Category: Latest News

Donald Trump Jr. melts down: Democrats ‘insurrected’ us first

Donald Trump Jr. argued this week that his father’s impeachment trial is unfair because Democrats and their allies “insurrected” before Trump supporters did.

During a Wednesday appearance on Newsmax, Trump insisted that the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol does not “tie back” to former President Donald Trump.

Trump ranted: “By that logic, we would take the last ten months and you would take the billion dollars worth of damage in looting, in rioting, in arson, in murder that took place across the country with the [Black Lives Matter] riots and the Antifa riots and you have the words of Kamala Harris, you have the actions of their campaign bailing out criminals. You have the words of Maxine Waters. You know, get up in their face. Nancy Pelosi, everyone.” Continue reading.

Trump on acquittal: MAGA ‘has only just begun’

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Former President Trump declared victory on Saturday after Senate Republicans voted to acquit him for a second time, saying that his political movement “has only just begun” and that he would have more to share in the near future.

Trump thanked his legal team for “upholding justice and defending truth.”

“Our historic, patriotic and beautiful movement to Make America Great Again has only just begun. In the months ahead, I have much to share with you, and I look forward to continuing our incredible journey together to achieve American greatness for all of our people,” he said in the statement. Continue reading.

Most Republicans see Democrats not as political opponents but as enemies

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The idea is a simple one: A country in which people with at-times differing views of how things should be run get together and vote on representatives who will enact policy. The candidates with the most support take office, working to build consensus for the policies their constituents want to see. Both before and after the election, there’s an expectation that disagreements will be resolvable and resolved.

This is an idealized version of our system, of course, but that’s how ideals work. Central to American politics is the idea that even if your candidate loses, the winner will advocate for you. But in an era in which the winners of elections in November are often those who manage to clamber over their primary opponents in the spring, the idea that a Democratic legislator will feel beholden to Republican constituents — or vice versa — seems almost quaint.

That said, we run the risk of establishing an equivalence where one may not exist. For example, we have new polling from CBS News, conducted by YouGov, which explores how members of each political party tend to think of members of the opposing party. Continue reading.

How Democratic and Republican senators voted on Trump’s second impeachment

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The Senate acquitted former president Donald Trump in his second impeachment trial, weeks after the House voted to impeach him for his alleged role in inciting an angry mob to storm the U.S. Capitol.

Two-thirds of senators present and voting were needed to convict the former president, which meant the seven Republicans who joined every Democrat and independent were not enough to reach the 67 votes needed for conviction. But it was the most bipartisan impeachment vote in history.

In addition to Sens. Susan Collins (Maine), Lisa Murkowski (Alaska), Mitt Romney (Utah) and Ben Sasse (Neb.), who were expected to join Democrats on the vote, Sens. Richard Burr (N.C.), Bill Cassidy (La.) and Patrick J. Toomey (Pa.) also voted for conviction. Continue reading.

Lie After Lie: Listen to How Trump Built His Alternate Reality

Biden rescinds national emergency proclamation Trump used to fund border wall

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President Biden informed Congress on Thursday that he has terminated the national emergency over the U.S.-Mexico border that former President Trump first declared in Feb. 2019.

Why it matters: Trump used the national emergency proclamation to divert billions of dollars in Pentagon funds toward building a border wall, after it became clear that Congress was opposed to additional funding. The declaration prompted dozens of lawsuits and attempts by Congress to block Trump from fulfilling one his top 2016 campaign promises.

What they’re saying: “I have determined that the declaration of a national emergency at our southern border was unwarranted. I have also announced that it shall be the policy of my Administration that no more American taxpayer dollars be diverted to construct a border wall, and that I am directing a careful review of all resources appropriated or redirected to that end,” Biden wrote in a letter to congressional leaders. View the post here.

Bipartisanship in Congress isn’t about being nice – it’s about cold, hard numbers

Before he was even inaugurated as president, Joe Biden, elected at a time of strong political polarization, emphasized the importance of bipartisanship in dealing with Congress: “I think I can work with Republican leadership in the House and Senate. I think we can get some things done.” 

Incoming presidents routinely make such appeals, and for good reason. 

Senate rules require a “supermajority” – 60 out of 100 senators, including both Democrats and Republicans – to pass major legislation. But presidents have found it difficult to fulfill the promise of bipartisanship, which would require negotiation between Democratic and Republican leaders and the agreement of substantial numbers of lawmakers from both parties. Continue reading.

‘Shameful’: Fox News cuts away from Senate trial as shocking footage emerges

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As other networks airing Donald Trump’s Senate impeachment trial on Wednesday showed chilling new video footage of the deadly January 6 mob attack on the U.S. Capitol incited by the former president, Fox Newsopted to cut away to cover different stories. 

Even the fiercely pro-Trump One America Network aired Trump’s trial. Fox, however, decided to run segments on stories including Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban’s decision to forego the national anthem at his NBA team’s home games, and the viral video of a Texas attorney’s “I’m not a cat” Zoom courtroom filter fail.

Fox‘s decision to cut away from the trial was lambasted as “f*cking shameful.” Continue reading.

Republicans criticized a Biden nominee for her tweets. Democrats see a ‘whole new level of hypocrisy.’

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For the second time this week, Republican senators grilled President Biden’s pick to head the White House budget office over her history of controversial tweets — infuriating critics of the GOP who said the lawmakers were hypocritical for chastising nominee Neera Tanden while failing to speak up about former president Donald Trump’s incendiary tweetstorms now at the center of an impeachment inquiry.

During a heated back-and-forth, Sen. John Neely Kennedy (R-La.), known for his colorful expressions, accused Tanden of attacking lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, including Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.).

“You called Senator Sanders everything but an ignorant slut,” he said, evoking the sexist term famously satirized on “Saturday Night Live.” Continue reading.

Lindsey Graham caught saying one thing on impeachment to reporters — but then another to Sean Hannity

Sen. Lindsey-Graham (R-SC) got caught talking out of both sides of his mouth after leaving the impeachment trial on Wednesday.

Speaking to reporters, Graham advocated for Capitol police to have shot the protesters and killed more of them. 

“I just can’t believe that we could lose the Capitol like that. I got mad. I mean these police officers had every right to use deadly force, they should have used it,” he said.

But when he appeared on Fox News, Graham had a whole other take perfect for Hannity viewers where he blamed Democrats instead. Continue reading.