Category: life

Trump Vows Pardons, Government Apology For January 6 Defendants

Posted on by Rusty Weiss

Donald Trump vowed, assuming he were to run and win a second term in 2024, to pardon convicted protesters from the January 6 riot at the Capitol.

“I mean full pardons with an apology to many,” he told conservative radio host Wendy Bell.

Trump also revealed that he has been “financially supporting” some of the defendants and railed against federal prosecutors who, in his view, are treating them harshly.

“They were in my office actually two days ago. It’s very much on my mind. It’s a disgrace what they’ve done to them. What they’ve done to these people, it’s disgraceful,” said Trump.

Trump has yet to officially announce a run in 2024, though he has hinted often and strongly.

RELATED: MAGA Rep Marjorie Taylor Greene Calls For Biden’s Impeachment Following ‘President Butterbeans’ Divisive Speech

Trump Vows January 6 Pardons, Biden Calls Them Enemies of the Nation

The former President’s comments came hours before Joe Biden delivered a thoroughly divisive speech slamming ‘MAGA Republicans’ as a threat to the nation.

“There is no question that the Republican Party today is dominated, driven, and intimidated by Donald Trump and the MAGA Republicans, and that is a threat to this country,” Biden told supporters Thursday night.

Biden then asserted a need to level with the American people about the supposed dangers presented by their Republican-voting friends and family.

“It is my duty — my duty to level with you, to tell the truth no matter how difficult, no matter how painful,” he continued. 
 
“And here, in my view, is what is true: MAGA Republicans do not respect the Constitution.  They do not believe in the rule of law.  They do not recognize the will of the people,” said Biden. “They refuse to accept the results of a free election.”

This is rich coming from a man who once agreed with a voter that Trump was an “illegitimate president in my mind” and even suggested the 2022 midterms “could easily be illegitimate.”

RELATED: Mitch McConnell At Odds With Trump: Opposes Pardons For January 6 Rioters

RINOs Don’t Support the Pardons

This isn’t the first time Trump has mentioned pardons for January 6 rioters, a platform which puts him at odds with some GOP Senators.

“If I run, and if I win, we will treat those people from January 6 fairly. We will treat them fairly,” he vowed in January. “If that requires pardons, we will give them pardons, because they are being treated so unfairly.”

Those comments led to Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Mitch McConnell (R-KY) nearly having an aneurysm.

“I would not be in favor of shortening any of the sentences for any of the people who pleaded guilty to crimes,” McConnell responded.

Graham flatly opposed the move saying, “No, I don’t want to send any signal that it was OK to defile the Capitol.”

Added Graham: “I think it’s inappropriate … I don’t want to do anything that would make this more likely in the future.”

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Do you know what’s more likely to lead to riots in the future? This kind of crap …

At a rally in February, Trump reiterated his promise to treat January 6 defendants fairly by issuing pardons. In an interview around the same time, he responded to Graham’s comments.

“Well, Lindsey Graham’s wrong. I mean, Lindsey’s a nice guy, but he’s a RINO. Lindsey’s wrong,” Trump said.

“Lindsey Graham doesn’t know what the hell he’s talking about if he says that,” he added.

On Thursday he accused federal prosecutors in the “radical left system” of being “sick” over the way they treat Capitol riot defendants.

“These people are sick. There’s something wrong with them. Nobody’s ever seen anything like it. They’re sick. And they’re cold,” he said. “They’re the most coldhearted people, they don’t care about families, they don’t care about anything.”

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Incumbents Are Getting Wiped Out In Primaries At Historic Levels

Posted on by Becky Noble

Something incredible is happening so far in the 2022 Congressional races.

So far this year, 2022 has seen the second-highest number of incumbent House members losing their primaries since 1948. Only 1992, the eve of the Republican Revolution of 1994, saw more incumbents get dumped in primaries.

While this may not seem surprising given disastrous polls for President Biden and a supermajority of Americans disapproving of the direction of the country, many other election years have seen similar dissatisfaction without a large scale dumping of incumbents. 

Keep in mind: according to a Pew Research report, in 2020, the reelection rate for House members was nearly a whopping 95%.

RELATED: FBI Agent Accused By Whistleblowers Of Shielding Hunter Biden Resigns, Escorted From Building: Report

Trump Influence

One reason behind the shift is none other than President Donald Trump, who has laid waste to incumbent Republicans who voted to impeach him.

The most shocking example happened in Wyoming. Liz Cheney, daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney, was completely blown out of the water by Trump-backed challenger Harriet Hageman. 

Despite being political royalty in the state, Cheney was trounced by over 30 points. 

