Raw Story

Featured Stories:

“Find It, Fix It, Forget About It” | Alex Tuch After Back-To-Back Overtime Losses | Buffalo Sabres

Subscribe to the Buffalo Sabres YT Channel: https://bit.ly/2G1G8eT For...

Revitalizing Buffalo’s Theatre District

Brian Higgins of Shea’s Buffalo makes a point during...

Does this video show 7 dogs in China escaping illegal transport truck, walking home?

The official tourism bureau of Jilin, China — where the video was reportedly taken — said the dogs were just following a German shepherd in heat.

‘Daily Show’ host Jon Stewart attacks GOP for pushing an unrecognizable ‘bizarro Trump’



"The Daily Show" host Jon Stewart tore into former President Donald Trump on Monday night and MAGA Republicans, who he said have created a "fictional character" — a "bizarro Trump" who's a "truth-teller" and whose accomplishments and character "bear little resemblance" to the actual Trump.

The comedian began his show jabbing the GOP over its attacks that Vice President Kamala Harris is lacking policy specifics.

"If there's one thing the American public demands it is a detailed," he begins, before displaying a poster of The Golden Bachelorette. "Oh, the Golden Bachelorette!"

After playing a clip of Harris sharing specific numbers in some of her policy plans, Stewart jabs the former president — Trump would not "trifle with America in that manner."

The comedian then played a clip of an interviewer asking Trump for his detailed plan of action on how he would bring down prices. Stewart then queued up a prop: a chart showing "policy specifics" over "time," and a sharpie at the ready. The clip then showed Trump launching into a tangential attack on his opponent, saying Harris could "never do this interview" and saying she talks about her lawn.

ALSO READ: ‘Kind of crazy’: Vance’s Ohio neighbors can’t help but notice his Secret Service detail

A bewildered Stewart put his chart away — and brought out a second board showing "Huh?" over "time."

"I guess I had the wrong chart! The question, sir, was, 'How are you going to bring down inflation?' Your answer so far has been, 'Huh?'" Stewart mocks.

As the clip continued, Trump launches into an aside about China and Russia.

"Huh?" Stewart squeals, drawing out the word.

In another clip, Trump is asked to detail legislation he would pass to make child care more affordable.

Trump's response included mentions of Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) and his daughter Ivanka Trump. But it included no specifics.

"Huh," jokes Stewart, before launching into Trump's response about how tariffs will pay for child care costs. "F-- it one more."

Stewart then plays a clip of former Hawaiian Rep. Tulsi Gabbard asking Trump about in vitro fertilization.

After saying "life is very tough," Trump said IVF can give people children who they would not have children.

"As you know we have no taxes on a thing called tips, you know that," said Trump.

Stewart gives up and breaks out a new chart showing "What the actual f--- are you talking about?" over "time."

Stewart later looked at what Trump supporters actually like about the former president, arguing it must not be his "clear, specific policies," as they "demand from Kamala Harris."

After playing multiple clips of Republican supporters praising Trump for, among other things, telling it like it is and being authentic, Stewart launches into a long attack on the former president.

Stweart said the country finds itself in a conundrum: the qualities and policies that people profess they admire about Trump "don't seem to be an accurate reflection of said former president."

"It's as if they've created a fictional character," he said. "A bizarro Trump, whose accomplishments and character bear little resemblance to the self-aggrandizing perpetual victim guy he continues to tell you explicitly that he is."

This "fictional Trump, who's portrayed as much better than he actually is, is running to be president of a country he paints as much worse than it actually is," says Stewart, joking that those who listen to Trump's speeches may walk away thinking families are being "murdered several times while making breakfast."

Watch the clip below or at this link.

Mary Trump: Donald a ‘destroyed human being’ whose Dad was ‘incapable of loving anybody’



Mary Trump, a clinical psychologist and niece of Donald Trump, told MSNBC Monday night that her uncle is a “destroyed human being” whose inflamed criticisms of Kamala Harris are being driven by a “defense mechanism” as a reaction to the vice president becoming the Democratic nominee.

