Category: life

Report: Nikki Haley Isolated After Attacking Trump, Not Among GOP 2024 Presidential Hopefuls At CPAC

Posted on by Becky Noble

As conservatives gather for their annual conference known as CPAC, Nikki Haley will not be among the possible 2024 GOP contenders in attendance, with speculation that her rivalry with Donald Trump being a contributing factor.

According to one report, Haley is “isolated” after she attacked President Trump for the January 6 Capitol riot.

This comes in the aftermath last week of the former U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. asking for a meeting with Trump at Mar-a-Lago. Her request was turned down.

Haley has a long history of attacking President Trump.

RELATED: New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo Accused Of Sexual Harassment By Former Staffer Lindsey Boylan

Haley’s History Of Anti-Trump Comments

Nikki Haley has a history of comments critical of Trump, so it is not surprising that he would have turned down a meeting.

After the Jan. 6 Capitol riot and just prior to Tump’s second impeachment, in an interview Haley said of Republicans that “We need to acknowledge he let us down. He went down a path he shouldn’t have, and we shouldn’t have followed him, and we shouldn’t have listened to him. And we can’t ever let that happen again.”

In the same interview, she questioned “any political viability” he was going to have going forward. Haley said she did not believe Trump would run in 2024. “I don’t think he can. He’s fallen so far.”

Haley’s comments on Donald Trump go back much farther than January of this year.

In 2016, she gave the Republican response to President Barack Obama’s final State of the Union Address, when she stated, “During anxious times, it can be tempting to follow the siren call of the angriest voices.”

In an interview the next day on NBC’s Today Show, Haley said that she was specifying then front-runner for the Republican nomination Donald Trump, was one of the “angry voices” she was referring to.

Haley invoked the Jun 2015 shooting of nine black parishioners in a Charleston church when she stated that she thinks Trump’s rhetoric is “dangerous.” She went on to say, “I know what that rhetoric can do. I saw it happen.”

She even went on to repeat the lie that Trump had not disavowed the KKK. 

“I will not stop until we fight a man that chooses not to disavow the KKK,” Haley said. “That is not a part of our party, that is not who we want as president. We will allow not allow that in our country.”

Even PolitiFact acknowledges that Trump has disavowed white supremacists for decades.

In February of 2016, then South Carolina Governor Haley sounded every bit like a Never-Trumper.

Speaking to CNN affiliate WIS Television in Columbia, she said that candidate Donald Trump represented “everything a Governor doesn’t want in a president.”

RELATED: Biden HHS Nominee Xavier Becerra Could Not Name A Single Abortion Restriction He Would Support

Haley’s Presidential Aspirations In Jeopardy?

According to a report from The Hill, a GOP source says that while Haley has been trying to position herself for a run for the White House, she is having difficulty in connecting with Trump supporters.

The source went on to say that “Haley has never understood the President and seems to not understand where the base of the Party is.” 

The Hill also quoted Alex Conant, a GOP consultant and former advisor to Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) in reference to Haley’s comments:

“Trump might run again, so you have to treat him as a potential competitor. But even if he doesn’t, he wants influence over who the party picks, and loyalty is what he values more than anything else. So it’s hard to build your own identity separate from him while maintaining loyalty and his support.”

The fact that she may be seen as a flip-flopper may harm her presidential hopes. A week after the riot, the Charleston CBS affiliate reported that while Haley criticized the President for the riot, she “called for people to ‘give the man a break’.”

She also stated she did not think there was “basis for impeachment.” 

RELATED: Democrat House Set To Pass ‘Equality Act’, Critics Warn It Attacks Women’s Rights And Religious Freedom

CPAC Will Draw Other Possible Presidential Contenders

As usual, this year’s CPAC gathering will draw other potential presidential hopefuls. Some other names that have been mentioned include Sens. Rick Scott (R-FL), Ted Cruz (R-TX), and Josh Hawley (R-MO). 

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) is also scheduled to speak, and has even been mentioned as a possible presidential candidate recently by Trump ally Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL).

Most of those mentioned have been strong supporters of Trump, not only of the direction he would take the Republican Party, but his “America First” platform.

Nikki Haley’s comments for and against Donald Trump may separate her from other would-be Republican candidates, and the optics may say that she may prove the sources right, that she is indeed out of touch with the base of the party.

Politco reported that Lee Bright, a former colleague of Haley and an “archconservative in the statehouse” in South Carolina, might have sounded the alarm about Haley.

“Nikki is willing to do whatever she needs to do and be whoever she needs to be,” he said. 

He went on to add more serious accusations, “The fact is, she doesn’t have a core. Adapting to the electorate is what keeps you around in politics, and she’s done it more effectively than anyone I’ve ever seen. She went from being an enemy of the establishment to being the face of the establishment.”

