Mitch McConnell, Kevin McCarthy, Nancy Pelosi, Chuck Schumer attend medal ceremony via Wikimedia Commons
Donald Trump has reignited his feud with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) once again calling for Republicans to oust him from the leadership position.
In a statement Wednesday, Trump described the Kentucky Republican as a “pawn” for Democrats and insisted Republicans should choose another lawmaker to lead.
“Mitch McConnell is not an Opposition Leader, he is a pawn for the Democrats to get whatever they want,” Trump said in his statement. “He is afraid of them, and will not do what has to be done. A new Republican Leader in the Senate should be picked immediately!”
The two Republicans previously enjoyed a friendly and professional relationship for much of Trump’s time in the White House however, the two broke ties after McConnell infamously turned on Trump following the Jan. 6th Capitol riot. Since then Trump has repeatedly attacked the Senator and called for his immediate ouster.
Trump’s most recent attack on McConnell follows comments last week made by the Senate Minority Leader regarding the “quality” of some Republican Senate candidates- many of whom were personally chosen and endorsed by the former president.
“I think there’s probably a greater likelihood the House flips than the Senate. Senate races are just different — they’re statewide, candidate quality has a lot to do with the outcome,” McConnell said.
In Wednesday’s statement, Trump accused McConnell of giving the “Radical Left the Trillions and Trillions of Dollars that they constantly DEMAND” and faulted him for failing to stop passage of the landmark tax, climate and healthcare law known as the Inflation Reduction Act.
Former Vice President Mike Pence is speaking out on the shocking of classified documents from President Biden’s time as vice president.
Biden’s attorney discovered the classified documents in a private office in November. Since then, the incident was passed on to the Justice Department for further investigation that the White House is cooperating with, Richard Sauber, special counsel to Biden, said.
Pence said that the discovery of classified materials at a think tank compared to the FBI’s unprecedented search of former President Trump’s private residence and subsequent media swarm proved a “double standard.”
“It’s just incredibly frustrating to me,” Pence said on the “Hugh Hewitt Show.” “But the original sin here was the massive overreach.”
The former VP said this search created a standard that the FBI could execute a search warrant at a former president’s personal residence.
Pence also reasoned that the Biden administration should appoint the same special counsel for investigation in Biden’s papers, instead of a U.S. attorney, as they did for Trump.
“But having now created that standard and now abandoned that standard when the current president of the United States is found to have had classified documents in his possession after leaving office, I have no words right now,” Pence said.
“But the willingness of the national media to just turn away and turn a deaf ear to the Biden, to the disclosures that when Vice President Biden left office, he left with classified documents as well, it just shows you, it’s like I said before,” Pence added. “If they didn’t have double standards, they’d have no standards at all.”
“What they have unleashed now has the threat of coming back on them,” Pence said.
Former President Trump is under investigation for more than 100 classified documents were removed from his private residence in Mar-a-Lago, by FBI agents in August. Th
Elton John performs at the opening ceremony of the Stonewall National Monument Visitor Center, Friday, June 28, 2024, in New York City.
(Official White House Photo by Erin Scott)
Singer Elton John reacted during a recent interview to Donald Trump nicknaming Kim Jong Un “little rocket man” in reference to one of his hit songs.
During an interview with Variety at the Toronto Film Festival, the British music icon thought Trump’s nickname for the North Korean dictator was “hilarious” and “brilliant” adding that it made him laugh.
In 2017, Trump insulted Kim following a recent blitz of high-profile weapons tests. Trump claimed that if North Korea continued to threaten the U.S. then he would rain “fire and fury” down on the country.
The former president ended his threats towards Kim by labeling him as “Little Rocket Man.” John as a popular song released in 1972 called “Rocket Man” as well as a biographical 2019 film about his life under the same name.
“I laughed, I thought that was brilliant,” John told Variety. “I just thought, ‘Good on you, Donald.’ … Donald’s always been a fan of mine, and he’s been to my concerts many, many times.”
John also revealed that he “always been friendly toward” Trump because the former president has “always been a fan.”
The singer added, “So, I mean, I’ve always been friendly toward him, and I thank him for his support. When he did that, I just thought it was hilarious. It made me laugh.”
