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‘The bell of stupidity’: Conservative’s Christmas video lampoons Trump’s latest speech

President Donald Trump was supposed to prioritize the economy at a MAGA rally last week — but instead rambled about former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) and other familiar foes.
In a Christmas-themed video, The Lincoln Project's Rick Wilson (a Never Trump conservative former GOP strategist) and journalist Molly Jong-Fast brutally mocked the speech for failing to get the desired economic message across.
Jong-Fast told Wilson, "Let's talk about how positively b----- the whole thing is. It was meant to be a rally on affordability. Here's what was not discussed: affordability. Here's what was discussed: Marjorie Taylor Greene. He calls her Marjorie Traitor Brown."
Wilson, sounding amused, interjected, "And I'm also intrigued by how she's somehow a leftist."
Jong-Fast told the Never Trumper, "It has really been a week for Trump."
Wilson laid out a variety of ways in which Trump and the MAGA movement are having a bad Christmas, from the Epstein files to the economy.
"There is no unringing this bell of stupidity," Wilson told Jong-Fast. "They have f----- it up. They have made a giant mistake."
- YouTube www.youtube.com
Trump Supreme Court battle could be dismantled by Congress members’ own history

New evidence is emerging that could deal a major blow to President Donald Trump's case for stripping birthright citizenship to the children of immigrants.
The president has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to restore “the original meaning” of the 14th Amendment, which his lawyers argued in a brief meant that “children of temporary visitors and illegal aliens are not U.S. citizens by birth," but new research raises questions about what lawmakers intended the amendment to do, reported the New York Times.
"One important tool has been overlooked in determining the meaning of this amendment: the actions that were taken — and not taken — to challenge the qualifications of members of Congress, who must be citizens, around the time the amendment was ratified," wrote Times correspondent Adam Liptak.
A new study will be published next month in The Georgetown Law Journal Online examining the backgrounds of the 584 members who served in Congress from 1865 to 1871. That research found more than a dozen of them might not have been citizens under Trump’s interpretation of the 14th Amendment, but no one challenged their qualifications.
"That is, said Amanda Frost, a law professor at the University of Virginia and an author of the study, the constitutional equivalent of the dog that did not bark, which provided a crucial clue in a Sherlock Holmes story," Liptak wrote.
The 14th Amendment states that "all persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside," while the Constitution requires members of the House of Representatives to have been citizens for at least seven years, and senators for at least nine.
“If there had been an original understanding that tracked the Trump administration’s executive order,” Frost told Liptak, “at least some of these people would have been challenged.”
Only one of the nine challenges filed against a senator's qualifications in the period around the 14th Amendment's ratification involved the citizenship issue related to Trump's interpretation of birthright citizenship, and that case doesn't support his position.
"Several Democratic senators claimed in 1870 that their new colleague from Mississippi, Hiram Rhodes Revels, the first Black man to serve in Congress, had not been a citizen for the required nine years," Liptak wrote. "They reasoned that the 14th Amendment had overturned Dred Scott, the 1857 Supreme Court decision that denied citizenship to the descendants of enslaved African Americans, just two years earlier and that therefore he would not be eligible for another seven."
"That argument failed," the correspondent added. "No one thought to challenge any other members on the ground that they were born to parents who were not citizens and who had not, under the law in place at the time, filed a declaration of intent to be naturalized."
"The consensus on the 14th Amendment’s citizenship clause has long been that everyone born in the United States automatically becomes a citizen with exceptions for those not subject to its jurisdiction, like diplomats and enemy troops," Liptak added.
Frost's research found there were many members of Congress around the time of the ratification of the 14th Amendment who wouldn't have met Trump's definition of a citizen, and she said that fact undercuts the president's arguments.
“If the executive order reflected the original public meaning, which is what the originalists say is relevant,” Frost said, “then somebody — a member of Congress, the opposing party, the losing candidate, a member of the public who had just listened to the ratification debates on the 14th Amendment, somebody — would have raised this.”
Judge Cannon threatens to ‘sanction’ Jack Smith for lack of ‘courtesy’ to Trump’s team