Nikki Haley’s first decision about a White House run should be which part of the Republican Party she supports.

The post Report: Nikki Haley Isolated After Attacking Trump, Not Among GOP 2024 Presidential Hopefuls At CPAC appeared first on The Political Insider.

Mitt Romney Admits: Trump Would Win GOP Nomination If He Runs In 2024

Posted on by Becky Noble

Senator Mitt Romney (R-UT) says that if Donald Trump decides to run for a second term for president in 2024, it is likely he will get the Republican nomination. Romney, the 2012 Republican presidential nominee himself, says that he thinks Trump will continue to play a big role in GOP politics. 

Romney said on Tuesday, “He has by far the largest voice and a big impact in my party. I don’t know if he’s planning to run in 2024 or not, but if he does, I’m pretty sure he would win the nomination.”

Romney went on to say that if Trump did run in 2024, he would not be voting for him. 

Romney was a leading “Never Trump” figure in the GOP during the 2016 presidential contest, and voted to convict Trump in his first impeachment trial.

Trump is set to deliver a speech at this week’s Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC.)

It will be his first public appearance since leaving the White House, and many expect that he will lay out his political plans for 2022, and 2024.

RELATED: AOC Slams Biden For  Reopening ‘Migrant Facility For Children’ But Doesn’t Call Them ‘Concentration Camps’

Very Interesting Things Are Happening In The Republican Party

A source close to the former president told Axios that the speech is intended to be a “show of force,” and that he will state that “I may not have Twitter or the Oval Office, but I’m still in charge.” 

Trump’s speech could just be a verification of sorts, of the transformation that is going on in the Republican Party that not all want to talk about or even acknowledge.

Donald Trump not only revealed the depths of the swamp, but that both sides of the aisle occupy it.

He also revealed deep fissures within the Republican Party. Even the most devout of the party cannot deny there is a Mitt Romney-Mitch McConnell-Liz Cheney wing of the party, then there is the Trump wing. 

In an appearance on Fox News Monday morning, Eric Trump stated the very reason for his father’s popularity.

“There’s 75-80 million people who would follow my father to the end of the Earth.” He added that they love Trump because he is not a traditional politician.

“There’s no question he will play a pivotal role in politics for a very long time to come.” Eric explained. “I really do believe he is the modern Republican Party.”

It is the assessments of people like Eric Trump that make the Romney-McConnell-Cheney wing crazy.

But as we move closer not just to 2024, but even to 2022, will they realize that the Trump wing is becoming the much bigger tent?

RELATED: Former Capitol Police Chief Contradicts Pelosi’s Top Investigator, Says Officers Were Not ‘Complicit’ In Riot

Looking At The Numbers

Numbers may tell the story of the future of the Republican Party.

A recent Suffolk University/USAToday poll showed that 46% of those that voted for Trump in 2020 would follow him to a third party if he were to start one. 

And something that should get the attention of the Romney wing of the party is that in a recent Rasmussen poll, 72% of Republican voters want their legislators to be more like Trump and less like establishment Romney, McConnell, Cheney types.

RELATED: House Democrats Want Biden To Relinquish Sole Authority To Launch Nuclear Weapons 

A Bad Ending For The GOP Establishment

A quick look at the numbers above show that things are not looking up for the establishment Republicans.

In addition to Mitt Romney saying he would not vote for Trump, Liz Cheney also said that, “Republicans must acknowledge the damage done by Trump’s false claims that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from him, and his encouragement of the mob that stormed the U.S. Capitol.”

Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) has begun a new PAC with the aim of “taking back the Republican Party from Trump.”

But like Liz Cheney, Kinzinger was among the 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach Trump, and has already got some pushback in the form of a primary challenger for 2022. 

Trump wing pushback has also come in the form of young guns like Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), who has had words with Cheney, and even gone to Wyoming to campaign against her.

Gaetz has also called out Kinzinger.

Eric Trump also said of the Biden administration on Fox News Monday morning that “When you see some of these policies that are literally destroying jobs, that are destroying industries, that are causing Texas to freeze, that are cutting off our power to our energy grids and all these other nonsensical policies. Right now, the enthusiasm, it’s better than it’s ever been.” 

He added that, “I think every single day, Biden makes people miss Donald Trump more.”

If you are talking about those in the Republican Party, it depends on who you are talking to. 

The post Mitt Romney Admits: Trump Would Win GOP Nomination If He Runs In 2024 appeared first on The Political Insider.

What’s Actually In the Biden-Democrat $1.9 Trillion ‘COVID Relief’ Bill

Posted on by Becky Noble

As the Biden administration and Democratic Congress release plans for the massive $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill, otherwise known as the “American Rescue Plan Act of 2021,” the Republican Study Committee (RSC) last week warned about some of items in the bill.

