Politics
Trump Starts Off 2024 Bid With Events In Early Voting States
COLUMBIA, South Carolina — Former President Donald Trump will kick off his bid for the presidency in 2024 with visits to two early-voting states on Saturday, his first campaign event since launching his campaign more than two months ago.
Trump will deliver the keynote address at the New Hampshire Republican Party’s annual meeting before traveling to Columbia, South Carolina, to unveil his leadership team at the Statehouse. The states control two of the party’s first three nominating contests, giving them enormous sway over the party’s nominee.
Trump and his supporters hope that the events will show how much support there is for the former president after his campaign got off to a slow start, which has made many people wonder if he really wants to run again. His supporters have recently reached out to political operatives and elected officials to get their support for Trump’s reelection at a crucial time when other Republicans are getting ready for their own expected challenges.
“The gun has been discharged, and the campaign season has begun,” said Stephen Stepanek, chair of the New Hampshire Republican Party and co-chair of Trump’s 2016 campaign in the state.
While Trump remains the only declared presidential candidate for 2024, a slew of potential challengers, including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former Vice President Mike Pence, and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, who served as Trump’s UN ambassador, is widely expected to launch campaigns in the coming months.
Trump Has Struggled To Rally Support
South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster, U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, and several members of the state’s congressional delegation are expected to attend the event on Saturday. However, Trump’s campaign has struggled to rally support from state lawmakers, including some who enthusiastically supported him in previous runs.
Some have stated that it is too early to make endorsements more than a year before the primary election or that they are waiting to see who else enters the race. Others have suggested that the party look beyond Trump to a new generation of leaders.
Republican state Rep. RJ May, vice chair of South Carolina’s state House Freedom Caucus, said he wouldn’t attend Trump’s event because he was too preoccupied with the Freedom Caucus’ legislative battle with the GOP caucus. He stated he was open to other Republican candidates in the 2024 election.
“I believe we’ll have a very strong slate of candidates here in South Carolina,” said May, who supported Trump in 2016 and 2020. “I would take a Donald Trump over Joe Biden,” he added.
According to Dave Wilson, president of the conservative Christian nonprofit Palmetto Family, some conservative voters may be concerned about Trump’s recent remarks that Republicans who opposed abortion without exceptions had cost the party critical midterm victories in 2022.
Lots Of People To Attend The Event
“It makes some people in the conservative ranks of the Republican Party wonder whether we need the process to work itself out,” said Wilson, whose organization hosted Pence for a speech in 2021. “You must continue to earn your vote,” he added. Nothing is presumptuous.”
Wilson said South Carolina GOP voters may be looking for “a candidate who can be the standard-bearer not only for now but to build ongoing momentum across America for conservatism for the next few decades,” despite acknowledging that Trump “did some phenomenal things when he was president,” such as securing a conservative U.S. Supreme Court majority.
Gerri McDaniel, who worked on Trump’s 2016 campaign and will attend Saturday’s event, disagreed with the notion that voters were ready to let go of the former president.
“Some in the media claim he’s losing support. “No, he isn’t,” she clarified. “It’s only going to get worse because so many people are angry about what’s going on in Washington.”
The South Carolina event, which took place in a government building surrounded by elected officials, is out of character for a former reality TV star who prefers large rallies and has tried to build a reputation as an outsider. But Trump is a former president who wants to get back into office by comparing his time in office to the current one.
This Rally Has Been Costly For Trump
Rallies are also costly, and Trump, who is notoriously frugal, added new financial challenges by launching his campaign in November — far earlier than many allies had advised. As a result, he is subject to strict fundraising regulations and is prohibited from using his well-funded leadership PAC to fund such events, which can cost millions of dollars.
Officials expect Trump to speak in the Statehouse’s second-floor lobby, an opulent ceremonial area between the House and Senate chambers.
The venue has hosted some of South Carolina’s most significant political news moments, including Haley’s 2015 signing of legislation to remove the Confederate battle flag from the Statehouse grounds and Gov. Henry McMaster’s 2021 signing of legislation prohibiting abortions in the state after six weeks of pregnancy. McMaster has vowed to seek a rehearing after the state Supreme Court recently ruled the abortion law unconstitutional.
Trump’s new campaign had already caused a lot of anger, especially when he had dinner with white nationalist Nick Fuentes, who doesn’t believe in the Holocaust, and the rapper formerly known as Kanye West, who has made a lot of anti-Semitic comments. Trump also got a lot of flak for selling digital trading cards that showed him as, among other things, a superhero, a cowboy, and an astronaut.