Elton John on his reaction to Donald Trump calling Kim Jong Un “Little Rocket Man”: “I laughed, I thought that was brilliant… I’ve always been friendly toward him, and I thank him for his support. When he did that, I just thought it was hilarious.” https://t.co/QXV9VqAtuTpic.twitter.com/MNhsNzFwlR
Karoline Leavitt speaking with attendees at the 2022 Student Action Summit at the Tampa Convention Center in Tampa, Florida. [Photo Credit: Gage Skidmore ]
An “ultra MAGA” 25-year-old former Trump White House staffer made history Tuesday night. Karoline Leavitt – who celebrated her 25th birthday last month, becoming eligible to hold a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives- won her primary for New Hampshire’s First Congressional District Seat, setting up a November showdown with incumbent Democrat Congressman Chis Pappas.
BREAKING: 25-year-old America First Conservative — Karoline Leavitt wins Republican nomination for U.S. House in New Hampshire's 1st Congressional district via @Redistrictpic.twitter.com/g8u6rhlb8T
Leavitt emerged victorious from a hotly contested primary after garnering 35 percent to the 25 percent won by her top opponent Matt Mowers.
She beat out a number of candidates including Mowers, a fellow Trump Admin alumnus and the 2020 GOP nominee for the NH-01 House seat. Mowers worked in the State Department as a top aide to Secretary Mike Pompeo who also endorsed him in the primary, as did the 45th President himself.
Although she worked in the Trump White House and was endorsed by a number of Trump’s closest allies – including her old boss and former White House Press Secretary Kaleigh McEnany – the former President for some reason declined to endorse her in the primary and endorsed Mowers instead. He has however celebrated her win via a statement posted on his social media platform, Truth Social.
Another interesting moment in the primary was the division of endorsements from Elise Stefanik – House Republican Conference Chairwoman and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy. Stefanik opted to endorse Leavitt, who served as her Communications Director following her stint in the White House.
🚨🚨🚨
A HUGE Congratulations to #EPAC endorsed @kleavittnh on her hard-fought victory tonight in #NH01!
NEVER underestimate a young, hardworking #GOPWoman!
I'll continue to support Karoline every step of the way to FLIP #NH01 red!
Despite the attacks she endured from the DC swamp Democrats and establishment Republicans, Leavitt won. She also garnered the support of the Freedom Caucus’ Jim Jordan of Ohio and Texas Senator Ted Cruz.
“Karoline Leavitt is a rock-solid conservative & America First warrior. With her experience taking on the fake news media & the DC Swamp as a member of President Trump's White House Press Team, Karoline has proven she has what it takes to win” pic.twitter.com/HHnFjEoP9b
Leavitt also campaigned with a pair of conservative members of the GOP freshman class. Byron Donalds of Florida and Lauren Boebert of Colorado joined Leavitt’s campaign on the eve of the primary to express their support for the young conservative dynamo.
Now Leavitt will set her mind to tackling the task of flipping a seat that the Cook Political Report ranks as having a partisan voter index (PVI) of EVEN and an overall rating of “toss-up.”
I've seen enough: pro-MAGA Karoline Leavitt (R), 24, wins the GOP primary in #NH01, defeating 2020 nominee Matt Mowers (R) and others.
That's probably good news for Rep. Chris Pappas (D), but for now #NH01 (PVI EVEN) is staying in Toss Up at @CookPolitical.
While reporting on the results of last night’s race, Cook Political Report’s Dave Wasserman attacked Leavitt as “unv****ed America First” and “Pro-MAGA”. Despite his criticism, he still ranks the seat as a “toss-up” – a key indicator that Democrats should be more than concerned about this Republican candidate’s rising success.
As long as Pappas continues sipping the Biden-Pelosi Kool-Aid and helping drive America off a fiscal cliff – Leavitt’s got one heck of a fighting chance.
Aside from the NH-01 race, the Granite State played host to a couple of other key races last night, including a five-way Republican primary for the Senate seat.
New Hampshire is a key swing state and enjoys an elevated political status due to it being the host of the “First In The Nation” primaries in Presidential election years.
