White House press secretary Jen Psaki is expected to hold a daily news briefing on Tuesday, just days after the Senate acquitted former President Donald Trump in his second impeachment trial.
On Monday, former President Donald Trump surprised a crowd of Trump fans by appearing at a Presidents’ Day rally in Palm Beach, Florida.
As his supporters lined the streets, Trump rolled slowly past the cheering crowd in a black SUV, protected by Secret Service agents.
From video of the event, there appears to be at least hundreds of supporters lining the streets.
Former President Donald Trump surprised supporters during a Presidents Day rally held in West Palm Beach, Florida, Monday. Right Side Broadcasting Network captured the hundreds of loyal supporters cheering on the 45th President as his motorcade rolls down the street. pic.twitter.com/zjNdhNnobQ
Hundreds Of Trump Supporters Excited By His Surprise Appearance
The former president’s supporters chanted “U-S-A!, U-S-A!” as Trump could be seen through the SUV window.
Police were at the President’s Day event to maintain crowd control and safety.
Two SUVs were part of Trump’s convoy, driving slowly through the crowd of supporters before eventually continuing down the highway.
Video of the event was live streamed by Right Side Broadcasting Network, who were present for the event.
About a mile west of Mar-a-Lago – Trump’s current residence – is where the many Trump supporters joined the to celebrate Presidents’ Day and cheer the former president of the United States.
BREAKING: Former President Trump just drove by the West Palm Beach Presidents Day rally in a motorcade.
Trump’s fans wanted him to know how they felt about him.
A woman from San Antonio, Texas on Sunday spent more than $1,000 to have a plane fly over Mar-a-Lago with the message, “We love you Prez Trump. Happy Valentine’s Day.”
Another message for Trump flew by that read, “We (love) Trump! The Best is Yet to Come.”
Donald Trump, Jr. tweeted out videos of both his dad driving by supporters, and also the plane and its message.
“Incredible presidents day celebration in front of Mar-a-Lago,” Don Jr. wrote. “Check out what has been going on all day here in Palm Beach.”
“Absolutely Incredible,” he added.
“Check out this Valentine’s Day card for POTUS 45. This is awesome!!!” said in another tweet with the plane.
Trump Support Runs Deep Among Republicans
Support for Trump within the GOP runs deep. A recent CNBC poll showed how much support he still has among Republicans.
CNBC reported on Friday, “A CNBC survey conducted in the days before former President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial finds a large share of Republicans want him to remain head of their party.”
“The CNBC All-America Economic Survey shows 54% of Americans want Trump ‘to remove himself from politics entirely,” the report continued. “That was the sentiment of 81% of Democrats and 47% of Independents, but only 26% of Republicans.”
CNBC continued, “When it comes to Republicans, 74% want him to stay active in some way, including 48% who want him to remain head of the Republican Party, 11% who want him to start a third party, and 12% who say he should remain active in politics but not as head of any party.”
A New York Times report indicates that anti-Trump Republican Adam Kinzinger (IL) has not only been censured by his own party but is being shunned by members of his own family.
Kinzinger has been on the offensive of late, urging the Republican party to cleanse itself of former President Donald Trump.
He is one of only 10 Republicans in the House to have voted in favor of impeachment earlier this year.
The Times, in a piece they title ‘Adam Kinzinger’s Lonely Mission,’ notes that the anti-Trumper received a two-page, handwritten letter from 11 members of his family.
“Oh my, what a disappointment you are to us and to God!” they wrote. “You have embarrassed the Kinzinger family name!”
Read the two-page, hand-written letter Kinzinger’s cousins sent him Jan. 8.
The profile by the New York Times references Adam Kinzinger’s quest to “restore the Republican Party” following the successful four-year term of former President Trump.
Kinzinger views the party as having relied exclusively on the politics of fear.
“We just fear,” he said. “Fear the Democrats. Fear the future. Fear everything. And it works for an election cycle or two. The problem is it does real damage to this democracy.”
Kinzinger seems unaware that the Democrats’ entire platform in 2020 was running on ‘fear’ of Donald Trump. And now he is doing the same.
Ex-IL Gov Bruce Rauner, the Republican elected statewide, is not optimistic about his party or its voters.
“The only winners in the war between Trump and Republicans will be Democrats,” he said. “For some voters, character matters. For most, it doesn’t.”https://t.co/EWD2YZO49X
The Times notes that Kinzinger’s opposition to Trump dated all the way back to 2016 and led to a testy exchange – through a medium – between the two.
Trump reportedly spoke with Richard Porter, a Republican National Committee member from Illinois, about Kinzinger’s re-election bid.
