A recent report found that Trump’s criminal hush money trial is unlikely to deter voters as he awaits a verdict.
The NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist national poll showed 67% of registered voters nationally wouldn’t be swayed by a guilty verdict against Trump, while 15% said it would make them more likely to vote for him. Another 17% said a guilty verdict would make them less likely to vote for Trump.
The 12-member jury is currently on day two of deliberations after the prosecution and defense concluded their closing arguments on Tuesday.
According to the Washington Examiner, among Republicans surveyed in the poll, 25% said a guilty verdict would make them more likely to vote for the former president, while 10% said it would make them less likely to vote for him. Only 7% of Democrats said a guilty verdict would make them more likely to vote for Trump, and 27% said it would make them less likely to vote for Trump.
Among coveted independent voters, 15% said a guilty verdict would make them more likely to vote for Trump, and 11% said it would make them less likely.
In contrast, 76% of all voters said a not-guilty verdict wouldn’t affect their votes.
The best-case scenario for Trump is acquittal however experts have noted outcome is unlikely as it would require all 12 jurors to find him innocent. The most realistic path for the defense is a hung jury, in which at least one juror dissents.
The former president is expected to appeal if he is found guilty. A conviction would not keep him from running for a second term.
A trust connected to California Governor Gavin Newsom’s in-laws donated $5,000 to Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.
Records show that the Siebel Family Revocable Trust, which is run by Kenneth Siebel Jr. and Judith Siebel, the parents of Newsom’s wife, Jennifer Siebel, gave $5,000 to the Friends of Ron DeSantis PAC in early April.
The Siebel family has a history of making donations to Republican candidates, including Senators Ron Johnson (R-WI), Tom Cotton (R-AR), and Josh Hawley (R-MO).
By Office of Vice President of the United States - @VP on X, Public Domain,
Second Lady Usha Vance is taking it day by day.
During a recent interview, the second lady responded to speculation her husband, JD Vance, is angling to be the next Republican presidential nominee.
“People do ask about it,” Usha Vance told Meghan McCain on her podcast “Citizen McCain.”
While she acknowledged the possibility of her husband, Vice President JD Vance, running for president, Usha Vance emphasized that she moved into the Washington area with “no intention whatsoever” of considering his political future. However, she pointed out that she also had no intention of being involved in politics four years ago.
For now, Usha Vance said she is focused on the present, though she did not completely dismiss the idea.
“My attitude is that this is a four-year period where I have a set of responsibilities to my family, to myself, to obviously the country and that’s really what I’m focused on,” Usha Vance said. “I’m not plotting out next steps or really trying for anything after this.”
She continued, “In a dream world, eventually I’ll be able to live in my home and kind of continue my career and all those sorts of things. And if that happens in four years, I understand. If that happens in some other point in the future, I understand. Just sort of along for the ride and enjoying it while I can.”
As vice president, Vance is considered the political frontrunner to be the Republican nominee for president in 2028.
“I really am just not focused on politics. I’m not focused on the midterm elections in 2026, much less the presidential election in 2028. When we get to that point, I’ll talk to the president. We’ll figure out what we want to do,” Vance told Lawrence Jones in a “Fox & Friends” exclusive interview in April.
In March, Tucker Carlson, co-founder of the Daily Caller News Foundation, forecasted that Vice President JD Vance will emerge as the Republican Party’s presidential nominee in 2028. Carlson’s statement, made on the “VINCE” podcast, sheds light on the increasing influence of Vance within the party and the likelihood of him becoming the successor to Donald Trump’s political legacy.
Despite Donald Trump declining to endorse Vance during a February Fox News interview, where he stated there were “a lot of very capable people” in the Republican Party, Carlson is optimistic that the former president will ultimately support the vice president in 2028. Trump’s comment, which may have seemed like a rejection to some, was interpreted by Carlson as a temporary stance, not a definitive end to any future support.
“I think people want to leave a legacy, all of us do, and great men especially do. And the only person in the entire Republican Party from my position who’s capable of carrying on the Trump legacy and expanding it, making it what it should fully be, is JD Vance,” Carlson explained. He also praised Vance’s loyalty to Trump and his profound service, indicating that Trump’s current withholding of endorsement may have been a strategic decision.