Some of the generalities that President Biden has made no secret of wanting in the bill, such as raising the minimum wage and financial aid to illegal immigrants are of course included, but what are some of the other tidbits conservatives are warning about?

Here’s what the RSC is opposing in the bill – the one that was pushed aside so Democrats could pursue a second impeachment of President Donald Trump.

RELATED: Trump Set To Deliver Speech Claiming ‘I’m Still In Charge’ Of GOP

Highlights In The $1.9 Trillion COVID Relief Bill

As previously stated, some of the items in the bill are no surprise. They have been part of a liberal Democrat wish list for quite a while, and have nothing to do with relief for those hardest hit by the pandemic or economic shutdowns.

One of the top items – a new federal mandatory minimum wage – instead has everything to do with essentially paying people to be a new voting bloc.

According to the RSC and the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office, the result could be 1.4 million jobs lost, or even more. Most of those effected would be younger people with less formal education. 

The irony is clearly lost on Democrats for this one. There is an entire section, “TITLE VI COMMITTEE ON SMALL BUSINESS” in this 591 page behemoth, that covers such things as modifications to the PPP (Paycheck Protection Program), support for restaurants, and something entitled “direct appropriations.”

Yet the best way to help these struggling businesses is to allow them to first open for business if they haven’t already, and allow them to pay their employees what they can afford to pay and still operate. 

Anyone who knows anything about economics knows that if you cannot afford to pay all of your employees that brand new federal minimum wage, somebody’s got to go. 

Unemployment would come with an extra $400 per week in addition to regular payments. This would last up to a year and a half.

In the words of the RSC, “Under this plan, 53% of Americans would effectively receive a raise for being unemployed.”

And it would not just be Americans who would be paid to sit and watch Netflix all day. If you enter the U.S. illegally, it is payday for you as well, my friend.

The $1,400 stimulus checks that are still being debated would also go to those families in which at least one parent is an illegal immigrant. 

RELATED: Dr. Fauci Says ‘Possible’ Americans Might Have To Wear Masks Into 2020

Making Sure Teachers Unions Are Happy

America’s school children are not faring much better than America’s small businesses. Many parents do not feel as though their kids are getting a quality education sitting in front of a computer screen all day. 

But the Biden administration’s priority seems to be not with American kids getting a proper education, but making sure that America’s teachers unions keep donating to the Democrat Party.

Apparently hidden in the section entitled, “PART 1 DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION”, is the additional provision of $130 billion, on top of the $110 billion they already receive, even if they remain closed.

If large numbers of American parents whose children are not included in a special classification feel their child’s education is suffering permanent consequences, imagine the feeling if your child is deemed “at risk,” “low income,” or “special needs.”

RELATED: Psaki Refuses To Answer If Biden Still Thinks Gov. Cuomo Is ‘Gold Standard For Leadership’

Covering Other Parts Of The Biden Agenda

The bill would crowd out those who need PPP funding the most and expand the qualifications to large nonprofits, labor unions, country clubs, fraternities and sororities, and publicly-traded internet news organizations. 

In other words, to already wealthy, well-positioned firms. 

With the majority of large donations going to the Democrat Party, is that why Joe Biden and the Democrats want to keep their country club buddies happy?

Social justice is absolutely included in the Democrats’ handouts. There is a $50 million funding provision for EPA “environmental justice grants.”

Has anyone ever figured out just what exactly environmental justice is? 

The RSC report calls this “a thinly-veiled kickback to leftist environmental groups.” Also included, $800 million in foreign food aid. 

Americans are going hungry right now. How about keeping that $800 million for American food aid?

And what Democrat stimulus package would be complete without a little identity politics thrown in? The bill allows for loan forgiveness worth 120% of debt to farmers and ranchers on the basis of race and ethnicity. 

In a report in “Successful Farming”, Georgia Republican Austin Scott said that the debt relief proposal “has no requirement of any proof of discrimination.” He also said that “payments of 120% could easily be challenged as reverse discrimination and unconstitutional.”

As was expected, Joe Biden, his administration, and a Democrat Congress is attempting to pander to every group they think they can turn into permanent Democrat voters by funding their pet causes. 

Too bad the American people are not a pet cause. 

The post What’s Actually In the Biden-Democrat $1.9 Trillion ‘COVID Relief’ Bill appeared first on The Political Insider.

Report: Trump Set To Deliver Speech Claiming ‘I’m Still In Charge’ Of GOP

Posted on by Rusty Weiss

Donald Trump will reportedly deliver a speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Florida this weekend in which he will claim the mantle of power in the GOP by saying he is “still in charge.”

A longtime adviser to the former President tells Axios that the speech will be a “show of force” in which he will announce, “I may not have Twitter or the Oval Office, but I’m still in charge.”