“Donald uses very frequently a defense mechanism known as projection in which he takes things that he unconsciously knows about himself but can't bear and projects them onto other people,” Mary Trump told MSNBC host Lawrence O’Donnell Monday night on his show “Last Word."

“That has been happening with increasing frequency over the last – well let’s see when did that happen? Yes, when Vice President Harris became his opponent for the presidency," she said.

She said Harris replacing President Joe Biden as the Democratic nominee “really made him unravel in a way we haven’t seen before,” adding that Harris is clearly “getting under his skin.”

ALSO READ: ‘Kind of crazy’: Vance’s Ohio neighbors can’t help but notice his Secret Service detail

“She pushes his buttons in a way few people ever had,” Mary Trump said.

When asked by O’Donnell if her “crazy uncle” is what compelled her to become a clinical psychologist, she said “unfortunately he wasn’t the only one,” explaining that Donald Trump is one of five children “and every single one of them was and is a destroyed human being.”

“As shocking as it may seem, Donald was not the worst one in my family,” Mary Trump said.

She cautioned though that is only because “he has, unfortunately, power that continues to be bestowed on him by a bankrupt Republican party and tens of millions of Americans.”

“But the whole family system was so broken from the very beginning.”

In her tell-all memoir, “Who Could Ever Love You,” a New York Times bestseller, Mary Trump wrote that “nobody liked Donald when he was growing up, not even his parents,” adding that his father, Frank Trump, was “incapable of loving anybody.”

Watch the clip below or at this link.

‘Bad soul’ and ‘no integrity’: Republican stunned as CNN commentator unloads on J.D. Vance



A CNN commentator unloaded on a Republican former gubernatorial candidate on Monday night during a discussion on the upcoming vice presidential debate and former President Donald Trump's increasingly "dark" rhetoric.

CNN anchor Kaitlan Collins noted to her panel on "The Source" that the race between Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH) and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz has been "really personal," and could set it apart from previous vice presidential debates, which are typically substantive. The segment came with the backdrop that Trump attacked Vice President Kamala Harris as “mentally impaired” and “disabled” during what he called over the weekend a "dark speech.”

Van Jones, a former Obama administration adviser agreed and emphasized the two are both veterans who have real differences in opinion and personality. He urged Walz to be careful and called Vance "p---ed" and looking for "redemption."

Former Rep. Lee Zeldin, a Long Island Republican who ran unsuccessfully for governor, told the panel he expects Vance to attack Walz over cultural issues and his response to civil unrest.

ALSO READ: The week Fox News finally faces its reckoning

Collins then played a clip of Trump telling supporters over the weekend that his Democratic opponent is “mentally impaired” and “disabled," as well as clips of Trump trying to tie exceedingly violent crimes to illegal immigrants.

"That's the kind of despicable stuff you're going to see from J.D. Vance," said Jones. "J.D. Vance has no integrity. No dignity. No morals. He changed his whole personality to fit in with Donald Trump."

Jones continued laying into the Republican senator, saying Vance lied to people in his own state for power.

"He has done nothing except write a phony book, suck up to people with big money on Wall Street, be a senator for a year-and-a-half — he is a despicable person and you're going to see the worst in American politics from this guy," said Jones. "He's a racist and he's horrible."

The attack stunned Zeldin, who was momentarily left speechless by the attack.

"Man, Van," Zeldin responded, looking around at the panel.

As Zeldin tried to defend Vance as a man of "integrity," Jones was having none of it.

"Cats and dogs? Cats and dogs? Black people eat cats and dogs? Black immigrants eat cats and dogs? That's integrity?" He fires back over Zeldin.

Zeldin tried to attack Walz over his factual recounting of his military record, insisting to Jones, "He's never served in military combat."

As Zeldin attacks Walz's grammar defense, Jones continues: "I'd rather have bad grammar than a bad soul."

"He is destroying Haitian's ability to go to school because he's a racist," an emphatic Jones said.