Trump-backed challenger John Gibbs defeated Rep. Peter Meijer, who was first elected just two years ago. 

In Washington, America First candidate Joe Kent defeated Rep. Jamie Herrera Beutler. And so it goes.

Of the ten House members who voted to impeach Donald Trump, only two remain in the running for their respective districts. Four are retired or not running for reelection, and four lost their primaries.

But the same thing is happening on the left, with a struggle for power between liberals and the far-left.

RELATED: Washington D.C. Delays Enforcement Of Student Vaccine Mandate After Mass Noncompliance

Trouble For All

With roughly two months to go before the election, Republicans have some work to do.

With predictions of a red November as basically a done deal for Republicans, the recent win in a special election in New York’s 19th Congressional District by Democrat Pat Ryan over Republican Dan Molinaro should be a wake up call for the GOP.

Ryan had been behind by double digits in a few polls in the lead up to the election. But the poll on election night was the one that counted, and Democrats won.

The problem for Democrats, trying to distance themselves from Joe Biden and his record.

Several Democrat campaign ads have the candidate touting their breaking away from Biden and the Democrat Party on issues like taxes and defunding the police.

But as Biden and other White House officials hit the campaign trail to explain their legislative victories, candidates in tight races might just be stuck with Joe Biden tagging along for the ride.

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Donald Trump Just Endorsed Two Democrats For Congress

Posted on by Rusty Weiss

Donald Trump used his Truth Social media platform to make a pair of peculiar endorsements of New York Democrats Dan Goldman and Representative Carolyn Maloney for congressional primaries held later this month.

Goldman, who served as lead majority counsel in the first impeachment inquiry and lead counsel to House Managers in the subsequent impeachment trial of the former President, was first up.

And Trump wasn’t going to let a little thing like repeated failure in the impeachment cases sway him from ‘endorsing’ Goldman in his primary for the 10th Congressional District.

“Lawyer Dan Goldman is running for Congress, NY-10, and it is my great honor to Strongly Endorse him,” Trump wrote.  I do this not because of the fact that he headed up the Impeachment Committee and lost, but because he was honorable, fair, and highly intelligent.”

The former President went on to ‘praise’ Goldman for “working so tirelessly to stop ‘Trump.'”

“He was not easy to beat, but winning against him made me realize just how very talented I am!” the sarcasm-laced post concluded.

RELATED: Trump Celebrates Liz Cheney’s Brutal Defeat: ‘Now She Can Finally Disappear’

Trump Issues ‘Endorsement’ for Democrat Rep Carolyn Maloney

Former President Trump also offered an ‘endorsement’ for Rep. Carolyn Maloney, who is facing fellow Democrat Rep. Jerry Nadler in New York’s 12th Congressional District primary.

“A vote for Carolyn Maloney in NY-12 is a vote for the future!” he declared.

“On the other hand, Jerry Nadler is likewise a hard driving man of the people, whose energy and attention to detail is unlike anyone else in Congress,” added Trump. “He is high energy, sharp, quick-witted, and bright.”

Hmm … He’s definitely right. Here’s video of Nadler in action.

I mean, who else could have pulled off such a stealth, yet high-energy departure off stage, using their quick wit to distract from whatever was happening with his pants at the time?

“You can’t go wrong with either,” Trump added, “but Carolyn Maloney is the better man.”

RELATED: Liz Cheney Lost: Here Are 10 Times She Embarrassed Herself As An Anti-Trump Fanatic

Their Responses Were Just as Hilarious

Of course, being robots programmed only to get votes, unable to detect sarcasm and unwilling to ignore Trump’s ‘endorsement,’ both Democrats had to scramble and issue a statement distancing themselves from the former President.

“Last week Donald Trump attacked Dan Goldman, who led his impeachment. Now he’s pretending to endorse Goldman. True to form, Trump is trying to meddle in an election,” the Goldman campaign fired back.

“This is a pathetic attempt at fooling Democrats who are far smarter than Trump is, and it’s clear that only one candidate in NY-10 is living rent-free in Trump’s head,” the statement continued, unaware that Trump was clearly living rent-free in Goldman’s head.

“Buckle up Donald. Dan’s coming for you,” it hilariously warned.

Maloney meanwhile, also had to issue a statement knowing that Democrat voters aren’t, as Goldman suggests, all that bright and capable of seeing through Trump’s sarcasm.

“This is laughable and I reject any endorsement from Donald Trump,” she tweeted. “Trump doesn’t respect women. He instigated the attacks on January 6th and claimed that the 2020 election was a big lie.”

