Donald Trump hinted at pardoning his former campaign aide and longtime Republican operative Roger Stone after he called sentencing guidelines following his conviction on witness tampering and lying to Congress a "miscarriage of justice". Hours later, federal prosecutors backed off their initial guidelines, and two prosecutors resigned from the case, stirring fears that the White House had intervened
Mr Trump also sparred with Democratic rival Mike Bloomberg, calling the billionaire former New York mayor a "total racist" and mocking his golfing, as Democrats prepare for the results of New Hampshire's primary contest.
In a prolific day online, the president tweeted a scene from Larry David’s HBO sitcom Curb Your Enthusiasm in which the misanthropic writer is involved in a road rage incident and is only saved from being attacked by an aggressive biker by donning a red MAGA cap, a joke the president seemingly completely misunderstood.
Democratic leaders, meanwhile, attacked the president's "heartless" budget, proposing dramatic cuts to safety-net assistance programmes while boosting defence spending.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer warned that "the planet is on fire" while the president proposes slashing funds for environmental protection, healthcare and the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention amid a coronavirus outbreak.
At his latest campaign rally in Manchester, New Hampshire, on Monday night, Mr Trump whipped up chants of “Lock her up!” against House speaker Nancy Pelosi, pushed election fraud conspiracy theories, again dismissed the significance of the coronavirus epidemic and predictably denigrated the Democratic candidates running against him.
Right on cue, a new poll from Reuters/Ipsos forecasts the president losing the 2020 battle to Bernie Sanders, Michael Bloomberg and Joe Biden and drawing with Pete Buttigieg and Elizabeth Warren.
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Trump tweets Curb Your Enthusiasm scene without getting joke
Donald Trump has tweeted a scene from Larry David’s HBO sitcom Curb Your Enthusiasm in which the misanthropic writer is involved in a road rage incident and is only saved from being attacked by an aggressive biker by donning a red MAGA cap, a joke the president seemingly completely misunderstood.
Donald Trump has tweeted a scene from Larry David’s HBO sitcom Curb Your Enthusiasm in which the misanthropic writer is involved in a road rage incident and is only saved from being attacked by an aggressive biker by donning a red MAGA cap, a joke the president seemingly completely misunderstood.
David himself - whom you might have thought Trump would have some idea about, if not from Seinfeld and Curb then at least from his impersonation of Bernie Sanders on Saturday Night Live (a show he has even appeared on with the president in 2015) - was recently asked about whether he was concerned about the scene in question "alienating " Trump supporters.
He gave this immaculate answer.
Here's Greg Evans for Indy100 with more context.
President inspires 'Lock her up!' chants against Pelosi at New Hampshire rally
Eager to put on a show of force in a general election battleground state, Trump tried to rattle Democrats on Monday with a rally in New Hampshire on the eve of the state's first-in-the-nation primaries. The president used the occasion to whip up chants of “Lock her up!” against House speaker Nancy Pelosi, pushed election fraud conspiracy theories, again dismissed the significance of the coronavirus epidemic and predictably denigrated the Democratic candidates running against him.
Eager to put on a show of force in a general election battleground state, Trump tried to rattle Democrats on Monday with a rally in New Hampshire on the eve of the state's first-in-the-nation primaries. The president used the occasion to whip up chants of “Lock her up!” against House speaker Nancy Pelosi, pushed election fraud conspiracy theories, again dismissed the significance of the coronavirus epidemic and predictably denigrated the Democratic candidates running against him.
Trump, on a high after his acquittal last week on impeachment charges, boasted about the nation's strong economy and launched an assault on the Democrats who tried to remove him from office, calling the episode a "pathetic partisan crusade."
"Our good Republicans in the United States Senate voted to reject the outrageous partisan impeachment hoax and to issue a full, complete and absolute total acquittal," Trump told a crowd that roared and cheered throughout his speech. "And it wasn't even close.