Going a step further, Trump is expected to argue that he is still the man to drain the Washington swamp as the Republican “presumptive 2024 nominee.”

Trump will be making his speech on Sunday, the final day of the conference.

During the week, Axios adds, “advisers will meet with him at Mar-a-Lago” where they will “plan his next political moves” and “set up the machinery for kingmaking in the 2022 midterms.”

RELATED: Majority of Trump Voters Say They Will Follow Him to Another Party and Abandon the GOP

Is Trump In Charge of the Republican Party?

Donald Trump certainly seems to have the numbers to back up his claims of being in charge of the Republican party.

A poll released this past weekend indicates nearly 50 percent of Trump voters would follow the former President to a new party and abandon the GOP altogether.

A vast majority of GOP voters want to see him play a big role in the future of the party, including running again in 2024.

Trump is strategically leaving that option open to give him leverage within the party and with voters.

“Trump effectively is the Republican Party,” Trump senior adviser Jason Miller told Axios. “The only chasm is between Beltway insiders and grassroots Republicans around the country.”

He added, “When you attack President Trump, you’re attacking the Republican grassroots.”

RELATED: ‘Never-Trump’ Republicans Looking To Form Their Own Party

Who Is In Charge of the GOP?

Miller’s point is one of the more important ones that establishment Republicans don’t seem to understand.

When they attack Trump, they don’t just do so as a matter of principle. They do so with disdain and a personal vendetta which reflects poorly to and upon his supporters.

As an example, a group led by former independent presidential candidate Evan McMullin announced recently that they are considering forming their own political party.

In his statement regarding the anti-Trump party, McMullin portrayed supporters of the former President as extremists who are a threat to the country.

“Large portions of the Republican Party are radicalizing and threatening American democracy,” McMullin told Reuters. “The party needs to recommit to truth, reason and founding ideals or there clearly needs to be something new.”

The biggest threat to American democracy has been, and always will be, the Democrat party – McMullin and the anti-Trumpers good friends.

Axios notes that Trump stands ready to support candidates who share his vision for America in the 2022 midterms and has the backing of state-level officials, many of whom censured Republicans who voted in lockstep with Democrats on impeachment.

The former president’s speech will claim “many of his predictions about President Biden have already come true” and that “much like 2016, we’re taking on Washington again.”

That includes everybody in Washington on both sides of the political aisle.

The post Report: Trump Set To Deliver Speech Claiming ‘I’m Still In Charge’ Of GOP appeared first on The Political Insider.

Majority Of Trump Voters Say They Will Follow Him To Another Party And Abandon The GOP

Posted on by Rusty Weiss

A poll released this past weekend indicates a majority – nearly 50 percent – of Trump voters would follow the former President to a new party and abandon the GOP.

The Suffolk University/USA TODAY survey indicates 46 percent of those who voted for Donald Trump in 2020 would join the third party if he were to go that route.

“If there’s a civil war in the Republican Party, the voters who backed Donald Trump in November’s election are ready to choose sides,” USA Today writes. “Behind Trump.”

By contrast, 27 percent of Trump voters said they would stick with the GOP while another 27 percent said they were, as of yet, undecided.

The polling represents another in a series of findings that indicate voters are more in line with the vision of the former President than they are with the Mitch McConnells and Liz Cheneys of the world.

RELATED: Polls: Majority Of Republicans Want Trump In 2024, Prefer He Play Big Role In GOP’s Future

Trump Voters Willing to Abandon GOP

Poll after poll seems to indicate Donald Trump continues to be popular with Republican voters, a terrible sign for those trying to instigate an in-party civil war with the former president.

A vast majority of GOP voters want to see him play a big role in the future of the party, including running again in 2024.

A Rasmussen survey in late December indicated 72 percent of Republican voters want their legislators to be more like Trump and less like establishment politicians like McConnell, the Senate Minority Leader.

Brandon Keidl, 27, a Republican and small-business owner from Milwaukee, told USA Today following their survey why he supports Trump.

“We feel like Republicans don’t fight enough for us, and we all see Donald Trump fighting for us as hard as he can, every single day,” Keidl explained.

“But then you have establishment Republicans who just agree with establishment Democrats and everything, and they don’t ever push back.”

It really is that simple. Trump remains popular because he fights for the American people. It was true in 2016, and it will remain true even as we barrel toward 2024.

RELATED: Poll: The Republican Party Is More Marjorie Taylor Greene Than It Is Liz Cheney

More Bad News For the Anti-Trumpers

To Keidl’s point, it seems that establishment Republicans of late are willing to fight harder against Donald Trump and his supporters than they ever were against Democrats.

Earlier this month, for example, a group of “anti-Trump” Republicans led by former independent presidential candidate Evan McMullin announced that they are considering forming a political party of their own.

