Trump doesn’t think it is Trouble in wingnut paradise? Fox News was essential to Donald Trump’s success in both of his last presidential runs. Now, as the former president navigates another campaign through a tidal wave of indictments and legal problems, he’s facing a much frostier relationship with the cable giant—and that could be bad news for both of them. In recent months, Trump’s inner circle has become convinced that Fox News is essentially sidelining the former president by restricting live appearances on the network. “Trump is not allowed live on Fox,” a Trump operative told The Daily Beast, chalking it up to “fear” that Trump could level a baseless allegation that could leave the network in a legal mess. A Trump adviser told The Daily Beast a similar story—that the former president isn’t allowed live on air anymore, and that Fox News prefers to have Trump in a pre-recorded setting. “Fox sent down word from the top that they don’t want to ‘platform’ Trump like they did before,” a Trump adviser told The Daily Beast. “I find it hilarious.
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But not just in foreign affairs Joe Biden’s Oval Office speech Thursday night is yet another example of how his life and his faith have shaped him. This is not going to be an apologia for his failings, but rather a review of whether, despite Americans’ chest-thumping about their faith, they really mean what they say. Biden does. “Biden’s throwback, almost corny optimisim about the country he’s spent his life serving feels authentic. When he says he’s not kidding, he’s not kidding,” I wrote just yesterday. When he said last night, “We’re facing an inflection point in history,” he says it with an almost George Bailey sincerity. He emphasized “the humanity of innocent Palestinians who only want to live in peace and have an opportunity.” Biden called out recent waves of antisemitism and Islamophobia at home. We can’t stand by and stand silent when this happens. We must without equivocation denounce antisemitism. We must also without equivocation denounce Islamophobia. And to all you hurting, those of you who are hurting, I want you to know I see you. You belong.
Here we go-go again-again There was a time in this country when redistricting happened once every ten years. Not in North Carolina since 2011. I’ve lost count of the number of maps we’ve seen. So many that the local League of Women Voters sponsored the first Gerrymander 5k here in 2017. Well, the latest batch of maps from the GOP coven dropped late Wednesday. Daily Kos Elections offers this summary: ● NC Redistricting: North Carolina Republicans unveiled new congressional and legislative maps on Wednesday that would rank as some of the most extreme gerrymanders in the country. The new proposals would cost three to four House Democrats their seats in Congress and lock in GOP majorities in the legislature in this longtime swing state. And in the near term, there’s little Democrats can do to stop them. Republicans put forth a pair of congressional maps that would both upend the state’s House delegation, which currently includes seven Democrats and seven Republicans thanks to a court-drawn plan.
Trump and his co-defendants should be worried There’s a lot going on in the world and here at home at the moment so it’s not surprising that Donald Trump and his legal problems aren’t front and center in our political coverage. Trump himself is very upset by this, lamenting on Truth Social earlier this week that he’s forced to appear at the Courthouse in New York where his fraud trial is being held (he isn’t) and complaining that nobody’s paying attention to him, posting, “despite my being here, the talk is all about Biden getting ready to fly to the Middle East…” But even though nobody is paying close attention to all his troubles at the moment, there is quite a bit of news on the Trump legal front and some of it may have some very unpleasant consequences for the former president. The fraud trial is not going particularly well for him with his CFO possibly having committed perjury on the stand which could mean his plea deal with the Manhattan Disctrict Attorney in the Trump Organization case is in danger. Weisselberg went to jail for five months in that case but could easily see more time if that’s proven.
What’s happening in the House is taking us over the cliff This post by Lee Drutman says it all: The US House is now in uncharted territory. Yes, you probably know this from following the ongoing drama over the vacated House speakership. As of this writing, we are now 17 days into this manufactured crisis. But how uncharted? And if we’re off the map, where are we headed? And are we off to “There be dragons” land? (Possibly, yes) In the pixels ahead, I’ll visually map where we are. As we’ll see, there are some historic parallels. But not enough to feel like we’ve really been here before. Here’s what’s distinct about this moment, based on the best metrics we have.
