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Eleven years ago, Donald Trump delivered an uncharacteristically short and all-but-forgotten speech before a decidedly unfriendly crowd.

But Trump's extemporaneous address to professional wresting luminaries and fans during the 2013 WWE Hall of Fame ceremony in New York City — Trump himself was an inductee — is a curiosity worth momentarily revisiting, if only for what Trump prophesied about a pair of presidential debates with Joe Biden, the first of which is scheduled for tonight, June 27.

Here are five notable foreshadowings:

Trump loves twins

“We had back-to-back WrestleManias, and it was really terrific. It was a terrific time," Trump said in his WWE Hall of Fame speech, referring to WrestleManias IV and V, which the then-World Wrestling Federation staged in Atlantic City, in a convention hall next to Trump's Trump Plaza hotel and casino. (Trump Plaza fell into disrepair during the 2010s and was imploded in 2021.)

Trump has an affinity for twin billings. He wasn't satisfied with one Atlantic City property, so he launched another. (And then another.)

They all failed.

Trump wasn't satisfied with one stint as president, either, so he's attempting to become the second former president — Grover Cleveland was the first — to win two non-consecutive terms.

ALSO READ: 8 ways Trump doesn’t become president

And Trump's second impeachment acquittal in two years helped embolden him to again run for president. "Our historic, patriotic and beautiful movement to Make America Great Again has only just begun," Trump said at the time.

So it's no surprise that Trump agreed to debates against Biden — one tonight on CNN, the next in September on ABC. It's the same number — two — that the two men participated in during the 2020 presidential campaign.

It's all about the ratings

“To this day, it has the highest ratings, the highest pay-per-view, in the history of wrestling of any kind. I’m very honored by that. And perhaps that’s why I’m being inducted," Trump said of his "Battle of the Billionaires" proxy match with then-WWE CEO Vince McMahon at WrestleMania 23.

The match ended up with McMahon getting his head shaved — and Trump being slammed to the canvas by "Stone Cold" Steve Austin.

A spectacle it certainly was — one that allowed Trump to engage in a most cherished pastime: boasting about how he alone can make or break a televised event.

Donald Trump, Stone Cold Steve Austin and WWE wrestler Bobby Lashley get ready to shave Vince McMahon's head after McMahons lost the main event of the night, "Hair vs. Hair", between Vince McMahon and Donald Trump. WrestleMania 23 at Detroit's Ford Field in Detroit, Mich., on April 1, 2007. (Photo by Leon Halip/WireImage via Getty Images)

Since the first Trump-Biden 2024 debate is scheduled to air on CNN — and will not be broadcast on all national networks simultaneously as was standard practice for Commission on Presidential Debates-sanctioned debates — viewership could be massive.

And given that Trump has endlessly ragged "failing" CNN for its ratings, bet that Trump will use the first debate as proof — if there is proof to be had — that he alone has captured the imagination of America's body politic.

Expect Trump to play the heel

"Tough. Tough people. Thank you very much everybody," a smirking Trump said as the crowd booed him as he started his WWE speech.

"I really do love you people, even the ones that don’t like me so much," Trump said in conclusion, as a version of The O'Jay's hit song, "For the Love of Money," reverberated through the arena.

Writing for The Baffler, Mike Edison defined a wrestling "heel" as such: "The role of a heel is to get 'heat,' which means spurring the crowd to obstreperous hatred, and generally involves cheating and pretty much any other manner of socially unacceptable behavior that will get the job done."

ALSO READ: How Trump could run for president from jail

And to paraphrase the late wrestling legend Gorilla Monsoon: Trump resembles that remark.

Trump — ever the provocateur — will almost certainly avoid the high road en route to the June debate in Atlanta as he bills himself as Biden's physical and mental superior.

For example, a lectern nearly toppled over while Trump delivered a recent speech in Minnesota. Trump posted to social media: "As far as the podium, I actually stopped it from falling due to good reflexes and strength, two elements which Joe Biden does not possess."

Hype machine in overdrive

"Now, Vince has been trying for the last six years to break our pay-per-view record. He’s had some great people on. But it’s not going to happen. And the same enthusiasm and love that you have for me tonight — I feel it. That’s why you all came down to watch me get my ass kicked and my head shaved, but it didn’t happen," Trump bragged to the WWE Hall of Fame ceremony crowd, which again showered him with jeers.