Republican Adam Kinzinger (IL), one of only 10 Republicans in the House to have voted in favor of impeachment earlier this year, formed a new PAC which he claims is fighting to “take back” the Republican Party from Trump.

Speculation of Trump forming a third party has been ongoing since the election, though those rumors have subsided a bit.

Perhaps more frightening for the establishment GOP? 

The Guardian reports that Trump, in a speech he will deliver later this week at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Florida, is expected to argue that he is still the man to drain the Washington swamp as the Republican “presumptive 2024 nominee.”

This civil war isn’t going to end well for the party.

The post Majority Of Trump Voters Say They Will Follow Him To Another Party And Abandon The GOP appeared first on The Political Insider.

McConnell Ally John Thune Claims Holding Republicans Responsible For Impeaching Trump Is ‘Cancel Culture’

Posted on by Rusty Weiss

Senator John Thune, who serves as the Senate GOP whip and is a deputy of Mitch McConnell, decried punishing Republicans who voted to impeach Donald Trump as a form of “cancel culture.”

Thune (R-SD), in an interview with the Associated Press, defended colleagues such as Liz Cheney (R-WY) and Ben Sasse (R-NE) who have been censured by county Republican parties for joining Democrats and voting to impeach or convict the former president.

“There was a strong case made,” he said referencing the presentation made by House impeachment managers, apparently unaware of charges they used doctored evidence.

“People could come to different conclusions,” added Thune. “If we’re going to criticize the media and the left for cancel culture, we can’t be doing that ourselves.”

Thune and McConnell both voted to acquit Trump.

RELATED: Sen. Ben Sasse Joins List Of Anti-Trump Republicans Censured By Their Own Party

John Thune Thinks Censure Is The Same As Cancel Culture

As The Political Insider’s Becky Noble reported earlier this week, “nearly every Republican Senator who voted to convict” Trump “has either been censured by their Republican voters or faces censure in the near future.”

Thune went on to express his preference for those candidates who opposed Trump.

“At the grassroots level, there’s a lot of people who want to see Trump-like candidates,” he said. “But I think we’re going to be looking for candidates that are electable.”

That’s an odd thing to say considering one recent poll shows a vast majority of Republican voters want to see Trump play a big role in the future of the party and another shows Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (GA) more exemplifies the party than Cheney.

Speaking of Greene – Why did Thune support ‘cancel culture’ when it came to her?

In response to the House GOP choosing not to punish Greene for her controversial comments, Thune said, “I think we’ve got to be a party of ideas and policies and principles and get away from members dabbling in conspiracy theories.”

Doesn’t that seem to indicate he wanted Greene censured or stripped of her committee assignments – canceled – as Democrats eventually did?

RELATED: Democrats Just Introduced A Bill That Would Ban Trump From Being Buried At Arlington National Cemetery

Trump Hammers Mitch McConnell

Thune’s comments are the first made by a high-profile Republican after Trump ravaged Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell as “a dour, sullen and unsmiling political hack.”

“The Republican Party can never again be respected or strong with political ‘leaders’ like Sen. Mitch McConnell at its helm,” Trump said in a statement.

Thune’s response is incredibly hypocritical, considering he indicated just last week that he was open to censuring Trump should the impeachment conviction fail.

“I know there are a couple of resolutions out there … I’ve seen a couple of resolutions at least that I think could attract some support,” he said.

It’s okay to cancel Trump but not Liz Cheney? What a rube.

Engaging in a civil war with the former President is not going to end well for establishment Republicans. They’re practically canceling themselves right before our eyes.

The post McConnell Ally John Thune Claims Holding Republicans Responsible For Impeaching Trump Is ‘Cancel Culture’ appeared first on The Political Insider.

Is Trump Running For President Again? He Declares ‘Tremendous Support’ For 2024 Run

Posted on by Becky Noble

Amid much speculation about his future in politics and more specifically with the Republican Party, former President Donald Trump gave an interview to Newsmax indicating he could run for President again.

During an interview with Newsmax’s Greg Kelly on Wednesday, the 45th President would not commit to a second White House bid, but he did leave listeners with some juicy teasers.

After Kelly asked him if he would run again, Trump said, “Well, we have tremendous support. I won’t say yet, but we have tremendous support.”

“I’m looking at poll numbers that are through the roof. … I’m the only guy that gets impeached and my numbers go up. Figure that one out. … Typically, your numbers would go down. They would go down like a lead balloon.”

RELATED: Biden’s ‘Green Economy’ Will Be A Train Wreck

Lots Of Possibilities

Speculation about Trump running for President in 2024 – in the event that he lost the 2020 election – began even before Election Day.

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), on an appearance on the Brian Kilmeade Show, laid out a sound road to a second bid, “I would encourage him to think about doing it. Create an organization, platforms over the next four years to keep his movement alive.”

