Raw Story

Donald Trump over the weekend boasted about meeting his foreign leader "friends" at Mar-a-Lago, but the ex-president's supporters didn't take it very well.

Trump took to his own social media network, Truth Social, on Sunday to thank multiple Middle Eastern leaders for meeting with him.

"It was great seeing my friends His Highness Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, Amir of Qatar and His Excellency Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani, Prime Minister of Qatar at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida," Trump wrote.

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He then continued, saying, "The Amir has proven to be a great and powerful leader of his country, advancing on all levels at record speed. He is someone also who strongly wants peace in the Middle East, and all over the world. We had a great relationship during my years in the White House, and it will be even stronger this time around!"

Hardcore MAGA fans didn't like Trump's "friends," especially as it relates to their purported connections to Israeli conflicts.

@DocReality, who frequently shares content supporting Trump and attacking Vice President Kamala Harris, asked the former president, "Since when are you friends with Islamist antisemites?"

@Cheslerde, who identifies as a "Constitutional Conservative" and has a plea to elect Trump in his Truth Social bio, wrote, "Come on President Trump."

"We luv ya, but I don't think the hostages and families are thrilled about Qatar hosting the Hamas and Hezbollah terrorist freaks!" the user then added.

@MarcRudov, who promotes Trump's claim that Harris is lying about once working at McDonald's many years ago, asked, "What about the whereabouts of Sinwar? The hostages in Gaza?"

@Cane1, who frequently defends Trump and attacks Harris in comments on Truth Social, appeared to be stunned.

"Qatar? Are funding and housing Hamas leaders, WTF are you doing," the user said, adding, "You can meet with the devil, but you don’t bargain with him in your home!"

@CJBlue, an Israel supporter who also defends Trump and attacks President Joe Biden, said, "If he's so great why does Qatar allow Hamas leaders to hide out in his country."

@CaseyGorsuch, who has a picture of Biden with a target on his forehead as a background photo, also chimed in:

"Hey Don. You should really start watching your mouth. It's going to cost you the presidency," the user wrote Sunday.

A boat owner raised his voice at CNN journalist Elle Reeve for noting that he could afford the expensive hobby despite economic complaints.

The confrontation came while Reeve was covering a so-called MAGA boat parade in Panama City, Florida. The interview was replayed over the weekend.

"What's your most important issue?" Reeve asked the boat owner.

"The economy, getting the interest rates down, getting it to where we can afford to live in America," the man replied. "Right now, it's too expensive."

"Okay, now, let me maybe ask a slightly impolite question, but, you know, if you can afford a boat, you're not hurting so bad, right, because a boat costs a lot of money, and it's a lot of upkeep," Reeve noted.

"Listen, nobody gave me s---!" the man shouted back. "I'm a retired military, retired power plant, and I am successful and retired, with boats, jet skis, because I did it right."

"And everybody has that chance," he added. "Whether they choose or not, that's up to them."

"I would never try to take anything away from you in that way," Reeve explained, "but what I'm asking is, groceries are probably a smaller part of your budget than, say, you know, someone who's, like, a little worse off."

"I think it's interesting that people who are a little bit more comfortable are still so concerned about the economy."

ALSO READ: The simple yet powerful way Tim Walz just exposed Donald Trump

The boat owner insisted that his money should go further.

"I want interest rates to go back down," he said. "I want all that, but that covers everybody in the economy. Not just me, not just the poor, not just the rich. It covers everybody."

The man admitted that his children were "doing better" than him.

Another boater predicted a civil war after the election.

"I think we'll be in the middle of a civil war either way, doesn't matter who wins," he said.

Watch the video below from CNN or click the link here.

A bipartisan group of former government officials in Georgia condemned the state's Trump-backed election board's new mandate that ballots be hand-counted.

The board voted 3-2 to require that county election boards count ballots by hand and compare their results to electronic voting machine tallies. Critics argued Friday the change was designed to deliver the state to former President Donald Trump on Nov. 5.

On Friday evening, four former elected government leaders — including two former governors — blasted the board's decision in a statement to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

"We are incredibly disappointed that members of the State Election Board, who are not elected and lack the authority to pass legislation, decided to put personal politics ahead of principled leadership," the statement said.

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The co-signers: former Govs. Nathan Deal (R) and Roy Barnes (D), as well as former Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R) and former Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin.

The group said no matter who is in power or who appears on the ballot, election-related rules "should be made in advance and in direct coordination with the local officials who administer our elections."

"There is no doubt that these new directives will generate delays on Election Day, spur baseless conspiracy theories, and attract a litany of lawsuits," the group said. "Even worse, this decision will threaten citizen engagement by undermining confidence in our Democratic process."

A Republican strategist swatted away any notion that it was "inappropriate" for former President Donald Trump to call into a meeting with officials in Nebraska and encourage them to change election rules to a winner-take-all system.

Nebraska is one of two states that award some electoral votes by congressional district. While the state is overwhelmingly and reliably Republican-leaning, Democrats could win an electoral vote from the Omaha area. In what's expected to be a razor-thin election, one vote could boost Kamala Harris' chances to defeat Trump if she secures the battleground states Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania, according to a Washington Post analysis.