Duncan Lock, Dflock, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Residence Questioned by Courts
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will not be listed as a presidential candidate on the New York state ballot after the U.S. Supreme Court declined to reinstate his name. Lower courts determined that Kennedy’s address in Katonah, New York, did not qualify as his fixed and permanent residence, leading to his exclusion from the ballot.
Kennedy’s legal team argued that removing him from the ballot would deprive his New York supporters of their right to vote for him. They emphasized that no evidence suggested voters had been misled about his candidacy. Despite these arguments, the Supreme Court declined to issue an emergency injunction.
Opposition from New York Attorney General
The emergency request to reinstate Kennedy’s name faced strong opposition from New York Attorney General Letitia James’ office. Her team argued that the state had already mailed absentee ballots and the certification deadline had passed, making it too late to add his name back to the ballot. The court’s refusal marks a significant setback for Kennedy’s campaign efforts in New York.
Kennedy suspended his presidential campaign last month and endorsed former President Donald Trump’s bid for the White House. Since then, he has worked to remove his name from ballots in critical swing states while keeping it on in others, triggering a series of legal battles.
This Supreme Court appeal marked Kennedy’s first attempt to remain on the New York ballot, but he isn’t the first candidate to face such a challenge. Earlier this month, the Green Party’s candidate, Jill Stein, also failed to secure a spot on Nevada’s ballot after the Supreme Court denied a similar emergency request.
New York Polls: Kamala Harris Leads Trump
Despite Kennedy’s exclusion from the ballot, the latest Siena College poll shows Vice President Kamala Harris leading Donald Trump by 13 points in a direct matchup in New York. Pollster Steven Greenberg noted that although New York remains solidly blue, the margin isn’t as wide as in recent presidential cycles.
“Despite the Democratic convention, the debate and numerous other events during the six weeks between Siena College polls, there has been little movement in the horse race or in either candidate’s favorability rating. While the race appears largely static, Harris did pick up support among Latino voters, leading Trump 56-39%, up from 48-47% in August,” Greenberg noted. “Independents moved further in Trump’s direction, supporting him over Harris 58-34%, up from 47-40% last month. Interestingly, New York’s independent voters moved significantly in the Republican direction across several questions that will be on the ballot.”
“New Yorkers trust Harris more than Trump on abortion, democracy and the economy, and trust them equally on immigration. But there are huge partisan divides. Democrats trust Harris on all four issues by between 76 and 89 percent, and Republicans trust Trump by between 76 and 89 percent,” the Siena College pollster continued. “While independents trust Harris more on abortion by 50-42%, they trust Trump more on the other three by between 15 and 34 points.”
In previous elections, Democrats have won New York by at least 18 points. President Biden carried the state by 23 points in 2020. In a multi-candidate race, Harris’ lead drops slightly to 12 points.
Sen. Adam Schiff (D-CA), one of President Donald Trump’s fiercest political adversaries, offered rare and enthusiastic support for the president Monday after Trump called on Congress to approve a federal incentive aimed at reviving American film and television production.
“I am in strong agreement with the President,” Schiff wrote on X, sharing Trump’s announcement.
“Congress should immediately take up and pass a federal film tax incentive to bring back these good-paying jobs that we’ve lost to other countries,” Schiff continued. “Let’s work together — Republicans and Democrats — to get this done, and bring the movie magic back to America.”
I am in strong agreement with the President. Congress should immediately take up and pass a federal film tax incentive to bring back these good-paying jobs that we've lost to other countries.
Let’s work together — Republicans and Democrats — to get this done, and bring the movie… pic.twitter.com/adeBFYtbM3
The declaration represented an extraordinary moment of agreement between Trump and the California Democrat who helped lead the president’s first impeachment and has remained a relentless administration critic.
Trump unveiled his proposal after meeting with actor Jon Voight, whom the president appointed as a special ambassador to Hollywood alongside Sylvester Stallone and Mel Gibson.
“I am going to suggest that Republicans and Democrats get together, and immediately craft Legislation to save the Movie, Television, and Entertainment Business in America,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
“Congress should approve, immediately, a Federal Production Incentive to create Entertainment Jobs in America,” he added. “It can be done very easily, and EVERYBODY WILL BE HAPPY!”
Trump argued that Hollywood had become a “Complete and Total Disaster” as productions increasingly moved to Canada and other foreign competitors offering generous financial incentives.
