As buzz continues to build around Trump’s looming 2024 announcement some Republicans are already trying to burst his bubble.
Despite the obvious excitement surrounding Trump’s long-awaited presidential campaign announcement the Republican is already facing hurdles on the path to 2024.
Trump, who is already facing various legal challenges, will be effectively cut off from the Republican National Committee if he declares his candidacy committee chairwoman Ronna McDaniel told The Hill.
Last year, the RNC admitted it was paying for legal fees “that relate to politically motivated legal proceedings waged against President Trump” and in recent months the committee has funded Trump’s defense against probes launched by Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance Jr. (D) and New York Attorney General Letitia James (D).
“We cannot pay legal bills for any candidate that’s announced. So these are bills that came from the Letitia James lawsuit that started while he was president,” McDaniel said. “It was voted on by our executive committee for our former president, that this was a politically motivated investigation and that’s what it’s been.”
“But we cannot do in kind contributions to any candidate right now. He’s the former president being attacked from every which way with lawsuits, and he’s certainly raised more under the RNC than we’ve spent on these bills,” she added.
Advisers in Trump’s inner circle have indicated the announcement could come as soon as November 14th but some conservatives say it shouldn’t come as any shock.
Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) said on Sunday that Trump’s upcoming announcement doesn’t surprise him, according to The Hill.
“Like, why should anybody be surprised,” Christie said, adding, “When something happens that you anticipated happening, it doesn’t make any difference.”
“He’s going to run. Everyone always knew he was going to run. He can’t miss the attention any more than he does, and he’s going to run,” the former governor added. “Now we’ll see what happens.”
However, reports began to swirl on Monday that Trump couls make his annoucenment during tonight’s rally in Ohio. Axios reporter Jonathan Swan was the first to report that Trump could move up the announcement date.
“Based calls/texts all morning, Trump/Vance rally in Ohio will be v closely watched by Rs. Speculation has reached a point of absurdity at this point but many Rs of varying degrees of closeness to Trump are anticipating accelerated announcement based on his recent private comments,” Swan tweeted.
Based calls/texts all morning, Trump/Vance rally in Ohio will be v closely watched by Rs. Speculation has reached a point of absurdity at this point but many Rs of varying degrees of closeness to Trump are anticipating accelerated announcement based on his recent private comments
A source close to the matter told The Washington Examiner that ultimately the decsion is up to Trump and nobody knows exactly when he will share the news.
“There’s a lot of back-and-forth right now, no one really knows if it’s going to happen tonight or if it’s going to happen in a week or so. Trump himself is the one who wants to do it ASAP. No one knows right now whether it’s happening tonight or not,” the source explained.
Thor Brødreskift / Nordiske Mediedager, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Newly released Epstein files include private messages from 2018 between Steve Bannon and Jeffrey Epstein, revealing previously undisclosed political discussions involving President Donald Trump.
According to reporting based on the documents, Bannon described Trump in late 2018 as “beyond borderline” and referenced the 25th Amendment, the constitutional mechanism for removing a president who is unable to perform the duties of the office.
Bannon has come under fire from a wide variety of critics — including conservatives — in recent days over his his relationship with Epstein.
Documents released by the Department of Justice revealed that on the very day Epstein was arrested on charges of sex trafficking in July 2019, he was texting with Bannon about the aforementioned documentary.
A few months before that, Bannon advised Epstein: “First we need to push back on the lies ; then crush the pedo/trafficking narrative ; then rebuild your image as a philanthropist.”
Another text exchange between the two men, dated Dec. 31, 2018, is under intense scrutiny.
The conversation reads:
EPSTEIN: Hell of. Year. Next will be biblicl
BANNON: We either own 2019 or it will surely own us
EPSTEIN: Im back in the f and b biz only
BANNON: F and B director
EPSTEIN: No it does not stand for fck and blw
EPSTEIN: Spoke to my dems. This weekend. Boy are emotions running high
BANNON: Going to blow him up right our of the box– WH has zero plan to punch back– Fort Apache with no cavalry enroute
EPSTEIN: And no soldiers in the fort. He really is borderline. Not sure what he may do.
BANNON: I think it’s beyond borderline — 25 amendment
The communications also reference handling critical coverage following the Miami Herald’s 2018 investigative series on Epstein, which is widely credited with prompting renewed federal scrutiny and Epstein’s eventual 2019 arrest.
The documents do not allege criminal conduct related to the exchanges.