U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon denied a request from special counsel Jack Smith to modify Donald Trump's bond conditions in his classified documents case.
In a motion last week, Smith asked Cannon to modify the conditions to clarify that Trump cannot endanger law enforcement officials investigating his case.
"The Government moves to modify defendant Donald J. Trump's conditions of release, to make clear that he may not make statements that pose a significant, imminent, and foreseeable danger to law enforcement agents participating in the investigation and prosecution of this case," Smith's motion said.
Smith said Trump made statements "falsely suggesting that [the agents] were complicit in a plot to assassinate him" — referring to claims that agents were authorized to use "deadly force" when they went to Mar-a-Lago looking for classified documents.
On Tuesday, Cannon denied the motion without prejudice "for lack of meaningful conferral" with the defense.
ALSO READ: What Trump's weird WWE Hall of Fame speech tells us about his presidential debate strategy
"[T]he Court finds the Special Counsel's pro forma 'conferral' to be wholly lacking in substance and professional courtesy. It should go without saying that meaningful conferral is not a perfunctory exercise. Sufficient time needs to be afforded to permit reasonable evaluation of the requested relief by opposing counsel and to allow for adequate follow-up discussion as necessary about the specific factual and legal basis underlying the motion," Cannon wrote.
"Any future, non-emergency motion brought in this case — whether on the topic of release conditions or anything else — shall not be filed absent meaningful, timely, and professional conferral," she warned. "Failure to comply with these requirements may result in sanctions."
Tempers flare as Robert DeNiro clashes with Trump supporter outside hush money trial

Actor Robert DeNiro got into a verbal argument with a Donald Trump supporter on a New York City street outside the former president's trial.
As Trump sat in a nearby Manhattan courtroom on Tuesday, DeNiro held a press conference outside the courthouse on behalf of the Biden-Harris campaign. He was accompanied by former Capitol Police officers Harry Dunn and Michael Fanone, who fought with rioters on Jan. 6, 2021.
"On January 6th, while Republican lawmakers despicably tried to keep the loser Trump, the loser Trump, in the White House, and Trump-inspired insurrectionists stormed the Capitol, brave men and women from law enforcement put their lives on the line to defend this country," DeNiro said. "These guys are the true heroes. They stood and put their lives on the line for these low lives, for Trump."
"They lied under oath," a Trump supporter heckled.
"Who lied under oath?" DeNiro asked. "What are you telling me?"
"Those two traitors behind you," the Trump supporter insisted.
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"You got to, I don't know, I don't even know how to deal with you, my friend," DeNiro replied. "I don't even know how to deal with you. They stood there. They didn't have to."
"They stood there and fought for us, for you. For you," he added.
"They weren't fighting for me," the Trump supporter insisted.
"No, they fought for you, buddy," DeNiro shot back. "You're able to stand right here now. They are the true heroes."
‘Abandoned’: Key libertarian slams his own party for bowing to Trump