“Thanks, but no thanks. I’ll pass,” she added.

Maloney, who is the Oversight Committee Chair, joined Intelligence Committee Chair Adam Schiff (D-CA) in a letter to Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines.

That letter seeks a national security damage assessment on the documents seized from Mar-a-Lago.

The congressional primaries in New York will be held on August 23rd.

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The FBI Is Now The Federal Bureau Of Intimidation

Posted on by RealClearWire

By Frank Miele for RealClearPolitics

Nothing symbolizes the decline of the American republic better than the weaponization of justice that we saw last week when the FBI raided the home of former President Trump.

And nothing better represents the divide that now exists between Democrats and Republicans than the fact that some people still have faith in the FBI.

Aren’t they paying attention? Heck, that’s like a citizen of the old Soviet Union saying they had faith in the KGB – yeah, to crush dissent and lock up opponents of the regime in a Siberian gulag.

RELATED: FBI Now Warning About ‘Dirty Bomb’ Threats, Calls for ‘Civil War’ Following Mar-a-Lago Raid

The evidence is overwhelming. The Federal Bureau of Investigation is now the Federal Bureau of Intimidation. Or more appropriately, the Federal Intimidation Bureau, whose acronym would spell out FIB, as in the Big Lie. Face it, nothing the FBI has said for the last six years since they joined with the Democratic Party to invent the Russia collusion hoax can be taken seriously.

Is there any need to go through the whole laundry list of lies and fabrications that the FBI, with the aid and comfort of the Justice Department, has foisted on the American public?

You can start with the extraordinary 2016 press conference when FBI Director James Comey detailed crimes committed by presidential candidate Hillary Clinton related to her improper use of a private email account to store classified material. Moments after saying she had broken the law, Comey announced with a straight face that “no reasonable prosecutor” would ever bring a case against her. Yeah, because she was a Democrat!

A couple months later, Comey set up President Trump’s National Security adviser, Gen. Michael Flynn, by sending agents to interview him about his supposed contacts with Russians.

“What’s our goal? Truth/Admission or to get him to lie, so we can prosecute him or get him fired?” wrote Bill Priestap in a memo before the interview. Priestap was counterintelligence director at the FBI, and it became evident later that the agency’s goal was indeed to get him fired – and more importantly to get Trump impeached, fired, humiliated, you name it.

Comey himself admitted that the FBI targeted Flynn and chose not to approach him through the White House legal counsel, but informally with a direct phone call to arrange an interview. As Comey later told a reporter, it was “something I probably wouldn’t have done or maybe gotten away with in a more … organized administration.”

What about the FBI’s abuse of Carter Page and George Papadopoulos? The agency made up evidence in support of subpoenas, FISA warrants, whatever it took to get the desired result. What about the FBI and Department of Justice targeting parents at school boards as “domestic terrorists” because they demanded that their elected representatives actually represent them? What about the unilateral rescission of executive privilege and attorney-client privilege wherever it would have protected President Trump and his advisers?

RELATED: Republicans Demand Garland Brief Homeland Security On Trump FBI Raid, Slam ‘Politically Motivated Witch Hunt’

The purpose of all of this activity, along with the raid at Mar-a-Lago, was to intimidate not just Trump, but also his supporters. Anyone other than Donald Trump would have given up long ago. Who could possibly withstand the power of the state marshaled against you for six long years – through multiple FBI investigations, through two impeachments, through relentless persecution of your children and your friends and family?

Finally, what about the double standard that allows Democrats and their government allies to go unpunished for a multitude of sins? Notwithstanding Attorney General Merrick Garland’s feigned indignation on behalf of the bureau, what about the FBI agents who lied repeatedly during the Trump-Russia investigation, sometimes under oath.

Even more stunning has been the FBI’s monumental failure to investigate presidential son Hunter Biden, even though it received his laptop with extensive incriminating evidence of criminal activity in 2019.

Even when the laptop was made public during the 2020 presidential election, the FBI stood silent and thus gave tacit approval to the cynical Democratic Party talking point that the laptop was somehow a GOP dirty trick.

It would be interesting to know if the FBI had anything to do with the letter signed by 51 national security experts, falsely claiming that the laptop was “Russian disinformation”! Maybe, like Comey before him, FBI Director Chris Wray thought he could “get away with it.”

That is certainly the only explanation for the raid on the president’s personal residence. It was not appropriate. It was not reasonable. It had no precedent. The FBI claims that the pre-dawn raid by more than 30 armed agents was for the purpose of collecting presidential papers that the National Archive wanted.