While Democrats and the media might be fervently hoping that Donald Trump might just quietly retire to Mar-a-Lago, there is no indication that will happen.

If Trump decides not to run in 2024, other possibilities that have been mentioned are the idea of starting a third party as a challenge to never-Trump establishment Republicans.

Still another prospect for Trump is that he remains very active in the Republican Party. Trump has called out Republicans such as Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) after McConnell blamed him for the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.

Trump has stated on several occasions that he would focus on supporting any primary challengers to never-Trump establishment members in both the House and the Senate.

The numbers seem to bear out Republican voters wanting Trump to play a vital role in the future of the party.

In a Politico/Morning Consult poll, 53% would like to see Trump run again, and a Quinipiac University national poll show that “three out of four Republicans would like to see Trump have a bigger role in the GOP.”

RELATED: Public Schools Are Ignoring Science And Harming Special Needs Students

There Have Been Hints At The Future

As far back as October of last year, there have been hints that Donald Trump would not be done with the presidency, even if he lost in 2020.

Former White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon made what might now appear to be an on-point prediction. 

Bannon told “The Australian” that “2020 won’t be the end of Donald Trump,” and that “If for any reason the election is stolen from, or in some sort of way Joe Biden is declared the winner, Trump will announce he’s going to run for re-election in 2024.” 

At the White House Christmas Party in December, Trump himself teased during a live stream to the Oklahoma Republican Party that “We’re trying to get another four years,” in a reference to election litigation that was ongoing at the time.

Trump then added, “But otherwise I’ll see you in four years.”

RELATED: Biden Suggests Former Military, Police Are Helping To Fuel Growth Of White Supremacy

What Might Stand In Between Trump And 2024?

Recently, in an interview with the Associated Press, RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel stated that the RNC would remain neutral, and “not actively back” Trump should he decide to run again.

McDaniel said that her preference would to see Trump help the GOP “win back majorities in 2022.”  

There is a visible split amongst the McConnell wing of the party and the Trump wing.

Trump recently attacked McConnell as being “weak,” and called him a “dour, sullen and unsmiling political hack.” Trump and McConnell have exchanged words in the past.

Average Republicans seem to be siding with Donald Trump, and are getting tired of establishment Republicans like Mitch McConnell.

An Axios/Ipsos poll shows large numbers of Republicans who are ready to vote for Trump again in 2024. 

Whatever Donald Trump decides to do in the future, he will have millions of MAGA Republicans behind him. It would be in the best interest of the establishment to pay attention.

The post Is Trump Running For President Again? He Declares ‘Tremendous Support’ For 2024 Run appeared first on The Political Insider.

Walls Closing In? Cuomo Administration Under Investigation Nursing Home Cover-Up

Posted on by Rusty Weiss

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo is under investigation by the FBI and a United States attorney in Brooklyn for his administration’s possible cover-up of a COVID-related nursing home scandal.

The Times Union in Albany is reporting that an investigation has been launched “examining, at least in part, the actions of Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo’s coronavirus task force in its handling of nursing homes and other long-term care facilities during the pandemic.”

The newspaper notes that there have been no allegations of wrongdoing and that the investigation “is in its early stages.”

Focus appears to be on Governor Cuomo’s coronavirus task force whose more prominent members include New York State Health Commissioner Howard Zucker and Secretary to the Governor Melissa DeRosa.

DeRosa has been the subject of much consternation after she admitted in a conference call that the administration hid information on COVID nursing home deaths from federal investigators.

RELATED: Cuomo Threatens Democrat State Legislators Over COVID Nursing Home Scandal

Cuomo Under Investigation For Nursing Home Scandal

The New York Times reported that attorney general Letitia James, a Democrat, accused Cuomo and his administration, particularly officials at the State Health Department, of undercounting COVID deaths at nursing homes by as much as 50%.

The New York Post followed that up with a revelation that DeRosa told leading Democrats in a conference call that they did so because the administration feared the data could “be used against us” by the Justice Department saying, “basically, we froze.”

“We were in a position where we weren’t sure if what we were going to give to the Department of Justice, or what we give to you guys, what we start saying, was going to be used against us while we weren’t sure if there was going to be an investigation,” DeRosa added.

State officials had originally given a figure of about 8,677, and media frequently reported around 6,000 because that was all that could be confirmed based on the scant data already released.

WWNY News reports that the number was actually well over 15,000 seniors who died in nursing homes.

Why the cover-up? Most likely because there was a direct link between those deaths and the actions of the Governor.

Cuomo famously issued an executive order in March forcing nursing homes to take on patients that had tested positive for coronavirus.

RELATED: NY Democrats Accuse Cuomo Of Lying As He Tries To Defend Handling Of Nursing Home Scandal

The Cover-up Continues

Multiple New York state Democrats – that’s Democrats – have accused the administration of criminal conduct in the nursing home scandal cover-up.