Many libertarians and Never Trump conservatives have been highly critical of the Libertarian Party for featuring former President Donald Trump as a speaker at its annual convention, which will be held this Saturday in Washington, D.C.
These critics have been arguing that Trump's MAGA agenda is diametrically opposed to libertarianism in a variety of ways. Libertarians, for example, often describe themselves as fiscally conservative but socially liberal — whereas Trump is a close ally of the religious right and far-right evangelical Christian nationalists who favor outlawing abortion, contraception and same-sex marriage.
One of the critics who is speaking out is Peter Goettler, president of the Cato Institute — a libertarian think tank founded in 1977.
READ MORE: Group that created Tea Party dissolves over split between 'MAGA and Never Trump factions'
In a biting op-ed published by the Washington Post Thursday, Goettler argues that featuring Trump as a speaker shows that the Libertarian Party has abandoned libertarian principles.
"It will be the first time in U.S. history that a presidential candidate of a rival party will address the convention of a party that is presumably gathering to nominate its own candidate," Goettler observes. "And this strange turn of events has many libertarians scratching their heads. "
The Cato Institute president continues, "With a razor-thin Electoral College contest in the offing this November, it's clear that any play for incremental support is worth Trump's effort and could make the difference. But what's in it for the National Libertarian Party? The answer, unfortunately, reveals the truth about today's party: It's hardly libertarian anymore."
Goettler goes on emphasize that a "long list" of Trump policies are opposed by libertarians.
READ MORE: The love affair with Ayn Rand ties conservatism to one of the most disturbing killers
"He allowed government spending and debt to continue to spiral upward, increasing the national debt by $8.4 trillion," the Cato president notes. "Federal outlays soared from $4 trillion his first year (2017) to $6.8 trillion in his last year. He persists in railing against immigration and free trade, supports further expansion of presidential power and seeks to crack down on political enemies."
The Libertarian Party's leadership, according to Goettler, has "been taken over by a faction that places it well outside the bounds of libertarianism altogether and appears comfortable with right-wing authoritarianism."
"Some tweets issued from state Libertarian parties and other Libertarian operators can only be described as shockingly racist or antisemitic — the Libertarian Party of Michigan, for instance, posted a cartoon portraying Jews as puppet masters of the Democratic and Republican parties — and would be more welcome on the alt-right than among true libertarians," Goettler warns. "This is not what traditional libertarians represent, and it isn't aligned with the position of most Americans."
READ MORE:'This isn't a joke to us': Far-right evangelicals aim to enlist Trump in 'censorship regime'
Cato Institute President Peter Goettler's full Washington Post op-ed is available at this link (subscription required).Ocasio-Cortez Calls for Senate probe of Alito insurrection-linked flags

Urging Democratic lawmakers to use the power they currently hold in the U.S. Senate, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Wednesday night called on party leaders in the upper chamber to launch immediate investigations into the insurrection-linked flags that were seen flying outside Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito's homes.
Hours after The New York Times reported that last year, an "Appeal to Heaven" flag associated with the baseless claim that President Joe Biden stole the 2020 election from former President Donald Trump had been displayed at Alito's beach house, the New York Democrat appeared on "All In with Chris Hayes" on MSNBC and said the party must waste no time in holding Alito accountable.
"What we are seeing here is an extraordinary breach of not just the trust and the stature of the Supreme Court, but we are seeing a fundamental challenge to our democracy," Ocasio-Cortez said.
The flag, which was carried by pro-Trump rioters who attempted to stop the 2020 election from being certified on January 6, 2021, reportedly flew in July and September 2023 at Alito's beach house in New Jersey—around the time that a case regarding whether January 6 insurrectionists could be charged with obstruction arrived at the Supreme Court.
Last week, it was revealed that an upside down American flag—another historic symbol adopted by right-wing insurrectionists and "Stop the Steal" supporters—was flown at Alito's home near Washington, D.C. The justice claimed the flag was displayed by his wife during a dispute with a neighbor.
Legal experts and Democrats in Congress have repeatedly called on both Alito and Justice Clarence Thomas to recuse themselves from certain cases due to conflicts of interest following reports of luxury travel and gifts they received from right-wing operatives. Advocates have demanded Thomas' recusal from cases centering on Trump and January 6 defendants, considering his wife's support for efforts to overturn the 2020 election in Trump's favor.
Now, critics are demanding Alito's recusal from the obstruction case and one regarding Trump's claim that he has immunity in his federal election interference case, both of which the court is expected to rule on in the coming weeks.
Ocasio-Cortez on Wednesday night said Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee should use their current majority to subpoena Alito and demand answers about his affinity for symbols embraced by groups that sought to overturn the 2020 election.
“I don't even think that we have to wait until we have a Democratic House majority because we have a Democratic Senate majority,” she said. "Samuel Alito has identified himself with the same people who raided the Capitol on January 6 and is now going to be presiding over court cases that have deep implications over the participants in that rally. And while this is a threat to our democracy, Democrats have a responsibility for defending our democracy."
"There should be subpoenas going out. There should be active investigations that are happening," she said, adding that Democrats cannot take "for granted" that they will be able to take action after the November elections, after which Republicans could take power.
"Every single minute matters," she said, "and we have to use our power when we have it."
Watch: Dem uses Jim Jordan’s ATF hearing to ask what happens if GOP abolishes agency

Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY) used House Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan's (R-OH) hearing on the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives to point out what would happen if Republicans succeed in abolishing the agency.
At the Thursday hearing, Nadler posed the question about shutting down the ATF to agency Director Steven Dettelbach.
"If Republicans were to succeed in their effort to abolish the ATF, how would that affect public safety, particularly gun violence in this country?" Nadler asked.
"Protecting Americans from violent crime, including firearms violence, was, is, and will always continue to be ATF's top priority," Dettelbach said. "We investigate the most dangerous, worst of the worst. The people who are out there, trigger pullers, terrorizing our communities."
ALSO READ: 'A fantasy of manhood': Are frat boys the new Proud Boys?
Nadler pressed: "But if the Republicans were to succeed in their effort to abolish the ATF, how would that affect public safety?"
"Well, all of that would go away," the ATF director stated. "Our state and local partners who are asking for more ATF, they would be robbed of any ATF."
"It would be, all the cases that we do, all the gangs we prosecute, the RICOs, the VICARs, the cartel cases, all the things we do, would disappear," he added.
Before turning over the microphone, Nadler pointed to a letter "that explains the risk that unserialized firearms or ghost guns pose to the public, their proliferation among guns found at crime scenes, and the numerous efforts of the Department of Justice to reduce violence caused by ghost guns and other firearms and to promote public safety."
Lindsey Graham hammered for leaping to defense of MAGA staffer who posted Nazi language

The Trump staffer responsible for posting an image of Trump using Nazi-inspired language about a "unified Reich" has now been identified. It was Natalie Harp, a former One America News anchor who first gained national attention when she falsely claimed at the 2020 GOP convention that Trump cured her cancer, and has become known as the "human printer" for following Trump around with a tiny printing device to feed him stories that make him feel good about himself.
The campaign, for its part, says it was an innocent mistake and Harp didn't see the Nazi language in the video before posting it. And Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), one of Trump's closest allies in Congress, went out of his way to proclaim he still had confidence in her.
"Natalie Harp is a professional, smart, talented individual who has proven herself to be an asset to President Trump," stated Graham in a post on X. "I have complete confidence in Natalie."
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Commenters on social media were less than impressed — and many simply didn't buy the idea that Harp posted the language by accident in the first place.
"Talented at posting Nazi content?" wrote the account @jayacoop.
"Natalie Harp is a professional, smart, talented fascist who has proven herself to be an asset to the Unified Reich. I have complete confidence in devotion to the Project 2025 cause," wrote the account @DemocracyOn_X_, referring to the infamous plan by pro-Trump academics to remake the federal government into an army of Christian nationalists and MAGA loyalists.
"Only Lindsey Graham would take time to defend someone who is known as the 'human printer' to prove fealty to Trump for the 12,932nd time; while domestic & foreign affairs are in various forms of crisis & neglected by him," wrote former Senate staffer Howard Fineman. "Way to prioritize those taxpayer dollars, Lindsey!"
"Complete confidence as with the guy you accurately predicted would ruin the Republican Party?" wrote the account @kacang_tua, referencing Graham's infamous pre-2016 election tweet that nominating Trump would "destroy" the GOP — a sentiment he went back on as soon as Trump was elected.
"They used the word 'reich,' traitor," wrote the account @Staceyryn. "That’s not a mistake. This junior staffer may take the fall, but we all know you people mean it."
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‘The bell of stupidity’: Conservative’s Christmas video lampoons Trump’s latest speech