He “poked his finger in his (Porter’s) chest and told him to deliver to Mr. Kinzinger a vulgar message about what he should do with himself,” they write.
“When Mr. Porter relayed the comment to Mr. Kinzinger during a conversation on Election Day, Mr. Kinzinger laughed and invited Mr. Trump to do the same.”
The La Salle County GOP, which censured Kinzinger last month, believes his anti-Trump stance has more to do with seeking attention than it has to do with advancing the party’s platforms.
“There doesn’t seem to be a camera or a microphone he won’t run to,” said county GOP Chair Larry Smith. “He used to talk to us back in the good old days.”
Now, Kinzinger has formed a new PAC which he claims is fighting to “take back” the Republican party from Trump.
Congressman Adam Kinzinger, who voted for impeachment, starts anti-Trump Republican PAC | Just The News https://t.co/I2nKPKLSKk
Aside from being censured in Illinois, Kinzinger is one of several Republicans who voted to impeach Trump that is now facing a primary challenge.
Diante Johnson, an organizer with Black Voices for Trump last year and a field organizer with Trump’s 2016 campaign, has expressed interest in challenging Kinzinger in 2022.
“Kinzinger has said he is at peace with the possibility that he could lose re-election over his Trump stance,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
A recent poll from Axios-Ipsos shows Republican voters are siding with Trump over his intraparty opponents who supported the impeachment drive, signaling trouble for those facing primary challenges.
The Daily Kos Elections Morning Digest is compiled by David Nir, Jeff Singer, Stephen Wolf, Carolyn Fiddler, and Matt Booker, with additional contributions from David Jarman, Steve Singiser, Daniel Donner, James Lambert, David Beard, and Arjun Jaikumar.
Leading Off
●IA-Sen: While Sen. Chuck Grassley has yet to make a decision about seeking an eighth term, one fellow Republican has already announced a bid for his seat: state Sen. Jim Carlin, a pro-Trump die-hard who has baselessly claimed the 2020 election was stolen and spouted antisemitic conspiracy theories blaming wealthy Jews like Mark Zuckerberg and George Soros for the outcome.
Carlin didn't appear to address the incumbent in recent remarks discussing his run, though earlier this month, Grassley said he'd finalize his plans within "several weeks." Carlin may be hoping to push Grassley to the exits, but he doesn't seem like a particularly imposing presence: Iowa Starting Line notes he "doesn't start with much of a political infrastructure in the state."
Just last week, Carlin introduced legislation requiring that all employees of Iowa's public universities be interrogated about their political beliefs, part of a long-running conservative crusade against higher education. He's also pushing a "bathroom bill" that would target transgender people and has proposed a measure requiring that schoolchildren be taught cursive handwriting.
●AL-Sen: Wealthy businesswoman Lynda Blanchard, who served as Donald Trump's ambassador to Slovenia until earlier this year, says she's considering a bid for Alabama's open Senate seat. "I am deeply interested in promoting President Trump's MAGA agenda," she said in a statement, "while fighting the socialist policies of the Biden/Pelosi/Sanders/Schumer crowd."
●NH-Sen: Republican Gov. Chris Sununu, who previously hadn't ruled out a bid for Senate, now says he'll "take a look" at the possibility but suggested he wouldn't have an answer until he "get[s] through the legislative session maybe six, seven months from now." The current session is not scheduled to conclude until the very end of June. Sununu's indecision is therefore likely to freeze the field of other potential GOP candidates, robbing whoever does ultimately run of precious time to campaign against Democratic Sen. Maggie Hassan.
●OH-Sen: Republican Rep. Steve Stivers, who has reportedly been considering a bid for Ohio's newly open Senate seat, now confirms that he's looking at the race in a new interview. Stivers insisted he would not "rush into a decision" and said he'd likely wait "months" to decide. When asked about the possibility that Donald Trump could endorse another candidate in the primary, the congressman ever-so-slightly edged away from Trump, saying he's "not putting my faith in any one individual that could deliver this race for anybody.
Stivers' 15th District is conservative turf in the southern Columbus area. He served as chair of the NRCC during the 2017-18 election cycle, when Republicans lost control of the House.
Governors
●CA-Gov: Politico reports that former Trump apparatchik Richard Grenell is interviewing staff for a possible run for governor in the event a recall of Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom makes the ballot. Grenell himself says the report "isn't true" but did not dispute that he's considering a bid.
●IL-Gov: Former state Sen. Paul Schimpf kicked off a bid for governor on Monday, making him the first notable Republican to challenge Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker. Schimpf served a single term in the legislature but declined to seek re-election last year without explaining why. In 2014, he ran for state attorney general but got crushed 59-38 by Democratic incumbent Lisa Madigan.