The Washington Post says that Trump reportedly had documents with nuclear secrets on them, and the legacy media went ballistic with the story. But wait a minute, isn’t that the same Washington Post that won a Pulitzer Prize for collaborating with the FBI to invent the Russia collusion hoax?

RELATED: Judge Who Signed Mar-a-Lago Warrant Defended Jeffrey Epstein Employees, Donated To Obama

Don’t believe a word from either the Washington Post or the FBI. Trump had been cooperating with the National Archive and had already turned over 15 boxes of documents, all of which he could have made a claim to legally possess. If they wanted papers turned over, they could have gone through Trump’s lawyers. No, they wanted the spectacle. They wanted the sizzle. They wanted the headlines.

This wasn’t about the rule of law; it was about the rule of the schoolyard. Bullies get what they want through force and intimidation, and there is no reason for any of us to believe that the raid had any purpose other than to intimidate Donald Trump into backing down from his plans to run for president in 2024.

Essentially what the FBI was saying is “We know where you live, and we aren’t afraid to come for you.” They even rifled through Melania Trump’s closet, as if she might have been hiding top-secret documents in her hat box. When do we find out they also spent an hour sorting through her lingerie?

This is sickening, no matter how much MSNBC and the Washington Post want you to think you can still trust the FBI. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. Fool me over and over and over again, and I must be a Democrat.

Frank Miele, the retired editor of the Daily Inter Lake in Kalispell Mont., is a columnist for RealClearPolitics. His new book, “What Matters Most: God, Country, Family and Friends,” is available from his Amazon author page. Visit him at HeartlandDiaryUSA.com or follow him on Facebook @HeartlandDiaryUSA or on Twitter or Gettr @HeartlandDiary.

The post The FBI Is Now The Federal Bureau Of Intimidation appeared first on The Political Insider.

Another Republican Who Voted To Impeach Trump Goes Down – Trump Mocks Her For ‘Stupidly’ Playing Into Democrats’ Hands

Posted on by Rusty Weiss

Representative Jaime Herrera Beutler, one of 10 House GOP lawmakers who voted to impeach former President Donald Trump, was forced to concede defeat in her primary race in Washington state’s 3rd Congressional District.

“Though my campaign came up short this time, I’m proud of all we’ve accomplished together for the place where I was raised and still call home,” she said in a statement.

Still, Beutler (WA) appeared content with her decision to vote for Trump’s impeachment based on his alleged role in the January 6 riot at the Capitol.

“I’m proud that I always told the truth, stuck to my principles, and did what I knew to be best for our country,” the soon-to-be former congresswoman said.

RELATED: Trump Celebrates Defeat of Rep. Peter Meijer, Who Voted For Impeachment: ‘7 Down, 3 to Go!’

Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler Falls After Impeachment Vote

Jaime Herrera Beutler fell to Army Special Forces veteran Joe Kent, who received the endorsement of the former President and has been making a huge splash among America First conservatives.

Kent claimed he would be victorious in his race because “people are still furious” that Herrera Beutler voted to impeach Trump.

Now, she has become the first incumbent to be defeated in the 3rd Congressional District since 1994, ending her six-term House career.

Trump took to his Truth Social media platform to celebrate Kent’s victory and take a little jab at Jamie Herrera Beutler for her impeachment vote.

“Joe Kent just won an incredible race against all odds in Washington State,” he said in a statement. “Importantly, he knocked out yet another impeacher, Jaime Herrera Beutler, who so stupidly played right into the hands of the Democrats.”

RELATED: Liz Cheney’s Primary Opponent Harriet Hageman Mocks Her For Support From ‘Pretend Rancher’ Kevin Costner

Seven Down, Three to Go

Jamie Herrera Beutler joins seven other Republicans who voted to impeach Trump and subsequently put their careers on the scrap heap of political history.

Last week, as The Political Insider reported, Representative Peter Meijer lost his Michigan primary battle against John Gibbs. Gibbs, an official who served within the Trump administration, had the backing of the former President.

Meijer, like Beutler, did “not for a second” regret his impeachment vote, a personal stand which might get you a recurring contributor role on CNN but doesn’t make you suited as a Republican representative in Congress.

Additionally, Tom Rice was soundly defeated in the Republican primary for South Carolina’s 7th District in June, and Adam Kinzinger (IL), Anthony Gonzalez (OH), Fred Upton (MI), and John Katko (NY), all decided to flee Congress after voting to impeach Trump.

That’s seven down and three to go.

Next on the chopping block may very well be Wyoming Representative Liz Cheney, who has abandoned all pretense of even trying to win her primary next week, instead promoting her work on the January 6 anti-Trump committee and trotting out her even more unpopular father, Dick Cheney, to help prop her up.