Trump's rally comes a day before New Hampshire Democrats head to the polls following the disastrous Iowa caucuses that failed to produce a clear-cut winner to take Trump on in November. Trump mocked the lingering uncertainty over the outcome of the party's kickoff caucuses, where the results are still under dispute. "Does anyone know who won Iowa?" he asked the crowd. "I don't know."
Before leaving Washington, Trump said he had planned the rally to rattle Democrats and demonstrate his strength in the state before the primary vote. "Want to shake up the Dems a little bit - they have a really boring deal going on," Trump tweeted. "Still waiting for the Iowa results, votes were fried. Big crowds in Manchester!"
It's a tried-and-tested tactic for Trump: Scheduling counter-programming to divert attention from Democratic debates and other major moments, keeping him in the spotlight and building supporters' enthusiasm in the months before Election Day.
At the same time, Trump continued to celebrate the Senate's acquittal decision, laying into Pelosi for her performance during his State of the Union address last week. "I had somebody behind me who was mumbling terribly, mumbling, mumbling," Trump complained, calling it "very distracting, very distracting." He did not make mention of how, at the address' conclusion, Pelosi tore up her copy of the speech.
Trump's remarks prompted the crowd to break into the same "Lock her up!!" chant that his supporters directed at Hillary Clinton four years ago.
It wasn't the only return feature from his 2016 rallies. In a nod to the longtime supporters who have returned to his rallies again, Trump returned to one of his greatest, if rarest hits, delivering a spoken-word performance of "The Snake", a dark 1960s song he has used as an allegory to warn of what he sees as the dangers of illegal immigrants and refugees allowed into the United States.
Though his campaign isn't presenting the same show of force as last week, when dozens of Trump's surrogates flooded Iowa, it made its presence known in New Hampshire. In addition to vice president Mike Pence and Ivanka Trump, the president's daughter and senior adviser, Republican senators Lindsey Graham and Rand Paul, House Republican whip Steve Scalise and New Hampshire governor Chris Sununu were set to campaign on his behalf.
The marquee event was held in front of a sold-out crowd of thousands at a downtown Manchester arena and Trump made sure viewers at home knew it. "We have more in this arena and outside of this arena than all of the other candidates, meaning the Democrats, put together and multiplied times five," he boasted.
Images of bundled-up supporters camped outside the SNHU Arena also broke through the news coverage of the Democratic primary. As Air Force One touched down in New Hampshire, a stream of TrumpWorld luminaries - including Pence and Donald Trump Jr - preceded the president to the stage.
New Hampshire has always loomed large in Trump's political lore as the first nominating contest he won during 2016's heated Republican primaries. He was about to take the stage at a rally in Manchester that October when news broke that the FBI was re-opening its investigation into Democrat Hillary Clinton's emails, breathing new life into his then-struggling campaign. And it was the site of the penultimate rally of the 2016 contest - an extravagant send-off just hours before a post-midnight rally in Michigan.
Though Trump narrowly lost New Hampshire in the general election four years ago, his team believes it is one of the few states, along with Minnesota and perhaps New Mexico, that could flip to red in November. "We are going to win New Hampshire in a landslide," Trump predicted, insisting that registered Democratic voters are leaving their party "to join our movement."
Democrats in the state had a different view. "It's obvious that Trump and the RNC are desperate to put New Hampshire in play after losing the state by 3,000 votes in 2016. But we'll make sure that Granite Staters know that he has broken his promises to his state and he will lose here again in November," New Hampshire Democratic Party chairman Ray Buckley told reporters.
The president relished the idea of dominating the stage in New Hampshire and stealing some of the media oxygen from the Democrats. At least for now, similar counter-programming rallies have not been planned for the next two nominating states, Nevada and South Carolina.
Trump has not hesitated to try to influence the Democrats' nominating process. At the rally, he urged New Hampshire independents who support him - people are allowed to vote in either party's primary - to instead back "the weakest" Democratic candidate Tuesday. He also again trafficked in the unfounded conspiracy theory that buses of illegal voters traveled in from Massachusetts in 2016 to deprive him of a New Hampshire victory.