He later added: "You're a better man than to defend [Vance.]"

Watch the clip below or at this link.

‘Congressman!’ ABC host interrupts Vance surrogate for deflecting pet-eating claims



ABC News host Martha Raddatz interrupted a top surrogate for Republican vice presidential nominee J.D. Vance Sunday after he refused to deny false claims that Haitians are eating pets in Springfield, Ohio.

Rep. Tom Emmer (R-MN), who is helping Vance prepare for the vice presidential debate by playing the part of Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Walz, appeared on ABC's This Week program.

"Trump last night called Kamala Harris mentally disabled," Raddatz noted. "He said that Joe Biden became that way, she was born that way. Do you think Kamala Harris is mentally disabled? Do you approve of that kind of language?"

"I think Kamala Harris is the wrong choice for America," Emmer stated. "I think Kamala Harris is actually as bad or worse as the administration that we've witnessed for the last four years, Martha."

"Congressman, do you approve of that language?" the host interrupted. "Do you approve of that language, Donald Trump calling her mentally disabled, mentally impaired?"

"I think we should stick to the issues," Emmer admitted.

Raddatz moved on to the topic of immigration.

"I can't believe we're still talking about this, but the baseless claims elevated by Vance and Trump that Haitian migrants were eating their pets," the host said. "If the moderators in the debate ask Vance about this, should he finally make clear it is not true?"

"That's such a distraction," Emmer deflected. "The people in the mainstream media want to put up these shiny objects to distract people from what they see happening every day."

ALSO READ: Is this the October Surprise?

"Congressman!" Raddatz exclaimed. "Vance and Trump have talked about this issue. They brought it up."

"You've got to focus on the issues," Emmer said. "They will focus on the issues. The issues are very clear."

Emmer declined to say that Vance's claims about Haitians eating pets were false.

Watch the video below from ABC or at the link. .

‘Let me finish!’ Kevin McCarthy snaps at CNN’s Manu Raju when confronted with Trump smears



A combative Kevin McCarthy continued to talk over CNN host Manu Raju on Sunday morning multiple times when confronted with Donald Trump's attacks on Vice President Kamala Harris and immigrants living in the United States,

The "Inside Politics" segment got off to an awkward start when CNN's Raju pointed out it is the one-year anniversary of the former House speaker's ouster which led him to eventually leave Congress.

What followed was Raju repeatedly attempting to get the California Republican to address Donald Trump calling Harris a "mentally disabled person" during a speech in Wisconsin on Saturday, only to have McCarthy blow off the questions with multiple rants about 425,000 illegal immigrants allegedly living in the U.S.

ALSO READ: Is this the October Surprise?

When Pressed over Trump and running mate J.D. Vance's smears of Haitian immigrants eating people's pets in Ohio, McCarthy again deflected when asked if Trump should admit he was wrong.

"I would continue to lay out the facts," McCarthy parried.

"There are no facts, " Raju interjected.

"Let me finish my sentence, I appreciate your engagement, "McCarthy replied. "When you ask a question, let me finish."

"Sure," the CNN host replied only to have McCarthy once again repeat his claim about the 425,000 immigrants in the country "illegally" without addressing the beleaguered Haitians in Springfield, Ohio.

"That's not what the Haitian migrants ––," Raju interrupted.

"I know what you're talking about, but I'm trying to make a point here!" McCarthy snapped. "Because you want to pick one specific issue, you want to know why people are upset."

Watch below or at the link.

- YouTube youtu.be

Campaigning in this state ‘could cost Trump elsewhere’: report



When Kamala Harris emerged as the presumptive 2024 Democratic nominee in July, Donald Trump's "path to winning a 270-vote Electoral College majority" became much more difficult.

Newsweek reported that a University of North Florida (UNF) Public Opinion Research Lab poll published that month showed Trump "ahead of Harris by seven points."

Now, a new September 2024 poll by the Independent Center and The Bullfinch Group "showed Trump had a 1-point lead over Vice President Kamala Harris in Florida (48 percent to 47)," according to Newsweek.