Compare that to Trump's acceptance last month of Biden's debate challenge.

“I am Ready and Willing to Debate Crooked Joe at the two proposed times in June and September,” Trump posted on his Truth Social account.

Donald Trump celebrates his victory over Vince McMahon at the main event of the night, "Hair vs. Hair", between Vince McMahon and Donald Trump. WrestleMania 23 at Detroit's Ford Field in Detroit, Mich., on April 1, 2007. (Photo by Leon Halip/WireImage via Getty Images)

"It’s time for a debate so that he can explain to the American People his highly destructive Open Border Policy, new and ridiculous EV Mandates, the allowance of Crushing Inflation, High Taxes, and his really WEAK Foreign Policy, which is allowing the World to 'Catch on Fire,'" Trump continued. "I am Ready and Willing to Debate Crooked Joe at the two proposed times in June and September."

Trump added: “I would strongly recommend more than two debates and, for excitement purposes, a very large venue, although Biden is supposedly afraid of crowds — That’s only because he doesn’t get them. Just tell me when, I’ll be there. 'Let’s get ready to Rumble!!!'”

Trump could yet pull out

"I will challenge Vince next year to a fight. And I will kick his ass. If he wants. I will kick his ass!" Trump bellowed in reference to McMahon.

Despite his bluster, Trump did not pursue another "battle of the billionaires" melee. Rather, Trump went into political business with McMahon's wife, Linda McMahon, who would later become a Trump megadonor and his administrator of the federal Small Business Administration.

Little of this is surprising — and speaks to how Trump's political career, like his pro wrestling dalliance, is peppered with backtracks, flip-flops and about-faces.

Consider that Trump has been a Democrat, independent and Reform Party member before becoming a Republican.

He used to donate money to A-list liberals before strictly supporting conservatives.

He first flirted with a run for president in 1988. Ahead of Election 2000, at the behest of former pro wrestler and Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura, Trump briefly sought the presidency as a Reform Party candidate, but quit. Trump flirted again with a run ahead of Election 2012 before withdrawing from consideration after "considerable deliberation and reflection." He even publicly pondered running for governor of New York in 2014, then didn't.

Meanwhile, Trump has been all over the map on issues such as abortion, Social Security, Medicare, gun background checks and a host of others.

Republican presidential candidate, former President Donald Trump stands next to a podium placed next to him to challenge President Biden to a debate as he speaks at a rally outside Schnecksville Fire Hall on April 13, 2024, in Schnecksville, Pa. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

And lest we forget, Trump nixed a scheduled debate between himself and Biden on Oct. 15, 2020. Trump simply refused to participate in what would have been a virtual event — the Commission on Presidential Debates made it such because Trump, who had contracted COVID-19 earlier that month at a time when vaccines weren't yet available, declined to say whether he had tested negative for the virus.

Trump refused to participate at all in any of the several 2024 Republican presidential primary debates.

Trump for weeks has demanded Biden take a drug test before the first debate, and he hasn't relented despite Biden ignoring him.

The takeaway?

While the June 27 Biden-Trump tilt is all but chiseled in granite, there's still plenty of time for Trump to withdraw from September's royal rumble.

This article originally published on Mary 21, 2024, and has been updated to reflect new developments.

Vermont State Rep. Jim Carroll, a Democrat, has been reluctant up until now to publicly discuss an embarrassing video involving a GOP colleague, Rep. Mary Morrissey — who, according to Vermont publication Seven Days, can be seen pouring liquid into a tote bag hanging from a hook outside a committee room.

But now, Seven Days' Kevin McCallum reports, Carroll is speaking out.

In a written statement, the Vermont state lawmaker said of Morrissey, "I have been very reluctant to disclose the video because I believe it will deeply embarrass Representative Morrissey. However, it has become clear to me that the media are aware of the details of Representative Morrissey's behavior, and likely will continue to report on that behavior in the near future."

Carroll shot the video himself using a remote spy camera.

READ MORE: This 2013 rule could preclude Vermont GOP from backing Trump

According to McCallum, Morrissey can be seen "approaching a bag outside Carroll's committee room and dumping a cup of water directly into it."

