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    Obama Claims New Yorkers ‘Don’t Take Trump Seriously’

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    7
    The White House, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

    During a podcast interview, former President Barack Obama swiped at Donald Trump claiming the former President is not taken “seriously” in the city he called home for years, New York City.

    Obama appeared alongside Bill Clinton and President Biden in the newest episode of the “SmartLess” podcast. 

    Obama was asked on the “SmartLess” podcast by co-host Jason Bateman whether he was surprised how quickly the “protection and passion for democracy was diluted” in recent years. Obama responded by noting the trend began during former President Clinton’s time in the White House before accelerating during his presidency.

    “I have been surprised that there haven’t been guardrails inside the Republican Party. Trump didn’t surprise me,” he said, before taking aim at Trump.

    “I mean, he comes from New York. There’s nobody in New York who does business with him or lend him money. He’s not considered a serious guy here,” Obama added.

    Obama went on to explain how he thought more Republicans would say some of Trump’s behavior went too far.

    “But, so I was surprised he was elected, but I wasn’t surprised in terms of his behavior. I did expect, and I suspect Bill and Joe, you’d agree with this, that there would be some folks in the Republican Party who would say, no, you can’t go that far. You can’t start praising Putin and saying that his intelligence is better than the US intelligence agencies,” he said.

    Trump is currently on trial in New York for falsifying business records to make alleged hush money payments to porn actress Stormy Daniels.

    D.C. Waitress Fired After Vowing To Refuse Service To Trump Officials

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    6

    A Washington, D.C.-based server has been fired after proudly saying in an interview that she planned to refuse service to Trump officials.

    The server was previously employed by Beuchert’s Saloon on Capitol Hill. She took part in a report by Washingtonian magazine about how the service industry would respond to President-elect Donald Trump’s team if they patronized her place of employment.

    Most individuals who were interviewed remained anonymous, but Suzannah Van Rooy provided her real name. 

    “I personally would refuse to serve any person in office who I know of as being a sex trafficker or trying to deport millions of people,” the server told the outlet, as The Daily Wire previously reported. “It’s not, ‘Oh, we hate Republicans.’ It’s that this person has moral convictions that are strongly opposed to mine, and I don’t feel comfortable serving them.”

    “People were a lot more motivated the first time around to do those kinds of shows of passion. This time around, there is kind of a sense of defeat and acceptance,” Van Rooy added. “But I hope that people still do stand up to this administration and tell them their thoughts on their misbehavior.”

    Beuchert’s Saloon denounced Van Rooy’s comments and confirmed she was no longer employed there, per Fox News Digital. The neighborhood restaurant and bar called her statements “reprehensible” and “unforgivable.”

    “Recent comments made by a member of staff who had no authority to speak on behalf of our entire restaurant have been, quite rightly, flagged as inappropriate, hostile, intolerant, and unacceptable. This staff member does NOT speak for us as a restaurant,” Beuchert’s Saloon said in a statement.

    Beuchert’s saloon provided a follow-up after the backlash from the employee’s comments.

    “Not only do Ms. Van Rooy’s comments clearly violate our zero-tolerance policy on discrimination, but her decision to sign into our social media accounts in the middle of the night to post her own rhetoric in wildly offensive responses to comments is a further breach of conduct and protocol. She has no authority to speak on our behalf, and her comments do not reflect the positions of over twenty other people who make up our staff,” the statement said.

    “For these reasons as well as the sheer dismay and disgust we feel at her unforgivable behavior, Ms. Van Rooy has been dismissed immediately. Our staff and families (many of whom are personally offended by Ms. Van Rooy’s comments about them) are still reeling from what Ms. Van Rooy said and did, and we as a restaurant are simply horrified to be associated with base prejudice.”

    Airbnb Co-Founder Opens Up About Leaving Democrat Party to Support Trump

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    0
    President Donald Trump participates in a welcome ceremony with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman Al Saud at the Royal Court Palace in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Tuesday, May 13, 2025. (Official White House Photo by Daniel Torok)

    Earlier this week, Airbnb co-founder Joe Gebbia opened up about why he decided to leave the Democrat Party to support President Donald Trump.