A Democratic congresswoman facing serious federal charges is now under fire for touting political support she hasn’t actually received.
Florida Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, who was indicted last fall for allegedly stealing millions in disaster relief funds, is promoting what her campaign calls an endorsement from former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi — even though Pelosi has not publicly backed her reelection bid in years.
Nancy Pelosi via Gage Skidmore flickr
Cherfilus-McCormick’s campaign website features a glowing statement attributed to Pelosi, suggesting current support for the embattled lawmaker.
“Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, in her time in Congress, has been masterful at bringing people together… by working on big problems and staying focused on shared values,” Pelosi says in the statement. “It is my honor and privilege to support Sheila… for re-election as the U.S. Representative for Florida’s 20th Congressional District.”
But according to a press release reviewed by the Daily Caller News Foundation, Pelosi made that comment in July 2022 — nearly four years ago — when Cherfilus-McCormick was running for her first full term. A source familiar with the matter confirmed Pelosi has not issued any recent public endorsement.
Despite that, the campaign continues to present the statement as if it reflects Pelosi’s current support heading into the 2026 election.
Millions Allegedly Diverted From FEMA Funds
Federal prosecutors allege Cherfilus-McCormick’s campaigns were partially financed through more than $5.7 million in FEMA overpayments issued to her family’s company, Trinity Health Care Services.
Rather than returning the money, prosecutors say the congresswoman used a “substantial portion” of the funds to boost her political run while also spending on “luxury personal items.”
The Department of Justice indicted Cherfilus-McCormick in November on charges including stealing federal COVID-19 disaster relief funds, funneling money into her campaign, participating in a straw donor scheme, and conspiring to file a false tax return.
If convicted, she could face up to 53 years in prison.
Cherfilus-McCormick has pleaded not guilty and denies wrongdoing. She was not present at her Feb. 3 arraignment in Miami federal court.
Political Standing Collapsing at Home
Even in her deep-blue Fort Lauderdale-area district, the congresswoman’s political future appears shaky.
A Listener Group–Political Matrix News survey released Monday found only 22% of likely Democratic primary voters believe she should remain in office and seek reelection. She holds a -30% favorability rating, with just two in ten respondents approving of her job performance ahead of the August 2026 primary.
She is also facing a growing challenge from 26-year-old activist Elijah Manley, who leads her 38% to 35% in a hypothetical primary matchup. Former Broward County Mayor Dale Holness trails with 10% support.
The poll surveyed 300 likely primary voters from Feb. 2–4 and reported a 3% margin of error.
Weak Fundraising and Mounting Ethics Scrutiny
Cherfilus-McCormick’s campaign raised just $119,000 in the fourth quarter of 2025, while spending nearly as much — $110,000 — on legal fees, according to Federal Election Commission filings.
Meanwhile, her opponents posted stronger numbers: Manley raised $79,000, and Holness brought in $140,000 during the same period.
The congresswoman is also under investigation by the House Ethics Committee over allegations including illegal donations and inaccurate financial reporting. The committee has already found “substantial evidence” of misconduct tied to the federal indictment.
A Campaign Built on Yesterday’s Support
With criminal charges looming, sinking poll numbers, and serious ethical questions, Cherfilus-McCormick is now facing backlash not only for the allegations — but for campaigning as though Pelosi still stands behind her.
Gage Skidmore from Peoria, AZ, United States of America, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Former Utah Sen. and one-time Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney is mourning the political demise of Sen. Bill Cassidy — calling the Louisiana Republican’s stunning primary loss “a loss for the country.”
Cassidy became the first elected Republican senator in more than a decade to lose a renomination bid after getting knocked out of Louisiana’s GOP primary Saturday, ending a political career that had been dogged for years by one vote that many conservatives never forgot: his decision to convict President Donald Trump following the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.
“The Senate to now lose an exceptionally brilliant and creative mind, an MD who chairs healthcare, and a person of character,” Romney wrote Sunday on X. “Bill Cassidy’s departure is a loss for the country.”
The Senate to now lose an exceptionally brilliant and creative mind, an MD who chairs healthcare, and a person of character. Bill Cassidy’s departure is a loss for the country.
The president wasted little time celebrating Cassidy’s downfall on Truth Social, taking a victory lap after years of public feuding with the Louisiana senator.
“His disloyalty to the man who got him elected is now a part of a legend, and it’s nice to see that his political career is OVER!” Trump wrote.
