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Anti-abortion leaders are turning on Trump for treating them ‘like a cheap date’: report
Donald Trump's increasing statements that the Supreme Court's Dobbs ruling that, for all practical purposes, overturned Roe v. Wade hurt Republicans in the 2022 midterms is setting off alarms with anti-abortion leaders who feel he is no longer on their side and that they are being played.
In a speech last week the former president took credit for putting in place three new members on the Supreme Court who had no qualms about throwing out Roe after fifty years which, in turn, created a firestorm and became a rallying point from Democrats in the 2022 election.
Likely with that in mind, in that same speech, the former president seemed to hint that abortion talk should be taken off the table until after the 2024 general election and that has anti-choice activists feeling betrayed.
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According to a report from Politico, "As his GOP opponents have seized on the comments, hoping to close a wide polling gap by attacking Trump as a fair-weather conservative, the anti-abortion movement finds itself at a crossroads — afraid of alienating the presumptive nominee but loath to let his remarks go unchallenged."
Patrick Brown of the conservative Ethics and Public Policy Center’s Life and Family Initiative complained, "Are pro-lifers going to allow themselves to be a cheap date? Are they going to sit back and take it when candidates are denigrating the cause they dedicated their life to?”
Kristan Hamrick, the 38-year-old chief policy strategist with Students for Life of America warned the former president that her group plans to hold Trump's feet to the fire on the issue.
"He won’t feel pressure until it’s applied, and we’re willing to apply it,” she bluntly stated. “You cannot ignore the human rights issue of our time and still get our vote.”
Billy Valentine of the Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, which plans to invest $78 million to get out the vote effort said Trump may lose some of those very voters they are reaching out to.
“Looking at a general, he’s going to need all Republicans to come home if he’s going to beat Joe Biden," Valentine explained. "He’s going to need the base in order to win ultimately, and he’s going to need a clear position. In the absence of a clear position, the Democrats are going to define him.”
Top Trump rival Gov. D Ron DeSantis (R-FL) is warning anti-choice activists that Trump is preparing to "sell them out."
“I don’t know how you can even make the claim that you’re somehow pro-life if you’re criticizing states for enacting pro-life protections for babies that have heartbeats,” he charged.
You can read more here.
Disgraced ex-Trump adviser hired by GOP governor campaign despite sexual misconduct claims
An ex-Trump campaign manager fired over allegations of sexual misconduct has resurfaced – this time helping run Louisiana's Republican Attorney General Jeff Landry's effort to become governor.
Corey Lewandowski was accused of inappropriate behavior in 2021 by at least two women, including the wife of a Trump donor. Last year he struck a plea deal with Las Vegas prosecutors to avoid misdemeanor battery charges.
“I do think it is troubling to bring in people who have this fairly well-documented history of reports of sexual misconduct,” said Jessie Nieblas, the director of education and prevention at the Louisiana Foundation Against Sexual Assault, “though we are certainly not endorsing one campaign over another.”
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Trashelle Odom, the wife of donor John Odom, accused Lewandowski in 2021 of repeatedly touching her and throwing a drink at her after she rejected his advances.
In 2016, Lewandowski also got into trouble with police when he grabbed Brietbart reporter Michelle Fields after a Trump press conference in Florida.
READ MORE: Tennessee MAGA candidate cops to 1990s arrest for 'promoting prostitution'
Read more at the Louisiana Illuminator.
Who will flip on Trump and when: Legal analyst shares his predictions with Michael Cohen
Speaking to Michael Cohen on his "Mea Culpa" podcast, former federal prosecutor Harry Litman made some guesses about who he thinks will be among the first to flip on Donald Trump in Fulton County's racketeering case.
The conversation was about Trump's documents scandal, but also dipped into the Georgia election case. Shared between the four criminal cases and two civil that Trump is involved in are several dozen witnesses and co-defendants.
"Many of these co-defendants will begin to start to point fingers at one another, and ultimately point the finger, especially the middle finger, at Trump himself," said Cohen introducing the segment.
POLL: Should Trump be allowed to run for office?
Litman began with Trump lawyer Jenna Ellis, in large part because there has already been speculation about her frustrations over being among the 19 alleged co-conspirators in Georgia.
"She has been pretty vocal," said Litman.
In a post on X, the site formerly known as Twitter, Ellis wrote on September 4: "DeSantis said he would consider pardons on a case by case basis," when it comes to the Jan. 6 attacks and 2020 election overthrow attempts.
"Trump could have issued a blanket pardon before he left office, with certain requisite conditions to be ascertained later on a case-by-case basis (such as non-violent individuals for instance, to foreclose pardoning anyone in your example). Why didn't he?" she asked.
"Look at people who are going to have expensive trials," Litman suggested. "Whom Trump won't pay for. So, think about — Jenna Ellis has been pretty vocal, saying, you know, he's not paying for me. Even a guy like [Rudy] Giuliani, you know, who's now really looking harsh at it. It's their own personal calculations."
Then there's former Chief of Staff Mark Meadows.
"I think he's a guy who, you know, does not want to be going to Georgia State Prison," quipped Litman. "So, I see — you sort of serve up the people who feel like they just were trying to give advice. They weren't total Trumpies like [Ken] Chesbro."
Other than Ellis, Giuliani and Meadows, Litman said that the lower-level people in the conspiracy, like the fake electors, are among the group who might give evidence against Trump.
They "are saying already yeah we did it because —not just the Trump team, you know, but the president of the United States told us to do it," Litman closed. "They're very strong candidates to turn state's evidence and testify against him in particular."