Fox News reports that nine Democratic New York State Assembly members signed a letter accusing Cuomo of obstruction of justice.

“We implore you to set aside any concerns of loyalty or disloyalty to this Governor, or that this matter is politicized,” the letter from earlier this week reads.

“We must absolutely consider above all the sanctity of the democratic institution that we call the Legislature of the State of New York, and resolutely pursue justice in the face of an executive who we can say without hesitation has engaged in intentional criminal wrongdoing.”

The obstruction continues though, unabated.

Rich Azzopardi, a spokesman for the governor, told the Times Union, “We have been cooperating with them (the DOJ) and we will continue to.”

The Associated Press, however, reports that officials with knowledge of the DOJ investigation “said the Cuomo administration had not been cooperative with prosecutors … and for months had not produced documents and other data the Justice Department had requested.”

And when obstruction doesn’t seem to be working, Team Cuomo shifts to intimidation.

The governor has been accused of threatening political retaliation against several New York state lawmakers who have criticized him for his handling of the nursing home scandal.

State Assemblyman Ron Kim claims that Cuomo called him and tried to talk Kim into issuing a statement covering for DeRosa. And when that didn’t work, he vowed to ruin Kim’s career.

Kim reported that the Democrat governor stated “we’re in this business together and we don’t cross certain lines,” adding that he “hadn’t seen his wrath” and that “I can destroy you.”

Fox News meteorologist Janice Dean, one of the few voices to continually hound Governor Cuomo over the nursing home scandal for months on end, said “people should go to jail” over the cover-up.

Dean used Cuomo’s own words about former President Donald Trump and turned them around on the Democrat.

Dean’s in-laws were victims of COVID-19, where nursing homes in New York played a part.

She has, at times, described Cuomo as a “criminal.”

While an investigation by the FBI and a U.S. attorney, along with fellow Democrats piling on seems to indicate the walls are closing in on Cuomo, we wouldn’t hold our breath just yet.

This is the same FBI whose highest-ranking officials tried to destroy the country by subverting the will of the people when they dared elect Trump to office in 2016.

The same FBI that failed to prosecute Hillary Clinton for a crime many people have been thrown in jail for.

Will their ongoing left-leaning agenda interfere in another investigation?

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Poll: The Republican Party is More Marjorie Taylor Greene Than It Is Liz Cheney

Posted on by Rusty Weiss

A new Quinnipiac University poll out Wednesday shows Americans think Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (GA) more exemplifies the Republican Party than Rep. Liz Cheney (WY).

The poll is almost certainly meant to convey just how far adrift the Republican party has become in the eyes of the media but in reality, it is more emblematic of how difficult it is going to be for the GOP to separate themselves from supporters of former President Trump.

Alienating Trump means alienating your conservative base.

And that base wants fighters regardless of their past controversial comments – which Greene has apologized for – not people who bow down to the Democrats and the mainstream media at the first sign of a manufactured crisis – which Cheney has not apologized for.

The Quinnipiac survey shows 28 percent of Americans believe Greene represents the GOP, while 25 percent said the same for Cheney.

Of note, 47 percent did not offer an opinion, meaning there is still time for either faction of the party to claim the mantle in the Republican civil war.

RELATED: Polls: Majority Of Republicans Want Trump In 2024, Prefer He Play Big Role In GOP’s Future

Is Marjorie Taylor Greene or Liz Cheney the Future of the Republican Party?

Both Marjorie Taylor Greene and Liz Cheney have been making headlines of late, each for how they have acted as representatives of the Republican party.

Greene (R-GA) came under fire after it was discovered she “liked” controversial comments on social media, including one that said “a bullet to the head would be quicker” in a discussion to remove House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA).

She has also dabbled in QAnon conspiracy theories.

As such, she was stripped of her committee assignments by the Democrat-led House and referred to as a “cancer” to the GOP by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY).

“The real cancer for the Republican Party is weak Republicans who only know how to lose gracefully,” Greene would fire back. “This is why we are losing our country.”

Cheney meanwhile made noise by becoming the lead Republican of 10 in the House who joined Democrats in the impeachment charade of Donald Trump.

She also claims there is a “massive criminal investigation underway” to determine if former President Trump is guilty of inciting “premeditated” violence on the Capitol.

Cheney has since been censured by the Wyoming Republican Party for her actions and is facing a primary challenge from state Senator Anthony Bouchard in 2022.

RELATED: Nearly Every Senator Who Voted To Convict Trump Faces Censure Or Has Been Censured

For Now, This is Still Trump’s Party

Marjorie Taylor Greene symbolizing the Republican party is just another sign that Donald Trump still has a boot on the neck of the GOP establishment.

