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    Trump Goes Off on Gov. Ron DeSantis, Glenn Youngkin

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    Gage Skidmore Flickr

    Former President Donald Trump unleashed a fiery monologue against Florida Governor Ron DeSantis Thursday evening after winning re-election with higher-than-expected margins in the Sunshine State.

    In a statement sent by Trump’s Save America PAC to his supporters, the former president called DeSantis an “average” Republican governor with “great Public Relations.” The former president also took credit for DeSantis’s 2018 gubernatorial victory that earned him his first term as governor and honed in on DeSantis’s response to COVID-19 which has largely been credited as the move which propelled him to national recognition.

    In the unprovoked attack, Trump also revived the nickname “Ron DeSanctimonious” in what appears the most extreme escalation between the two Florida Republicans to date.

    Read the statement below:

    “NewsCorp, which is Fox, the Wall Street Journal, and the no longer great New York Post (bring back Col!), is all in for Governor Ron DeSanctimonious, an average REPUBLICAN Governor with great Public Relations, who didn’t have to close up his State, but did, unlike other Republican Governors, whose overall numbers for a Republican, were just average—middle of the pack—including COVID, and who has the advantage of SUNSHINE, where people from badly run States up North would go no matter who the Governor was, just like I did!”

    Trump continued by saying that DeSantis was “desperate” in 2017 and that DeSantis “had low approval, bad polls, and no money, but he said that if I would Endorse him, he could win.”

    “I also fixed his campaign, which had completely fallen apart,” Trump continued. “I was all in for Ron, and he beat Gillum, but after the Race, when votes were being stolen by the corrupt Election process in Broward County, and Ron was going down ten thousand votes a day, along with now-Senator Rick Scott, I sent in the FBI and the U.S. Attorneys, and the ballot theft immediately ended, just prior to them running out of the votes necessary to win. I stopped his Election from being stolen…”

    “And now, Ron DeSanctimonious is playing games!” Trump concluded in his attack on DeSantis. “The Fake News asks him if he’s going to run if President Trump runs, and he says, ‘I’m only focused on the Governor’s race, I’m not looking into the future.’ Well, in terms of loyalty and class, that’s really not the right answer.”

    However, Trump wasn’t done bashing Republican governors and soon turned his ire toward first-term Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin in the second wave of rage-filled statements.

    “Young Kin (now that’s an interesting take. Sounds Chinese, doesn’t it?) in Virginia couldn’t have won without me,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “I Endorsed him, did a very big Trump Rally for him telephonically, got MAGA to Vote for him – or he couldn’t have come close to winning. But he knows that, and admits it. Besides, having a hard time with the Dems in Virginia – But he’ll get it done!”

    It’s unclear what provoked Trump’s comments against Youngkin but hours before the enraged message Virginia Lt. Governor Winsome Sears announced she will not support Trump’s 2024 bid despite supporting him in past elections.

    “A true leader understands when they have become a liability,” Sears said. “A true leader understands that it’s time to step off the stage. And the voters have given us that very clear message.”

    “I could not support him. I just couldn’t, because we have seen, for example, in those states where he has endorsed the candidates, in fact, Republicans on the same ticket who he did not endorse over-performed, whereas his candidates totally underperformed by as much as 10 points,” she added. “We have a clear mission, and it is time to move on.”

    On Friday, Gov. Youngkin said he hadn’t seen Trump’s comments.

    “I didn’t see it. And I have to be honest, I’ve been busy all morning. Listen, you all know me, I do not call people names. I really work hard to bring people together,” Youngkin said.

    New York Gubernatorial Candidate Under Investigation

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    Photo via Gage Skidmore Flickr

    New York Republican gubernatorial nominee Lee Zeldin has been targeted in a new investigation less than two weeks before the midterm elections.

    Zeldin is under investigation by the State Board of Elections over allegations that he coordinated with two super PACs supporting his campaign, according to The Hill.

    Michael Johnson, the chief enforcement counsel of the New York State Board of Elections, opened a preliminary investigation into Zeldin’s campaign after the allegations emerged.

    Johnson is now seeking subpoena authority from the State Board of Elections to compel cooperation with his investigation, according to the Times. 

    However, he was stymied when two Republican members of the board unexpectedly missed a business meeting on Tuesday, preventing the board from reaching a quorum to vote on the subpoena issue and likely delaying the issue until after the election, per the Times.