Cassidy’s defeat had long been viewed as a looming possibility in Republican circles. Trump-backed Rep. Julia Letlow and Louisiana Treasurer John Fleming finished ahead of Cassidy in Saturday’s contest and now advance to a June runoff after neither candidate secured a majority.
Sen. John Kennedy suggested nobody should be shocked by the outcome.
“Unless you’re your god’s perfect idiot, the result was predictable,” Kennedy said on Fox News. “Ground control to Major Tom. The polls have shown for well over a year that Sen. Cassidy was in trouble.”
He added that Trump’s endorsement of Letlow “was sort of the icing on the cake.”
Meanwhile, Sen. Lindsey Graham framed Cassidy’s loss as a warning shot to Republicans who break with Trump.
“There’s no room in this party to destroy his agenda or to destroy him and his family as a Republican,” Graham said during an appearance on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”
“If you align with Democrats to drive him out of office, like Cassidy did, you’re going to lose.”
Cassidy, however, used his concession speech to fire off what appeared to be a parting shot at Trump and the election challenges that followed 2020.
“When you participate in democracy, sometimes it doesn’t turn out the way you want it to,” Cassidy told supporters. “You don’t pout, you don’t whine. You don’t claim the election was stolen. You don’t manufacture some excuse.”
For Romney, Cassidy’s exit marks the fading influence of one of the GOP’s shrinking anti-Trump bloc.
The relationship between Romney and Trump has been icy for nearly a decade. Romney sharply criticized Trump during the 2016 presidential race, briefly joined his orbit after the election during a highly publicized meeting over a possible Cabinet role, then became one of Trump’s fiercest Republican critics in the Senate.
Romney ultimately became the only Republican senator to vote to convict Trump during both impeachment proceedings — first over Ukraine and later over Jan. 6 — putting him on a collision course with Trump and many Republican voters.
Cassidy joined Romney in the second impeachment vote, one of seven Republican senators who voted to convict. Now, a few years later, Republican voters in Louisiana appeared to deliver their own verdict.
From one former Senator that voted to convict President Trump
to another Senator that voted to convict President Trump,
Gage Skidmore from Surprise, AZ, United States of America, CC BY-SA 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons
President-elect Donald Trump called for an investigation into retired Iowa pollster J. Ann Selzer as he accused her of undermining trust in the 2024 election.
Selzer’s (inaccurate) Iowa reporting threatened to upend the state’s results, however Trump went on toe decisively win the Buckeye State.
“A totally Fake poll that caused great distrust and uncertainty at a very critical time. She knew exactly what she was doing,” Trump posted to his Truth Social site.
In the post, Trump thanked the “GREAT PEOPLE OF IOWA” for their votes, despite alleged possible “ELECTION FRAUD” by Selzer and the newspaper that published the poll, The Des Moines Register.
“An investigation is fully called for!” Trump added.
Just days before the election, Selzer’s survey, which found Vice President Harris leading Trump in Iowa, sent shockwaves nationwide. Trump went on to win the state by more than 20,000 votes.
Selzer, who has worked on a contract basis for the Register since 1997, said she would have liked to have made the announcement after polling lined up with the election results and admitted “it’s ironic” that it’s the opposite.
Selzer’s poll was widely cited during the final days of the campaign, raising questions about whether its projections shaped voter sentiment or campaign strategies.
Colorado Republican Ken Buck announced a resolution on Monday calling for Vice President Kamala Harris to invoke the 25th Amendment to remove Biden from office.
The resolution is unexpected as Rep. Buck has fiercely criticized Republicans’ effort to impeach President Joe Biden.
“Calling on Vice President Kamala Harris to convene and mobilize the principal officers of the executive departments of the Cabinet to activate section 4 of the 25th Amendment to declare President Joseph R. Biden incapable of executing the duties of his office and to immediately exercise powers as Acting President,” Buck’s resolution read.
Rep. Buck’s resolution cites several examples of why Buck believes President Biden to be no longer capable of executing his office.