“There is no incentive to be there, and it is hurting California very badly,” Trump wrote. “The amount of money spent on Tax Incentives will be made up tenfold by the money pouring into the Treasury’s coffers.”
The president said Voight and others had persuaded him that federal tax incentives could “Make our Movie and Television Production Business GREAT AGAIN, perhaps GREATER THAN EVER BEFORE!”
Voight and his advisers have promoted a federal credit covering as much as 20% of qualifying production costs. Trump did not endorse a specific percentage in his announcement, however, and Congress has not yet introduced a final bill.
Schiff’s support was surprising politically, but not entirely unexpected on policy grounds.
The senator has spent months advocating for a nationwide incentive and circulated a proposal offering a 15% credit on labor costs for productions made in the United States, according to Mediaite.
During a March Senate hearing in Burbank, Schiff warned that state-level programs alone could not compete with the incentives offered by foreign governments.
“State programs simply cannot substitute for the kind of globally competitive federal tax incentive that is needed to bring production back to American soil and stop its offshoring,” Schiff said at the hearing.
Schiff said the industry directly supports roughly 800,000 American jobs and indirectly affects millions more, including carpenters, caterers, drivers, hotel workers and equipment suppliers. He also noted that Los Angeles County lost more than 42,000 motion-picture production jobs over two years.
Trump’s endorsement marks a shift from his previous proposal to slap a 100% tariff on movies produced overseas. Studios and entertainment unions argued that tax incentives would offer a more practical way to compete with Canada, the United Kingdom and other foreign production centers.
The Motion Picture Association welcomed Trump’s support, while the Wall Street Journal reported that studios, unions and lawmakers had been privately lobbying the White House for a national incentive since last year.
Whether Congress can translate the unlikely Trump-Schiff alliance into legislation remains uncertain. For the moment, however, two of Washington’s most bitter rivals have found themselves reading from the same Hollywood script.
Americans may soon know more about a Biden family business arrangement selling White House access to foreign interests, under a lawsuit from an ethics watchdog.
The non-profit public interest law firm Judicial Watch reports it may receive more records under a “Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit against the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) for Biden family records and communications regarding travel and finance transactions, as well as communications between the Bidens and several known business associates.”
“This lawsuit is an opportunity for the Trump team to stop the Deep State’s slow-walking of the release of Biden family corruption records,” stated Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton.
The suit was originally filed in May 2023 “after the National Archives failed to respond to a February 2023 FOIA request.”
This lawsuit previously “forced the release of records revealing emails sent by Joe Biden using alias accounts during his vice presidency, in which he communicated with family members, including his son Hunter and brother James. The records also showed that in August 2016, Biden approved ending Secret Service protection for both Hunter Biden and Beau Biden’s daughter, Natalie, during a trip to Kosovo,” Judicial Watch reports.
The emails included messages to Jim and Hunter Biden regarding the then-vice president’s schedule and meetings. Some emails showed Joe Biden using the alias: [email protected].
According to Judicial Watch:
The emails also showed that Hunter and Jim Biden accompanied Joe Biden on taxpayer-funded trips; and then-Vice President Biden in December 2009 emailing an aide after he forgot the password to his West Wing computer.
The records showed that Hunter Biden used an email address ([email protected]) from his now-dissolved firm Rosemont Seneca Partners and that James Biden used an email address ([email protected]) tied to his consulting firm Lion Hall, which had been the subject of an FBI bribery investigation in the 1990s.
The lawsuit also forced the release of records showing then-Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter received a May 26, 2016, email detailing a scheduled “8:45 am prep for a 9 am phone call with Pres Poroshenko,” who was the president of Ukraine. Joe Biden’s email address is the alias [email protected], Hunter Biden’s email account is disclosed as [email protected]. (Hunter Biden was on the board of the controversial Ukrainian firm Burisma at the time.)
Broadway star Patti LuPone declared multiple times that the Kennedy Center under President Donald Trump should be blown to smithereens.
In a wide-ranging interview with the New Yorker, published on Monday, it was noted that LuPone mentioned “more than once” that she wanted to see the “Trumpified” Kennedy Center “blown up.”
From the New Yorker:
She’s even angrier at the rest of the country. She told me, more than once, that the Trumpified Kennedy Center “should get blown up.” In the S.U.V., apropos the current Administration, she pronounced, “Leave. New York. Alone. Make it its own country. I mean, is there any other city in America that’s as diverse, as in-your-face? It’s a live-or-die city, it really is. Stick it out or leave.”
