Politics

Home Politics Page 19

Third-Party Candidate Scores 3 High-Profile Endorsements

2
Photo via Gage Skidmore Flickr

Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr just scored three major endorsements.

NBA legend and 1992 “Dream Team” Olympian John Stockton, Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame member Ken Ruettegers and three-time North American Enduro mountain biking champion Kyle Warner are all endorsing Kennedy for president.

The athletes said they like the cut of Kennedy’s personality — all three pointed to what they say are the independent candidate’s genuineness, honesty and openness to conversations about policies as reasons they support him.

Fox News has more:

Stockton said he believes Kennedy “has been put on this planet for just this moment in time” and that there’s “a real need for him and his leadership.”

“There’s a need for very smart people in these positions that have integrity that [is] off the charts, that have the stamina and strength to be able to speak and be a leader 24/7, not just on occasion or on blips,” Stockton said.

Ruettgers said he has met Kennedy “a couple times” and that the independent presidential candidate’s “level of commitment to honesty” that he will “bring to our federal government, to the Oval Office, to the leadership position” is part of why he’s supporting Kennedy for president.

“I love the fact that he loves the Constitution and the Bill of Rights,” the Packers Hall of Fame member said. “Man, that seems to have been eroded in our culture over the last couple decades.”

Warner — who won the 2014, 2015 and 2016 North American Enduro Championships — said that he believes there’s “a level of elitism” currently in American politics, including with President Biden and former President Donald Trump.

“Whereas I think that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. … does a great job of being a populist and … understanding the plight of the common man,” Warner said. “I have had friends that have been in these big meetings at Facebook, at these censorship meetings with Robert, and they’re just normal people, everyday normal people, and he cares about them. He wants them to succeed.”

Biden Calls To ‘Lock Up’ Trump

5
Image via Pixabay

Yikes…

During a Tuesday visit to New Hampshire, President Joe Biden put this foot in his mouth once again.

During the campaign stop for Kamala Harris, the President called for his predecessor to be “politically” locked up while arguing a second Trump administration poses a threat to democracy.

The president was in Concord for an official event to highlight his administration’s efforts to lower health care costs and prescription drug prices. Minutes later, speaking at a political gathering at the New Hampshire Democratic Party headquarters, Biden was reiterating his longstanding argument that GOP nominee former President Trump, if re-elected, would be a threat to the nation’s democracy.

“Our democracy is at stake,” he said. “Think about it. Think about what would happen if Donald Trump wins this election.”

Biden then said “I know this sounds bizarre. It sounds like if I said this five years ago, you’d lock me up. We got to lock him up.”

But the president appeared to instantly catch himself, adding “politically lock him up. Lock him out. That’s what we have to do.”

“Lock her up” was a regular chant by Trump supporters during the former president’s 2016 campaign, as he criticized Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton as being corrupt.

Trump campaign national press secretary Karoline Leavitt claimed in a statement that “Joe Biden just admitted the truth: he and Kamala’s plan all along has been to politically persecute their opponent President Trump because they can’t beat him fair and square. The Harris-Biden Admin is the real threat to democracy. We call on Kamala Harris to condemn Joe Biden’s disgraceful remark.”

Winner Projected In North Carolina

0
The White House, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

A winner has been projected in the critical Tarheel State…

Decision Desk HQ has projected former President Donald Trump will win the first major swing state North Carolina.

The state carries 16 electoral votes.

The Tarheel State has widely been considered a bellwether for the presidential election.

Trump won North Carolina in 2020, when he became the fourth Republican ever to carry the state without winning the presidency. He also won it in 2016, beating former Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton. 

This is a breaking news story. Please check back for updates.

Republican Senator Todd Young Declares He Will Not Vote For Trump In November

12
Donald Trump via Gage Skidmore Flickr

U.S. Senator Todd Young (R-Ind.) has announced that he will not be voting for former President Donald Trump in the upcoming November election.

“Principled conservatives need to incentivize our party to nominate somebody that principled conservatives can believe in. I’m tired of having my vote taken for granted,” the Indiana Republican announced on Wednesday night. 

The Washington Examiner’s Emily Jacobs reports:

Young split from the former president after he refused to accept the results of the 2020 election, though he voted against impeachment. He pledged not to vote for Trump again in 2023 over his conciliatory tone toward Russian President Vladimir Putin and the war in Ukraine and has remained undeterred by the wave of endorsements from his GOP colleagues.

Young said it was fair for people to ask if abstaining from casting a vote in November would “reward one person at the expense of the other,” adding, “My response is, at some point, principled conservatives need to incentivize our party, the Republican Party, to nominate somebody that principled conservatives can actually believe in.”

