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    Trump Drops Unexpected New VP Shortlist

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    6
    Photo via Gage Skidmore Flickr

    Some new names and faces…

    Former President Donald Trump floated a list of four names for VP that to much surprise did not include Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) or Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.) who have been loyal Trump supporters.

    However, in an exclusive post-rally interview with News 12 New Jersey’s Tara Rosenblum at Crotona Park in the Bronx, Trump didn’t have either of them on his mind.

    When Rosenblum pushed Trump to “make news” and name some names, Trump initially said he didn’t want to — then dropped four names a few seconds later that included one Black candidate who isn’t Scott or Donalds and one Hispanic candidate who mocked Trump’s penis size in 2016:

    TARA ROSENBLUM: So if not Nikki, then who? Let’s make some news tonight. You and I, for your hometown TV station. Share with me. Share with me your top three candidates for your running mate at this point.

    DONALD TRUMP: Well, we have so many. I don’t want to do that, but we have so many. You could take people like Ben Carson. You could take people like Marco Rubio, JD Vance.

    I mean, there are so many. Elise is doing a fantastic job here. But but I could go on for quite a long time. We have many people that would do a really fantastic job.

    TARA ROSENBLUM: Do you have a timeline on when you’ll make the decision?

    DONALD TRUMP: Sometime during the convention?

    Polls Show Third-Party Candidates Sinking Biden In Swing States

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
    -
    2
    Photo via Gage Skidmore Flickr

    Bad news for Biden…

    A recent poll showed that Independent candidates appear to be hurting President Joe Biden and boosting former President Donald Trump when on the ballot in four critical battleground states.

    Trump’s leads grow against Biden among likely voters in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan and North Carolina when Robert F. Kennedy Jr., independent Cornel West, and Green Party candidate Jill Stein are on the ballot, according to The Cook Political Report/BSG/GS Strategy Group survey.

    With Kennedy and the other third-party candidates included in the poll, Trump’s margins grew from one to four points in Arizona; from two to three points in Michigan; from three to four points in Georgia; and from seven to eight points in North Carolina.

    The poll found Kennedy notching 10% in Nevada, Arizona, and Georgia; 7% in Pennsylvania and Michigan; 8% in North Carolina; and 9% in Wisconsin.

    The RealClearPolitics averages for each battleground state suggest Trump’s leads grow against Biden when Kennedy, West, and Stein are on the ballot in Arizona, Nevada, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, and Georgia.

    Trump lost Arizona, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Georgia, and Michigan last cycle after having won them all in 2016. Nevada voted Democratic in both cycles, while Trump secured North Carolina in 2016 and 2020.

    Article Published With The Permission of American Liberty News

    Vince Fong Wins Special Election For McCarthy’s Seat

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
    -
    0
    Photo via Gage Skidmore Flickr

    California state Assemblyman Vince Fong won the special election to serve out the remainder of former Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s (R-Calif.) term in the House.

    Fong defeated Tulare County Sheriff Mike Boudreaux (R) in Tuesday’s runoff election. The former House Speaker and California Congressman was a mentor to Fong and endorsed him early in the race to succeed him.

    Though Fong is now set to fill McCarthy’s seat for the rest of the term, he and Boudreaux will go up against each other again to win a full term representing California’s 20th congressional district this November after they both advanced from a regularly scheduled primary earlier this year. 

    McCarthy announced his exit from the lower chamber after a short tenure in the top House role ended with his historic removal from the Speakership. 

    Prior to McCarthy’s resignation, Fong also filed to run for reelection in the California State Assembly, where he represents the Bakersfield area.

    California Secretary of State Shirley Weber (D) attempted to keep Fong out of the Congressional race, since he’d already declared for the state-level position and California law bars candidates from appearing twice. But, a judge ruled in late December that Fong could run.

    Romney Says Biden Should Have Pardoned Trump ‘Immediately’

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
    -
    2
    Gage Skidmore from Peoria, AZ, United States of America, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons

    These are shocking words for RINO Romney…

    On Wednesday, the Utah Senator and avid Trump critic said that President Joe Biden made a huge mistake by not immediately pardoning former President Donald Trump.

    During a discussion with MSNBC host Stephanie Ruhle about Trump’s ongoing hush money trial in New York, Romney said, “I think President Biden made an enormous error. He should have fought like crazy to keep this prosecution from going forward. It was a win-win for Donald Trump.”

    After Ruhle questioned, “Is that Joe Biden’s job?” Romney replied, “I’ve been around for a while. If LBJ had been president and he didn’t want something like this to happen, he’d have been all over that prosecutor saying, ‘You better not bring that forward or I’m gonna drive you out of office.’”