Whereas President Joseph R. Biden is the oldest sitting President in United States history at 81 years old; Whereas President Joseph R. Biden has been televised wandering aimlessly at events, including an event with the King of Jordan at the White House in February 2024, an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit event in November 2023, and a Global Fund conference in September 2022; Whereas President Joseph R. Biden frequently speaks publicly in an incoherent and indiscernible manner, often with the aid of a teleprompter, including speeches he gave at a brewery in Wisconsin in January 2024, a speech in Vietnam in September 2023, and a Presidential townhall with CNN in July 2021;
Buck’s resolution concludes by declaring Harris must “immediately use her powers under section 4 of the 25th Amendment to convene and mobilize the principal officers of the executive departments in the Cabinet to declare what is obvious to a horrified Nation: That the President is unable to successfully discharge the duties and powers of his office.”
Rep. Ken Buck has a resolution calling for Kamala Harris to invoke the 25th Amendment to remove Biden: pic.twitter.com/d4TGQWFfcQ
Buck will not seek reelection to his heavily Republican district in 2024 and expressed his disappointment with the GOP. Vocal Republicans have also voiced frustration over Buck’s opposition to the Biden impeachment as well his decision to vote against impeaching Homeland Security Sec. Alejandro Mayorkas.
“I think that we have three committees that are working very hard on uncovering evidence of Hunter Biden’s wrongdoing,” Buck said in September of 2023.
“They are looking to see if there is a connection with Joe Biden. If they reach that point where they could find evidence of a connection, fine. I think that the Republicans will move forward with an impeachment inquiry. Right now, I’m not convinced that that evidence exists. And I’m not supporting an impeachment inquiry,” he concluded.
This article originally appeared on American Liberty News. Republished with permission.
Just weeks after blasting President Donald Trump’s handling of the Iran conflict, abandoning the Republican Party, and declaring “I’m out,” Tucker Carlson has launched what may be his most personal attack on the president yet.
Appearing on theJack Neel Podcast on Wednesday, Carlson mocked Trump as a loudmouth who talks tough but lacks the resolve to back it up.
Recalling Trump’s repeated Truth Social warnings that Iran’s regime could be eliminated, Carlson argued the president realized there was “no obvious military solution” and tried to bluff his way through the crisis.
“So he tried to posture his way out of it,” Carlson said, impersonating Trump. “‘We’re going to eliminate you.'”
According to Carlson, the strategy backfired.
“After like the 400th Truth Social, [Iran] reached the same conclusion that everyone on the globe reached, which is this guy’s not strong, he’s weak,” Carlson said. “Strong people don’t brag about how strong they are. They just punch you in the face and end the conversation.”
Carlson then compared Trump to the kind of barroom braggart his late father once warned him about.
“My father was a boxer at one point,” Carlson said, explaining that there are “two types of guys” in a fight.
The first, he said, are the men who puff out their chests and shout, “What’d you say? Say it again!”
“You don’t have to worry about those guys,” Carlson said.
The people to fear, he argued, are the ones who stay quiet until they strike.
“And Trump is very much, ‘What’d you say?!'” Carlson continued before delivering his bluntest insult yet.
“Shut up, b*tch! I don’t take you seriously. No, I’m not being mean. But like, come on.”
The extraordinary remarks mark another dramatic escalation in Carlson’s increasingly bitter feud with the president.
Once one of Trump’s most influential allies, Carlson has spent the past several weeks repeatedly criticizing the administration’s approach to Iran, warning that the conflict betrayed the “America First” agenda that energized millions of Republican voters. (RELATED: Tucker Carlson and MTG Turn on GOP in Stunning MAGA Revolt)
The split has only widened since then.
As GAND previously reported, Carlson recently declared that he could no longer support the Republican Party, saying, “I would not support the Republican Party. There’s no chance I would support the Republican Party.”
He later argued that Republican leaders had become disloyal to American voters, asking, “How could I or any American voter support a political party that’s not loyal to the United States?”
Former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) quickly echoed Carlson’s frustration, writing on social media that she, too, was “done supporting the Republican Party.”
“There is A LOT of us that are absolutely fed up,” Greene wrote. “We are DONE with the America LAST Republican Party.”
Trump, meanwhile, has repeatedly rejected Carlson’s criticism.
During the height of tensions with Iran, the president pushed back against suggestions that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was dictating American policy.
“I call the shots,” Trump said. “I call all the shots.”
Carlson now appears unconvinced.
What began as a disagreement over foreign policy has evolved into one of the most public and personal feuds within the conservative movement.
With each new interview, Carlson’s language has become more pointed—and more difficult for Republicans to ignore.
It’s never too early for Trump to dole out an endorsement.
On Wednesday, Trump formally endorsed Rep. Jim Banks’s campaign for the Indiana Senate primary in what is the latest sign the GOP is warming up to his candidacy in the race.