“Stated differently, I’m tired of having my vote taken for granted,” he explained. “I think a lot of Hoosiers are.”

Young and his colleagues who don’t support Trump have faced increasing questions about their respective plans for November as the former president became their party’s nominee. 

Former Vice President Mike Pence said last week that he could not endorse Trump “in this campaign,” citing his conscience. 

“I won’t be voting for Biden. I also won’t be voting for Trump,” Young told an Indiana reporter, echoing Pence’s announcement to Fox News’ Martha MacCallum. “So, does that mean I leave it blank? Does that mean I identify another conservative who’s almost certain not to be the next president of the United States and write them in? I haven’t decided that, and I think that’s a largely unimportant point. I don’t know who goes in that line, if anyone.” 

According to FiveThirtyEight, as of January 2021, Young supported the Trump administration’s legislative position 82.2% of the time.

This article originally appeared on American Liberty News. Republished with permission.

Trump Names New York Rep. To Lead EPA

3

President-elect Donald Trump tapped New York Congressman Lee Zeldin to lead the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Trump confirmed the news in a statement Monday afternoon, writing in part:

“Lee, with a very strong legal background, has been a true fighter for America First policies. He will ensure fair and swift deregulatory decisions that will be enacted in a way to unleash the power of American businesses, while at the same time maintaining the highest environmental standards, including the cleanest air and water on the planet. He will set new standards on environmental review and maintenance, that will allow the United States to grow in a healthy and well-structured way.”

Trump said Zeldin has “brilliantly” handled some “extremely difficult and complex situations.” He said he is sure Zeldin will “quickly prove to be a great contributor!”

“It is an honor to join President Trump’s Cabinet as EPA Administrator,” Zeldin wrote on X. “We will restore US energy dominance, revitalize our auto industry to bring back American jobs, and make the US the global leader of AI. We will do so while protecting access to clean air and water.”

This is a breaking news story. Click refresh for the latest updates.

Report: Susie Wiles Tapped For Trump Admin. Chief Of Staff Role

2

Who will Trump tap to serve in his administration?

Susie Wiles, a veteran political operative who worked closely with President-elect Trump during his campaign, is making history as the first female Chief of Staff.

Sources within Trump’s transition team and others close to the former president’s campaign confirmed to Fox News that Wiles was reportedly the frontrunner for White House chief of staff – the person who oversees the Executive Office of the President before Trump made the announcement on Thursday.

Trump, during his victory celebration in West Palm Beach late Tuesday night, gave special thanks to Wiles for her prominent role throughout the campaign. 

“Let me also express my tremendous appreciation for Susie [Wiles] and Chris [LaCivita], the job you did. Susie, come, Susie,” Trump said, inviting her up to the microphone, but Wiles refrained from making comments.

“Susie likes to stay sort of in the back, let me tell you. The ice baby. We call her the ice baby. Susie likes to stay in the background. She’s not in the background,” Trump added. “Thank you, Susie.”

NBC News also reported that Wiles is seen as the frontrunner to become Trump’s chief of staff. Two sources in Trump’s political orbit didn’t wave Fox News off the reporting.

Wiles currently serves as a senior adviser to Trump and his campaign co-chair alongside Chris LaCivita.

Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy was previously floated as a possible contender for chief of staff, but recently told “The Guy Benson Show” that he would not take the position if it was offered. 

“People always ask if I’m going to be chief of staff, no I’m not going to be… that’s a no,” he said. 

This is a breaking news story. Please check back for updates.

Report: Giuliani’s Former Legal Team Sues Him for $1.36M

0
Photo via Gage Skidmore Flickr

Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani’s legal team is adding to his laundry list of legal troubles.

The former Trump attorney’s previous legal team is suing the Republican for failing to pay legal fees amounting to $1.36 million they charged while representing him in numerous controversies.

According to reports from Politicom Robert J. Costello, a longtime friend of Giuliani, and his law firm Davidoff Hutcher & Citron LLP filed the complaint on Monday in a state court in Manhattan.

Politico has more:

And now his old counsel is turning against him, accusing him of not paying up all the money he owes them for representing him throughout these his legal battles. Giuliani has already paid the firm — which he employed on a retainer agreement that it alleges he broke — $214,000, with his last payment made on Sept. 14 in the amount of $10,000, according to the filing. In total, the firm has charged him $1.57 million from 2019 to 2023.

“I can’t express how personally hurt I am by what Bob Costello has done,” Giuliani told POLITICO in a statement. “It’s a real shame when lawyers do things like this, and all I will say is that their bill is way in excess to anything approaching legitimate fees.”