Criminal Investigations Still Pending
Simultaneously, he is the subject of several criminal investigations, including one into the discovery of hundreds of documents with classified markings at his Mar-a-Lago club and whether he obstructed justice by refusing to return them, as well as state and federal inquiries into his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election, which he lost to Democrat Joe Biden.
Still, Trump is the only one who has said he will run for president in 2024, and early polls show that he is the favorite to win the nomination of his party.
Stepanek, who must remain neutral as New Hampshire party chair, dismissed Trump’s slow start, which campaign officials say accounts for time spent putting infrastructure in place for a national campaign.
“There’s been a lot of anticipation, a lot of excitement” for Trump’s reelection in New Hampshire, he said. He claimed that Trump’s ardent supporters are still behind him.
“There are a lot of people who weren’t with him in ’15, ’16, then became Trumpers, then became never-Trumpers,” Stepanek explained. “But the people who backed him in New Hampshire, who helped propel him to victory in the New Hampshire primary in 2016, they’re all still there, waiting for the president.”
SOURCE – (AP)
Celebrity
Potential Jurors Called Into Courtroom For Start Of Trump’s Historic Hush-Money Trial
NEW YORK — The historic hush-money trial of Donald Trump began Monday, with scores of prospective jurors crammed into a courtroom where the former president will face allegations that he fabricated business records to suppress revelations about his sex life.
The first criminal prosecution of any former US president will take place as Trump seeks to recover the White House, producing a fascinating split-screen spectacle in which the probable Republican nominee spends his days as a criminal defendant while also campaigning for government. Over the last year, he has combined both roles by portraying himself to supporters on the campaign road and social media as the object of politically motivated prosecutions intended to destroy his candidacy.
Potential Jurors Called Into Courtroom For Start Of Trump’s Historic Hush-Money Trial
After a norm-breaking presidency shadowed by years of investigations, Trump’s trial is a legal reckoning. Four indictments accuse him of crimes ranging from hoarding confidential data to attempting to overthrow an election. However, the political stakes are less obvious because a conviction would not prevent him from becoming president, and the charges, in this case, reach back years and are viewed as less serious than the conduct behind the other three indictments.
The day began with hours of pretrial arguments, including potential penalties for Trump before jury selection began Monday afternoon. The first members of the jury pool, 96 in total, were summoned to the courtroom, where the parties would select who among them would be chosen to decide the legal fate of the former, and possibly future, American president.
Trump craned his neck to glance back at the pool, talking to his lawyer as they entered the jury box.
“You are about to stand trial by jury. Judge Juan Merchan told the jurors that the jury trial system is one of the pillars of our legal system. “The name of this case is the People of the State of New York vs. Donald Trump.”
Trump’s notoriety would make selecting 12 jurors and six alternates a near-herculean task in any year, but it’s likely to be especially difficult now, as the election takes place in the heavily Democratic city where Trump grew up and rose to celebrity status decades before winning the presidency.
Merchan has said that the question is “whether the prospective juror can assure us that they will set aside any personal feelings or biases and render a decision that is based on the evidence and the law.”
Regardless of the verdict, Trump is determined to gain from the proceedings, portraying the case and his other indictments as a broad “weaponization of law enforcement” by Democratic prosecutors and authorities. He claims they are staging bogus allegations to derail his presidential campaign. He’s been criticizing judges and prosecutors for years, a pattern of attacks that persisted until Monday, when he entered court and declared, “This is political persecution.” “This is a new kind of persecution.”
Earlier Monday, the judge dismissed a defense request to disqualify himself from the case after Trump’s lawyers alleged a conflict of interest. He also stated that the prosecution could not show the jury the 2005 “Access Hollywood” recording in which Trump was caught describing sexually assaulting women without their permission. However, prosecutors will be able to interrogate witnesses about the recording made public in the last weeks of the 2016 campaign.
Prosecutors from the Manhattan district attorney’s office also urged Merchan on Monday to pay Trump $3,000 for social media statements that they said breached the judge’s gag order prohibiting him from assaulting witnesses. Last week, he used his Truth Social platform to label his former lawyer, Michael Cohen and adult film actress Stormy Daniels, “two sleaze bags who have, with their lies and misrepresentations, cost our country dearly!”
Trump’s lawyer, Todd Blanche, contended that Trump was only responding to the witnesses’ comments.
“It’s not like President Trump is going out and targeting people. “He is responding to these witnesses’ salacious, repeated, vehement attacks,” Blanche stated.
Merchan did not rule out the request immediately but scheduled a hearing for next week.