The “adults” in the room unfortunately keep spitting up their formula And listen to this hopeless drivel: Raju: You think this looks good? pic.twitter.com/K7R7GfVmXO — Acyn (@Acyn) October 20, 2023 Raju: How does it make the Republican party look? Scott: I think it makes congress as a whole look very bad… The Democrats are not innocent in this. They’re not. Raju: Matt Gaetz and the Republicans started this. pic.twitter.com/VcdbGDhv2f — Acyn (@Acyn) October 20, 2023 They actually think people are going to believe that the Democrats should have saved the man who opented a bogus impeachment inquiry against Joe Biden and eagerly licks Trump’s boots every chance he gets (not to mention the years and years of grotesque lying and derision) from their own right wing freaks? Really? They believe this? It would be nice is once, the reporters wouold ask them point blank why they believe the Democrats should have saved the Republican speaker from right wing Republicans. How would they explain that?
The wives of Republican congressmen aren’t the only ones MAGA is targeting with threats and intimidation We already knew they liked to go after cops. But going after their families is a new frontier: The federal prosecutors who have brought charges against hundreds of Jan. 6 rioters are seeing an uptick in violent threats and harassment directed toward their office, the office’s lead prosecutor told congressional investigators. Matthew Graves, the U.S. attorney for Washington, said the threats come from around the country and have become “pervasive,” though he did not elaborate on their substance or whether any law enforcement agency is investigating them. Graves’ comments, documented in a transcript obtained by POLITICO, came in a closed-door interview on Oct. 3 with the House Judiciary Committee about the Hunter Biden probe. In the interview, Republican investigators pressed Graves on allegations that his office refused to assist the U.S. attorney in Delaware who is leading the probe into the president’s son. Graves declined to answer some of the investigators’ questions about his personnel, citing threats to his office.
The judge in the NY case is big mad: The judge overseeing Donald Trump’s bank fraud trial threatened to throw the former president in jail—and hit him with punishing fines—for “blatantly” violating a gag order by refusing to delete a website post attacking court staff. Justice Arthur F. Engoron, striking a serious tone, began Friday at trial by laying out the high stakes and demanding that Trump’s lawyers explain themselves. “In the current overheated climate, incendiary comments can and in some cases already has, led to serious physical harm and worse. I will now allow the defendants to explain why this blatant violation of the gag order would not result in serious sanctions, including financial sanctions and/or possibly imprisoning him,” Engoron said. The case that Engoron is presiding over—Trump’s New York bank fraud trial—is a civil matter, meaning jail time wasn’t ever supposed to be in the cards, only stiff fines and a threat to ruin his real estate empire. But now, Trump appears to be facing a very real threat of spending time in jail if his antics continue.
Baby Sloth! In the birdhouse of Schönbrunn Zoo, sloths are undoubtedly the big favorites among the audience. Those who visit them tomorrow, on the occasion of Sloth Day, will experience a small furry surprise. “For the 13th time, we have had offspring among our sloths. A young one was born on August 20th. Initially, it was hidden in the protective fur of the mother, but by now, you can observe the little one well,” announces Simone Haderthauer, zoological department head, with joy. The young one lies on its mother like in a hammock. It will only start hanging independently on branches at about six months old. Sloth Day was established in 2010 to draw attention to these amazing animals and their habitat. Haderthauer says, “Two-toed sloths spend their lives hanging upside down in trees. Although they are not currently considered threatened, their habitat is steadily shrinking due to the ongoing deforestation of rainforests in South America.” Sloths’ main diet consists of leaves and buds. They spend much of their day dozing to save energy.
If Antifa is anti-fascist…. “Weird how this keeps happening and it keeps being Republicans,” Brian Beutler tweeted this morning on X in reference to Douglass Mackey (Politico): A right-wing social media influencer was sentenced to seven months in federal prison on Wednesday for spreading falsehoods via Twitter, now known as X, in an effort to suppress Democratic turnout in the 2016 presidential election. Douglass Mackey, who posted under the alias Ricky Vaughn, was convicted in March of the charge of conspiracy against rights after a trial in federal court in Brooklyn. Prosecutors said Mackey, who had 58,000 Twitter followers, conspired with others between September and November of 2016 to post falsely that supporters of Democrat Hillary Clinton could vote for her by text message or social media post. For example, they said, Mackey tweeted a photo of a woman standing in front of an “African Americans for Hillary” sign. “Avoid the Line. Vote from Home,” the tweet said.