Politics

Trump Starts Off 2024 Bid With Events In Early Voting States

Published

2 years ago

2023-01-28

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.

trump

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)

Politics

Trump Media Stock Jumps After Former President Says He Won’t Sell Shares When Lockup Expires

Published

4 days ago

2024-09-16

Kiara Grace

NEW YORK — Trump Media & Technology Group Corp. shares rose on Friday after former President Donald Trump said he would not sell his ownership in the social media company.

“I don’t want to sell my stock. “I don’t need money,” Donald told reporters at his golf club in Los Angeles.

Donald owns over 115 million shares in the corporation, according to a recent SEC filing. According to Thursday’s closing price of $16.08, Donald’s stock is worth nearly $1.85 billion.

Trump Media Stock Jumps After Former President Says He Won’t Sell Shares When Lockup Expires

If the former president desires, he can begin selling shares of Trump Media, the parent company of Truth Social, on September 19, when a lockup provision expires. The lockup agreement banned corporate insiders from selling newly issued shares for six months after the company went public in March.

Even though Donald would earn a sizable payoff if he sold, Trump Media’s stock is now significantly less valuable than it was six months ago. When the company debuted on the Nasdaq in March, it reached a high of $79.38.

Donald founded Truth Social after being barred from Twitter and Facebook following the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol brawl. Trump Media, headquartered in Sarasota, Florida, has been losing money and failing to generate revenue. According to regulatory documents, it lost approximately $58.2 million last year and generated only $4.1 million in revenue.

Trump Media Stock Jumps After Former President Says He Won’t Sell Shares When Lockup Expires

“I use it as a method of getting out my word,” Donald remarked on Friday about Truth Social. “For me, it is a great voice.”

Following Donald’s debate with Vice President Kamala Harris, the stock fell by more than 10% on Wednesday. On Friday, shares rose as much as 29% and closed up 11.8%.

SOURCE | AP

Politics

Liberal Defence Departments Spends $34 Million on Sleeping Bags Unsuitable for Canadian Winters

Published

6 days ago

2024-09-13

Geoff Thomas

Sleeping Bags Unsuitable for Canadian Winters

Canadian soldiers travelling to an Alaskan military drill were given 1960s military sleeping bags after complaining that the new ones were poor quality and unsuitable for sub-zero weather.

Despite the Liberal government spending more than $34.8 million on new sleeping bags, the Canadian Army requested late last year that hundreds of soldiers attending a joint northern exercise in Alaska with the Americans be provided antiquated, 1960s-vintage sleeping bags.

In late November last year, about 350 men from the 3rd battalion of the Canadian Princess Patricia’s Light Infantry went to Ram Falls Provincial Park, west of Red Deer, Alta., to train for northern operations.

During the training exercise last autumn, soldiers stated that despite using both the inner and outer shells and sleeping in stove-heated tents, they remained cold.

The temperatures during the exercise ranged from -5°C during the day to -20°C at night. According to an internal DND report dated December 5, 2023, the soldiers noticed “critical issues” with the new GPSBS sleeping bags, including a lack of warmth.

GPSB sleeping bags cost taxpayers $34.8 million, were not suitable for for typical Canadian winter conditions – CBC Image

The inadequacy of the new GPSB sleeping bags caused the Department of National Defence (DND) to begin seeking for extra sleeping bags to keep soldiers warm and usable in the Far North.

The briefing memo proposed that soldiers participating in the drill with the US be “loaned” 500 of the army’s old Arctic sleeping bags, which the new system was intended to replace.

The Trudeau administration has emphasised the importance of protecting Canada’s Arctic in recent defence policy updates, and has committed a series of new equipment acquisitions for cold weather operations.

Specifically, the policy promised to purchase “new vehicles adapted to ice, snow, and tundra.”

However, some soldiers who contacted CBC News with complaints about the sleeping bags expressed scepticism about such claims, citing DND’s failure to deliver on something as fundamental as a sleeping bag fit for the Canadian winter.

The DND stated that the 3rd battalion was the second unit to complain about the new sleeping bags. During a separate drill, troops from the 2nd Battalion, Royal Canadian Regiment, discovered flaws in the new sleeping bags.

Nonetheless, the government stated that it will not abandon the new sleeping bags and has begun a separate procurement of sleeping bags fit for a Canadian winter at an undisclosed cost to taxpayers.

In its statement to the CBC, the DND stated that it solicited comments from soldiers, but they did not respond immediately when asked what type of cold weather testing was conducted before purchasing the sleeping bags.

The GPSBS sleeping bags were chosen through a rigorous competition process, with technical requirements such as insulation value, bag weight, and packing volume, according to the DND.

