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5 Republican State Legislators Switch Endorsements

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    Ron DeSantis via Gage Skidmore Flickr

    Five Florida legislators flipped their endorsements from Florida Governor Ron DeSantis to former President Donald Trump in the race for the Republican presidential nomination. 

    The five who flipped from DeSantis to Trump include State Reps. Jessica Baker, Webster Barnaby, Alina Garcia, Kevin Steele, and State Sen. Debbie Mayfield.

    “As instability grows around the world and economic uncertainty takes root here at home, folks across my district tell me constantly they want to see President Donald Trump back in the White House and Gov. Ron DeSantis back on the job here in Florida, finishing the work he promised to do less than a year ago,” Baker said in a statement to The Messenger, the news outlet that first reported the endorsements. 

    DeSantis’s team said his detractors didn’t mean much in the race and touted his endorsements in Iowa. 

    “Ron DeSantis is dominating the field — including the former president — in supportive state legislative endorsements from across the country,” spokesman Bryan Griffin told The Messenger. “In Iowa, DeSantis holds a historic count of 41 state legislative endorsements, which far surpasses Trump … And, in Florida, DeSantis has nearly 100 state legislators endorsing his run for president. That, too, is a number that significantly outpaces Trump.”

    The seven endorsements follow another DeSantis defector, State Rep. Randy Fine, who endorsed Trump two weeks ago. 

    Trump also has the support of the majority of Florida’s congressional delegation, including Reps. Byron Donalds, Matt Gaetz, and Anna Paulina Luna. Fourteen of Florida’s Republican congress members have endorsed the former president, while one has endorsed DeSantis, according to The Messenger. 

    Impeachment Republican Launches Longshot Senate Bid

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    Former Michigan Congressman Peter Meijer (R) announced his campaign for U.S. Senate on Monday.

    “We are in dark and uncertain times, but we have made it through worse,” he said in a statement, posted on X. “The challenges are great, but so is our country. If we are to see another great American century, we need leaders who aren’t afraid to be bold, will do the work, and can’t be bought.”

    Meijer lost his House seat last cycle after a Trump-backed candidate defeated him in the Republican primary — a challenge brought on after Meijer joined nine other House Republicans in voting to impeach Trump following the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot.

    The Michigan Republican already faces a challenge to win the seat left open by Se. Debbie Stabenow (D) as former Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Mich.), who was sought after by the National Republican Senatorial Committee, and former Detroit Police Chief James Craig are among some of the names seeking the GOP endorsement. 

    The nonpartisan election prognosticator Cook Political Report rates Stabenow’s seat as “lean Democrat.” 

    Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) is the most prominent Democrat running for the position.

    Former Obama Adviser Suggests Biden Drop Out Of 2024 Race

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    Political strategist David Axelrod joined Friends of the LBJ Library members to speak about his memoir, "Believer: My Forty Years in Politics," at the LBJ Presidential Library on February 25, 2015. The discussion was moderated by director Mark Updegrove and introduced by Elizabeth Christian. Photo by Lauren Gerson.

    Maybe it’s time for Joe Biden to turn his hearing aids up…

    Former Obama adviser David Axelrod suggested it may be “wise” for President Biden to drop out of the 2024 race after a recent poll found Trump leading Biden in multiple battleground states. A New York Times and Siena College poll published Sunday found Trump leading Biden by 10 points in Nevada, six points in Georgia, five points in both Arizona and Michigan, and four points in Pennsylvania. In Wisconsin, Biden held a two point lead over Trump. The poll’s results are especially concerning for Democrats as Biden won all six states in the 2020 election.

    Arguing Biden is “justly proud of his accomplishments,” Axelrod said Biden’s poll numbers will “send tremors of doubt” through the Democrat Party.

    “Not ‘bed-wetting,’” but legitimate concern, Axelrod wrote.

    “Trump is a dangerous, unhinged demagogue whose brazen disdain for the rules, [norms], laws and institutions or democracy should be disqualifying,” Axelrod wrote in a separate post. “But the stakes of miscalculation here are too dramatic to ignore.”

    “Only @JoeBiden can make this decision,” he continued. “If he continues to run, he will be the nominee of the Democratic Party. What he needs to decide is whether that is wise; whether it’s in HIS best interest or the country’s?”

    Biden’s reelection campaign has faced concerns from voters within his own party over his age and policy actions on various issues, especially the economy.

    Axelrod called Biden’s age “his biggest liability” and something he cannot change.

    “Among all the unpredictables there is one thing that is sure: the age arrow only points in one direction,” Axelrod wrote.