The videos were filmed on March 23 and March 26.

"Carroll initially told his committee chair, Rep. Mike Marcotte (R-Coventry), about his stuff getting soaked and asked for help figuring out how it was happening," McCallum explains. "After ruling out other explanations, Carroll concluded he was being targeted. So, he conducted a one-man statehouse sting operation."

McCallum adds, "He installed a small $23 spy camera in the hallway pointed at the coatrack outside his committee room. He took the video evidence to House Speaker Jill Krowinski (D-Burlington), who confronted Morrissey about it."

READ MORE:Watch: Bernie Sanders tells Colbert why he 'will not miss Kyrsten Sinema at all'

In a GOP runoff primary in Georgia's 2nd Congressional District on Tuesday, June 18, Chuck Hand — one of the January 6 rioters — lost badly to former Trump Administration official Wayne Johnson. Having secured the nomination, Johnson will go up against incumbent Democratic Rep. Sanford Bishop in the general election.

The primary wasn't even remotely close. Johnson defeated Hand, according to the New York Times, by around 31 percent.

In 2022, Hand was sentenced to 20 days in federal prison and six months of probation for misdemeanor charges of illegally demonstrating inside the U.S. Capitol Building on January 6, 2021. During the primary, Hand didn't downplay that conviction — in fact, he treated it like a badge of honor.

READ MORE: Georgia Republican running for Congress openly 'embracing' his role in Jan. 6 riot

But MSNBC's Steve Benen, in a biting June 19 column, stresses that running on his January 6 activities did not serve Hand well.

"If it makes him feel any better," Benen argues, "Hand has a fair amount of company. It was, after all, just last month when another January 6 convict, Derrick Evans, also lost badly in a congressional primary in West Virginia. What's more, some January 6 participants were on the ballot in Virginia last year, and they lost."

The MSNBC columnist and "Rachel Maddow Show" producer continues, "A year earlier, HuffPost reported, 'Many Republican candidates who were directly linked to the deadly January 6, 2021 riot at the U.S. Capitol lost their bids for office in Tuesday's midterm elections, in a big repudiation of extremism and GOP efforts to torpedo democracy.'"

Benen notes that although some GOP candidates have successfully campaigned on their January 6 activities, they are the exception rather than the rule.

READ MORE: This 2013 rule could preclude Vermont GOP from backing Trump

"Wisconsin's Derrick Van Orden, a Trump loyalist who rallied outside the Capitol on January 6, was elected as a Republican congressman in 2022," Benen observes. "What's more, there are some other January 6 candidates on the ballot this year, and they might yet prevail. But broadly speaking, those who've tried to parlay their January 6 experiences into successful campaigns have failed. GOP primary voters in Georgia extended that losing streak yesterday."

READ MORE: Congressional candidate convicted in Jan. 6 Capitol riot case walks out on Georgia debate

Steve Benen's full MSNBC column is available at this link.

UK police arrested two people on Wednesday after environmental activists sprayed an orange substance on Stonehenge, the renowned prehistoric UNESCO World Heritage Site in southwest England.

The Just Stop Oil protest group said a pair of its activists had "decorated Stonehenge in orange powder paint" to demand that the UK's next government legally commit to phasing out fossil fuels by 2030.

Footage posted on social media showed the activists, wearing "Just Stop Oil" branded T-shirts, spraying at least two of the megalithic monuments with the orange substance from a small canister.

The group said on social media they had used "orange cornflour" and claimed it "will soon wash away with the rain".

Wiltshire Police said in a statement it had "arrested two people following an incident at Stonehenge this afternoon".

"Officers attended the scene and arrested two people on suspicion of damaging the ancient monument.

"Our inquiries are ongoing and we are working closely with English Heritage," the police added, referring to the public body that cares for hundreds of the country's historic places, including Stonehenge.

The incident comes in the middle of the UK's general election campaign, ahead of voters going to the polls on July 4.

- 'Disgraceful' -

It drew immediate condemnation from Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who called it "a disgraceful act of vandalism to one of the UK's and the world's oldest and most important monuments".

"Just Stop Oil should be ashamed of their activists," he added.

Just Stop Oil said it had chosen to stage the action on the day before the Summer Solstice festival, when crowds gather at the site to celebrate the northern hemisphere's summer solstice.