READ MORE: Trump now bleeding support in GOP-dominated state as more women voters gravitate to Biden

"Thomas Gift, an associate professor of political science and director of the Centre on U.S. Politics at University College London, previously said that while Harris 'looks likely' to lose Florida, Trump may still need to work harder to appeal to voters in the state than he would like," the news outlet reports.

"The mere fact that Trump may have to campaign vigorously in Florida could divert resources from true swing states like Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Michigan," told Newsweek.

"Even if Harris loses Florida, which certainly looks likely, this could cost Trump elsewhere if he's forced to devote scarce time, resources, and energy into shoring up his lead in the Sunshine State."

Although Democrats lost Florida voters in 2022, the Tampa Bay Times reports that it's possible for the party to pick up traction in upcoming elections.

READ MORE: Deep-red 'Republican stronghold' thought to be an 'easy win for Trump' is now a swing state

"Democrats remain convinced they are on the voters’ side of the issues," the Tampa Bay Times reports. "They point to voters raising the minimum wage in 2020 and the polling popularity of this year’s constitutional amendments on abortion access and legal marijuana."

The newspaper notes that if Democratic lawmakers "are to derive hope from any part of the state, it might be from the Orlando area, which has produced promising young leaders during the Trump era." US Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-FL) — an Orlando native — became the first Gen Z House member in 2022.

"The people are on our side in terms of policy but not politics," Frost said. "So how do we solve that? We talk about our policy more."

State Rep. Anna Eskamani (D-Orlando) — who flipped her district four years before Frost's victory — told the newspaper "that sometimes Republicans make her think of 'The Crown' on Netflix, a show where characters have their own ambitions but acquiesce without question to their" leader.

READ MORE: 'Don’t listen to Trump': Florida conservatives turn on ex-president over new comments

"Everyone gets in line to do what the crown says," Eskamani emphasized. "If you don’t get in line, you don’t really have a place in the Republican Party."

Newsweek's full report is available here. Tampa Bay Times' report is here.

Popular articles

“Find It, Fix It, Forget About It” | Alex Tuch After Back-To-Back Overtime Losses | Buffalo Sabres

Subscribe to the Buffalo Sabres YT Channel: https://bit.ly/2G1G8eT For...

Revitalizing Buffalo’s Theatre District

Brian Higgins of Shea’s Buffalo makes a point during...

Does this video show 7 dogs in China escaping illegal transport truck, walking home?

The official tourism bureau of Jilin, China — where the video was reportedly taken — said the dogs were just following a German shepherd in heat.

CPAC attendees stun host as they cheer for Trump impeachment: ‘That was the wrong answer’



Conservative activist and lobbyist Matthew Schlapp was left speechless Friday after attempting to “hype up” the crowd at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) conference in Texas, only for the effort to backfire spectacularly.

“How many of you would like to see impeachment hearings?” Schlapp asked the massive crowd at the annual conservative event.

To Schlapp’s surprise, a wave of cheers erupted from the crowd.

“No,” Schlapp responded, shaking his head and smiling awkwardly. “That was the wrong answer. Let me try it again: how many of you would like to see impeachment hearings?”

Schlapp’s second attempt garnered a more mixed response, with some still cheering while others booed.

Schlapp again laughed off the unexpected response.

“Can someone bring some coffee out for the people at CPAC?” he said.

CPAC was founded in 1974, with President Ronald Reagan delivering the organization’s first-ever inaugural keynote speech. It’s held regular annual conferences in years since, with President Donald Trump delivering a speech at the organization’s conference in 2024.

Schlapp, 58, has long been involved in Republican politics, having served as President George W. Bush’s deputy assistant. Schlapp previously served as CPAC’s chair, and currently runs a lobbying firm with close ties to the Trump administration.

The Independent reporter Andrew Feinberg flagged the moment in a post on social media, describing Schlapp’s attempt to “hype up the CPAC crowd” as having gone “horribly wrong.”