NATO Secretary-General Urges Trudeau to Honour Canada’s Spending Target

NATO Secretary-General Urges Trudeau to Honour Canada’s Spending Target

Politics

Trudeau’s Grapples With a Mass Exodus of Senior Staff

Published

1 week ago

2024-09-11

Geoff Thomas

Five chiefs of staff for Liberal ministers have quit - Image Counter Signal

The minority Liberals are returning to a precarious position in the House of Commons, having lost the automatic support of the New Democratic Party, as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government is currently grappling with an exodus of senior staff.

According to six Liberal sources who each confirmed some of the names of those leaving, five of his 38 ministers are losing their chiefs of staff in quick succession, with several already gone. These chiefs of staff include the top advisers at Global Affairs, Heritage, Environment, National Revenue, and Mental Health and Addictions.

According to the sources, a number of employees had been contemplating their departures for months, while others had been entertaining the idea for an extended period before ultimately making the decision. Some of the sources stated that five out of 38 is a significant decrease, despite the fact that the Liberals have frequently encountered turnover among their ministerial staff since assuming office in 2015.

The Globe and Mail is refraining from disclosing the sources due to their inability to disclose an internal staffing change.

A spokesperson for the Prime Minister’s Office downplayed the importance of the departures. Hundreds of political personnel are responsible for providing support to our government, cabinet ministers, and members of Parliament. Turnover is a typical aspect of the employment process for the personnel who perform this critical function, according to Mohammad Hussain, the press secretary for the PMO.

Trudeau’s loss of its top executive

Peter Wilkinson, the director of staff to Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly, is departing the office less than two years after his appointment. Senior staff member Jamie Kippen, who has served as the chief of staff to Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault for an extended period, has already completed his final day. Jude Welch, the director of staff for Heritage Minister Pascale St-Onge, has already departed.

Sarah Welch, the chief for Ya’ara Saks, the Minister of Mental Health and Addictions, and Frédérique Tsai-Klassen, the chief to Minister of National Revenue Marie-Claude Bibeau, are also departing. According to the sources, the majority of the senior staff who are departing do not currently have a position lined up. However, they are eligible for severance payments that are calculated based on their years of service.

The party’s loss of its top executive, national campaign director Jeremy Broadhurst, a prominent senior Liberal for the past two decades, coincides with the exodus of top staff in ministerial offices. He was previously the national campaign director in 2019 and a senior adviser in the PMO before returning to the party last year.

Mr. Broadhurst tendered his resignation on Thursday, mere days prior to Mr. Trudeau’s scheduled meeting with his caucus in Nanaimo, British Columbia. Three Members of Parliament informed The Globe that they are anticipating the Prime Minister’s presentation of a credible strategy to regain the support of Canadian electors.

Senior staff members have resigned

According to two senior officials, it is unlikely that Mr. Trudeau will designate a replacement for Mr. Broadhurst at the caucus meeting. Nevertheless, an official in the PMO stated that the caucus will be provided with a comprehensive roadmap for the upcoming election. The two officials who were prohibited from disclosing the internal planning are not being identified by The Globe and Mail.

In addition to the anticipated resignation of Transportation Minister Pablo Rodriguez and the departure of Labour Minister Seamus O’Regan in July, all of the senior staff members have resigned.

Mr. O’Regan was a significant political ally of Mr. Trudeau. Mr. Rodriguez is anticipated to declare his departure from the federal Liberals in order to participate in the provincial party’s leadership race, as he currently occupies the most significant political position in Quebec for the government.

“I believe it is a sign of the end of government,” Lori Turnbull, chair of the public and international affairs department at Dalhousie University told the Globe and Mail. She said senior staff members are aware that their departures will only exacerbate the perception and reality of the current state of Trudeau and the government.”

“There is a perception that the Trudeau government has reached its conclusion and that the upcoming election will result in a loss.” The departure of senior staff indicates that even those who are committed to Team Trudeau can perceive the impending doom.

“It raises the question of whether we would witness the same departures in the event that a new leader were selected,” she continued.

The second-in-commands for each office have already been appointed to numerous top-level positions; however, the most critical position at Global Affairs has yet to be permanently replaced.

As of Sunday, Alexandre Boulé has assumed the role of interim chief for Ms. Joly, according to her office. In the interim, deputy chief of staff Joanna Dafoe will succeed Mr Kippen at Environment, and deputy Michael Lartigau will succeed Mr Welch at Heritage.

Marianne Dandurand has succeeded Ms. Tsai-Klassen as the superintendent of National Revenue.

The office announced on Sunday that the position of chief to the Mental Health and Addictions minister is still vacant.