The New York Times notes that Cheney has essentially abandoned Wyoming voters while polls show her “losing badly to her rival, Harriet Hageman, Mr. Trump’s vehicle for revenge.”

The two Republicans who voted to impeach and have thus far survived are Representative Dan Newhouse (R-WA), who managed to advance to the general election, and Representative David Valadao (R-CA), who fended off a primary challenge in June.

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Trump Speaks: Angrily Condemns ‘Political Persecution’ As FBI Raids Mar-a-Lago

Posted on by Rusty Weiss

Former President Donald Trump slammed never-ending “political persecution” by Democrats as he confirmed his Mar-a-Lago home in Florida had been raided by the FBI.

“These are dark times for our Nation, as my beautiful home, Mar-A-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, is currently under siege, raided, and occupied by a large group of FBI agents,” Trump said in a statement released Monday evening.

“Nothing like this has ever happened to a President of the United States before.”

CNN reports that the FBI raided Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home as part of an investigation into the handling of possible classified documents that may have been brought there.

RELATED: Report: Biden Justice Department Criminally Investigating Trump ‘Effort to Overturn Election’

Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Home Raided by FBI

The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) said in February that Trump earlier this year had to return 15 boxes of documents that were improperly taken from the White House.

The FBI appears to be pursuing concerns of classified materials in the home of former President Trump, something that they provably dismissed and allowed Hillary Clinton to do when she served as Secretary of State.

Trump blasted the raid and suggested it was part of a coordinated weaponization of federal government agencies to stop him from running for President in 2024.

“Such an assault could only take place in broken, Third-World Countries,” he stated. “Sadly, America has now become one of those countries, corrupt at a level not seen before.”

“The political persecution of President Donald J. Trump has been going on for years, with the now fully debunked Russia, Russia, Russia Scam, Impeachment Hoax 11, Impeachment Hoax #2, and so much more, it just never ends, it is political targeting at the highest level!”

RELATED: Report: Whistleblowers Allege ‘Scheme’ by FBI, DOJ to Suppress Negative Information About Hunter Biden Before 2020 Election

Supporters Come out in Droves

Numerous supporters of former President Donald Trump gathered outside his Mar-a-Lago home after news had spread of the FBI raid.

Several suggested the raid was a political move by the Department of Justice to prevent Trump from running again in 2024. Others simply concurred that it was political persecution.

“As soon as I saw it, I drove here from Tampa. This is nuts,” one man who had driven across the state told Fox News. “We all know what you’re trying to do, DOJ. You’re trying to create some kind of charge so he’s not going to be able to run for reelection.”

“They’re going to do anything they can to get him. They’re terrified of him,” another claimed.

A White House official claimed President Biden was not given advance notice of the FBI raid.

Lara Trump offered commentary hinting that the siege on Mar-a-Lago was more to do with the left and the establishment’s hatred of the former President.

“They detest Donald Trump, not just on the Democrat side, but the general establishment, because he’s not one of them, because he doesn’t play their game,” she said.

Lara Trump warned that if the Justice Department and the FBI are willing to do this to a former President, “think about what they could do to you.”

The Political Insider reported on Monday that the so-called Inflation Reduction Act passed by Senate Democrats over the weekend adds $80 billion to the IRS budget for enforcement purposes.

That budget would unleash roughly 87,000 new IRS auditors.

Matt Schlapp, the chairman of The American Conservative Union, says the FBI raid on Mar-a-Lago demonstrates the Biden administration has converted the United States into a Third World country.

“President Biden’s politicized FBI just raided President Trump’s home in Mar-a-Lago,” he wrote. “This nation is becoming unrecognizable. Biden has successfully transformed America into a third-world country.”

Schlapp notes that a CPAC Texas straw poll shows respondents believe the greatest threat to America right now comes from within.

According to that poll, 91% of attendees believe the greatest threat to America is “internal forces such as the Deep State, public education and the mainstream media,” while just 8% pointed to “external forces such as Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea.”

The Political Insider reports that beyond the investigation of classified documents, the Justice Department is also investigating Trump as part of a criminal probe into “efforts to overturn the 2020 election results.”

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MAGA Victory: Trump-Endorsed Kari Lake Wins Contentious Arizona GOP Gubernatorial Primary

Posted on by Becky Noble

Former President Trump’s track record of endorsing winning candidates kept going this week, as former news anchor and journalist Kari Lake won a close race in Arizona’s Republican gubernatorial primary. The race between Lake and Karrin Taylor Robson remained too close to call until Thursday, two days after election day, when the Associated Press called the race for Lake.