    “But I’m pretty sure you support having separate but equal branches of government,” said Ruhle.

    “I do,” replied Romney, before adding:

    Had I been President Biden when the Justice Department brought an indictment, I would have immediately pardoned him. I’d have pardoned President Trump. Why? Because it makes me, President Biden, the big guy and the person I pardoned the little guy. And number two, it’s not gonna get resolved before the election, it’s not gonna have an impact before the election, and frankly the country doesn’t want to have to go through prosecuting a former president.

    I think the American people have recognized that President Trump did have an inappropriate affair with someone who is a porn star. I think they realize that. I think they realize that he took classified documents he shouldn’t have and didn’t handle them properly. I think they understand that as well. I think they realize that he’s been lying about the election in 2020. They know those things, so these things are not changing the public attitude, and frankly we ought to get beyond these and focus on the big issues that really matter to the American people: our inflation, our border, what’s happening around the world.

    Newsmax Host Delivers Blunt Assessment To Former VP Contender

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
    -
    2

    South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem is in hot water over her recent book and it could cause a major dent in her career.

    Noem’s new memoir No Going Back has sparked several controversies over its content, including an anecdote about Noem killing her 14-month-old dog and a story about the governor meeting North Korean leader Kim Jong-un which the Republican has yet to corroborate.

    Interrogating Noem over the book on Newsmax’s Wake Up America, Rob Finnerty assessed that Donald Trump likely won’t invite the Republican to be his running mate due to the recent scandal.

    Finnerty then said, “Governor, if you asked me a month ago who’s at the top of the list to run with Donald Trump, I would have said your name. If you asked me that same question this morning, I don’t even think you’re on the list.”

    The host went on to say that the content within Noem’s book, specifically her allegedly fabricated meeting with Kim Jong-un, is likely what spoiled her chances of becoming Trump’s running mate.

    “I should not have put that anecdote in the book,” conceded Noem, to which Finnerty shot back, “But an anecdote indicates that it happened, right?”

    “I’m not going to talk about my conversations with world leaders,” Noem bluntly declared – a statement she has made repeatedly when pressed about the alleged meeting with Kim Jong-un.

    Finnerty snapped, “Governor, I’m not asking you about the details of this alleged meeting. I’m asking if the meeting actually happened. I don’t think it did and I think if it did, you’d be able to confirm for me that, ‘Yes, it did, and here’s when it happened.’ It happened, say, at such and such a date or a month or you don’t have to be specific.”

    After Noem refused yet again to say whether the alleged meeting actually took place, Finnerty continued, “Again, I think at one point you were at the top of that list, but you’re going to get questions a lot more difficult than that.”

    Despite endorsing Noem’s book, Trump allegedly told several people he was “disgusted” by the governor’s anecdote about killing her 14-month-old dog Cricket in a gravel pit.

    According to unnamed sources, Trump was baffled by Noem’s confession that she shot her dog after it proved “less than worthless” as a hunting dog and questioned, “Why would she do that?” and “What is wrong with her?”

    Ivanka Trump Signals Potential New White House Role

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
    -
    1
    Photo via Gage Skidmore Flickr

    Could Donald Trump’s second White House administration include family members after all?

    Ivanka Trump, the former President’s oldest daughter, signaled a willingness to return to politics if her father wins another term in the White House.

    Puck’s Tara Palmeri reported, citing someone familiar with the matter, that the former president’s daughter, who served in his first administration, is “warming to the idea of trying to be helpful” again. The source told Palmeri that Ivanka Trump is “privately not ruling out having some sort of role.”

    “She’s not like ‘Hell no’ anymore,” the person said.

    Ivanka Trump served as an advisor in her father’s administration but announced in 2022 that she was leaving politics behind even though her father is running again. Other Trump family members have also made similar statements regarding future roles in the White House.

    “This time around, I am choosing to prioritize my young children and the private life we are creating as a family. I do not plan to be involved in politics,” she said at the time.

    Palmeri reported that Ivanka Trump has been advised to wait to make a full dive back onto the Trump team until the GOP convention this summer.

    A spokesperson for the couple said in a statement that both are still committed to being in the private sector currently.

    “As they’ve both repeatedly stated, Ivanka and Jared continue to focus on their family and lives in the private sector and do not intend to go back to politics,” the spokesperson said.

    Ivanka Trump’s husband, Jared Kushner, also served as a senior advisor in Trump’s administration, helping to negotiate the historic Abraham Accords. 

    Trump Responds To Top RNC Lawyer’s Sudden Resignation

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
    -
    1
    Donald Trump via Gage Skidmore Flickr

    Donald Trump is not sad to see the Republican National Committee’s top lawyer go.