Moreover, he and his advisers frequently huddle to map out strategy against possible general election foes and the president has in recent weeks tried to bolster the candidacy of Bernie Sanders, the most liberal candidate in the Democratic field and the opponent the White House, at least for now, most wishes to face.
With the Iowa results in question, Trump tried to foster divides among Democrats that could weaken party unity going into November. "They are doing it do you again, Bernie, they are doing it to you again," Trump said in another nod to 2016, when Sanders lost the presidential nomination to Clinton.
The president has also unleashed a series of attacks on senator Elizabeth Warren and former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg, who is not competing in New Hampshire. And it was Trump's effort to have Ukraine investigate former Vice President Biden that led to his impeachment.
Here's Andrew Buncombe's report.
Trump up late fretting about Roger Stone
The president evidently could not sleep after his exploits in Manchester and sat up late pushing further Steele Dossier conspiracy theories and retweeting Judicial Watch president Tom Fitton's calls for a counter investigation into the Democrats as revenge for the president's impeachment.
He also described a demand by prosecutors on Monday for a federal judge to sentence his longtime adviser Roger Stone to seven-nine years in prison as "horrible and very unfair" and said such a "miscarriage of justice" should not be allowed. Stone is due to face sentencing by District Court judge Amy Berman Jackson on 20 February, after a jury in November found the self-proclaimed "dirty trickster" guilty on seven counts of lying to Congress, obstruction and witness tampering.
The government said that under US sentencing guidelines, he faces a range of seven years and three months to up to nine years, and told Jackson he "should be punished in accord" with those. Such a term would "accurately reflect the seriousness of his crimes and promote respect for the law". Stone is one of several people close to Trump who faced charges stemming from then-Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.
"This is a horrible and very unfair situation. The real crimes were on the other side, as nothing happens to them. Cannot allow this miscarriage of justice!" Trump said on Twitter after midnight on Monday.
Trump has the power to pardon people for federal crimes, although he has yet to use it in the cases of other former aides convicted in the wake of the Mueller investigations.
During the trial, prosecutors pressed their case that Stone lied to lawmakers about his outreach to WikiLeaks - the website that disclosed many hacked Democratic emails ahead of the 2016 presidential election that proved embarrassing to Trump's Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton - to protect Trump from looking bad.
Stone, who has labeled himself an "agent provocateur" and has the face of former president Richard Nixon tattooed on his back, was charged with obstructing justice, witness tampering and lying to the House of Representatives' Intelligence Committee during its investigation into Russian election interference.
Stone's colourful trial featured references to the film The Godfather Part II, an impression of Bernie Sanders by prosecution witness Randy Credico, and testimony by political heavyweights including former Trump campaign chief executive Steve Bannon and former Trump deputy campaign chairman Rick Gates. Those witnesses said they believed Stone had inside information about when WikiLeaks might release more damaging emails about Clinton. In truth, he had no such information.
Stone was also accused of tampering with Credico's testimony, when Credico was summoned to testify before Congress and speak with the FBI. In emails and texts, Stone told Credico among other things: "Prepare to die", "You're a rat. A stoolie" and "Stonewall it."
The president evidently could not sleep after his exploits in Manchester and sat up late pushing further Steele Dossier conspiracy theories and retweeting Judicial Watch president Tom Fitton's calls for a counter investigation into the Democrats as revenge for the president's impeachment.
He also described a demand by prosecutors on Monday for a federal judge to sentence his longtime adviser Roger Stone to seven-nine years in prison as "horrible and very unfair" and said such a "miscarriage of justice" should not be allowed. Stone is due to face sentencing by District Court judge Amy Berman Jackson on 20 February, after a jury in November found the self-proclaimed "dirty trickster" guilty on seven counts of lying to Congress, obstruction and witness tampering.
The government said that under US sentencing guidelines, he faces a range of seven years and three months to up to nine years, and told Jackson he "should be punished in accord" with those. Such a term would "accurately reflect the seriousness of his crimes and promote respect for the law". Stone is one of several people close to Trump who faced charges stemming from then-Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.