    During an interview with former White House official Katie Miller – the wife of White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller – Gebbia revealed how he became drawn to the Republican Party through Secretary of Health Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and the crisis at the southern border.

    “At what point did you know in the last election that you were like, ‘I wanna help President Trump’? Was it Bobby Kennedy and your love for MAHA? Like, what was it?” asked Miller on The Katie Miller Podcast.

    Gebbia responded, “I’ve been on my journey. Everyone’s been on a journey, and I think through, you know, certainly Bobby Kennedy and supporting him, and I’ve been so grateful for the work that he’s doing, to be somebody who just cares so much about the health of our nation, and you know, has no ties to industry and is really just able to bust through walls and sort of, like, right size the ship.”

    The Airbnb co-founder revealed that he “grew up in an alternative medicine, health food household,” which made him gravitate towards Kennedy when he ran for president on a “Make America Healthy Again” platform.

    Watch:

    However, Gebbia told Miller it was the crisis at the southern border that ultimately made him lose faith in the Democratic Party and become a Republican.

    “I think it was early 2021, mid-2021, the activity at the border caught my attention, and I just remember thinking, ‘What’s going on with this topic? It seems as if there’s no border,’” he said. “And as it got worse that year, I felt like I needed to understand this problem more, so I reached out to my friends, largely on the Democratic side of the house, at all levels, from the highest level all the way down.”

    Gebbia said that while he received “some answers” from friends in the Democratic Party, he ultimately “felt unfulfilled,” and so decided to talk to former Trump senior adviser Jared Kushner about the issue:

    I get on the phone with Jared and say, “Hey, can you help me? Fill in the gaps for me. Like, what am I missing here? Is this normal? Like, seems there’s no enforcement of our own border. Like, don’t nations need borders to be a nation?” And so he put me on this curriculum of just talking to experts in the field, and I remember just being like holy cow, this is crazy. Like, this is not right. This is a real problem and there’s no reason why we shouldn’t be enforcing the laws of our country and our border. And so I think, as I started to pull on that thread, I sort of, you know, begin to look at other topics and eventually came to the point where I don’t think I can support a political party that wants to have an open border, that lets in criminals and dangerous people into our country. That’s just not something I can get behind.

    The most effective way to support State Republicans is to stand tall for America FIRST — renew your MAGA pledge today!

    Amanda Head: Debt Deal Is A Disaster!

    By
    Amanda Head
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    0

    Capitol Hill is in a frenzy over the latest debt deal reached between lawmakers.

    Watch Amanda explain the situation below:

    Opinions expressed by contributors do not necessarily reflect the views of Great America News Desk.

    Trump Files To Overturn Latest Conviction After SCOTUS Ruling

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    1
    Gavel via Wikimedia Commons Image

    On Monday, former President Donald Trump moved to overturn his criminal conviction in the Manhattan hush-money case after the Supreme Court ruled presidents have immunity for “official acts” committed while in office.

    Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg charged the former president in May with 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree. Trump pleaded not guilty to all counts in the Manhattan case.  

    Lawyers for Trump had filed a motion to dismiss the verdict hours after the Supreme Court’s ruling. 

    Duncan Lock, Dflock, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons

    The motion came on the same day that the district attorney’s office sent sentencing recommendations to Judge Juan M. Merchan – who presided over the Manhattan trial – though it remains unclear whether that will be seen by the public, per reporting from The New York Times.  
    Judge Merchan has received a letter from Trump’s lawyers, a person familiar with the matter confirmed to Fox News Digital. 

    The letter asks for permission to file a motion to vacate the jury’s Manhattan verdict, asks for a delay of the July 11 sentencing, and cites the high court’s decision in arguing that evidence was included at trial that should not have been admitted. 

    To file a motion in New York, defendants must first request permission from the judge in the case. 

    On Tuesday, Manhattan prosecutors agreed with Donald J. Trump’s request to postpone his criminal sentencing so that the judge overseeing the case could weigh whether a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling might impact his conviction, according to The New York Times.

    On Monday, the Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that a former president has absolute immunity for his core constitutional powers.

    Former presidents are also entitled to at least a presumption of immunity for their official acts. There is no immunity, the court holds, for unofficial acts.