House
●CT-02: Republican state Rep. Mike France has filed paperwork for a possible challenge to veteran Democratic Rep. Joe Courtney, but he hasn't yet announced a campaign and did not respond to press inquiries. After ousting Republican Rep. Rob Simmons by just 83 votes in the 2006 Democratic wave, Courtney's never faced a difficult re-election, winning with at least 59% of the vote every time.
The 2nd District, which occupies the entirety of eastern Connecticut, normally is reliably blue turf, but in 2016, Hillary Clinton carried it just 49-46. However, according to new calculations from Daily Kos Elections, it returned to form last year, supporting Joe Biden 54-44. Simmons described himself as "excited" about France's potential candidacy, though the former congressman, who had a relatively moderate reputation during his time in office, recently went full tinfoil and blamed the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection on "antifa."
●LA-02: Democratic state Sen. Troy Carter is spending at least $100,000 on a TV buy ahead of the March 20 all-party primary to succeed former Rep. Cedric Richmond. "Throughout my career I've remained laser focused on the simple ways to improve people's day to day lives," Carter says, "like guaranteeing access to COVID-19 vaccine, equal pay for women, criminal justice reform, and fighting for a living wage."
Carter continues by pledging, "In Congress, I'll have your back and I'll get things done." The candidate does not mention Richmond, though on-screen text informs the viewer that Carter has the former congressman's endorsement.
●TX-06: Republican Brian Harrison, who served as chief of staff to former Trump HHS chief Alex Azar during his disastrous handling of the COVID pandemic, is reportedly considering a campaign for the late Rep. Ron Wright's vacant 6th Congressional District. Notes Politico, "In the West Wing, a handful of his detractors derisively referred to Harrison as 'the dog breeder'—a reference to the labradoodle-breeding family business that he helped run prior to joining the Trump administration." More on that here.
Judges
●PA Supreme Court: Both of Pennsylvania's major parties have endorsed candidates in the May 18 primary for a key open seat on the state Supreme Court, with Democrats backing Superior Court Judge Maria McLaughlin and Republicans giving their support to Commonwealth Court Judge Kevin Brobson.
Judicial candidates in Pennsylvania who don't earn their party's official seal of approval often drop out, and we may yet see that happen. While PoliticsPA says that Superior Court Judge Carolyn Nichols, who is hoping to become the first Black woman to sit on the high court, intends to continue her bid for the Democratic nod, she said in a statement that she will "consider the next steps in this election," which could presage a departure.
The situation for the GOP is even more uncertain, since the party's two other hopefuls, Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas Judge Paula Patrick and Commonwealth Court Judge Patty McCullough, both declined to comment when asked about their plans. Any questions will be resolved soon, though, since the filing deadline is March 9. Democrats currently hold a 5-2 majority on the Supreme Court but could expand it in November since this year's race is for the seat held by Republican Chief Justice Thomas Saylor, who will reach the mandatory retirement age of 75.
Approval voting allows voters to cast as many votes in the primary as there are candidates, and Remington finds that 59% of the sample plans to back Aldermanic President Lewis Reed. City Treasurer Tishaura Jones has the support of 51% of respondents, while a third Democrat, Alderman Cara Spencer, is in third with 40%. Just 19%, however, intend to vote for the final contender, Republican Andrew Jones. The two candidates with the most votes will face off in the April 6 general.
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch also reports that the pro-Spencer group Gateway to Progress is spending at least $45,000 on a TV ad praising her for "cracking down on predatory lenders, slum landlords, and City Hall insiders."
We begin today’s roundup with Michelle Goldberg’s take at The New York Times on how to hold Donald Trump accountable:
To Raskin, a former constitutional law professor, this is no comfort. “You’ve got to rewind to pre-Trump days,” he said. “Politicians should not be telling prosecutors who to prosecute.” Impeachment was a way for our political system to defend itself, and it failed. “We had an opportunity to deal with the clear and present danger that is Donald Trump in a bipartisan way through our constitutional system,” he said. “The Republican Party could not join the effort in sufficient numbers to make it completely successful, so now they are either going to have to fight him internally, or, more likely, they will become an autocratic political party that really does operate like a religious cult.”
This is true. But if we cannot restore pre-Trump norms, McConnell has at least stripped away some of the taboo about prosecuting a former president. In addition to the investigations of Trump’s business practices in New York, prosecutors in Georgia have opened a criminal investigation into his attempts to subvert the election there. Washington’s attorney general is reportedly considering charging Trump with violating a District of Columbia law against provoking violence. Joe Biden’s Justice Department could look into the countless federal crimes Trump appeared to commit in office.
