Raw Story

A political columnist is blaming President-elect Donald Trump's Election Day victory on celebrity endorsements — including Beyoncé's.

Slate editor Hillary Frey on Wednesday issued a condemnation of Vice President Kamala Harris' celebrity endorsements — and took a subtle jab at Beyonce in particular in an off-hand reference to the superstar's nickname.

“As these insanely famous people—one of them literally referred to as a queen — appeared during elaborate (and expensive) Harris events, I kept wondering, why?” Frey wrote. “It’s expensive, ineffective, and hollow."

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Frey argued celebrity endorsements of political candidates was a practice she described as “ridiculous at best, and snobby and condescending at worst.”

To make matters worse, Frey argued, “presidential endorsements generally don’t work.” The 2024 election was no exception.

Frey slammed the Harris campaign team emphasis on celebrity endorsements at a moment when many in the country are struggling economically.

“The downside to these events seemed much clearer to me than the potential upside, the distance between the Democratic candidate for president and everyday Americans wider than ever,” she said.

Legislation that would have handed President-elect Donald Trump sweeping power to investigate and shutter news outlets, government watchdogs, humanitarian organizations, and other nonprofits was defeated in the House of Representatives on Tuesday after a coalition of progressive advocacy groups and lawmakers mobilized against it, warning of the bill's dire implications for the right to dissent.

But 52 Democratic lawmakers—including Reps. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), Henry Cuellar (D-Texas), and Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.)—apparently did not share the grave concerns expressed by the ACLU and other leading rights groups, opting to vote alongside 204 Republicans in favor of the bill.

One Republican, Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky, joined 144 Democrats in voting no.

The measure ultimately fell short of the two-thirds majority needed to approve legislation under the fast-track procedure used by the bill's supporters, but progressives wasted no time spotlighting the Democrats who supported the measure.

"If you're looking for a handy list of Democrats who have no fucking clue what is about to hit and need their spines stiffened ASAP, this is a good place to start," wrote Leah Greenberg, co-executive director of the advocacy group Indivisible.

Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), who vocally opposed the legislation, wrote that "these 52 Democrats voted to give Trump the power to shut down any nonprofit he wants."

"The NAACP, ACLU, Planned Parenthood, no organization would be safe," Tlaib added. "Shameful."

If passed, the Stop Terror-Financing and Tax Penalties on American Hostages Act would grant the Treasury Department—soon to be under the control of a Trump nominee—the authority to unilaterally strip nonprofits of their tax-exempt status by deeming them supporters of terrorism.

The bill could be revived in the next Congress, which is likely to be under full Republican control.

Kia Hamadanchy, senior policy counsel with the ACLU, toldThe Intercept late Tuesday that "we will continue our sustained opposition."

It is already illegal under U.S. law to provide material backing for terrorism, and the executive branch has significant authority to target groups it considers terrorist-supporting.

"This isn't just an attack on our communities; it's a fundamental threat to free speech and democracy."

The ACLU noted ahead of Tuesday's vote that while the bill contains "a 90-day 'cure' period in which a designated nonprofit can mount a defense, it is a mere illusion of due process."

"The government may deny organizations its reasons and evidence against them, leaving the nonprofit unable to rebut allegations," the group said. "This means that a nonprofit could be left entirely in the dark about what conduct the government believes qualifies as 'support,' making it virtually impossible to clear its name."

Opponents of the bill warned that Palestinian rights organizations would be uniquely imperiled if it passed.

"This bill dangerously weaponizes the Treasury against nonprofit organizations and houses of worship—Christian, Jewish, or Muslim—that dare to support Palestinian and Lebanese human rights or criticize Israel's genocidal actions," said Robert McCaw, director of government affairs at the Council on American-Islamic Relations.

"Allowing such sweeping, unchecked power would set a chilling precedent, enabling the government to selectively target and suppress voices of dissent under the guise of national security," McCaw added. "This isn't just an attack on our communities; it's a fundamental threat to free speech and democracy."

Georgia State Rep. Ruwa Romman (D-97), a Palestinian American, echoed that sentiment following Tuesday's vote and condemned the legislation's 52 Democratic supporters.

"Every single Democrat who voted for this is not taking the threat of Trump remotely seriously and should be disqualified from any leadership positions moving forward," Romman wrote on social media. "This is no longer business as usual. To agree to give him this kind of power is beyond egregious."

A swarm of "non-political sycophants" is buzzing around President-elect Donald Trump's Florida resort and they are hoping influencer status will secure them White House responsibilities — and infuriating transition team insiders, according to a new report.

