‘The whole thing was a sham:’ RNC features Trump at naturalization ceremony

The Republican National Convention featured a naturalization ceremony that President Trump presided over. A ceremony that turned heads as hundreds of thousands of immigrants await their own ceremonies and are falling victim to backlogs. It was considered a stunt by some activists as the Trump administration continues to separate migrant families, turn away asylum seekers at the border and is still trying to dismantle DACA. MSNBC’s Alicia Menendez is joined by Alida Garcia of FWD.US and Lindsay Toczylowski, the Executive Director of the Immigrant Defenders Law Center. View the video here.

Trump Campaign and R.N.C. Spent $9 Million in 4th Quarter, Mostly on Digital Ads

New York Times logoThe groups supporting the president’s re-election bid also made 150 payments to Trump-owned entities and properties, Federal Election Commission filings show.

WASHINGTON — President Trump’s campaign and the Republican National Committee together spent more than $9 million on polling, digital ads and fees paid to Trump-owned properties in the last three months of 2019, according to filings with the Federal Election Commission released on Friday.

The filings detail how the Trump campaign, the Trump Victory committee, a third entity called the Trump Make America Great Again Committee and the national party committee spent their cash from October through the end of December. Together, they previously reported raising $154 million over those months, and closed the year with $195 million in cash on hand.

The Trump apparatus has raised an outsize sum, but it has faced questions about how, exactly, it is spending its reserves. Even though he is not funding his own bid this time around, Mr. Trump has repeatedly grilled his advisers about where and how they are spending money. Continue reading.