Potential Jurors Called Into Courtroom For Start Of Trump’s Historic Hush-Money Trial
Trump has pleaded not guilty to 34 felony charges of falsifying company documents. Prosecutors believe the alleged fraud was part of an effort to prevent scandalous — and, Trump claims, false — tales about his personal life from surfacing during his 2016 campaign.
The allegations are based on $130,000 in payments made by Trump’s firm to Cohen. He paid that cash on Trump’s behalf a month before the election to prevent Daniels from going public with her claims of a sexual encounter with the married mogul a decade ago.
Prosecutors claim the payments to Cohen were falsely recorded as legal expenses to conceal their true purpose. Trump’s lawyers claim the disbursements were legal expenditures, not a cover-up.
After decades of fielding and bringing lawsuits, the businessman-turned-politician now faces a trial that may result in up to four years in prison if convicted, while a non-jail sentence is also an option. Trump is also expected to appeal any conviction.
Trump’s lawyers lost their quest to dismiss the hush-money case and have subsequently attempted to postpone it, resulting in a frenzy of last-minute appeals court proceedings last week.
Among other things, Trump’s attorneys argue that the jury pool in largely Democratic Manhattan has been corrupted by bad news about Trump and that the case should be transferred elsewhere.
An appeals judge denied an emergency motion to delay the trial, and a group of appellate judges will consider the change-of-venue request in the coming weeks.
Manhattan prosecutors have replied that most of the publicity derives from Trump’s words and that questioning will reveal whether prospective jurors can overcome their preconceived notions. They claim there is no reason to believe that 12 fair and impartial people cannot be identified among Manhattan’s roughly 1.4 million adult citizens.
The prospective jurors will only be identified by number since the judge has ordered that their names be kept secret from everyone save prosecutors, Trump, and their legal teams. The 42 preapproved, sometimes multi-pronged queries cover the basics while reflecting the case’s individuality.
Potential Jurors Called Into Courtroom For Start Of Trump’s Historic Hush-Money Trial
“Do you have any strong opinions or firmly held beliefs about former President Donald Trump, or the fact that he is a current candidate for president, that would interfere with your ability to be a fair and impartial juror?” asks a single inquiry.
Others inquire about attendance at Trump or anti-Trump rallies, opinions on how he is being treated in the case, news sources, and other factors — including any “political, moral, intellectual, or religious beliefs or opinions” that may “slant” a prospective juror’s attitude to the case.
Based on the responses, the attorneys can request that a court remove persons “for cause” if they fulfill certain criteria for being unfit to serve or impartial. The lawyers can also use “peremptory challenges” to dismiss 10 potential jurors and two prospective alternates without explaining.
“If you strike everybody who’s either a Republican or a Democrat,” the judge noted at a February hearing, “you’re going to run out of peremptory challenges very quickly.”
SOURCE – (AP)
Politics
US Mainstream Media Pressures Biden to Debate Trump
On Sunday, twelve news organizations asked expected presidential nominees Joe Biden and Donald Trump to consent to debates, calling them a “rich tradition” that has been part of every general election campaign since 1976.
While Trump, who did not participate in the Republican nomination debates, has shown a readiness to face his 2020 opponent, the Democratic president has not promised to debate him again.
Although no formal invitations have been issued, the news organizations stated that it is not too early for each campaign to openly announce its participation in the three presidential and one vice presidential forums scheduled by the independent Commission on Presidential Debates.
“If there is one thing Americans can agree on during this polarized time, it is that the stakes of this election are exceptionally high,” the organizations said in a joint statement. “Amidst that backdrop, there is simply no substitute for the candidates debating with each other, and before the American people, their visions for the future of our nation.”
ABC, CBS, CNN, Fox, PBS, NBC, NPR, and The Associated Press signed the letter.
Biden and Trump debated twice in 2020. A third debate was canceled after then-President Trump tested positive for COVID-19 and refused to debate remotely.
When asked on March 8 if he would agree to a debate with Trump, Biden replied, “It depends on his behavior.” The president was visibly irritated by his opponent during the freewheeling first 2020 debate, demanding, “Will you shut up?”
Susie Wiles and Chris LaCivita, Trump campaign managers, stated in a letter last week that “we have already indicated President Trump is willing to debate anytime, any place, and anywhere—and the time to start these debates is now.”
They referenced Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas’ seven 1858 Illinois Senate debates, stating, “Certainly, today’s America deserves as much.”
In 2022, the Republican National Committee voted not to participate in Commission on Presidential Debates-sponsored forums. The Trump team has not indicated that it will follow through on that, but it has set some conditions.