    The former Obama adviser is hardly the first to encourage Biden to pause his reelection campaign in hopes a younger candidate will take on Donald Trump, the current frontrunner for the Republican nomination.

    Recently, Congressman Dean Phillips (D) officially kicked off his own presidential campaign, teeing up a primary challenge against the President.

    Trump Calls To Ban US Entry for Immigrants Against Israel

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    President Donald J. Trump is presented with a 10th Combat Aviation Brigade challenge coin following an air assault and gun rain demonstration at Fort Drum, New York, on August 13. The demonstration was part of President Trump's visit to the 10th Mountain Division (LI) to sign the National Defense Authorization Act of 2019, which increases the Army's authorized active-duty end strength by 4,000 enabling us to field critical capabilities in support of the National Defense Strategy. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Thomas Scaggs) 180813-A-TZ475-010

    Former President Trump said there is no room in America for those who want to abolish Israel.

    On Saturday, Trump told the crowd at the Florida Freedom Summit that he wants to ban entry into the United States for immigrants who support abolishing Israel, one of America’s strongest allies in the mid-East.

    Fox News has more:

    “If you hate America, if you want to abolish Israel, if you sympathize with jihadists, and then you don’t want your country to do well, you don’t want your country to be successful, you’re just not going to get in, you’re not getting in, you’re not coming into our country,” Trump said.

    Trump also proposed ideological screening for immigrants.

    “On day one, I will restore the Trump travel on entering from having people that like to blow up our shopping centers and kill our people and do lots of bad things. Entry from plagued countries. We will not allow people to come in and will implement strong ideological screening for all immigrants,” Trump said. 

    Trump called for ideological screening for immigrants during his 2016 campaign as well, stating that “extreme vetting” needs to be in place.

    Trump’s comments come after he promised to deport immigrants who are publicly supporting Hamas during an Iowa campaign speech in October.

    Must Watch: Trump Impersonates Biden Getting Lost On Stage

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      Gage Skidmore Flickr

      You have to see this…

      Former President Donald Trump mockingly impersonated President Joe Biden getting lost on stage during a campaign stop in Las Vegas over the weekend

      Addressing the crowd, Trump said, “He can’t put two sentences together and he’s in charge of nuclear warfare. Oh My!”

      Trump suggested he would be able to jump off the stage while Biden would be “driving in circles,” not knowing where to go following a speech.

      Shuffling to the back of the stage, Trump put on an act depicting Biden walking into the wall, throwing up his hands in frustration, and then apparently realizing the exit was to his side

      As Trump did his shtick, the crowd in Las Vegas cheered.

      The teasing didn’t stop there, as Trump asked the audience to judge his nicknames for Biden: “Sleepy Joe Biden” or “Crooked Joe Biden.” It seemed “Crooked” won the room.

      Trump Sues Over Efforts To Boot Him Off Michigan Ballot

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      Donald Trump via Gage Skidmore Flickr

      Donald Trump is pushing back against efforts to keep him off the 2024 ballot in some states.

      On Monday, Trump’s legal team filed a lawsuit seeking to prevent Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson from refusing to put him on the ballot for the state’s 2024 presidential primary and general elections.

      The Hill reports that the lawsuit asks the court to affirm that Benson (D) lacks the authority to decide whether Trump can be disqualified from the ballot under an interpretation of the 14th Amendment. The lawsuit asks the court to enter an injunction stopping her from barring Trump from the ballot.

      The suit cites several national and state polls where Trump is the leading Republican candidate for the upcoming presidential election.

      “Despite President Trump’s tremendous popularity, there are people who want to deny Michigan voters the opportunity to express their choice by voting for him,” the lawsuit said.

      Trump’s attorneys said court intervention is necessary so Trump can “ensure he is included” on the upcoming ballots.

      “There is an actual controversy, the outcome of which will determine how President Trump and his campaign allocate their resources both in Michigan and around the country,” the lawsuit said.

      Polling from August shows Biden and Trump neck and neck in Michigan, each earning 44 percent support from voters.

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

      ‘Trump Too Small’ Trademark Case Heads To Supreme Court

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      Duncan Lock, Dflock, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons

      On Wednesday, the Supreme Court will hear arguments over whether the Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) violated the First Amendment when it refused the registration of a political slogan on T-shirts that criticizes former President Donald Trump without his consent.

      California-based attorney Steve Elster’s bid to make “Trump too small” a registered trademark for use on shirts he sells mocking the former president has become the latest in a series of Supreme Court clashes that pit trademark law against the First Amendment.