    The Albany Times-Union first reported in mid-October that there were several overlaps between Zeldin’s campaign and two super PACs supporting him — Safe Together New York and Save Our State New York.

    Days later, the New York State Democratic Party filed a complaint against Zeldin’s campaign over the alleged super PAC. Super PACs are legally allowed to raise and spend unlimited amounts of money to advocate for or against candidates but are barred from coordinating with the candidates they benefit.

    Zeldin has been rapidly closing the gap against New York Gov. Kathy Hochul in recent weeks.

    Watch: Freedom Caucus Congressman Gets Kicked Out Of Pro-Trump Event

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    2

    This isn’t the behavior you expect from a sitting Congressman…

    Rep. Bob Good (R-VA) was kicked out of a pro-Donald Trump event this week.

    In footage posted to social media, the chairman of the House Freedom Caucus can be seen talking with store owner Karen Angulo, a former local GOP chair, and being told to leave the event. Virginia state Sen. John McGuire (R) was in attendance at the event and can be seen talking to someone in the background of the Good video. He is challenging Good for his congressional seat.

    “We invited our State Senator John McGuire as a special guest because John has been a supporter of President Trump and never wavered, unlike Bob Good,” Angulo wrote in a statement about the incident with Good.

    In the video from the Trump store opening. Angulo repeatedly tells Good to leave, and he, at one point, reads from an email inviting all Republicans supporting Trump to the event.

    “Bob, please stop this,” Angulo said.

    In a statement about the incident, she called it “embarrassing.”

    “I repeatedly asked Bob to leave. Once he finally relented and left our store, Bob and his paid campaign staff stood out front for over four hours trying to block people from entering our store,” she wrote. “The whole thing was very embarrassing behavior for anyone, let alone a sitting member of Congress.”

    Prominent Foreign Politician Meets With Trump

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    Marine One lifts-off after returning President Donald J. Trump to Mar-a-Lago Friday, March 29, 2019, following his visit to the 143-mile Herbert Hoover Dike near Canal Point, Fla., that surrounds Lake Okeechobee. The visit was part of an infrastructure inspection of the dike, which is part of the Kissimmee-Okeechobee Everglades system, and reduces impacts of flooding for areas of south Florida. (Official White House Photo by Joyce N. Boghosian) [Photo Credit: The White House from Washington, DC, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons]

    On Monday, Former U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron met with former President Donald Trump in a surprise visit to Mar-a-Lago.

    Cameron serves as the U.K. foreign secretary and is in the U.S. to urge lawmakers to back additional funding to Ukraine in its war against Russia.

    A spokesperson for the British government’s Foreign Office described the Mar-A-Lago meeting as “standard practice” to meet with an opposition candidate, with Trump being the presumptive Republican nominee for this year’s presidential election.

    It is unclear how the meeting went or what exactly was discussed. Trump has previously stated that he would end the war within 24 hours should he be reelected while he has also touted converting the cost of weapons transfers to Ukraine into a loan.

    Fox News has more:

    Cameron will meet Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday to discuss the $60 billion military aid package which he has held up for months, while the pair will also discuss the Israel-Gaza war.

    Last week, Cameron called on Western leaders to put pressure on House Speaker Mike Johnson and Republicans in Congress to approve the additional aid for Ukraine, as Britain and the European Union have already done.

    “Speaker Johnson can make it happen in Congress,” Cameron said in a video posted on social media platform X. “I’m going to go and see him next week and say, ‘Ukraine needs that money. It is American security, it’s European security, it’s Britain’s security that’s on the line in Ukraine, and they need our help.’”

    Retired Conservative Judge Says American Democracy ‘In Peril’ Due to Trump

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    10
    Gage Skidmore Flickr

    Retired federal judge J. Michael Luttig says that America’s democracy is at risk due to the current state of the Republican Party.

    Luttig, a conservative-leaning former judge for the U.S. Court of Appeals, joined CNN This Morning on Wednesday to discuss the “decay” of the Republican Party under Donald Trump’s leadership.

    “What do you think has happened to your party?” Harlow asked Luttig.

    His answer:

    Frankly, I don’t care about the Republican Party at all, except to the extent that the two political parties in America are the political guardians of democracy in our country. American democracy simply cannot function without two equally healthy and equally strong political parties. So, today, in my view, there is no Republican Party to counter the Democratic Party in the country. And for that reason, American democracy is in grave peril.

    “There is no Republican Party?” Harlow asked him. Luttig explained by outlining his view that “a political party is a collection, an assemblage of individuals who share a set of beliefs and principles and policy views about the United States of America.”