The campaign managers stated that in 2020, the commission chose a “demonstrably anti-Trump moderator” in then-Fox News presenter Chris Wallace, and they want assurances that the commission debates will be fair and impartial.
The Trump team also wants the timetable adjusted faster, claiming that many Americans will have voted by September 16, October 1, and October 9, the dates set by the commission for the three debates.
The Biden campaign declined to comment on the news organizations’ letter, citing the president’s previous statement. The Trump campaign did not immediately comment.
However, on Saturday, Trump hosted a rally in northeast Pennsylvania with two lecterns set up on stage: one for him to deliver a speech and the other to represent Biden’s unwillingness to debate him. The second podium included a banner that said, “Anytime. Anywhere. Anyplace.”
Midway into his campaign speech, Trump turned to the right and gestured to the second podium.
“We have a little, look at this, it’s for him,” he said. “Do you see the podium?” I’d want to challenge Crooked Joe Biden to a debate anytime and from anywhere. Right there. And we must debate because our country is headed in the wrong direction, and even though it is a little early, we must debate. “We must explain to the American people what the hell is going on,” Trump stated.
C-SPAN, NewsNation, and Univision also signed the letter demanding debates. Only one newspaper, USA Today, expressed its opinion. The Washington Post denied a request to participate.
Certainly, broadcasters may benefit from the buzz that discussions can generate. Television news ratings are down dramatically from the 2020 campaign. However, other variables, such as cord-cutting and the pandemic, contributed to increased interest in news four years ago.
There were no Democratic debates this election season, and Trump’s reluctance to participate in Republican forums reduced interest in them.
By Geoff Thomas
The Elites’ Hatred of Trump and Everyday Americans
News
Iran’s attack on Israel raises fears of a wider war, but all sides have also scored gains
Tel Aviv, Israel – Iran’s extraordinary attack on Israel early Sunday heightened regional tensions, confirming long-held fears that the Israel-Hamas war will escalate into a larger conflagration. However, Iran, Israel, the US, and Hamas all made advances.
Here’s a peek at the aftermath.
As more than 300 drones and missiles approached in the early hours of Sunday, the country was able to effectively test its aerial defense system, which, with assistance from partners, stopped 99% of the projectiles and avoided serious damage.
Iran’s attack on Israel raises fears of a wider war, but all sides have also scored gains
In contrast, when Hamas rushed from Gaza into Israel on October 7, armed forces suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of a significantly less equipped enemy. That dealt a significant blow to Israel’s image as a regional military force, shattering any illusions of invincibility. The response to Iran’s attack could be what restores faith in the country’s military, even though its forces are still trapped in Gaza more than six months after Israel started war on Hamas there.
The country has also boasted about the coalition of forces that helped it resist the Iranian attack. It’s a much-needed display of support at a time when Israel is most isolated due to worries over its actions during the conflict against Hamas, including a deteriorating humanitarian catastrophe and a staggering death toll in Gaza.
Iran repeatedly pledged to respond to a suspected strike on an Iranian diplomatic compound in Damascus on April 1, which killed two generals. Sunday’s assault allowed Iran to demonstrate to its populace that it will not stand by while its assets are targeted and that it meant business when it threatened retaliation.
With its strike, Iran was able to demonstrate its formidable weaponry, induce terror in some Israelis, and disrupt the lives of many through school closures. However, with little actual damage suffered in Israel, Iran may expect a restrained response. Iran announced the operation’s end several hours after the drones and missiles were launched.
Iran’s attack on Israel raises fears of a wider war, but all sides have also scored gains
The United States played a major role in repelling the onslaught, proving to its allies worldwide the strength and dependability of American backing.
Now, as the country considers how and if to respond, that partnership will be tested, the Biden administration will attempt to impose leverage on Israel and prevent it from carrying out a retaliation that could exacerbate the crisis.
Hamas, which Iran sponsors, hailed the attack on the country. Since beginning its October 7 offensive, Hamas had hoped that regional allies would rush to its aid and pull Israel into a larger conflict. While others have intervened, notably the Iranian-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon and Yemen’s Houthis, Iran did not directly enter the conflict until Sunday.
Iran’s attack on Israel raises fears of a wider war, but all sides have also scored gains
Hamas may believe that the attack is the first step toward greater Iranian involvement in the Gaza conflict. It might also hope that unrest in the West Bank, where a teenager was slain and settlers rampaged through Palestinian towns, continues to escalate. At the absolute least, Iran’s attack may have emboldened Hamas to dig in its heels in current cease-fire discussions, thinking that increased military pressure on them may persuade it to accept the militant group’s tougher criteria for an agreement.
SOURCE – (AP)
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