Lake will now go on to face Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs in the general election in November. 

RELATED: Whoopi Goldberg Claims God Giving People ‘Freedom Of Choice’ Shows He Supports Abortion

Razor Thin Race

While mail-in ballots coming in prior to election day gave Robson an early lead, election day polling place results and Maricopa County releasing the results of their mail-in ballots gave Lake the win.

The race became a referendum of sorts between Lake, a Trump-endorsed candidate, and Robson, who was endorsed by former Vice President Mike Pence, current Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey, and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie.

Trump candidates were victorious in many Arizona races including Senate, Secretary of State, Attorney General, U.S. House seats, and State House seats. Arizona was a crucial spot in the 2020 election, and will certainly be again in 2024.

Lake has been very outspoken on her views of the 2020 election. She has stated that she would decertify Joe Biden’s 2020 win in Arizona, saying, “He lost the election, and he shouldn’t be in the White House.”

Lake has also not been afraid to dish back to left leaning media outlets what they attempt to dish out.

RELATED: After Getting Verbal Lashing From Comedian-Turned-Activist Jon Stewart, Senate Passes Veterans Burn Pit Legislation 86-11

Latest Round Of Primaries Go Well For Trump Candidates

Tuesday night’s latest round of primaries was a good one for Trump endorsed candidates. In addition to Arizona, candidates in Michigan did well.

Rep. Peter Meijer, one of a handful of House Republicans to vote to impeach President Trump, lost his primary race to former Trump administration official John Gibbs. 

Those who voted for impeachment are being picked off one by one with Meijer being the latest. Trump took to his own social media platform Truth Social and wrote, “Not a good time for Impeachers – 7 down, 3 to go!” Tudor Dixon won the GOP gubernatorial primary and will face Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in November.

Nationwide, it was a good night to be a Trump candidate. Of the 42 endorsements Trump gave in this most recent round of primaries, 32 won their respective races, and some may still be pending. 

RELATED: DeSantis Suspends State Attorney For Refusing To Prosecute Violations Of Florida’s 15-Week Abortion Ban

Democrats Bracing Themselves For November

For Democrats, election night this fall could look a lot like Tuesday. Democrats have pinned their hopes on things like the overturning of Roe vs. Wade and the Jan. 6 hearings, however those are not priorities for Americans. Soaring inflation and high gas and food prices are.

Joe Biden’s consistently low approval numbers have Democrats saying out loud that they do not want him to run again in 2024, and many shy away from inviting him on the campaign trail with them. 

Another takeaway from Tuesday night’s primaries: while Democrats and the media try to downplay Donald Trump’s influence over the Republican Party, there is no mistaking that it is very much in play. Biden’s unpopularity coupled with Trump’s winning track record could be a lethal combination for Democrats.

Several more states have primaries in the coming weeks, including Wyoming, where Liz Cheney trails her opponent, Harriet Hageman by roughly 20 points. “Number 8” for Trump could be waiting in the wings.

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No Surprise: New Study Says Cable News More Biased Than 10 Years Ago, Especially After Trump Elected

Posted on by Becky Noble

A new study out is showing what anyone who has been alive for more than five minutes was already well aware of, that cable news networks are biased, and that bias has grown much more pronounced in the last ten years especially after the election of Donald Trump.

The study, just published in the “Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences,” is called, “Measuring Dynamic Media Bias.” The level of network bias was based on guest appearances.

RELATED: Trump Celebrates Defeat Of Rep. Peter Meijer, Who Voted For Impeachment: ‘7 Down, 3 To Go!’

How The Study Was Conducted

Researchers took a look at who came on networks like the Fox News, CNN, and MSNBC, as guests for more than 10 hours between January of 2010, and August of 2020. Those guests were rated on a bias scale which was based on their political views.

The bias scale, dubbed “visibility bias” by researchers, showed what has been apparent to most Americans for years. Fox News was more right leaning, and CNN and MSNBC were more left leaning. However, this visibility bias also determined, based on the guest list, that CNN programs like “Anderson Cooper 360,” and “CNN Tonight,” were even more liberal than MSNBC’s “The Rachel Maddow Show.”

Those conducting the study noticed what they believed to be an interesting detail. While Fox News has always been more conservative than either CNN or MSNBC, at one point during the time period being studied, CNN seemed a tad more conservative than MSNBC. After 2015 though, the researchers say that changed.

While each network catered to either a more conservative or liberal audience, the ideological bent of all three networks became more definitive in 2016.

