump was expected to appear in August, September and October 2024. Additionally, authorities found two extra license plates, six cell phones – one of which contained a Google search for directions from Palm Beach County to Mexico – and 12 pairs of gloves.

Prosecutors also revealed that a witness came forward, stating that Routh had dropped off a box at their residence before the assassination attempt. The box reportedly contained ammunition, a metal pipe, building materials, four phones and several letters, including the letter outlining his plans in case he failed to kill Trump.

Routh will remain in custody as the investigation and legal proceedings continue.

This article originally appeared on American Liberty News. It is republished with permission.

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Former Trump Official Launches New PAC Supporting Gov. Ron DeSantis

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Photo via Gage Skidmore Flickr

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is already seeing a tremendous outpouring of support for a 2024 White House bid and he hasn’t even decided to run yet.

A senior Trump administration official and former Virginia attorney general has launched a new political action committee (PAC) to persuade Gov. DeSantis to throw his hat into the ring. Ken Cuccinelli served as acting deputy Homeland Security secretary under former President Trump during his final year in office.

The ex-Trump official filed Never Back Down PAC with Federal Elections Commission (FCE) in late February according to documents obtained by The Hill.

Cuccinelli launched the campaign to draft DeSantis into the 2024 race on Thursday, saying in a video that “America’s future is Ron DeSantis.”

“Ron DeSantis doesn’t just talk, he acts, but most of all he never backs down,” Cuccinelli says in the video. “Gov. DeSantis, today I’m asking you to run for president. You’ve had our back, now we will have yours.”

Two similar super PACS— titled “Ready for Ron” and “Ron to the Rescue” — which are not affiliated with DeSantis or his political circle are already up and running, raising money as they urge the governor to launch a presidential campaign. But sources in DeSantis’s wider political orbit have described those groups as “a grift – plain and simple” to Fox News.

Super PACs, known as independent expenditure-only committees, are legally allowed to raise unlimited sums of money from corporations, unions, associations and individuals, and to spend unlimited sums to support or oppose political candidates. Unlike traditional PACs, they are prohibited under long-standing federal rules from either coordinating or contributing directly to a candidate or candidate’s campaign. 

DeSantis is widely expected to announce a presidential bid this spring. (RELATED: DeSantis Lays Out Timeline for 2024 Decision)

Last month, the Republican governor told “Fox & Friends” we would make a final decision after Florida’s legislative session wraps up in May and after his book tour.

Trump launched his campaign right after the 2022 midterm elections and has consistently attacked DeSantis ahead of his possible entry into the race.

“I have been speaking to many grassroots conservative activists around the country who are very enthusiastic for Governor DeSantis to run for President in 2024,” Cuccinelli said in a statement. “The energy is there, grassroots conservatives see the Governor as a leader and a fighter with a winning conservative track record who will lead the Republican Party to victory in 2024.”

Cuccinelli is hardly the first Trump-aligned Republican to change allegiances.

Donald Tapia, a prominent businessman from Arizona and Trump’s former ambassador to Jamaica from 2019 to 2021, was a strong financial backer of Trump in 2016 and 2020, contributing hundreds of thousands of dollars to the former president over his two elections but recently announced he plans to support DeSantis for president.

“The name-calling has turned a lot of people off,” Tapia said to Politico. “Let me tell you, we don’t like that.”

However, despite some grumblings among conservatives, Trump has consistently come on on top in various 2024 hypothetical matchups.