    The Supreme Court returned the case to the trial court to determine what is left of special counsel Jack Smith’s indictment against the former President.

    I AM DONALD TRUMP, AND I’M BEING SENTENCED ON JULY 11TH! IF YOU REMEMBER ONE THING, REMEMBER THIS: I’M THE ONLY THING STANDING IN THE WAY OF THE COMPLETE AND TOTAL DESTRUCTION OF AMERICA BY THE BIDEN REGIME. WILL YOU PLEASE DONATE ONE MORE TIME BEFORE DOOMSDAY?

    Billionaire Makes Massive Political Contribution To Trump

    By
    admin
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    1
    Image via Pixabay free images

    One of the largest single disclosed gifts ever…

    A reclusive billionaire from a storied American family with a legacy dating back to the Gilded Age has made one of the largest political contributions in the history of American politics.

    Timothy Mellon, heir to the Mellon banking fortune, made a $50 million contribution to the pro-Trump super PAC, Make America Great Again Inc.

    At the end of April, the organization had only $34.5 million.

    In a memo following Mellon’s donation, the PAC announced it had reserved $100 million in advertising through Labor Day.

    The New York Times continues:

    Mr. Mellon is now the first donor to give $100 million in disclosed federal contributions in this year’s election. He was already the single largest contributor to super PACs supporting both Mr. Trump and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who is running as an independent. Mr. Mellon has previously given $25 million to both.

    Gage Skidmore from Peoria, AZ, United States of America, CC BY-SA 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

    Democrats have sought to portray Mr. Kennedy as a spoiler supported by Republicans, in part by emphasizing Mr. Mellon’s dual contributions and seemingly split loyalties. The pro-Kennedy super PAC has distributed quotations from the hard-to-reach Mr. Mellon, and for a blurb that appears on the cover of Mr. Mellon’s upcoming book, Mr. Kennedy called the billionaire a “maverick entrepreneur.”

    It is not clear what Mr. Mellon’s mega-donation means for his support of Mr. Kennedy going forward. He has so far toggled between giving to support both candidates. His most recent donation to Mr. Kennedy’s super PAC was a $5 million contribution in April.

    But Mr. Mellon’s $50 million gift will significantly help pro-Trump forces narrow the financial advantage that President Biden and his allies have enjoyed so far. Miriam Adelson, the casino billionaire and widow of Sheldon G. Adelson, who died in 2021, has also made plans to fund a pro-Trump super PAC with at least as much money as the $90 million that her family gave in the 2020 campaign, although much of the cash has yet to arrive.

    Mellon’s contributions follow Donald Trump‘s conviction in a hush money trial.

    Critics argue that the case is politically motivated and based on an overly broad interpretation of campaign finance laws. They add that such payments are common among public figures seeking to avoid public scrutiny.

    The Mellon family‘s wealth started when an Irish immigrant named Thomas Mellon founded T. Mellon & Sons’ Bank in Pittsburgh in 1869. His sons, Andrew W. Mellon and Richard B. Mellon, later grew the bank into a strong financial institution. This bank eventually became Mellon Financial Corporation, one of the largest banking institutions in the United States.

    During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Andrew Mellon played a crucial role in financing and supporting key industries such as aluminum, oil, and steel, contributing to the growth of major corporations, such as Gulf Oil, and Union Steel. As secretary of the Treasury from 1921 to 1932, his influence shaped the economic policies of the 1920s, known as the Mellon Plan, which contributed to the economic boom of the decade.

    National Photo Company Collection, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

    In 2007, Mellon Financial Corporation merged with The Bank of New York to form BNY Mellon, one of the world’s largest asset management and securities services companies, preserving their 150-year legacy in banking and finance.

    Article Published With The Permission of American Liberty News

    Former PayPal President Ditches Democrat Party, Endorses Trump

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    1

    Trump just scored another major donor…

    Former president of PayPal David Marcus announced he has switched political parties and endorsed Donald Trump via X.

    “I am crossing the Rubicon and backing the Republican Party and President Trump. Many — including a former version of myself — get trapped in a mental framework that becomes their identity and prevents them from radically evolving their thinking with new facts and information. I finally broke free from it.”