Among them are an influencer who called herself a "QAnon spokesperson," an influencer who called for the executions of former President Barack Obama, and an influencer who called for all press briefings to be held in Palm Beach, Politico reported Wednesday.

“I’m a hair away from the White House," press secretary hopeful Melissa Rein Lively told Politico. “My clients are — I can’t even name who I work with. They own half of Palm Beach.”

Lively, an Arizona-based communications professional, has moved into the Breakers luxury resort to mount her campaign for a senior position in Trump's administration, according to the report.

That campaign seems to include a lot of Instagram posts rallying "haters" and featuring pictures of Mar-a-Lago and Roger Stone, Politico reported.

In 2020, Lively live-streamed herself destroying a Covid mask display at Target and later told police she was connected to Trump as QAnon's spokesperson. Lively has called this both a mental health break and a public relations stunt.

“My sphere of influence goes far beyond people who are paper pushers on the Trump campaign," she told Politico. “I’m telling you right now, I’m not leaving here without that press secretary gig.”

Up next is Michele Morrow, a failed schools superintendent candidate from North Carolina, who wants to serve in Trump’s “Education Administration," Politico reported.

Morrow has suggested both President Joe Biden and Obama should be executed on social, according to CNN.

“I prefer a Pay Per View of him in front of the firing squad,” Morrow wrote in a now-deleted post from May 2020. “We could make some money back from televising his death.”

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Lastly comes Breanna Morello, an internet personality who says she left Fox over Covid vaccine mandates and would “respectfully decline” a White House press secretary nomination because it would mean leaving her dogs behind in Florida.

She'd reportedly reconsider if the position was relocated to Trump's social club.

Insiders say such influencers are infuriating Trump's team.

“These maniacs are actually filming videos saying how honored they are," one campaign insider told Politico. "It is nuts.”

Another Trump campaign insider told Politico the women have no chance of securing the positions they seek.

“Holding a position in this administration will require more than fifty Instagram stories of you dining on tuna tartare at Mar-a-Lago," the Republican strategist said.

"[They] will cut through this gaggle of Gucci-clad grifters like a knife through butter."

NPR on Thursday examined one of President-elect Donald Trump's recent policy ideas that one expert say is highly unlikely to succeed if ever implemented.

Specifically, NPR writes that experts generally are skeptical of Trump's solution of bringing back mental institutions as an all-purpose elixir for treating homelessness, drug addiction, and mental illness.

Should there be no available mental health facilities, Trump proposes shipping homeless people to government-sanctioned tent cities that one expert say could prove really disastrous.

"It may make everyone else feel comfortable, but for the people who are in that one place, it turns into hell on earth," said Keith Humphreys, a psychology professor at Stanford University.

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What's more, says Humphreys, Trump likely lacks the power to actually implement the policies he says he wants to implement.

"From Washington, you actually don't have many law enforcement tools to affect street disorder in cities," he said, noting that federal agents "don't do things like grab a homeless person off a street corner in Chicago who's causing trouble because they're mentally ill or they're addicted or both."

Added to this, Humphreys warned that problems with homelessness and mental health could grow even worse should Trump revive his efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act, and he said that "these problems are going to get worse" if that happens.

Democrat Rep. Elissa Slotkin has been projected the winner of the Senate race in the state of Michigan.

The open seat, vacated by the departing Democratic Sen. Debbie Stabenow, was a contest between Slotkin and former Republican Congressman Mike Rogers. The race was called by Politico.

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Rogers, a former law enforcement officer, initially condemned Trump's role in the January 6 attack, but softened his stance on the campaign trail to appeal to supporters of the former president.

Polling throughout the election cycle had shown Slotkin with a relatively pronounced lead against Rogers.

New York Attorney General Letitia James said she was prepared for "retribution" from Donald Trump after he won the 2024 presidential election.

In remarks Wednesday afternoon, James said she was working with other Democratic attorneys general "to respond to any attempt to roll back our rights."

"We've studied their platforms," she said. "We've identified certain possibilities, fact patterns. We've created contingency plans."

"So no matter what the next administration throws at us, we're ready," the attorney general continued. "We're ready to respond to their attacks."

James acknowledged that Republicans could try to eliminate funding for New York as revenge for a prosecution that led to Trump's conviction on 34 felony counts.

"So despite what has happened on the national stage, we will continue to stand tall in the face of injustice, revenge, or retribution," she explained. "We will continue to protect our most vulnerable and marginalized amongst us."

"This is not the time to be fearful, New York, but faithful and steadfast, knowing that I, as the Attorney General, along with my entire team, we are guardians of the law. And we are prepared, my friends, to fight back."

Watch the video below from Fox News.