Decisions to pursue charges shouldn’t be made by politicians, but they shouldn’t be blocked by them, either.
What’s become evident is that Republican members of Congress fear not only the indignity of losing a primary; some have come to fear the potential for violence among their constituents. Rather than persuade, resist, or prosecute such people, they placate them. To do so, they bow in the direction of Palm Beach.
[...]
The trial ended in a sour acquittal. A shamed ex-President would inevitably declare victory.
But it is no victory at all. Within hours of his Inauguration, Joe Biden cancelled the plans of the 1776 Commission. Propaganda would not become the law of the land. In his closing argument, Raskin quoted a Black Capitol Police officer who, after being called the N-word repeatedly, after his fellow-officers were beaten, abused, bashed with flag poles, and sprayed with bear repellent, asked, “Is this America?” History will judge Donald Trump severely for his crimes against the United States.
No parade of witnesses could have changed the minds of senators voting to save their own seats rather than to defend the republic. The only way to concentrate their minds is for the rest of us to mobilize and defeat them at the polls for their craven failure to serve their country. Many Republicans may still be beguiled by Trump, but they are a far remove from the majority of Americans.
Politico gives us new polling on how Trumpism and the Republican Party are one and the same:
Republican voters got over any misgivings they had about Trump’s role on Jan. 6 very quickly.Fifty-nine percent of Republican voters said they want Trump to play a major role in their party going forward.That’s up 18 percentage points from a Morning Consult poll conducted on Jan. 7, and an increase of 9 points from a follow-up poll on Jan. 25, before the impeachment trial began.
Another piece of evidence: While Trump’s overall favorability rating is an abysmal 34% in our latest poll, 81% of Republican respondents gave him positive marks. Trump was at 77% approval among Republicans on Jan. 7 and 74% on Jan. 25.
Meanwhile, Eugene Robinson uses his column to refocus on the Biden presidency:
The time has come to leave the sins and wickedness of the 45th president to the criminal justice system — and to turn attention and energy to the challenges and opportunities that face the 46th. Allowing ourselves to be held captive by the past four years serves no one except a certain self-obsessed ex-president. Better to spend that energy where it can make an actual difference.
Joe Biden has been President of the United States for nearly a month, but his political agenda is only just coming into focus in Washington, now that the impeachment proceedings against Donald Trump are over.
We hear you've been hit by a once-in-a-generation snow and ice storm accompanied by Arctic-like temperatures, causing major power outages, accidents, shutdowns across the state, and life-threatening winter havoc not experienced in your back yards for decades. We also understand you're appealing to the federal government, which pools money from all the states to help in situations like this, to give you a big, Texas-sized emergency bailout.
We regret to inform you that we can't fulfill your request. As a red state, it's your job to show the rest of the country how rugged individualism—pulling yourselves up by your bootstraps, as you say—is more effective than collective teamwork. Plus God told us it was His punishment on you for coddling your America-hating televangelists, anti-maskers, and gun nuts. But, at the end of the day, it's really all about deficits, you know? We just can't afford your Big Government request to dig us into an even bigger fiscal hole. We're sure you understand.
Sincerely,
No Democratic Leader Ever
And now, our feature presentation...
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Cheers and Jeers for Tuesday, February 16, 2021
Note: Today’s note is in a minor key today. I'm feeling villainous.
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By the Numbers:
6 days!!!
Days 'til full-team spring training starts for most Major League teams: 6
Percent approval of President Biden in the latest CNBC survey: 62%
Percent chance that British PM Boris Johnson told CBS News he finds the Biden administration's performance so far "highly encouraging": 100%
Estimated number of Americans who have received their first Covid-19 vaccine shot: 50 million
Lithuanians polled by Gallup who have a favorable opinion of Russia's leadership: 9%
First-time jobless claims last week, down 19,000 from the previous week: 793,000
Percent of Americans polled by Gallup in 1939 who approved of First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt's resignation from Daughters of the American Revolution because they wouldn't allow Black opera singer Marian Anderson to perform in their building (Roosevelt invited Anderson to sing at the Lincoln memorial instead): 57%
CHEERS to Captain Git'erdone. The endorphin rush of solo achievements by the Executive Branch continues, with too many Biden administration rollbacks and move-forwards to count, but here's a sample:
✔ Is running ahead of schedule on his pledge of 100-million Covid vaccinations in 100 days (50 million given as of day 27) as new cases drop big-time
✔ The CDC is back up and running, and Healthcare.gov is open again for a special 3-month period of Obamacare enrollment for those who need it
Sciencing the shit out of Covid-19 at the NIH.