    “Today there is no such shared set of beliefs and values and principles, or even policy views, within the Republican Party for America,” Luttig determined. “Until or unless the Republican Party can pull itself together into a credible Republican political party, we simply don’t have two competing parties in America.”

    Key Group of Donors Turn on McDaniel Ahead of Leadership Vote

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    A powerful group of Republican donors is calling for a change in leadership at the Republican National Committee (RNC).

    On Monday, more than two dozen Republicans wrote in a letter stating their support for former Trump attorney Harmeet Dhillon’s challenge to current RNC chair Ronna McDaniel.

    Several of the individuals listed in the letter have donated tens of thousands of dollars to the GOP over the years.

    “We cannot continue on our current trajectory as a Republican Party,” the letter states. “We must change, in order to fulfill our promise to Republican voters to win elections.”

    The donors warned the party “is on the verge of permanent irrelevance if we fail to come together to correct course.”

    “As a nationally-recognized constitutional attorney and activist within the conservative movement for several decades, Harmeet has fought on behalf of Republican Party committees, candidates, and GOP interests, both with the party’s support and beyond it. She has served as a county party committee chairman, run for public office, fought for conservative causes at the Supreme Court, and currently leads the Republican National Lawyers Association at a time when election integrity experience is at a premium as a year-round, not seasonal, mandate. Harmeet is also a successful business owner, and as a nonprofit founder and CEO, understands the ethical duties inherent in raising and spending donor funds.”

    McDaniel has served as the RNC’s chair since 2017, however, less-than-desirable midterm wins have caused some to question her leadership.

    Other key Republicans have signaled interest in new leadership atop the national party organization.

    According to The Hill, the Alabama Republican Party has opted to follow the Texas GOP’s lead and will not support McDaniel’s latest bid to run the RNC.

    An endorsement letter circulated last month contained the signatures of 107 RNC members backing her to stay on as chairwoman. It is well more than the 84 members she would need to win reelection.

    The party will choose its leader at its winter meetings this month.

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

    DeSantis Dismisses Trump Running Mate Speculation

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    Ron DeSantis via Gage Skidmore Flickr

    Ron DeSantis has his eyes on the prize.

    The Florida governor and White House contender said he is not interested in becoming Donald Trump’s running mate if given the chance.

    “I don’t think so. I’m not a No. 2 guy,” DeSantis said on the “Wisconsin Right Now” radio show, NBC News reported.

    DeSantis said he would opt to stay in his governorship over joining Trump’s ticket, adding that the vice presidency “doesn’t really have any authority.”

    When asked whom he would consider signing on as a running mate, the Sunshine State governor said “it’s a little bit presumptuous to be doing that at this stage,” adding that he’s focused on winning the early primaries before delving deep into his search for vice president.

    The Florida governor is trailing Trump in the 2024 GOP primary race by nearly 30 points nationally, according to a FiveThirtyEight poll.

    Recently, a pro-DeSantis spokesperson told Mediaite he has serious concerns about the Florida Governor’s ability to take on Trump.

    “Right now in national polling we are way behind, I’ll be the first to admit that,” said Cortes. “I believe in being blunt and honest. It’s an uphill battle but clearly Donald Trump is the runaway frontrunner.”

    He added that DeSantis’ campaign was the “clear underdog,” and added that in the first four primary states, “which matter tremendously, polls are a lot tighter, we are still clearly down. We’re down double digits, we have work to do.”

    Who do you think the winning Republican ticket is? Tell us in the comments below!

    Report: Trump To File For New Hampshire Primary In Person

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    0
    Donald Trump via Gage Skidmore Flickr

    Donald Trump is reportedly planning to file for the New Hampshire primary in person this week.

    The filing period for New Hampshire’s presidential primary opened earlier this month, and the window closes Oct. 27. 

    A spokesperson for Trump’s campaign confirmed reporting from The Associated Press that Trump will visit the Granite State’s secretary of state office to formally file ahead of a campaign rally in Derry. 

    Democrat Sen. Maggie Hassan (N.H.) and New Hampshire Democratic Party Chairman Ray Buckley held a press conference Monday ahead of Trump’s formal filing in the state to talk about the former president’s “failures.”

    “As Trump files for the [New Hampshire] primary today, Granite Staters are remembering just how disastrous his presidency was for our state,” Buckley said.