The MAGA wave in the state wasn’t just limited to Leavitt. Pro-Trump Senate candidate Don Bolduc also won his hotly contested primary.
New Hampshire’s Republican Governor Chris Sununu — a moderate who enjoys a fair amount of popularity for a Republican governing a blue state and prevailed against three challengers in his own primary last night — stepped into the race with a last-minute endorsement of Charles (Chuck) Morse, the President of the New Hampshire Senate.
Still, that wasn’t enough to swing the race in Morse’s favor. WMUR reported earlier this month that “Don Bolduc, a retired Army general, has been leading in the polls for the Republican nomination. Morse is making the case to voters that he has the experience for the job.” That polling was done before the debate last month and Sununu’s endorsement but seems to have stood true.
Bolduc has set himself up for a matchup with vulnerable incumbent Democrat Senator Maggie Hassan.
Our friends over at Townhall are reporting RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel’s statement in the race:
“Extreme Democrats like Maggie Hassan and [Representative] Chris Pappas have failed Granite Staters time and again by voting in lockstep with Biden’s failed agenda of high taxes, open borders, and historic inflation. Our data-driven ground game is ready to turn out the vote, and New Hampshire is ready to re-elect Governor Sununu and finally send commonsense Republican leadership to Washington.”
In a pivotal decision on Wednesday, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled that voters whose mail-in ballots were rejected due to errors—including missing signatures, incorrect dates or absence of a required secrecy envelope—can still cast their vote on Election Day. The 4-3 decision ensures that these individuals are allowed to submit provisional ballots at their local polling places, provided no additional disqualifying issues arise.
The ruling originated from a case in Butler County, where two voters were denied the opportunity to vote provisionally after their mail-in ballots were rejected during the April primary for missing secrecy envelopes. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Pennsylvania and the Public Interest Law Center represented the voters, arguing that the county had misinterpreted the state’s Election Code.
Justice Christine Donohue, writing for the majority, noted that the Republican litigants argued that in order to maintain election integrity, provisional ballots should not be counted, but said the majority was “at a loss to identify what honest voting principle is violated by recognizing the validity of one ballot cast by one voter.”
“If appellants presume that the general assembly intended to disqualify the provisional ballot of a voter who failed to effectively vote by mail in order to punish that voter, we caution that such a construction is not reconcilable with the right of franchise,” she wrote.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania and the Public Interest Law Center, which brought the case on behalf of two voters, celebrated the ruling as a victory.
“Today’s decision affirms that if you make a paperwork mistake that will keep your mail ballot from counting, you have the right to vote by provisional ballot at your polling place on Election Day,” said Ben Geffen, senior attorney at the Public Interest Law Center. “This reinforces the right to vote in Pennsylvania.”
This decision holds broad implications for voters across Pennsylvania, offering a contentious solution for those facing similar issues in future elections. However, there was notable dissent, including from Justice P. Kevin Brobson, who contended that the state’s Election Code explicitly prohibits counting such provisional ballots.
The ruling comes as Pennsylvania takes center stage in the 2024 election. Polls suggest a highly competitive race, with the latest RealClearPolitics average showing former President Donald Trump holding a slight 0.6-point lead over Vice President Kamala Harris.
President Donald Trump posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom on Tuesday to Welles Crowther, the 24-year-old volunteer firefighter whose final acts of courage inside the World Trade Center saved as many as 18 people.
Trump presented the nation’s highest civilian honor during the Tunnel to Towers Foundation’s “Steel Across America” event near the White House, part of a nationwide commemoration marking 25 years since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
“Today we also remember another hero of 9/11,” Trump said before recounting how Crowther repeatedly entered the smoke and wreckage of the South Tower to guide strangers toward safety.
Welles’s mom, Alison Crowther: "This means the world to me, my daughters, Paige and Honor, and our entire family. This will be treasured for generations to come." ❤️🇺🇸 https://t.co/yLHns7pJzgpic.twitter.com/MBHGVDkjdZ
Crowther became known simply as the “Man in the Red Bandana,” but the survivors he helped did not initially know his name. They remembered only the calm young man who appeared amid the chaos with a red bandana covering his nose and mouth.