CNN anchor Wolf Blitzer asked a panel including Democratic and Republican strategists David Axelrod and Scott Jennings.

Axelrod said Trump would have an "edge if this thing gets kicked into the House."

ALSO READ: Something broke Trump’s brain

"You can imagine the turmoil that that would create," he said, with Blitzer's agreement.

But Jennings scoffed when asked if he thought it was appropriate for Trump to encourage rule changes so late in the election cycle.

"I don't know, is it as appropriate as the Democrats changing their nominee?" He said with a laugh. "This late in the game? That's probably what Trump would say."

Jennings acknowledged that whether the move will happen is up in the air, but agreed with his Democratic counterpart that one vote "could make the difference."

"They're trying to scratch out every possible advantage they can get. And I'm sure the Republicans feel like that's exactly how the Democrats have played it this year and they're willing to play hardball to do the same thing," said Jennings.

Axelrod gently disagreed with Jennings and questioned the equivalency of one party having a candidate resign and subsequently replaced, as the other tries to change the "rules of the game in the middle" of an election.

Watch the clip below or at this link.

Political troublemakers at the anti-Trump group The Lincoln Project trolled the former president again Friday, this time in an ad targeting Donald Trump's white nationalist and conspiracy-theorizing adviser Laura Loomer.

The far-right firebrand has been noticeably at the side of the former president for weeks and long-time Trump loyalists are begging him to reject her.

The ad states, "No one is more loyal than Laura Loomer. You won the debate that Laura Loomer prepped you for!"

Read also: Notorious conspiracy theorist rolled out by RNC to train election overseers in Michigan

It then shows a woman's hands massaging a man's feet.

"She made you proud at the 9/11 memorial," the ad goes on. Loomer drew questions because she has commented that the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks were an "inside job."

The commercial then showed a video of Loomer in Trump's arms as she leans in to kiss his cheek.

"She's your good luck charm," the narrator continues.

It claims that she's smarter than Trump's existing campaign managers and that Loomer is "yours."

"Totally yours. For anything you want," the Lincoln Project ad trolls.

Speculation abounded as Loomer and Trump "cozied up at Mar-a-Lago," though Loomer has denied any lurid rumors.

"And that's why they're trying to get rid of her," the ad continues, showing clips of Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA).

Meanwhile, reports are that Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and other GOP insiders have expressed concern that Loomer is close to Trump and advising him.

The Lincoln Project sardonically cast doubt on those questioning Loomer — "they're trying to stop her, which means they're trying to stop you."

See the clip of the video below or at the link here.

— (@)

This week, a Christian podcaster offered up what might be seen as a permission slip – or a "get out of jail free card" – for Republicans who have been lying to the American people: "enjoy it."

"It’s okay to use deception in service of defeating the left. It’s not sinning in order to do good. It’s being righteously shrewd in order to do good. It’s also okay to enjoy it. Lighten up."

It’s okay to use deception in service of defeating the left. It’s not sinning in order to do good. It’s being righteously shrewd in order to do good. It’s also okay to enjoy it. Lighten up.
— Josh Daws (@JoshDaws) September 17, 2024

Those are the words of Josh Daws, whose bio at Founders Ministries says he is "dedicated to helping Christians navigate the complex and rapidly changing cultural landscape through his biblically-based cultural analysis."

Daws "strives to provide insightful and thought-provoking commentary on current events and cultural trends on his podcast and Twitter. He hopes to be a valuable resource for those looking to engage with culture in a meaningful and informed way."

The tweet has been viewed well over a half-million times in just 48 hours, and it seems to sum up where the right and the far-right are at this moment in time – ethics be damned, the ends justify the means.

When a reporter for Politico on Wednesday confronted Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance, the U.S. Senator for Ohio who has been spreading racist and dangerous lies about his own constituents – immigrants from Haiti legally living and working in the city of Springfield – falsely claiming they are stealing pets and eating them, he dug in his heels.

Donald Trump during the debate had lied, saying infamously off the Haitian immigrants, “In Springfield, they’re eating the dogs. The people that came in, they’re eating the cats. They’re eating, they’re eating, the pets of the people that live there.”

The reporter reminded Vance that the Haitian immigrants, whom he has been calling "illegal migrants," are in the United States under a 1990 law signed by President George H.W. Bush, "so they are here legally."

The freshman junior senator made clear he did not care.

"Well, if Kamala Harris waves the wand illegally and says these people are now here legally, I’m still going to call them an illegal alien. An illegal action from Kamala Harris does not make an alien legal. That is not how this works,” declared the defiant Vance, who holds a law degree from Yale and knows that they are, in fact, here legally and the Biden Administration's decision to grant them protection means they are not, as he claimed, "illegal."

In short, Senator Vance was lying, and lying to a crowd, however small, who ate it up, cheering, applauding, and at times nodding in agreement.

RELATED: ‘Straight Up Fascist Project’: Vance Slammed for Vowing to Call Legal Immigrants ‘Illegal’

“This is just shocking,” declared former U.S. Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul, now a professor of political science. “Mr. Vance is blatantly calling a legal action illegal. I’ve studied my whole life how democracies break down. This is how it happens folks. I hope he really doesn’t believe this. Politicians say a lot of crazy things during elections. I fear he might.”