Greene is a staunch defender of the former President, and Trump, who recently met with her prior to the committee vote, and has called her a “future Republican Star.”

America First still resonates with conservatives. Who would have imagined?

Other polls have shown that kind of backing from Trump will make waves in the party going forward.

Despite some GOP lawmakers doing their best to distance themselves from former President Donald Trump, a vast majority of Republican voters want to see him play a big role in the future of the party, including running again in 2024.

In fact, 53 percent want to see him run again during the next presidential cycle, far outpacing his second closest challenger in former Vice President Mike Pence at 12 percent.

A Rasmussen survey in late December indicated 72 percent of Republican voters want their legislators to be more like Trump and less like the RINOs that currently litter the GOP landscape.

Another poll from Axios-Ipsos shows GOP voters lining up behind Trump against the establishment as we barrel towards 2024.

Anti-Trump Republicans are trying to distance themselves from people like Trump and Greene, aligning themselves with Cheney and McConnell, and even contemplating the formation of their own party.

They do so at their own political peril.

The post Poll: The Republican Party is More Marjorie Taylor Greene Than It Is Liz Cheney appeared first on The Political Insider.

Rep. Matt Gaetz: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis Could Make Presidential Run In 2024

Posted on by Becky Noble

In a weekend interview, Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz, a major Trump ally, suggested that Florida Governor Ron DeSantis might be a frontrunner for the Republican presidential nomination in 2024 should former president Donald Trump decide not to run.

On the Fox News Channel, Gaetz stated that “he was proud of” DeSantis, and went on to say that, “the truth is that the Biden folks know that if Donald Trump is not the candidate in 2024, the leader of our movement will be Ron DeSantis.”

RELATED: Global Warming Activist Matt Damon Travels In Private Jet For New Marvel Movie

Tackling COVID-19 In Florida

In recent days, the Biden administration has floated the idea of domestic travel restrictions, possibly targeting Florida, in the wake of a report from the CDC indicating that Florida currently has the highest amount of cases of a U.K. variant of COVID known as B.1.1.7.

DeSantis blasted the Biden White House, saying the idea of travel restrictions was “absurd” and “a political attack on the people of Florida.”

He also called out the Biden administration for suggesting the restrictions, saying it was “ridiculous to impose while relaxing restrictions on the U.S.-Mexico border.” 

While the nation is still feeling the effects of COVID, Ron DeSantis managed a state with minimal lockdowns and an elderly population that was taken care of first.

Because Florida is a state with a large portion of the population over 65, right now, it leads the nation with the highest vaccination rate among senior citizens.

Rep. Gaetz also stated, “people see that in Florida, businesses are opening, unemployment is dropping, home buying is increasing, and that type of prosperity is very attractive to people who are having to endure lockdowns in other parts of America.”  

RELATED: Trump Returns To Public Spotlight, Delivers Blistering Statement On ‘Political Hack’ Mitch McConnell

Is DeSantis A Name To Watch?

Ron DeSantis may become a name to watch simply for the fact that he takes on the media in Trump-like fashion.

Recently, DeSantis was criticized for Super Bowl celebrations that could possibly spread more contagious strains of COVID-19.

DeSantis fired back, “The media is worried about that obviously.” He went on, “You don’t care as much when it’s a peaceful protest, you don’t care as much if you are celebrating a Biden election. You only care about it if it’s people you don’t like.” 

DeSantis has long been a critic of what he says is a bias in the media against conservatives.

He supports a bill in the Florida legislature that would impose penalties on social media companies whose algorithms are perceived to favor one candidate over another.

RELATED: Biden Bans Use Of ‘Illegal Alien’ In Official Communications Involving Illegal Immigrants

Trump Would Be A Supporter 

There is much speculation that Donald Trump will run for a second term as president in 2024. Ron DeSantis is up for re-election for Governor in 2022.

Trump will almost certainly be an avid supporter of DeSantis’ gubernatorial re-election.

There has also been some speculation as to whether Trump may start a third party. On Saturday, seven Republican Senators voted to convict Trump on charges that he incited the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.

While many of those Senators were just re-elected, one, Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) is up for re-election in 2022. Trump could very well support a primary challenger should one emerge.

Rep. Liz Cheney, who voted to impeach Trump already has a challenger for 2022, who may also enjoy support from Trump and his supporters. 

Trump also lashed out at Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) who recently made the comment that “Trump didn’t get away with anything yet.”

McConnell’s comments came after he voted against convicting Trump in his second impeachment trial.

The former president fired back, calling McConnell, “a dour, sullen and unsmiling political hack.”

If Trump remains popular in Florida – and doesn’t run for President in 2024 – it will definitely be an advantage for Ron DeSantis.

The post Rep. Matt Gaetz: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis Could Make Presidential Run In 2024 appeared first on The Political Insider.