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Trump must be covered as ‘a cheat and a rapist’: Ex-White House reporter unloads on press
According to a former White House correspondent who spent the Donald Trump years trying to get straight answers out of the ex-president's press secretaries, the media has been covering the ex-president wrong.
In a column for Salon, journalist Brian Karem argues that members of the press have been "moral cowards" by not properly covering Trump, who Karem says is "a fraud, a cheat and a rapist, facing 91 felony counts."
Karem famously asked Trump if he would honor a peaceful transition of power if he lost the election.
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"Trump is truly delusional. 'Brick by brick, Donald Trump is a fantasy. He's the biggest fraud there is,' political commentator Danielle Moodie told Mary Trump. Every bit of reporting we do on him should stress that," Karem wrote Thursday. "It's not like his delusion is a secret. 'We in the family knew it,' Mary Trump said, explaining the fraud perpetrated by her uncle — before describing him as the greatest fraud ever perpetrated on America."
The journalist then added:
"But don't count on the press to inform you about any of that. We're too busy pretending, and entertaining you by treating Trump as if he were a charmer, or a savior." It's not just the media, according to the reporter.
"It isn't just the press that is filled with cowards. The Republicans in Congress are repugnant criminal cowards. The Democrats are eunuchs and moral cowards. While the Republicans pursue Hunter Biden — and if he's guilty of something, so be it — the Democrats have not said one word about Jared Kushner, Eric Trump or Donald Trump Jr. There is more than enough evidence to investigate those three for trading White House access for billions in foreign investment. Yet so far, nothing."
He goes on to say, "The Democrats don't want to look like they're gutter-fighting quite as dirty as the GOP, and seem to lack any desire to pursue obvious corruption. Thus it appears to millions of American voters, including many potential voters still on the fence, that the Bidens have the most to hide"
"I cannot say it enough. We have two political parties in this country: One has no heart. One has no head," he added Thursday. "And the press? We have neither."
Minnesota Supreme Court sets Nov. 2 hearing for Trump ballot eligibility based on 14th Amendment
The Minnesota Supreme Court has scheduled a hearing to determine if the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution can be used to keep Donald Trump off of the 2024 presidential ballot.
Earlier this month, a coalition led by Free Speech For the People sued to prevent Trump's name from appearing on the ballot because of a Civil War-era constitutional amendment that said insurrectionists could not serve in office.
The state's high court said this week there would be a Nov. 30 hearing on the case.
The group argues that Trump participated in an insurrection by inciting a riot at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6.
In setting the hearing date, the state Supreme Court allowed the state Republican party to respond to the lawsuit. The Trump campaign and Secretary of State Steve Simon are also expected to respond, according to the Star Tribune.
"The Republican Party of Minnesota believes that voters in Minnesota should ultimately decide through voting which candidates are qualified to represent them in public office," GOP state party Chair David Hann said in a statement.
A judge is scheduled to hear a similar effort to keep Trump off the ballot in Colorado on Oct. 30.
Trump’s ‘humiliation’ campaign reduced RNC chair Ronna McDaniel ‘to a laughingstock’: NYT columnist
In contrast to her uncle, Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) — a frequent critic of former Donald Trump — Republican National Committee Chair Ronna Romney McDaniel has been a strong supporter of the former president.
But in a biting op-ed published on September 20, the New York Times' Frank Bruni stresses that Trump has singled McDaniel out for abuse and humiliation. And Bruni doesn't have any sympathy for McDaniel, arguing that the RNC chair lacks her uncle's backbone.
Trump, Bruni observes, is not only skipping the second 2024 GOP primary debate — he is also insulting McDaniel by "competing with her debate" via "counterprogramming" in the form of a speech to striking United Auto Workers (UAW).
POLL: Should Trump be allowed to hold office again?
Bruni argues, "Here's one endeavor at which (Trump) really is peerless: Nobody dishes out humiliation in such heaping, merciless measures…. When Trump snubs you, he snubs you in neon."
McDaniel, Bruni adds, "richly deserves" her fate.
"Right after the 2020 presidential election," Bruni notes, "she was alternately squishy about and indulgent of Trump's bogus claims that it had been stolen…. How faithful she has been. How little it has netted her. She is being reduced to a laughingstock."
READ MORE: Former Trump megadonor joins No Labels leadership
Read Frank Bruni's full New York Times opinion column at this link (subscription required).
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.
POLL : Should Trump be allowed to run for office?
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.”
POLL: Should Trump be allowed to run for office?
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."
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Ted Cruz snaps as Dem invokes famous 2013 clash: ‘You’re not Dianne Feinstein’
Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-HI) interrupted Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) at a Senate Judiciary subcommittee hearing Tuesday to tell the Texas Republican she felt "personally aggrieved" by his lecturing — only to have Cruz fire back by invoking the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein, snapping, "You're not Dianne Feinstein."
The blowup came after Cruz delivered a lengthy monologue at a hearing on the Supreme Court's Louisiana v. Callais ruling — a 6-3 decision gutting Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act — accusing Democrats of believing Black candidates can only win in gerrymandered districts.
"The Democrats are fond of telling this story that is, and I wish I could find a kinder way to say it, a flat-out lie," Cruz said, rattling off Black Republican lawmakers elected in majority-white districts: Sen. Tim Scott, Reps. Burgess Owens, Byron Donalds, John James, and Wesley Hunt.
"In the Democrats' world, you're not Black if you're not a liberal Democrat," Cruz declared. "There is an arrogance to African American voters."
The Texas Republican then accused Democrats of being the real gerrymandering offenders, demanding to know how many Republicans represent New England in the U.S. House.
"Zero. Zero," Cruz said. "They've drawn every district in a naked gerrymander, and yet they're very upset that their illegal pursuit of power has now been stopped by the Supreme Court."
That's when Hirono cut in.
"Point of personal privilege," she said. "I feel personally aggrieved to sit here and to be lectured by my colleague from Texas."
Hirono then reached back more than a decade to invoke a now-famous clash between Cruz and Feinstein, who memorably told a freshman Cruz during a 2013 hearing on gun safety that she was "not a sixth grader."
"This reminds me of the time when he was first elected to the Senate, and the Judiciary Committee had a hearing on gun safety, and he felt a need to lecture Dianne Feinstein," Hirono said. "And she said to him, something along the lines of, 'I did not sit here on this committee for however many years she did, only to be lectured by you.'"
"And that is how I feel," Hirono continued. "So why don't you just stop lecturing the rest of us? Just because you think you are the smartest person in the world doesn't mean the rest of us agree with that."
Cruz didn't let it go.
"I knew Dianne Feinstein. I served with Dianne Feinstein," he shot back. "And you're not Dianne Feinstein."