“Jim Banks is running for the United States Senate from the Great State of Indiana. I know Jim well, have seen him tested at the highest and most difficult levels, and WIN!” Trump wrote on TruthSocial. “Strong on the Border, Crime, our Military and our Vets, Jim will fight for low taxes and regulations, Sanity in Government, and our under siege 2nd Amendment.”
“Jim Banks is respected by all, will never let you down, and has my Complete & Total Endorsement!” he added.
Trump’s endorsement comes a day after former Indiana governor Mitch Daniels announced he would not pursue a Senate campaign.
“After what I hope was adequate reflection, I’ve decided not to become a candidate for the U.S. Senate. With full credit and respect for the institution and those serving in it, I conclude that it’s just not the job for me, not the town for me, and not the life I want to live at this point,” Daniels wrote.
“I have never imagined that I would be well-suited to legislative office, particularly where seniority remains a significant factor in one’s effectiveness, and I saw nothing in my recent explorations that altered that view,” Daniels said, adding that if he had run, he would only have done so for one term.
Daniels stressed in his announcement that he would have worked to lower the “personal vitriol” and temperature across the nation’s political sphere.
“I would have tried to work on these matters in a way that might soften the harshness and personal vitriol that has infected our public square, rendering it not only repulsive to millions of Americans, but also less capable of effective action to meet our threats and seize our opportunities,” he said.
Should his private opinions affect this professional work?
Local Biloxi news anchor David “Dave” Elliott has reported he was fired after speaking about politics on social media in his free time.
Elliot worked for South Mississippi-based news station WLOX for nearly 4 decades and, according to the Biloxi Sun Herald, once joked that he planned to die of old age in his anchor chair. As of Friday, however, the anchor appeared to be out of a job.
“I’m no longer at Wlox as of 10-25-24. The corporation doesn’t like my political views,” Elliot wrote on Facebook.
The news anchor had recently posted a video where he suggested people shouldn’t vote if they are just doing so out of hatred for former President Trump.
“This is so unlike me because I’m usually a ‘vote, vote, vote!’ guy. I’d like to see 100% voter turnout, whether it’s for your local sheriff or President of the United States, but if your hatred for Donald Trump is so strong — that’s kind of a sickness, by the way — but if it’s so strong that you’re planning to go in that voting booth and vote for Kamala Harris, do you listen to her? Do you know anything about her?” he asked in a video he posted to X Wednesday. “Anyway, do yourself, do the country, do the world a favor and just sit it out. Stay home, don’t vote. This has been a public service announcement.”
Elliott told the Sun Herald that general manager Rick Williams told him he was fired and that “X was brought up in the conversation, which lasted only about 30 seconds, because I left, I was like, ‘OK, see ya.”
Elliott also told the Sun Herald that his social media videos are satire, arguing that there is a distinction between his paid work for the news station versus his social media posts.
“I don’t consider social media journalism,” he said. “Social media is a toy. I have fun. I play. I look at it as satire.”
Gage Skidmore from Surprise, AZ, United States of America, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Lauren Boebert is already facing a challenger in 2024’s campaign for what would be her third term in Congress.
On Tuesday, Adam Frisch, the Democrat who came within half a percentage point of unseating the conservative lawmaker, announced his 2024 campaign.
“November’s election results show us that Boebert is weak and will be defeated, which is why I have decided to launch my 2024 congressional campaign,” Frisch said in a statement.
Frisch drew widespread headlines in November for his unexpectedly close race against Boebert. According to The Hill, Frisch led the incumbent by 64 votes at one point during the race despite his lack of political experience.
“Lauren Boebert is everything that’s wrong with Congress,” he said in his announcement video, zeroing in on her vote against certifying the results of the 2020 presidential election and her stance against abortion.
“She’s part of the anger-tainment circus that’s tearing our country apart,” he said. “I’ll put Colorado first — Colorado energy, Colorado water and Colorado jobs.”
Despite Frisch’s early entrance to the race, a spokesperson for Boebert touted her legislative record
“The entire country watched as Congresswoman Lauren Boebert helped fearlessly lead the way in making historic improvements to how Congress operates,” Boebert spokesman Ben Stout said. “In just a matter of weeks since then, Congresswoman Boebert has cosponsored and helped pass 6 bills and authored 4 amendments, each one passing on the House floor with bipartisan support.”