A spokesperson for the group said that although the Labour party, which is widely expected to win next month's election, has vowed not to issue any new oil and gas drilling licences, "we all know this is not enough".

"We have to come together to defend humanity or we risk everything. That's why Just Stop Oil is demanding that our next government sign up to a legally binding treaty to phase out fossil fuels by 2030," the spokesperson added.

"Failure to commit to defending our communities will mean Just Stop Oil supporters... will join in resistance this summer, if their own governments do not take meaningful action.

"Stone circles can be found in every part of Europe, showing how we've always cooperated across vast distances -- we're building on that legacy."

Donald Trump has switched up his lodging plans for the Republican National Convention — which kicks off July 15 — after calling Milwaukee "horrible."

When the GOP powwow takes place, Trump said he will rest his "beautiful blue eyes" in Milwaukee, not Chicago.

The 45th president batted down reports that he planned to crash at his Trump International Hotel and Tower in Chicago.

But when reporters questioned the campaign, on Tuesday afternoon Trump's camp reversed course and confirmed he would stay in town in the crucial battleground state.

"The president is planning to stay in Milwaukee for the Convention," Trump campaign national press secretary Karoline Leavitt told ABC7.

ALSO READ: EXCLUSIVE: House Republicans subpoena ex-Capitol Police intel head for Jan. 6 inquiry

The reason behind staying 90 miles away from Milwaukee was based on Trump's personal preference to stay in his own hotel. Security and logistics concerns played a factor, according to The New York Times, citing anonymous sources.

Trump has backtracked after he was caught disparaging the RNC host city of Milwaukee as a "horrible city."

And during his rally in Racine, Wisconsin on Tuesday, the former president boasted: "I'm the one that picked Milwaukee."

The city controversy stemmed from a meeting with high-powered CEOs that reportedly went sideways because Trump couldn't stay on topic. He has since tried to clean up the mess.

He has claimed after the comment that he meant it was riddled with violence and challenged its voting integrity.

"He was talking about how terrible crime and voter fraud are," his campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung said.

When he first ran for president in 2016, Trump had scheduled a stop in Chicago.

That event was scuttled after thousands of attendees parted into opposing camps of pro-MAGA supporters and counter-protesters.

A group of Donald Trump's conservative allies are growing angry over his refusal to endorse their candidates in 2024, according to a new report.

Members of the far-right Freedom Caucus members are accusing the former president of abandoning them — and pointing to Trump's endorsement of Chair Rep. Bob Good's (R-VA) opponent John McGuire as proof, sources tell nonprofit News of the United States journalist Reese Gorman.

“Generally, there is a belief that President Trump is endorsing a whole bunch of squishes across the country,” one source reportedly said. The source also claimed Trump backing McGuire over Good was “part of that pattern.”

ALSO READ: 11 ways Trump doesn't become president

NOTUS found that Trump's endorsement "is often the difference in GOP primaries, with Trump’s endorsement record in primaries standing at 93% in 2022 and 97% in 2020. (His general election success rate is far lower: 83% in 2022 and 78% in 2020.)"

But Freedom Cause members such as Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) are concerned Trump's opposition to incumbents could backfire.

“Should the president win reelection, I think he will learn to regret having chosen some of the people he’s endorsed,” Roy told NOTUS. “Who will be in the foxhole with you when you’re wanting to actually try to challenge the swamp? If you want to drain it, then you should drain it.”

One Republican aide told NOTUS Trump's potential damage to the Freedom Caucus isn't exactly a top concern.

“The real story here is that these guys throw a temper tantrum every time Trump endorses against their preferred candidate, where most of the time their preferred candidate is a total s---bag," the aide reportedly said.

A Trump ally told NOTUS that Good lost his chance at a Trump endorsement when he threw support behind Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in the 2024 Republican primary.

“Trump is the GOP nominee for president and is in cycle, so obviously he is going to endorse the members of Congress who endorsed his presidential campaign during the primaries,” the ally reportedly said.

“Inversely, he’s probably not going to support the campaign of the members who endorsed against him. Bob Good may be a good conservative, but if he didn’t want Trump to endorse against him, he shouldn’t have endorsed against Trump.”