A Rescuer Appears In The Smoke
Crowther was working as an equities trader for Sandler O’Neill & Partners on the 104th floor of the South Tower when the attacks began.
A graduate of Boston College and a volunteer firefighter since the age of 16, he drew upon his emergency training as smoke, fire and confusion engulfed the building.
According to the National September 11 Memorial & Museum, Crowther reached the devastated 78th-floor sky lobby and discovered injured survivors near the only viable stairwell. He carried one badly wounded woman on his back, led a group downstairs and then climbed back toward the danger to help others.
“He just did things that people said were not even imaginable,” Trump said Tuesday. “He willingly made all of these trips up and down, up and down, over and over again, saving life after life.”
From the National September 11 Memorial & Museum:
“On Sept. 11, New Yorkers demonstrated extraordinary courage and risked their lives to save others. One of these heroes was the man in the red bandana, Welles Crowther.
Crowther reportedly helped extinguish fires, administered first aid and issued clear instructions to survivors who were frightened, injured and struggling to see through the smoke.
He could have continued down the stairs and escaped. Instead, he turned around.
Again and again, Crowther went back for people who could not save themselves.
Investigators later found his remains in the wreckage of the South Tower alongside firefighters and other emergency workers. He was believed to have still been participating in rescue efforts when the building collapsed.
The Clue That Revealed His Identity
For months, Crowther’s family did not know what he had done after leaving a final voicemail telling his mother he was safe.
The answer emerged in 2002, when survivors publicly described the mysterious rescuer who had directed them through the burning tower. They could not provide his name, but they all remembered the red bandana around his face.
After reading their accounts, Crowther’s mother contacted the survivors and showed them photographs of her son. They recognized him as the man who had saved them.
“His family learned through witness accounts that Welles’ compassion, leadership and unwavering commitment to others were key to his courage in his final moments,” the Welles Remy Crowther Charitable Trust recounts.
The red bandana had been part of Crowther’s life since childhood. His firefighter father had given it to him when he was a boy, and Crowther continued carrying one as an adult.
Trump recalled that Crowther once made a striking prediction about the simple piece of red cloth: “With this red bandana, I’m going to change the world.”
“Little did he know, on September 11th Welles saved many, many people before losing his own life,” Trump said.
A Hero’s Light Still Shines
Trump first announced the award during a May appearance in Crowther’s home county in New York after Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.) advocated for the recognition.
“It’s such a beautiful thing that even 25 years later, Welles’ light still shines brightly,” Crowther’s mother, Alison, said at the time, according to Fox News.
One of Crowther’s bandanas now sits inside the 9/11 Memorial & Museum, where it serves as a reminder that even in one of America’s darkest hours, extraordinary courage could be found in an ordinary object—and in the young man wearing it.
His legacy also lives on through the charitable trust established in his name, educational programs teaching young people about character and service, and Boston College traditions honoring its fallen alumnus.
The “Steel Across America” tour has carried a massive beam recovered from the World Trade Center through communities across the country. Tunnel to Towers said the journey was created to preserve the memory of the 2,977 people killed on Sept. 11 and the bravery demonstrated that day.
“This tour is about ensuring that every generation can remember, and truly understand, what happened 25 years ago,” Tunnel to Towers Chairman and CEO Frank Siller said when the national tour was launched.
Standing near that battered piece of steel Tuesday, Trump formally placed Crowther among the nation’s most honored civilians.
“Today, in honor of his incredible bravery and all of the other countless unknown acts of heroism that day, it is my privilege to award” Crowther the Presidential Medal of Freedom, Trump said.
Nearly 25 years after Crowther made his final trip up the stairs, the identity of the Man in the Red Bandana is no longer a mystery.
His name—and what he chose to do when others needed him most—will not be forgotten.
Former President Donald Trump wants ex-Wyoming Congresswoman Liz Cheney to be thrown behind bars.
On Sunday morning, Trump wrote that Cheney “should go to Jail along with the rest of the Unselect Committee!”
Trump also shared an article about the committee and accused them of having “withheld crucial evidence” by not making testimony public from a Secret Service driver. The driver, who has not been named, disputed the account of former White House staffer Cassidy Hutchinson — who claimed that on his way back to the White House on Jan. 6, Trump tried to grab the steering wheel of the limo in an effort to redirect it to the Capitol.