Yphtach Lelkes is an associate professor at the University of Pennsylvania’s Annenberg School of Communication, and one of the co-authors of the study. He explained, “For many years, Fox News was to the right of MSNBC and CNN, but they used to track each other. When Fox moved to the right, so did MSNBC and CNN. They all flowed together. After Trump came into office, they responded to events in the news by leaning away from each other and more strongly toward their respective ideologies.”

The Big Disconnect

What is also becoming more pronounced is the disconnect between those who report the news, and the average viewer who is watching them. The Political Insider reported back in June that a Pew Research Center poll found that 65% of journalists believe they are doing a good and accurate job of reporting news. 

That is not what a large portion of the American people think. Only 35% said journalists were actually doing their job the right way. Of the five different areas of journalistic integrity the poll surveyed,  journalists gave their overall performances a thumbs up. The reading, listening, and viewing public on the other hand, gave them a hearty thumbs down.

Back in April, during a Q&A session at a University of Chicago forum entitled, “Disinformation and the Erosion of Democracy,” CNN’s Brian Stelter was part of a panel to whom students posed questions.

It was college freshmen Christopher Phillips who gave those who heard his question to Stelter, hope for future generations. He addressed Stelter’s implication that Fox News was the sole purveyor of misinformation and listed a series of, what turned out to be false stories, that were pushed by CNN. Phillips then asked the money question.

“All the mistakes of the mainstream media, in particular, seem to magically all go in one direction,” Phillips stated. “Are we expected to believe that this is all just some sort of random coincidence or is there something else behind it?”

RELATED: Gaetz Introduces Bill To Ban IRS From Acquiring Ammunition

Death Of Journalism?

For many viewers of cable news, Professor Lelkes and his colleagues have only verified what they have long know to be true. In fact, they have the date— 2016.

It was then New York media columnist Jim Rutenberg, who stated that when covering then candidate Donald Trump, his fellow journalists were essentially justified in breaking every journalistic rule of objectivity they had been taught. The reason why, because Trump was a Republican, and therefore, the enemy.

Even now, names like Joy Reid, Lester Holt, and Don Lemon have said things such as conservatives and Republicans being a threat to freedom, fairness is overrated, and that, “Republicans are doing something that is very dangerous to our society and we have to acknowledge that.” 

This study may be attempting to blame Donald Trump and the 2016 election for more obvious bias among cable news networks, but average Americans who knew it was there all along are thanking Trump for verifying it.

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Trump Celebrates Defeat of Rep. Peter Meijer, Who Voted For Impeachment: ‘7 Down, 3 to Go!’

Posted on by Rusty Weiss

Representative Peter Meijer lost his Michigan primary battle against John Gibbs Tuesday, leading former President Donald Trump to celebrate the defeat of yet another Republican who voted in favor of his impeachment.

Meijer, who voted in favor of establishing a bipartisan commission to investigate the Capitol insurrection and said prior to the primary that he does “not for a second” regret his impeachment vote, conceded to Gibbs early Wednesday morning.

Gibbs, an official who served within the Trump administration, had the backing of the former President and received a congratulatory phone call following the victory.

“I’ll see you soon,” Trump told him. “I’m very proud of you. That’s a great job.”

RELATED: Three Republicans Who Voted to Impeach Trump Over Capitol Riot Fight For Their Political Lives in Tuesday’s Primaries

Peter Meijer Suffers Defeat, Trump Celebrates

Gibbs had described the primary defeat of Peter Meijer as “a battle for the heart and soul of the Republican party,” noting that the Republican congressman “betrayed his voters” by voting in favor of impeachment just days after being sworn into Congress.

Nobody could have been happier about the result than Trump.

“Fantastic night in Michigan! Tudor Dixon will be a great Governor. John Gibbs WON with a big surge in the end,” he wrote on his Truth Social media platform. “Not a good time for Impeachers – 7 down, 3 to go!”

Dixon also earned an endorsement from the former President and will now face Democrat incumbent Gretchen Whitmer in the gubernatorial race in Michigan following her primary win.

“Endorsements don’t get any more powerful or conclusive than the Endorsements of last night,” Trump wrote in another post. “I wonder if anyone will write or report that? Just asking?”

Meijer joins Representatives Tom Rice, who was soundly defeated in the Republican primary for South Carolina’s 7th District in June, and Adam Kinzinger (IL), Anthony Gonzalez (OH), Fred Upton (MI), and John Katko (NY), who all decided to flee Congress after voting to impeach Trump, as six of the “7 down” referenced by the former President.

Trump may be counting on Liz Cheney’s (WY) ouster as well, as she trails her opponent by 22-points in a primary scheduled less than two weeks away.