✔ Rolled back the ban on transgender enlistments in the military and restored protections against LGBTQ discrimination at HUD
✔ On the third anniversary of the Parkland student massacre, called for "requiring background checks on all gun sales, banning assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, and eliminating immunity for gun manufacturers who knowingly put weapons of war on our streets”
✔ Is planning to go all FDR on America's ass when it comes to Jobs Jobs Jobs
✔ Is actively rebuilding our relationship with NATO
In addition to all that, President Biden also found time over the weekend to defeat granddaughter Naomi in a few laps of Mario Kart at Camp David. Take note, Kim Jong Un—there's a new sheriff in town.
CHEERS to losing your magic armor. Well, well, well. The impeachment trial—a "political" act—ended with the most bipartisan vote to convict in history (though short of the 67 needed). And with the final whack of the adjournment gavel, President Biden's predecessor now sits alone at Mar-A-Lago, surrounded by a dwindling number of devoted oddball members, the pervasive smell of bleach, and the knowledge that now all of his future trials will be the "criminal" kind:
Now a private citizen, Trump is stripped of his protection from legal liability that the presidency gave him. […]
Tax cheats go to jail. Just ask Al Capone. (Actually, don’t. The ghost of Al is getting really sick of that question.”)
Atlanta prosecutors have recently opened a criminal investigation into Trump’s attempts to overturn his election loss in Georgia, including a Jan. 2 phone call in which he urged that state’s secretary of state, Brad Raffensperger, to “find” enough votes to reverse Biden’s narrow victory.
And Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance Jr., is in the midst of an 18-month criminal grand jury investigation focusing in part on hush-money payments paid to women on Trump’s behalf [after he cheated on his wife with them], and whether Trump or his businesses manipulated the value of assets—inflating them in some cases and minimizing them in others—to gain favorable loan terms and tax benefits.
Two words for a weary nation in need of a guilty verdict or three: Tick tock.
CHEERS to Mardi Gras! Nothing but virtual decadence and gluttony on the schedule today as Americans celebrate the religious observance of, um, decadence and gluttony. (I'm a bit behind in my Bible studies—half a century to be precise.) As I understand it, if I display some boobs you'll throw me some beads. Right? Okay then, check out these babies:
I'd like my beads to be made out of trillion-dollar platinum coins, please.
CHEERS to sports shorts. The Jacksonville Jaguars have just hired Chris Doyle as their new director of sports performance, and in other news Chris Doyle has just resigned as the Jacksonville Jaguars' new director of sports performance. Film at 11. Blink and you'll miss it.
CHEERS to the last useful thing the Vatican ever did. On this date in 600, Pope Gregory the Great decreed that "God Bless You" would become the religiously correct response to a sneeze. Mostly because the old response—"Oh, hey, that sounds bubonic"—was scaring off the faithful.
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Ten years ago in C&J: February 16, 2011
JEERS to South Dakohmygod. Hey, Canada! Ya wanna take South Dakota off our hands for cheap? It's a lovely place. The only caveat: you have to take the idiots who are proposing a bill legalizing the shooting of abortion providers. We'll haul it up there for ya on a flatbed. You can squeeze it in between Manitoba and Saskatchewan. Trust us—there'll never be a dull moment when they move in. Disclaimer: Mount Rushmore not included. But we'll throw in the Phelps family from Kansas at no extra charge.
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And just one more…
CHEERS to ancient suds. Every day for 56 years I've made it a point to open my laptop and Google "Ancient Egyptian Beer Factory" hoping that one day—one day!—my quest would lead me to a positive search result. I'd almost given up when, Sunday morning, my persistence was rewarded. Hot damn, they found one…
Archaeologists have discovered a massive 5,000-year-old brewery in the ancient Egyptian city of Abydos, according to Egypt's Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities.
WTF? Looks like the archaeologists already drank it all.
The brewery was located in Egypt's Sohag Governorate, and likely dates back to the reign of King Narmer, around 3100 BC, the ministry said in a statement on Saturday—making this the oldest brewery found in Abydos. […]
The brewery could have been producing as much as 22,400 liters (about 5,900 gallons) of beer at a time, [mission co-leader Dr. Matthew Adams of New York University] said.
While they were in production mode, the ancient brewers really had to hops to it to. But considering they were working on behalf of the king, it was the yeast they could do.
Have a tolerable Tuesday. Floor's open...What are you cheering and jeering about today?
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Today's Shameless C&J Testimonial
“The devil is a saint when compared to Bill in Portland Maine.”