The Jan. 6 committee has faced intense scrutiny over its decision to withhold some testimony from the public. According to Mediaite, Committee members noted that they had a deal with the Secret Service in which they agreed to avoid disclosing “privacy information, for-official-use-only information, intelligence and law enforcement sensitive records and raw intelligence information” from 12 interviews they conducted.
Cheney didn’t waste much time before responding to Trump’s comments.
“Hi Donald: you know these are lies,” Trump said. “You have had all the grand jury & J6 transcripts for many months. You’re trying to halt your 1/6 trial because your VP, WH counsel, WH aides, campaign & DOJ officials etc will testify against you. You’re afraid of the truth and you should be.”
Lying in all caps doesn’t make it true, Donald. You know you and your lawyers have long had the evidence. https://t.co/UpvCbAaChT
President Trump responded to the recent social media frenzy about his health when asked by Fox News’s Peter Doocy about reports he had died.
Doocy asked Trump if he saw over the weekend that he was dead and replied, “no.”
He said that he didn’t see speculation swirling on social media that he was having health problems. But, while defending his activity over Labor Day weekend, he said that he had heard about chatter surrounding his health.
“I have heard, it’s sort of crazy. But last week I did numerous news conferences. All successful, they went very well, like this is going very well and then I didn’t do any for two days and they said, ‘there must be something wrong with him,’” Trump said.
“Biden wouldn’t do them for months, you wouldn’t see them, and nobody ever said there was ever anything wrong with him and he wasn’t in the greatest of shape,” he added, as Vice President Vance and Sen. Katie Britt (R-Ala.) laughed beside him.
Trump noted that he did a long interview with The Daily Caller, did “numerous shows” and posted on Truth Social over the weekend.
“No, I was very active over the weekend. They also knew I went out to visit some people at the club that I own pretty nearby on the Potomac River. No, I’ve been very active, actually, over the weekend. I didn’t hear that one. That’s pretty serious stuff,” Trump said.
He called it “fake news” and said it points to why “the media has so little credibility.”
“I knew they were saying like, is he okay? How’s he feeling? What’s wrong,” Trump said. “No, I was very active this Labor Day. I had heard that but I didn’t hear it to that extent.”
The president took a week-long break from public appearances, following a marathon Cabinet meeting last Tuesday. His speech on Tuesday in the Oval Office follows sightings from press pool on Saturday, Sunday and Monday at his golf club in Sterling, Va.
The lack of interactions with the press led social media users to question if he had died or if he had physically declined, focusing on the appearance of his bruised hands.
Despite how hard Pennsylvania Democrat Senate candidate John Fetterman tries to convince Americans he’s ready to serve as a U.S. Senator medical professionals are sounding the alarm.
Duncan Lock, Dflock, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Former White House lawyer Ty Cobb predicted the U.S. Supreme Court will rule “9-0” in favor of former President Trump in a potential appeal of the Colorado Supreme Court’s ruling.
Steven Cheung, a spokesperson for Trump’s campaign, has already vowed the Trump campaign will appeal the ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court, which has a 6-3 conservative majority and includes three justices nominated by the former President.
“The Supreme Court though will not hesitate to move quickly on this; they know what the stakes are. They know what their responsibility is,” Cobb continued. “And they can delay some of these Colorado dates to the extent that they feel they’re obligated to or have to.”
“I think this case will be handled quickly. I think it could be 9-0 in the Supreme Court for Trump,” Cobb said in an interview on CNN, adding later, “I do believe it could be 9-0, because I think the law is clear.”
“The real key issue in this case is — is Trump an officer in the United States in the context in which that term is used in the Article 3 of the 14th Amendment,” Cobb said. “And in 2010, Chief Justice [John] Roberts explained in free enterprise that people don’t vote for officers of the United States.”
Cobb further argued the ruling “vindicates” Trump’s “insistence that this is a political conspiracy to interfere with the election and that … he’s the target and people shouldn’t tolerate that in America.”
Colorado’s Supreme Court put its ruling on hold until Jan. 4 to allow Trump to first seek review from the U.S. Supreme Court.