Senator Vance has been lying since Monday of last week, when he first promoted the racist "pet-eating" lie.

"Reports now show that people have had their pets abducted and eaten by people who shouldn't be in this country. Where is our border czar?" Vance asked on social media, referring of course to Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee for President, who has never been the "border czar."

Vance, or his staff, according to a Wall Street Journal report Wednesday, knew he was lying, or at least knew after his remarks were posted. They remain up to this day, never corrected or removed.

Over the weekend, Senator Vance, now infamously, told CNN, effectively, that he is willing to lie to promote his agenda.

“If I have to create stories so that the American media actually pays attention to the suffering of the American people, then that’s what I’m going to do,” Vance told host Dana Bash.

“You just said that you’re ‘creating’ a story,” Bash responded, as The New Republic reported. “You just said that this is a story that you created.”

“Yes!” Vance replied, before twisting his own words in a nonsensical defense.

“We are creat—we are creating … Dana,” Vance said. “It comes from firsthand accounts from my constituents. I say that we’re ‘creating a story’ meaning we’re creating the American media focusing on it.”

The New Republic's Greg Sergeant added, "JD Vance is also claiming that because of Haitians, communicable diseases in Springfield have 'skyrocketed.' I talked to the health commissioner in Clark County, where Springfield is located. Vance's claim is nonsense."

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Republicans outright lying have making headlines of late.

"The Real Reason Trump and Vance Are Spreading Lies About Haitians" (The Atlantic)

"How J.D. Vance Became Trump’s Pet Liar" (New York Magazine's Intelligencer)

"How the Trump Campaign Ran With Rumors About Pet-Eating Migrants—After Being Told They Weren’t True" (Wall Street Journal)

"One of the Republican Convention’s Weirdest Lies" (New York Times)

"The Grand Old Party of Liars" (The Nation)

There is, 0f course, Donald Trump, who lies so often the media stopped bothering to keep up. Questions have been flowing about his lies of late that are so off-the-wall and so provably-false, his grasp of reality is being called into question.

Wednesday night, in a rare on-camera, in-studio Fox News interview, Trump, (still talking about last week's debate,) falsely claimed the ABC News moderators corrected him, "I think nine times, or eleven times."

The right-wing New York Post reported Trump was fact-checked five times, not nine, not eleven.

CNN reported Trump made 33 false statements during the debate, Harris just one.

But it was Trump's next remark, also false, that has many calling into question not just his moral character, but his mental health.

"And the audience was, they went crazy."

There was no audience at that debate.

Trump on the debate: They didn’t correct her once and they corrected me, everything I said practically.. and the audience went absolutely crazy pic.twitter.com/H2SEsIDUg2
— Acyn (@Acyn) September 19, 2024

The Atlantic's Tom Nichols remarked: "How is it that Trump hallucinated an audience being present during the debate and we've just moved on as if this isn't a sign of a serious mental problem? Biden - wisely - agreed to step aside for far less than that."

On Wednesday, journalist and SiriusXM host Michelangelo Signorile wrote at Substack, "Why MAGA views blatant lying as a righteous and important act."

Signorile highlighted this recent lie by Donald Trump: "Think of it. Your kid goes to school and comes home a few days later with an operation. The school decides what’s going to happen with your child. And many of these childs 15 years later say, 'What the hell happened? Who did this to me?'"

“But uh the transgender thing is an incredible thing… your kid goes to school & comes home a few days later with an operation the school decides what’s going to happen with your child & you many of these childs 15 years later say “what the hell happened who did this to me?”
🤦🏻♀️ pic.twitter.com/BNyNscBgUB — Jennifer Jenkins Brevard (@JenkinsBrevard) August 31, 2024

Signorile noted Trump's claims were "so deranged and kooky—as if there are hospitals in schools or kids are being transferred to hospitals in the middle of the day from their classrooms—that many of us thought it was a clear example of Trump’s continued cognitive decline. He did, after all, say 'many of these childs' instead of 'children,' and that was more evidence of his faltering mental acuity."

But.

"But Trump repeated the claim again days later at a rally, continuing to push something that was deemed false even by his staunchest supporters," Signorile continued. "And that is a real tell."

He explains, "the goal of the lying by Trump and his running mate JD Vance," is "to hijack discussion and redirect it to issues they want to talk about, even if it means they are exposed as having told a lie."

Signorile says, "the MAGA masses are perfectly fine with that strategy. They don’t care about the lies being exposed because the lies are a means to an end."

As for Daws' s defense of using "deception in service of defeating the left," attorney Andrew L. Seidel writes, "I often speak about Christian Nationalism as a permission structure. For instance, CN gave the insurrectionists the moral and mental license they needed for the treasonous assault on our democracy on January 6th. Here is that permission structure laid out explicitly."

SiriusXM host John Fugelsang remarked, "I have never read a purer distillation of MAGA Christianity than 'thou shalt bear false witness.'"

Others have remarked simply, "Romans 3:8."

Watch the videos above or at this link.

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