Trump named himself the chair of the Kennedy Center in February. Trump had previously shaken things up and replaced all members of the board. Numerous artists departed their roles with the Kennedy Center in the wake of Trump’s changes.
In a Truth Social post announcing the board changes, Trump took issue with “drag shows” allegedly targeted toward young people.
“Just last year, the Kennedy Center featured Drag Shows specifically targeting our youth — THIS WILL STOP,” he wrote at the time. “The Kennedy Center is an American Jewel, and must reflect the brightest STARS on its stage from all across our Nation. For the Kennedy Center, THE BEST IS YET TO COME!”
In her New Yorker interview, LuPone did offer praise to a close collaborator who has become a rather outspoken conservative in recent years: David Mamet. The playwright and filmmaker announced in 2008 that he was no longer a “brain-dead liberal.” The New Yorker described Mamet as going “full MAGA.”
“The writing, once I understood the rhythm, became the easiest thing to speak,” LuPone said. “I learned more about acting from David Mamet than I learned in four years at Juilliard.”
Former President Donald Trump wants CNN to start a new business venture aimed to conquer right-of-aisle viewers.
In an email statement from his Save America PAC, Trump wrote that CNN should open a “conservative network” with himself as the host.
“If CNN were smart, they’d open up a Conservative network, only have me on, and it would be the most successful network in History. Fox only made it because of me, Twitter only made it because of me, and even Facebook is now in the tubes, having lost almost $90 billion in value since I was taken off, which was considered one of the biggest mistakes in business over the last two years,” the statement read.
The former president of the United States has advice for the current president of CNN pic.twitter.com/dwTXLmWnUk
A group of Evanston, Illinois, residents are suing their city government over a $20 million scheme to give away $25,000 each to Black residents as “reparations” for wrongs experienced by past generations.
The nonprofit public interest law firm Judicial Watch announced it “filed a class action lawsuit against Evanston, Illinois, on behalf of six individuals over the city’s use of race as an eligibility requirement for a reparations program which makes $25,000 payments to black residents and descendants of black residents who lived in Evanston between the years 1919 and 1969.” (RELATED: San Francisco Debates $5 Million Per Person Reparations Proposal)
The New York Times photo archive, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
“The Evanston, Illinois’ ‘reparations’ program is nothing more than a ploy to redistribute tax dollars to individuals based on race,” said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton. “This scheme unconstitutionally discriminates against anyone who does not identify as Black or African American. This class action, civil rights lawsuit will be a historic defense of our color-blind Constitution.”
“Through a series of resolutions, the Evanston City Council created a program to provide $25,000 cash payments to residents who lived in Evanston between 1919 and 1969 and their children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren,” JW reports, after filing a class action, civil rights lawsuit which challenges “on Equal Protection grounds Defendant City of Evanston’s use of race as an eligibility requirement for a program that makes $25,000 payments to residents and direct descendants of residents of the city five-plus decades if not more than a century ago. Plaintiffs seek a judgment declaring the Defendant’s use of race to be unconstitutional. Plaintiffs also seek an injunction enjoining Defendant from continuing to use race as a requirement for receiving payment under the program and request that the Court award them and all class members damages in the amount of $25,000 each.”
Gage Skidmore from Peoria, AZ, United States of America, CC BY-SA 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons
JW argues that “the program violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment because:”
Remedying societal discrimination is not a compelling governmental interest. Richmond v. J.A. Croson Co., 488 U.S. 469, 505 (1989); see also Regents of Univ. of Cal. v. Bakke, 438 U.S. 265, 307 ((1978) (opinion of Powell, J.) (describing “societal discrimination” as “an amorphous concept of injury that may be ageless in its reach into the past.”) Remedying discrimination from 55 to 105 years ago or remedying discrimination experienced at any time by an individual’s parents, grandparents, or great grandparents has not been recognized as a compelling governmental interest…
Defendant also has not and cannot demonstrate that its use of a race as an eligibility requirement is narrowly tailored. Among other shortcomings, Defendant’s use of race as a proxy for experiencing discrimination between 1919 and 1969 does not limit eligibility to persons who actually experienced discrimination during that relevant time period and therefore is overinclusive. Defendant also failed to consider race-neutral alternatives, such as requiring prospective recipients show that they or their parents, grandparents, or great grandparents actually experienced housing discrimination during the relevant time period because of an Evanston ordinance, policy, or procedure, as Defendant requires for the third group of prospective recipients. Nor did Defendant take into account race-neutral anti-discrimination remedies before adopting its race-based eligibility requirement.