    “My journey has been a gradual political 180 from where I stood in every previous election. It has been an eye-opening process of disenchantment, zero-basing lifelong beliefs, and rebuilding from there,” wrote Marcus.

    Marcus cited an anecdote where, in 2017, he was enlisted to raise $100M from Silicon Valley for the Democratic National Convention in order to “prevent a repeat of Hillary Clinton’s inadequate, outdated 2016 campaign.”

    David Marcus is aligned with Trump on technology innovations like crypto and AI as well as foreign policy–especially the Middle East. Marcus opined, “on Iran, this administration is continuing a misguided Obama-era plan to bring Iran closer to the West by unfreezing Trump-era sanctions, thus giving the Mollahs’ regime the ability to fund terrorism and pursue its anti-America, anti-Israel, and anti-Jewish agenda.”

    “I believe we need a President who is unequivocally pro: America, the Constitution, business, Bitcoin/crypto, innovation, Israel, small government, legal immigration, free speech, meritocracy, and common sense — and anti: regulatory proliferation, illegal immigration, unjust wars, Iran’s current regime, and domestic groups that oppose American values.”

    Marcus completed his post by referencing the attempt on former President Trump’s life at a rally in Butler, PA on July 13.

    “It’s impossible to close this post without mentioning President Trump’s recent assassination attempt. The courage and resolve he displayed seconds after being hit by a bullet was awe-inspiring for his followers and detractors alike. This was a man, however imperfect, who, at that moment, incarnated the American spirit in the most vivid way, starting to bring a split nation together,” wrote Marcus.

    “In this pivotal moment, confronted with the choices we have, I am endorsing and supporting a return to a Republican administration in 2025,” the post concluded.

    Trump has seen a number of prominent pro-business donors flock to his campaign this season as Republicans seek to a return to the White House.

    Nikki Haley Lands New Gig After Failed Trump Challenge

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    1
    The White House from Washington, DC, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

    Donald Trump’s last Republican rival has landed a fresh new job.

    Nikki Haley the former two-term South Carolina governor who served as ambassador to the United Nations in the Trump administration, is joining the Washington, D.C.-based Hudson Institute.

    “Nikki is a proven, effective leader on both foreign and domestic policy,” Hudson President and CEO John P. Walters said in a statement Monday. “In an era of worldwide political upheaval, she has remained a steadfast defender of freedom and an effective advocate for American security and prosperity. We are honored to have her join the Hudson team.”

    Fox News has more:

    Haley, who received the Hudson Institute’s global leadership award in 2018 during her tenure as U.N. ambassador, will serve as the institute’s Walter P. Stern Chair. According to the Hudson Institute, the position was created four years ago to commemorate a former chair “who was instrumental in making Hudson one of Washington’s most respected research organizations.”

    The institute emphasized that “it is fitting that Nikki has taken on this title” because “she is a courageous and insightful policymaker.”

    Haley announced that she was suspending her White House campaign on March 6, the day Trump swept 14 of 15 GOP nominating contests on Super Tuesday.

    To date, Haley has declined to endorse Trump.

    “It is now up to Donald Trump to earn the votes of those in our party and beyond it who did not support him. And I hope he does that,” Haley said last month, as she pointed to those who supported her during her White House run.

    “This is now his time for choosing,” she emphasized.

    New York Launches Probe Into Trump Judge

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    4
    Gavel via Wikimedia Commons Image

    The New York State Commission on Judicial Conduct has launched an investigation into a New York attorney’s claim that he advised Judge Arthur Engoron in the case against former President Donald Trump.

    Attorney Adam Leitman Bailey told WNBC-TV that he had a courthouse conversation with Engoron three weeks before the judge would slap Trump with a $454 million penalty for fraudulently inflating the value of his assets.

    New York judges are barred from considering outside opinions in such a way when litigating a case, yet Bailey said he discussed the legal questions at length with the judge.

    Judge Engoron’s ruling ordered Trump to pay nearly $355 million, Donald Jr. and Eric to each pay $4 million, and ex-Trump Org chief financial officer Allen Weisselberg to pay $1 million. The order also barred Trump from serving as a corporate officer or a director of a company in New York for three years, and barred his sons for two years. The Trumps did avoid the so-called “corporate death penalty;”

    “I actually had the ability to speak to him three weeks ago,” Bailey said in an interview with the station on Feb. 16, just hours before the judge issued his ruling.