      In 2017, Elster wanted to get the phrase “Trump Too Small” printed on T-shirts but when he sought to trademark the slogan, he was denied by the PTO, and the Trademark and Trial Appeal Board upheld the decision because the phrase identified Trump without his consent. 

      The phrase originated from an exchange on the 2016 debate stage between Trump and Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) The Florida senator made a crude joke in reference to the size of the former president’s hands. 

      Watch the infamous moment that started it all:

      The decision was reversed by a federal circuit court, noting that Elster’s trademark goes to “the heart of the First Amendment,” and held that the government has no plausible “interest in restricting speech critical of government officials or public figures in the trademark context.”

      The Justice Department arguing on behalf of Katherine Vidal, under secretary of commerce for intellectual property, eventually appealed the case up to the Supreme Court, arguing that the Lanham Act, which is a federal statute aimed at protecting intellectual property in trademark designations, gives the PTO constitutional authority to block Elster’s trademark request, according to Fox News.

      “When registration is refused because a mark ‘[c]onsists of or comprises a name…identifying a particular living individual’ without ‘his written consent,’ ‘[n]o speech is being restricted; no one is being punished,’” the DOJ’s petition to the high court says.


      Fara Sunderji, partner at international law firm Dorsey & Whitney, says, “Despite outward appearances, this case is really not about Trump or the size of his policies or (body parts).”

      “Will this decision restrict speech — namely political criticism in a time where the country is so divided as the 2024 candidates are starting up their engines? The trademark applicant, Mr. Elster, would have us believe that, yes, that is what is at stake,” says Sunderji.

      “So, what is the potential outcome? If the Court upholds the Federal Circuit’s opinion, will the USPTO be inundated with trademark applications for every political phrase containing a candidate’s name in the 2024 election? Probably not. Will daily life be flooded with t-shirts containing slogans with all the 2024 candidates’ names by unrelated third parties? I hope not,” concludes Sunderji.

      Trump Says He Has $100M In Legal Fees Amid Cascade of Court Battles

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      Image via Pixabay free images

      Former President Trump said in Iowa that he has more than $100 million in combined legal fees as he faces an onslaught of court battles.

      In a speech to supporters in Sioux City, Iowa, Trump claimed he lost billions of dollars going into politics and lamented the cost of his legal fees. 

      Trump claimed he turned down multiple opportunities to make money during his presidency because, he said, it would be a conflict of interest, and “I have too much respect for the office.”

      “It’s cost me a couple of billion dollars to be a politician. Everyone else makes, they make [money]. I said, ‘No, we can’t do that.’ I could have made a fortune. The countries are coming [and saying,] ‘We’d like to build a job and we’d like to have you involved.’ Billions. I say, I tell my kids, ‘Sorry, kids, we can’t do it. I’m president.’ I respected the office,” Trump said.

      “And of course, then they made it much worse with legal fees. I have $100 million worth of legal fees,” Trump said. “And they’re doing good. At least I have good lawyers, because you can spend $100 million and have lousy lawyers too. It happens.”

      The four criminal cases against Trump include two federal cases brought by special counsel Jack Smith, who charged Trump with 37 felony counts.

      Biden NSC Spokesman Drops Israeli War ‘Truth Bomb’ On Lefty Reporters

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      ANALYSIS – As most of my readers know, I’m not a big fan of Joe Biden, or any of his lefty White House minions. This includes retired Rear Admiral John Kirby, the oftentimes Democrat hack, previously Pentagon press secretary, and currently coordinator for strategic communications at the National Security Council (NSC).

      Watching this former senior military officer try to spin ridiculous and dangerous Biden foreign and defense policies is often stomach churning.

      But, if nothing else, I try to be fair and honest, and can applaud my opponents when they occasionally get something right.

      And this time Kirby not only got things right, but he surprisingly dropped a major ‘truth bomb.’ And even Biden played a part.

      On Wednesday Biden correctly responded to a lefty reporter’s loaded question about Israel causing civilian casualties in Gaza by saying he can’t trust the civilian casualty numbers disseminated by the Gaza Ministry of Health, controlled by Hamas. They are, essentially, terrorist propaganda.

      In his response the elderly Biden referred to Hamas as “the Palestinians,” but it’s clear what who was talking about.

      “What they say to me is I have no notion that the Palestinians are telling the truth about how many people are killed. I’m sure innocents have been killed, and it’s the price of waging a war,” Biden said. 

      “But I have no confidence in the number that the Palestinians are using.”

      And that was spot on. The figures coming from Palestinian Hamas officials in Gaza are worse than worthless, they are lies.

