Elon Musk said at that rally that he’s saving the first amendment by backing Donald Trump. Shortly after assuming office in January 2017, President Donald Trump accused the press of being an “enemy of the American people.” Attacks on the media had been a hallmark of Trump’s presidential campaign, but this charge marked a dramatic turning point: language like this ventured into dangerous territory. Twentieth-century dictators—notably, Stalin, Hitler, and Mao—had all denounced their critics, especially the press, as “enemies of the people.” Their goal was to delegitimize the work of the press as “fake news” and create confusion in the public mind about what’s real and what isn’t; what can be trusted and what can’t be. That, it seems, is also Trump’s goal. Elon’s making that happen for him every single day. Twitter is a sewer of lies.
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Some new polling from Data For Progress: These findings suggest that Harris has been effective at improving voters’ perception of how she would handle various economic issues, including top issues like reducing inflation, and by extension, reducing the cost of housing and groceries. While a plurality of voters think Vance won the recent vice presidential debate, voters still have a more favorable opinion of Walz than Vance overall, and choose Harris over Trump by 3 points in a head-to-head race. Even Fox is having a hard time spinning the economy: I guess this is good news? More people have decided that they can believe their eyes over GOP propaganda? Good news. But damn, it should not be this close. Look at this guy.
But it won’t be. The rest of the media has hardly mentioned it “Here is a true smoking gun. People that worked for Trump, speaking openly about what ought to be a truly impeachment-level offense: an American president refusing to sign off on disaster aid to people he thought weren’t sufficiently supportive of his political ambitions.” They literally had to bring him data showing Republican voters in Orange County before he would sign the emergency declaration for California’s devastating wildfires. We knew he’d threatened to do it. We didn’t know he actually did it and had to be talked out of it by staff. For people who think all this talk about how he was held back by the adults in the room in the first term is overblown, this should put that to rest. And guess what? There won’t be any adults in the room next time. .
Trump dreams of The Gilded Age Trump is the dumbest rock of dumbest rocks with his tariff fetish. He’s invoking the ghost of William McKinley. Heather Cox Richardson this morning: By pointing to McKinley’s presidency to justify his economic plan, Trump gives away the game. The McKinley years were those of the Gilded Age, in which industrialists amassed fortunes that they spent in spectacular displays. Cornelius and Alva Vanderbilt’s home on New York’s Fifth Avenue cost more than $44 million in today’s dollars, with stables finished in black walnut, cherry, and ash, with sterling silver metalwork, and in cities across the country, the wealthy dressed their horses and coachmen in expensive livery, threw costly dinners, built seaside mansions they called “cottages,” and wore diamonds, rubies, and emeralds. When the daughter of a former senator married, she wore a $10,000 dress and a diamond tiara, and well-wishers sent “necklaces of diamonds [and] bracelets of diamonds, sapphires, and rubies.” Americans believed those fortunes were possible because of the tariff walls the Republicans had begun to build in 1861.
Maybe she can persuade a few swing voters to do the same I once wrote that Liz Cheney was the most dangerous woman in America. I thought she could easily be the nominee in 2024 and believed that she’d be worse than her father because she was just as right wing but had served during the chaotic Trump era. I cautioned that “Democrats should work very hard to keep the loyalty of women who have left the GOP in recent years. Cheney or Haley could potentially get them back if the Dems are perceived to have failed them.” I had come to the conclusion that it was likely that the first woman president would have to be a Republican because I didn’t think Independent men (and maybe some Democrats too) would vote for a Democratic woman, fearing that they just aren’t “tough enough.” Cheney was in the GOP leadership at the time and had made it up the ladder faster than anyone I could remember. She came into the job with a stellar Republican pedigree as the daughter of Dick “prince of darkness” Cheney and had backed Trump to the hilt. She was tough as nails and also seemed to be a pretty savvy politician. She worried me. A lot.
Check out this pattern. They drive it up and Democrats bring it down. And they’ll do it again, all while braying about government spending and paying off their rich friends: Women know: The economy is never perfect. There are always problems, mostly borne by the poor and working classes. But as economies go, this one is as strong as we’ve seen in many years. If it weren’t for the right wing propaganda machine and the reluctance of the media to admit this, people would have realized it sooner. It’s morning in America, people! Wake the hell up!
From Brave New Films: E. Jean Carroll V. Donald Trump is a powerful documentary that brings to life the brave testimony of writer E. Jean Carroll, who accused former President Donald Trump of sexual abuse. In a landmark legal case, Trump was held liable for sexual abuse and defamation, with a court ordering him to pay $83.3 million in damages. Directed by Robert Greenwald, this Brave New Films production features powerful performances from prominent actors, including Kathryn Hahn, Ellen Burstyn, Lexi Underwood, and Regina Taylor. Through their voices, the film vividly portrays Carroll’s courageous fight for justice. As Election Day nears, E. Jean Carroll V. Donald Trump is a must-watch for anyone concerned about justice, accountability, and the future of American democracy. Watch now and share with friends, especially those in battleground states, as we fight to make sure the truth is heard. A big thank you to Kathryn Hahn, Ellen Burstyn, Lexi Underwood, and Regina Taylor for their incredible performances. And of course, a major thank you to E. Jean Carroll for standing up to Donald Trump. This is well worth watching.
Can Trump hold out much longer? Pro Publica with another scoop: Former President Donald Trump’s media company has forced out executives in recent days after internal allegations that its CEO, former Rep. Devin Nunes, is mismanaging the company, according to interviews and records of communications among former employees. Several people involved with Trump Media believe the ousters are retaliation following what they describe as an anonymous “whistleblower” complaint regarding Nunes that went to the company’s board of directors. The chief operating officer and chief product officer have left the company, along with at least two lower-level staffers, according to interviews, social media posts and communications between former staffers reviewed by ProPublica. The company, which runs the social media platform Truth Social, disclosed the departure of the chief operating officer in a securities filing Thursday afternoon. ProPublica has not seen the whistleblower complaint. But several people with knowledge of the company said the concerns revolve around alleged mismanagement by Nunes.
Marjorie Taylor Greene made her MAGA bones as a conspiracy theorist on Facebook just six years ago so this isn’t surprising. Does it seem to you that these people are getting nuttier by the day? The question is if it’s because they think they’re losing — or winning? I fear it’s the latter.
It would have been terrible timing: The union representing the striking U.S. dockworkers, the International Longshoremen’s Association, reached a deal Thursday to suspend the strike until Jan. 15 to provide time to negotiate a new contract. Workers had begun walking picket lines early Tuesday near ports all along the East and Gulf coasts. A shutdown lasting more than a few weeks could have led to higher prices and shortages of goods throughout the country as the holiday shopping season — along with a tight presidential election — approaches. With the strike being suspended, consumers probably won’t notice any significant shortages or price hikes. Had the stoppage persisted for more than a month, it would have been a different story, depending on what you were shopping for. Most holiday retail goods have already arrived from overseas, so there is a buffer. Prices on everything from fruits and vegetables to cars could have headed higher, at least temporarily, if it had dragged on. I honestly thought that was the intention in doing this in October.