    “I saw him in the corner [at the courthouse], and I told my client, ‘I need to go,’” he recounted.

    “And I walked over, and we started talking … I wanted him to know what I think and why … I really want him to get it right,” the attorney continued.

    He said he “explained to” Engoron that ruling against Trump would have far-reaching implications beyond destroying the former president, including damaging New York’s economy.

    If Trump were forced to pay a hefty fine and shut down his business, it would make other companies concerned about similarly being targeted at any time, even when there were no actual damages or victims, as in this case.

    Trump’s legal team raised the same points, which Engoron ignored in his verdict.

    In a later interview with WNBC, Bailey walked back his claims slightly, saying they “didn’t even mention the word ‘Donald Trump’” during their conversation.

    However, the attorney admitted that it was understood exactly what they were discussing.

    “Well, obviously, we weren’t talking about the Mets,” Bailey said.

    According to the New York State Rules of Judicial Conduct, “a judge shall not initiate, permit, or consider ex parte communications, or consider other communications made to the judge outside the presence of the parties or their lawyers.”

    Al Baker, a spokesman for the state’s Office of Court Administration, denied that the judge had broken those rules.

    “The decision Justice Engoron issued February 16 was his alone, was deeply considered, and was wholly uninfluenced by this individual,” Baker said in a statement, according to WNBC.

    Report: United CEO Pitches Merger to Trump That Would Create World’s Largest Airline

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    1
    Image via Pixabay

    United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby is reportedly floating a blockbuster idea inside the Trump orbit: a potential merger with American Airlines that would create the largest airline in the world — and instantly reshape the U.S. aviation industry.

    According to reports, Kirby raised the possibility toward the end of a White House meeting focused on the future of Washington Dulles International Airport. The timing is notable. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has already launched an initiative to “revitalize” Dulles, signaling a broader push to strengthen major U.S. travel hubs and compete globally.

    And the stakes are massive. Data from the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority shows that a dominant 68.5 percent of commercial passengers at Dulles in December flew United — underscoring just how much influence one airline already holds at a key East Coast gateway.

    Now imagine that power combined.

    In 2023, United and American ranked first and third, respectively, in revenue by passenger miles among U.S.-based airlines, according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics. A merger between the two wouldn’t just be big — it would create an aviation giant unlike anything seen before, potentially giving the U.S. a dominant global carrier at a time of rising international competition.

    Kirby, who knows both companies well, previously served as president of American Airlines after its 2013 merger with U.S. Airways before joining United in 2016 — adding another layer of intrigue to the reported pitch.

    Not surprisingly, the reaction from Washington’s political class — especially on the left — was immediate and hostile.

    Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) fired off a blunt response on X, writing, “That’s gonna be a no.”

    Matt Stoller, a researcher at the anti-monopolist American Economic Liberties Project, went even further, calling the idea “corporate crime” that is “now legal.”

    But behind the outrage is a deeper policy divide. Under Trump appointee Andrew Ferguson, the Federal Trade Commission has taken a more business-friendly approach than it did under former Chair Lina Khan, whose aggressive antitrust stance often targeted large corporate mergers. For many conservatives, that shift reflects a broader belief that American companies need scale to compete with state-backed foreign rivals — particularly in industries like aviation.

    Still, even some legal experts say the proposal would face an uphill battle.

    Antitrust lawyer Seth Bloom told Reuters the deal would be unlikely to survive regulatory scrutiny, warning that it could hit consumers where it hurts most: prices.

    “The administration has said it really cares about the issues that affect the consumer’s pocketbook, and this would give the airlines more pricing power,” Bloom said.

    That tension — between building a stronger, more competitive American airline industry and protecting consumers from higher costs — is likely to define the debate if this idea gains traction.

    For now, Kirby’s reported pitch remains just that — a pitch.

    FROM THE DESK OF DONALD TRUMP JR. Democrats tried to rig the census by counting millions of illegal immigrants — giving blue states more power in Congress. Now we’re making sure only American citizens are counted. But first, we need to verify our own records. CONFIRM YOUR VOTER INFORMATION NOW.
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