      Biden’s accurate observation was followed on Thursday by a question from another lefty reporter asking Kirby if Biden would apologize for his remarks since they had angered the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), who called his comments “shocking and dehumanizing.”

      Referring to Biden’s remarks, the reporter asked Kirby:

      Don’t you think it is insensitive? There [is] very harsh criticism about it. For example, the Council of American-Islamic Relations said it was deeply disturbed and called on the president to apologize. Would the president apologize, and does he regret saying something like that?

      To provide some background here, we need to note that while CAIR pretends to be a Muslim human rights group, it often traffics in anti-Jewish rhetoric. 

      CAIR’s Executive Director has claimed that ‘Zionist organizations’ in the U.S. are “enemies of the Muslim community” and that “Zionist organizations make up the core of the Islamophobia network in the United States.” 

      He has also used the trope that pro-Israel groups have “corrupted” the U.S. government and that Israel doesn’t have a right to exist. It’s really just another front group for promoting Islamism and antisemitism in the U.S.

      So, it was refreshing to hear Kirby provide the biased reporter a firm and simple “no,” Biden won’t apologize.

      Kirby then dropped the major ‘truth bomb’ about the Israeli-Hamas conflict. As Blaze Media reported:

      “What’s harsh is the way Hamas is using people as human shields. What’s harsh is taking a couple of hundred hostages and leaving families anxious, waiting, and worrying to figure out where their loved ones are. What’s harsh is dropping in on a music festival and slaughtering a bunch of young people just trying to enjoy an afternoon,” he said.

      “That’s what’s harsh. And being honest about the fact that there have been civilian casualties — and that there likely will be more — is being honest, because that’s what war is. It’s brutal. It’s ugly. It’s messy,” he continued. “I’ve said that before. President also said that yesterday. Doesn’t mean we have to like it. And it doesn’t mean that we’re dismissing any one of those casualties — each and every one is a tragedy in its own right.”

      Kirby, moreover, revealed that the U.S. government is helping Israel minimize civilian casualties but highlighted how Hamas is making that difficult.

      “It would be helpful if Hamas would let [Gazan civilians] leave,” he pointed out. “We know that there are thousands waiting to leave Gaza writ large, and Hamas is preventing them from doing it. That is what is harsh.”

      BOOM! That truth bomb was a direct hit and must have caused some casualties among the leftist press corps. Well done, Admiral Kirby. Now can you tell the truth about Iran, the border, etc., etc.?

      Opinions expressed by contributors do not necessarily reflect the views of Great America News Desk.

      Judge Declines To Recuse From Trump 2024 Ballot Case

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        Former President of the United States Donald Trump speaking with attendees at the 2022 Student Action Summit at the Tampa Convention Center in Tampa, Florida. [Photo Credit: Gage Skidmore from Surprise, AZ, United States of America, CC BY-SA 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons]

        On Monday, the Colorado judge overseeing a challenge to keep Donald Trump off the 2024 ballot refused to step down from the case after donating to numerous anti-Republican PACs.

        The lawsuit, filed by the left-wing donor backed organization Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), seeks to remove Trump from the ballot under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, alleging he took an oath to the Constitution and then engaged in “insurrection” by encouraging the Jan. 6 Capitol riots. 

        Colorado District Judge Sarah Wallace, an appointee of Democrat Gov. Jared Polis, began the trial Monday saying that she has “no specific memory” of the donations.

        “Prior to yesterday, I was not cognizant of this organization or its mission,” Wallace said. “It has always been my practice, whether I was entirely successful or not, to make contributions to individuals, not PACs.”

        She assured litigants that she has “formed no opinion whether the events of Jan. 6 constituted an insurrection.”

        Wallace donated $100 on Oct. 15, 2022 to the Colorado Turnout Project, a PAC that was formed to oppose Republicans who “refused to condemn the political extremists who stormed the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021,” according to Federal Election Commission data. 

        Wallace also has earmarked close to $1,500 in other ActBlue donations for Democrats since 2016, including $100 to Georgia Sen. Raphael Warnock’s campaign on Nov. 10, 2022, per FEC data.

        Trump’s lawyer, former Colorado Secretary of State Scott Gessler, said during his opening statement Monday that the lawsuit was “anti-democratic” and a “case of lawfare that seeks to interfere with the presidential election.”

        Last week, Wallace tossed Trump’s effort to have the case dismissed, rejecting his claim that Congress determines ballot eligibility, not the courts. She also rejected an earlier effort to have the case dismissed on First Amendment grounds.