RELATED: Liz Cheney’s Primary Opponent Harriet Hageman Mocks Her For Support From ‘Pretend Rancher’ Kevin Costner

Trump Still Holds Power in the GOP

While the rate of impeachment voters being ousted from Congress is fairly high, it hasn’t been perfect.

Representative David Valadao (R-CA) fended off a primary challenge in June, though Trump did not endorse any candidate in the race.

Meanwhile, Representatives Jaime Herrera Beutler (R-WA) and Dan Newhouse (R-WA) managed to earn a place amongst the top two in their district’s crowded fields, besting their Trump-backed opponents and meaning they will survive and advance to the general election.

Still, as Fox News reports, Tuesday’s results show Trump’s “immense grip over the Republican Party remains firm.”

They cite as further evidence victories by Blake Masters, who won the GOP Arizona Senate primary, and Mark Finchem, who won the Republican nomination for Arizona Secretary of State.

Masters moves on to Democratic Senator Mark Kelly in November in a key battleground state race that may determine if Republicans are able to win back the Senate majority.

Kari Lake, the Trump-backed former TV news anchor leads her primary for Governor of Arizona, though the results are still too close to call.

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House Democrats Push Bill to Pack Supreme Court With Four More Justices

Posted on by Rusty Weiss

House Democrats are making an official effort to pack four additional associate justices onto the Supreme Court, expanding the total number from 9 to 13.

Such a move would presumably give a liberal tilt to the court by a 7-6 margin.

Representative Hank Johnson (D-GA), who sponsored the bill originally introduced in April of 2021, held a press conference with several other Democrat co-sponsors on Monday.

Johnson channeled President Biden’s messaging by describing the Supreme Court as “ultra right-wing” and claiming it is “at crisis with itself and with our democracy.”

Or, in English, he means “The Court didn’t do what we wanted.”

The Georgia lawmaker, who once famously asked during a House Armed Services Committee hearing if the island of Guam might capsize if too many people were on it, added that “basic freedoms are under assault” due to the current makeup of the Supreme Court.

RELATED: Democrats To Explore Impeachment Options For Conservative Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas

Democrats Desperate to Pack the Supreme Court

Other House Democrats at the press conference pushing for legislation to pack the Supreme Court included Reps. Bonnie Watson Coleman (NJ), Andy Levin (MI), Rashida Tlaib (MI), Mondaire Jones (NY), Sheila Jackson Lee (TX), Mark Takano (CA), and Jan Schakowsky (IL).

Tlaib unleashed, calling the six conservative justices “unelected” (because the other three must have been elected) and claiming they are “literally telling women they have no control over their bodies.” (They are not literally saying any such thing.)

Tlaib has denounced pro-lifers at rallies held outside the Supreme Court before, once telling those who don’t approve of abortion they “shouldn’t even want to have sex with me.”

Jones, one of the original co-sponsors of the bill, tried his hand at a Jedi mind trick, claiming the GOP had actually packed the Supreme Court as he touted the bill designed to actually pack the Supreme Court.

“The nightmare scenario of GOP court-packing is already upon us,” he told reporters. “That’s how they got this far-right 6-3 majority in the first place.”

Jones’ main beef appears to be an inability to get gun control legislation passed, something he referenced last month when threatening to do everything Democrats could to force it through.

“If the filibuster obstructs us, we will abolish it. If the Supreme Court objects, we will expand it,” Jones seethed. “And we will not rest until we have taken weapons of war out of circulation and our communities each and every day.”

RELATED: Dem Rep Jones Threatens To Abolish Filibuster, Pack The Supreme Court If Republicans Refuse To Cave On Gun Control

It Doesn’t Stop There

Currently, Johnson’s bill to pack the Supreme Court has 58 co-sponsors in the House but would likely die in the Senate where it would need 60 votes to overcome the filibuster.

Johnson made his case for urgency.

“We don’t have a generation to wait to reform the court,” he warned.

Johnson and his House colleagues have made it clear they will look at every opportunity to tilt the Supreme Court back in their favor.

Aside from simply packing the court with four justices which would magically give liberals a 7-6 advantage, Johnson, the chairman of the House Judiciary courts subcommittee, held a meeting that “discusses Congress’s impeachment authority” as a means to regulate “the conduct of Supreme Court justices.”

The aim of that meeting was to discuss the possibility of impeaching Clarence Thomas, the most conservative Justice currently serving on the Supreme Court.

A recent poll shows overwhelming opposition to packing the Supreme Court – 65% of respondents in a recent poll were opposed to the idea and only 26% were in favor.

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