    “Trump has proven over and over that we cannot trust him with New Hampshire’s economy or important crises — at home or on the world stage.”

    Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, who have polled as some of Trump’s top challengers in the GOP primary, have already filed, according to the latest posting from the New Hampshire secretary of state. 

    North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and former Vice President Mike Pence, Trump’s ex-running mate, are also among the GOP White House hopefuls who have already signed up. 

    Report: SCOTUS Rejects Kari Lake’s Voting Machine Suit

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    1
    Duncan Lock, Dflock, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons

    On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear Republicans Kari Lake and Mark Finchem’s lawsuit over the use of voting machines in Arizona elections.

    The Hill reports Lake and Finchem asked the Supreme Court to review a federal appellate judge’s decision to dismiss their case last October. The suit sought to block electronic voting machines from being used in the state, questioning their accuracy and reliability.  

    Lawyers for Lake, who is running for a Senate seat in Arizona this cycle, and Finchem, who is seeking a state Senate seat, argued in a court filing to the Supreme Court that they had sufficiently argued that “[a]ll Arizona-certified optical scanners and ballot marking devices, as well as the software on which they rely, have been wrongly certified for use”; Arizona’s voting machines had been “hacked” and “manipulated”; and that there were apparent discrepancies in the Maricopa County’s vote count after the 2020 election. 

    The lawsuit was filed ahead of the November 2022 midterms while Lake was running for governor.

    The Supreme Court’s decision to decline to revisit the federal court’s decision puts a cap on Lake’s and Finchem’s lawsuit.

    “We are obviously disappointed that the U.S. Supreme Court decided not to review the decisions of the Arizona district court and the Ninth Circuit, and order that our challenge to the 2022 election procedures be heard on the merits,” said Kurt Olsen, one of the attorneys that sought to get the Supreme Court to consider the case, in a statement, who argued new information came to light after their case was dismissed by the  circuit court. 

    “Although the Supreme Court grants review in less than 1 percent of cases presented on petition, we believe we presented a case.”

    “The Kari Lake and Mark Finchem case was dismissed based on a purported lack of standing to assert an injury,” Olsen wrote. “Therefore, the courts, even now, have not ruled on the merits of our case. We will continue to raise these issues especially in light of the upcoming 2024 election.”

    Trump’s Attorney Confirms Trump Ballot Concerns

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    3
    Gage Skidmore from Surprise, AZ, United States of America,

    Trump will never let them see him sweat…

    Former President Trump’s attorney Alina Habba confirmed his concerns the Supreme Court will ultimately uphold Colorado and Maine’s decisions to boot Trump from the primary ballot.

    Responding to New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman’s recent comments about Trump’s concerns, Habba during an interview on Fox News said, “That’s a concern he’s voiced to me, he’s voiced to everybody publicly, not privately. And I can tell you that his concern is a valid one.”

    “You know, Republicans are conservative, they get nervous. They unfortunately … sometimes shy away from being pro-Trump because they feel that even if the law is on our side, they are swayed much like the Democratic side, right?” Habba told Fox News anchor Martha MacCallum. “So they’re trying so hard to look neutral that sometimes, they make the wrong call.”

    Last month, Colorado and Maine sparked swift backlash after ruling Trump is ineligible to be on the primary ballot under the 14th Amendment.

    Trump on Wednesday appealed Colorado’s ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court, one day after he appealed Maine’s decision.

    Three of the justices on the U.S. Supreme Court were appointed by Trump, a point of concern Haberman addressed last week.

    “They believe, generally speaking, he and his advisers, that they will have success at the Supreme Court, but he has also voiced some concern that a court that has — he appointed three of the justices at the Supreme Court and gave the conservatives a supermajority — he is concerned that they are going to look as if they’re trying not to rule in his favor and might rule against him,” Haberman said during a CNN appearance last week.

    However, both Trump and his legal team have reportedly privately voiced concerns the justices may “shy away from being pro-Trump.”

    Habba on Wednesday said she encourages the justices to “really look at the law in the Constitution.”

    “It’s a very clean cut,” she said. “There’s no … politics that should be involved in this. It’s just simply American, and if the justices read the law, as I do, as most Americans and attorneys do, even [Alan Dershowitz] — who’s a known liberal — it’s just a simple decision, and it should have nothing to do with if you’re Republican or Democrat.”

    Dershowitz last month called Colorado’s decision “an attempt to totally manipulate an amendment that was never designed to disqualify people in a future election,” Forbes reported.

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