According to JW, the program works as follows:
The first group of persons eligible for the $25,000 payments are current Evanston residents who identify as Black or African American and were at least 18 years of age between 1919 and 1969. Evanston refers to this group as “ancestors.”
The second group are individuals who identify as Black or African American who are at least 18 years of age and have at least one parent, grandparent, or great grandparent who identifies (or identified) as Black or African American, lived in Evanston for any period between 1919 and 1969, and was at least 18 at the time. Evanston refers to this group as “direct descendants.” A “direct descendant” is not required to be a current resident of Evanston to receive the payment.
“At no point in the application process are persons in the first and second groups required to present evidence that they or their ancestors experienced housing discrimination or otherwise suffered harm because of an unlawful Evanston ordinance, policy, or procedure or some other unlawful act or series of acts by Evanston between 1919 and 1969,” Judicial Watch states in the laws.” “In effect, Evanston is using race as a proxy for having experienced discrimination during this time period.” (RELATED: Squad Member Introduces Proposal For $14 Trillion In Reparations)
Judicial Watch states in the lawsuit that “the six plaintiffs satisfy all eligibility requirements for participating in the program as ‘direct descendants’ other that the race requirement (the actual number of individuals who are potential class members is in the tens of thousands).”
Christine Svenson of Chalmers, Adams, Backer & Kaufman, LLC is assisting Judicial Watch in the lawsuit.
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the positions of Great America News Desk. It first appeared in American Liberty News.
Outgoing Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard shared an encouraging update Thursday on her husband’s battle with a rare form of bone cancer, revealing that a major surgery to remove the tumor was successful.
Gabbard said her husband, Abraham Williams, recently underwent a nearly seven-hour operation after being diagnosed with sacral chordoma, an extremely rare cancer that forms in the bones of the spine and skull base.
“The surgery to remove bone and surrounding tissue lasted almost seven hours and was successful,” Gabbard wrote in a post on X.
“He had a rough night and is in a lot of pain, but is finally home resting.”
The Trump administration official said the family is now focused on the recovery process.
“Now recovery begins. We’re so grateful for the outpouring of prayers and kind messages from all of you. Our hearts are full,” Gabbard added.
My husband Abraham was diagnosed with a very rare sacral chordoma. The surgery to remove bone and surrounding tissue lasted almost seven hours and was successful. He had a rough night and is in a lot of pain but is finally home resting. Now recovery begins. We’re so grateful…
According to Mayo Clinic research, sacral chordoma is a rare, slow-growing bone cancer that most commonly develops along the spine. While considered slow-growing, the disease can be difficult to treat because of its location, and surgery is often the primary treatment option.
Before the procedure, Gabbard shared a heartfelt message thanking supporters for their prayers.
“We are humbled and so grateful to be surrounded by aloha during this really tough time,” she wrote.
The update comes just weeks after Gabbard announced she would step down from her position in the Trump administration to support her husband through the difficult battle ahead. (RELATED:Tulsi Gabbard Resigning As National Intelligence Director)
“My husband, Abraham, has recently been diagnosed with an extremely rare form of bone cancer,” Gabbard wrote in May. “He faces major challenges in the coming weeks and months. At this time, I must step away from public service to be by his side and fully support him through this battle.”
President Donald Trump praised Gabbard following her resignation announcement, saying she had done “an incredible job” serving in his administration.
Vice President JD Vance also voiced support for the former Hawaii congresswoman.
“I’m sorry to see her go, but certainly understand that family comes first,” Vance said. “She and her husband Abraham will be in my prayers as they face this next challenge together, and she has my gratitude for being a great addition to the administration and a loyal confidante. Godspeed Tulsi!”
Gabbard’s final day in office is expected to be June 30.
The White House has also tapped Federal Housing Finance Agency Director William J. “Bill” Pulte to assume Gabbard’s intelligence role following her departure.
Gabbard, a former Democrat congresswoman from Hawaii, became one of the most prominent political converts of the 2024 election cycle when she endorsed Trump’s presidential campaign and later joined his administration.