Giuliani is staring down the barrel at a host of legal issues stemming from the 2020 presidential election. Last month Giuliani surrendered to Fulton County jail over charges that he helped conspire with Trump to overthrow the election by lying to state legislators and spreading election fraud misinformation. A week later, a federal judge ruled that he was liable for defaming two Georgia election workers.

Report: Trump Team Reportedly Rejected RFK Jr’s Offer To Trade An Endorsement For Government Position

3
Donald Trump via Gage Skidmore Flickr

A surprising development…

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. held talks with Donald Trump’s team about a potential endorsement and job in the former president’s second administration, according to a report from The Washington Post.

The Post’s Josh Dawsey and Michael Scherer, citing four people familiar with the situation, reported on Monday that conversations about a Kennedy Jr. endorsement began shortly after the attempted assassination of Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania earlier this month.

Mediaite has more:

“I have a lot of respect for President Trump for reaching out to me. Nobody from the DNC, high or low, has ever reached out to me in 18 months. Instead they have allocated millions to try to disrupt my campaign,” Kennedy Jr. said.

The independent presidential candidate would only say about the conversations that “I am willing to talk to anybody from either political party who wants to talk about children’s health and how to end the chronic disease epidemic.”

According to the report from the Post, there were “concerns” among Trump advisors that Kennedy Jr. could be too problematic.

“President Trump met with RFK and they had a conversation about the issues just as he does regularly with important figures in business and politics because they all recognize he will be the next president of the United States,” a Trump spokesperson said.

Pro-Trump Candidate Beats Moderate Dem in Utah Special Election

5
Ted Eytan from Washington, DC, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

Republican Celeste Maloy beat state Sen. Kathleen Riebe, a self-described moderate, to win Utah’s special election Tuesday night.

Maloy, a pro-Trump candidate, filled the last remaining seat in the U.S. House of Representatives with her victory in Utah’s 2nd congressional district.

Fox News has more:

As a candidate, Maloy touted her roots growing up in rural southern Utah, of which the district covers a vast portion, and has leaned into her support of former President Donald Trump, arguing the numerous ongoing prosecutions against him are politically motivated.

“It’s exciting that we’re going to have somebody come out of this primary that represents rural and southern Utah. I think it’s time for that, and everybody’s ready for it,” Maloy said following her primary win.

However, Riebe has argued the race is a pickup opportunity for Democrats, and has leaned on her experience as a school teacher while making the case that people in the district “are ready for a change.”

In an interview with Deseret News in August, Riebe expressed concern over the nation’s rising debt, and vowed to join the fiscally conservative Blue Dog Coalition if elected.

“Coming to a very rational decision and having very moderate ideas, I think that is what serves us best,” she told the outlet.

This is a breaking news story. Click refresh for the latest updates.

McConnell Biography Unveils Senate Leaders Private Reaction After 2020 Election

5
Mitch McConnell, Kevin McCarthy, Nancy Pelosi, Chuck Schumer attend medal ceremony via Wikimedia Commons

A new biography on Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) exposes new details surrounding his tense relationship with former President Donald Trump.

Michael Tackett, deputy Washington bureau chief at the Associated Press, drew from nearly three decades of McConnell’s political career using sources including recorded diaries by the elder statesmen and past interviews. In the finished book, The Price of Power, which hits shelves on October 29, Tackett uncovered several shockingly negative assessments of the ex-president by McConnell, who has publicly expressed his support and endorsed him in the 2024 election.

After Trump lost the election in 2020, McConnell congratulated his former Senate colleague President Joe Biden and warned his fellow Republicans not to challenge the election results. But behind the scenes — and as Trump tried and failed to overturn the election results — he apparently couldn’t wait to see the last of Trump:

Privately, he said in his oral history that “it’s not just the Democrats who are counting the days” until Trump left office, and that Trump’s behavior “only underscores the good judgment of the American people. They’ve had just enough of the misrepresentations, the outright lies almost on a daily basis, and they fired him.”

“And for a narcissist like him,” McConnell continued, “that’s been really hard to take, and so his behavior since the election has been even worse, by far, than it was before, because he has no filter now at all.”

Before those Georgia runoffs, McConnell said Trump is “stupid as well as being ill-tempered and can’t even figure out where his own best interests lie.”

An account of the aftermath of January 6, which had McConnell in a secure location while his aides “barricaded” in the office, revealed an emotional moment between the former Senate Majority Leader and his staff:

McConnell then went to his office to address his staff, some of whom had barricaded themselves in the office as rioters banged on their doors. He started to sob softly as he thanked them, Tackett writes.

“You are my family, and I hate the fact that you had to go through this,” he told them.