"This is a horrible and very unfair situation. The real crimes were on the other side, as nothing happens to them. Cannot allow this miscarriage of justice!" Trump said on Twitter after midnight on Monday.
Trump has the power to pardon people for federal crimes, although he has yet to use it in the cases of other former aides convicted in the wake of the Mueller investigations.
During the trial, prosecutors pressed their case that Stone lied to lawmakers about his outreach to WikiLeaks - the website that disclosed many hacked Democratic emails ahead of the 2016 presidential election that proved embarrassing to Trump's Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton - to protect Trump from looking bad.
Stone, who has labeled himself an "agent provocateur" and has the face of former president Richard Nixon tattooed on his back, was charged with obstructing justice, witness tampering and lying to the House of Representatives' Intelligence Committee during its investigation into Russian election interference.
Stone's colourful trial featured references to the film The Godfather Part II, an impression of Bernie Sanders by prosecution witness Randy Credico, and testimony by political heavyweights including former Trump campaign chief executive Steve Bannon and former Trump deputy campaign chairman Rick Gates. Those witnesses said they believed Stone had inside information about when WikiLeaks might release more damaging emails about Clinton. In truth, he had no such information.
Stone was also accused of tampering with Credico's testimony, when Credico was summoned to testify before Congress and speak with the FBI. In emails and texts, Stone told Credico among other things: "Prepare to die", "You're a rat. A stoolie" and "Stonewall it."
Latest national poll shows Trump losing to three top Democrats
Just as Trump was laying into the 2020 Democratic field ahead of the New Hampshire primary, a new poll from Reuters/Ipsos forecasts the president losing the fight to Bernie Sanders, Michael Bloomberg and Joe Biden and drawing with Pete Buttigieg and Elizabeth Warren.
Just as Trump was laying into the 2020 Democratic field ahead of the New Hampshire primary, a new poll from Reuters/Ipsos forecasts the president losing the fight to Bernie Sanders, Michael Bloomberg and Joe Biden and drawing with Pete Buttigieg and Elizabeth Warren.
Here's Andrew Buncombe with some more good polling news for Bernie, who appears to be leaving former front-runner Joe Biden in the dust.
The Strokes played for Bernie Sanders at New Hampshire rally Last Nite
So how's it looking in the Granite State?
Well, Sanders had The Strokes out last night performing for him - following in the footsteps of Jack White in Detroit.
So how's it looking in the Granite State?
Well, Sanders had The Strokes out last night performing for him - following in the footsteps of Jack White in Detroit.
The Vermont senator is clearly an NME reader circa 2003 and has not lost faith in the promise of the "new rock revolution".
Who's he going to bring out next? The Vines? The Hives? Interpol? Hot Hot Heat? Mystery Jets? The Bravery? The Von Bondies??
Joe Biden and Elizabeth Warren badly need a result in New Hampshire - here's Clark Mindock on the latter's fightback following disappointment (and confusion) in Iowa.
Jerry Nadler questions Bill Barr over Giuliani back channel on Ukraine
House Judiciary Committee chairman Jerrold Nadler has written to Trump's attorney general William Barr demanding answers after Republican senator Lindsey Graham went on CBS's Face the Nation on Sunday and revealed that the Department of Justice has "created a process" to receive and verify dirt dug up by Rudy Giuliani in Ukraine in case it amounts to little more than Russian propoganda.
The president's private attorney, who has been several "fact-finding" missions to Kiev, signalled to Fox News over the weekend he had compromising information on Hunter Biden, son of Joe.
House Judiciary Committee chairman Jerrold Nadler has written to Trump's attorney general William Barr demanding answers after Republican senator Lindsey Graham went on CBS's Face the Nation on Sunday and revealed that the Department of Justice has "created a process" to receive and verify dirt dug up by Rudy Giuliani in Ukraine in case it amounts to little more than Russian propoganda.