President Donald Trump was supposed to prioritize the economy at a MAGA rally last week — but instead rambled about former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) and other familiar foes.
In a Christmas-themed video, The Lincoln Project's Rick Wilson (a Never Trump conservative former GOP strategist) and journalist Molly Jong-Fast brutally mocked the speech for failing to get the desired economic message across.
Jong-Fast told Wilson, "Let's talk about how positively b----- the whole thing is. It was meant to be a rally on affordability. Here's what was not discussed: affordability. Here's what was discussed: Marjorie Taylor Greene. He calls her Marjorie Traitor Brown."
Wilson, sounding amused, interjected, "And I'm also intrigued by how she's somehow a leftist."
Jong-Fast told the Never Trumper, "It has really been a week for Trump."
Wilson laid out a variety of ways in which Trump and the MAGA movement are having a bad Christmas, from the Epstein files to the economy.
"There is no unringing this bell of stupidity," Wilson told Jong-Fast. "They have f----- it up. They have made a giant mistake."
- YouTube www.youtube.com
Trump Supreme Court battle could be dismantled by Congress members’ own history

New evidence is emerging that could deal a major blow to President Donald Trump's case for stripping birthright citizenship to the children of immigrants.
The president has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to restore “the original meaning” of the 14th Amendment, which his lawyers argued in a brief meant that “children of temporary visitors and illegal aliens are not U.S. citizens by birth," but new research raises questions about what lawmakers intended the amendment to do, reported the New York Times.
"One important tool has been overlooked in determining the meaning of this amendment: the actions that were taken — and not taken — to challenge the qualifications of members of Congress, who must be citizens, around the time the amendment was ratified," wrote Times correspondent Adam Liptak.
A new study will be published next month in The Georgetown Law Journal Online examining the backgrounds of the 584 members who served in Congress from 1865 to 1871. That research found more than a dozen of them might not have been citizens under Trump’s interpretation of the 14th Amendment, but no one challenged their qualifications.
"That is, said Amanda Frost, a law professor at the University of Virginia and an author of the study, the constitutional equivalent of the dog that did not bark, which provided a crucial clue in a Sherlock Holmes story," Liptak wrote.
The 14th Amendment states that "all persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside," while the Constitution requires members of the House of Representatives to have been citizens for at least seven years, and senators for at least nine.
“If there had been an original understanding that tracked the Trump administration’s executive order,” Frost told Liptak, “at least some of these people would have been challenged.”
Only one of the nine challenges filed against a senator's qualifications in the period around the 14th Amendment's ratification involved the citizenship issue related to Trump's interpretation of birthright citizenship, and that case doesn't support his position.
"Several Democratic senators claimed in 1870 that their new colleague from Mississippi, Hiram Rhodes Revels, the first Black man to serve in Congress, had not been a citizen for the required nine years," Liptak wrote. "They reasoned that the 14th Amendment had overturned Dred Scott, the 1857 Supreme Court decision that denied citizenship to the descendants of enslaved African Americans, just two years earlier and that therefore he would not be eligible for another seven."
"That argument failed," the correspondent added. "No one thought to challenge any other members on the ground that they were born to parents who were not citizens and who had not, under the law in place at the time, filed a declaration of intent to be naturalized."
"The consensus on the 14th Amendment’s citizenship clause has long been that everyone born in the United States automatically becomes a citizen with exceptions for those not subject to its jurisdiction, like diplomats and enemy troops," Liptak added.
Frost's research found there were many members of Congress around the time of the ratification of the 14th Amendment who wouldn't have met Trump's definition of a citizen, and she said that fact undercuts the president's arguments.
“If the executive order reflected the original public meaning, which is what the originalists say is relevant,” Frost said, “then somebody — a member of Congress, the opposing party, the losing candidate, a member of the public who had just listened to the ratification debates on the 14th Amendment, somebody — would have raised this.”