    “Great news for the Republican Party. RINO lawyer Charlie Spies is out as Chief Counsel of the RNC. I wish him well!” Trump posted late Sunday on Truth Social.

    Officials confirmed Saturday that Spies was leaving his post as RNC chief counsel roughly two months after taking the job as part of a broader staffing overhaul once Trump became the presumptive GOP nominee for November.

    There were reportedly tensions between Trump and Spies after Spies had criticized Trump’s false claims that the 2020 election was fraudulent and stolen.

    “Charlie approached RNC Chief of Staff, Chris Lacivita, about potential time commitment conflicts and it was agreed that, while we appreciate and value Charlie’s expertise and professionalism, he cannot do this role full time and still maintain the obligations to his law firm that he has spent years successfully building,” RNC spokesperson Danielle Alvarez said in a statement to The Hill.

    The RNC had announced in March it was hiring Spies, along with former One America News host Christina Bobb and former Trump administration attorney Bill McGinley to lead its legal efforts, with the latter two focusing on election integrity.

    Ex-GOP Congressman Suspends House Campaign

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
    -
    0

    It’s over before it even started…

    Former Republican New York Congressman George Santos has suspended his independent campaign less than two months later. (RELATED: George Santos Now Running For Congress As ‘Ultra MAGA Independent’)

    Santos was running to unseat Republican Rep. Nick LaLota who represents New York’s 1st Congressional District after being expelled last year.

    “I have decided to withdraw from my independent run for NY-1,” Santos announced via social media on Tuesday. “I don’t want my run to be portrayed as a reprisal against Nick Lalota”

    “Although Nick and I don’t have the same voting record and I remain critical of his abysmal record, I don’t want to split the ticket and be responsible for handing the house to Dems,” Santos continued, citing r. “It is clear that with the rise of antisemitism in our country we cannot afford to hand the house to Dems as they have a very large issue with antisemitism in their ranks.”

    Santos launched his independent campaign for NY-1 in March, despite having previously represented a different New York district.

    Last December, the House of Representatives voted 311-114-2 to expel the Santos with 105 Republicans joining almost all Democrats. (RELATED: House Votes To Expel George Santos)

    A scathing House Ethics report said there was clear evidence Santos committed serious crimes and said the New York Republican “blatantly stole from his campaign” and “deceived donors into providing what they thought were contributions to his campaign but were in fact payments for his personal benefit.”

    His campaign committee reported zero expenditures and zero fundraising income in a filing to the Federal Elections Commission.

    “The future holds countless possibilities and I am ready willing and able to step up to the plate and go fight for my country at anytime,” Santos said on Tuesday. “I will continue to participate in the public policy discussions and will do my part.”

    He concluded, “I will always strive to stand on the right side of history. It’s only goodbye for now, I’ll be back.”

    Article Published With The Permission of American Liberty News.

    Report: Nikki Haley Snags over 150K votes in Battleground State After Dropping Out

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
    -
    0
    The White House from Washington, DC, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

    Former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley received more than 150,000 votes in the Pennsylvania GOP primary on Tuesday despite having dropped out of the race weeks ago. 

    The Hill reported the most recent election returns, from just after 9 a.m. Wednesday, show Haley with nearly 157,000 votes, enough for 16.6 percent of the total, with 90 percent of votes cast counted.

    Former President Trump still easily won the primary, with more than 80 percent of the vote as of the latest count, and he will win all of Pennsylvania’s delegates in the winner-take-all primary. But Haley’s total is still a significant amount for a candidate who has not been in the race since early last month. 

    Despite Haley’s popularity among Republicans the former South Carolina Governor, she was unable to take a commanding lead over Trump.

    Still, Haley on Tuesday appears to have reached or came close to 20 percent in several counties. Her showing may not have significantly impacted Trump taking the state on his way to officially becoming the Republican nominee, especially as he became the presumptive nominee last month after clinching enough delegates. 

    But it could indicate a reason for concern in the general election, in which Pennsylvania is one of the key battleground states that could determine the winner of the race. The polling average of the state from Decision Desk HQ/The Hill has Trump ahead of President Biden in the state by just 0.4 percent, meaning every vote may have added importance there compared to other states in November. 

    Haley has seen continued support over recent weeks in other states. She received more than 77,000 votes in the Georgia GOP primary in March a few days after she dropped out, more than 150,000 votes, or almost 20 percent, in the Washington Republican primary and more than 110,000 votes in the Arizona GOP primary.

    Report: SCOTUS Rejects Kari Lake’s Voting Machine Suit

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
    -
    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.”

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