The president's private attorney, who has been several "fact-finding" missions to Kiev, signalled to Fox News over the weekend he had compromising information on Hunter Biden, son of Joe.
Barr confirmed Graham's comments yesterday, saying that the Justice Department has an “open door” to any individual with information on Ukraine.“There are a lot of agendas in the Ukraine, a lot of crosscurrents, and we can’t take anything we receive from the Ukraine at face value,” he said, adding that the department had established "an intake process in the field so that any information coming in about Ukraine could be carefully scrutinised".
Nadler has since written to Barr calling for a "complete explanation" and posing 11 urgent questions about the revelation, expressing concern about a secretive back channel being set up for the transmission of scurrilous rumours outside of ordinary diplomatic networks.
"As you know, the Department has formal, established channels by which to receive information and begin investigations," Nadler says. "This new channel to Mr Giuliani would seem to be a significant departure from those traditional channels."
Interviewed on MSNBC on Monday night, ex-FBI assistant director for counterintelligence Frank Figliuzzi, joked about the matter: “If you have a concocted conspiracy theory - that’s proven wrong by our entire intelligence community - and proven to be Russian propaganda, please call 1-800-Utter-BS.”
Interviewed on MSNBC on Monday night, ex-FBI assistant director for counterintelligence Frank Figliuzzi, joked about the matter: “If you have a concocted conspiracy theory - that’s proven wrong by our entire intelligence community - and proven to be Russian propaganda, please call 1-800-Utter-BS.”
Trump unveils $4.8trn budget reneging on prior spending commitments
The president unveiled a a $4.8trn (£3.7trn) budget proposal on Monday that reneges on a spending pledge he made to Congress last August.
His plan for the new 2021 fiscal year beginning in October includes $740.5bn (£572.8bn) in defence spending and $590bn (£456bn) on non-defence causes plus $3.5trn (£2.7trn) on Social Security, Medicare and other domestic entitlements.
While that first figure remains true to Trump's two-year deal agreed last year, the remainder indicates a significant falloff. The Trump budget proposes slashing Commerce Department funding by 37 per cent, the Environmental Protection Agency by 26 per cent, the Department of Housing and Urban Development by 15 per cent, the Department of Health and Human Services by nine per cent and the Education Department by eight per cent.
It doesn't amount to much though as, according to custom, it won't be given a hearing, says Senate Budget Committee chairman Mike Enzi, a Republican.
"I want to encourage people... not to waste any time searching out the president's budget cuts. Nobody has listened to the president in the 23 years that I've been here. Congress doesn't pay attention to the president's budget exercise. I don't know why we put him through that," Enzi said during a floor speech on Monday.
"It turns into a diatribe against the president, I did not hold a hearing on President Obama's last budget. And for that same reason, I'm not going to hold a hearing on this president's budget," he continued. "Congress doesn't pay any attention to the president's budget exercise. It's all it is - an exercise. Congress holds the purse strings, according to the Constitution, and Congress is very protective of that constitutional authority."
"Everyone knows the latest Trump budget is dead on arrival in Congress. It’s merely a political stunt to gratify extremists in his party," added Senate Democrat Sheldon Whitehouse, even more pithily.
John T Bennett has more on a budget proposal that nevertheless gives a clear indication of where the president's legislative proirities lie.
Medical experts question Trump's blind optimism over coronavirus
"The virus... in theory when it gets a little warmer, it miraculously goes away. Hope that's true!" Trump told his supporters in New Hampshire last night.
He'd already told a meeting of state governors at the White House on Monday that: “The heat, generally speaking, kills this kind of virus... A lot of people think that goes away in April as the heat comes in. We’re in great shape though, we have 12 cases, 11 cases, but we’re in very good shape.”
But people who actually know what they're talking about are not so sure...
"The virus... in theory when it gets a little warmer, it miraculously goes away. Hope that's true!" Trump told his supporters in New Hampshire last night.
He'd already told a meeting of state governors at the White House on Monday that: “The heat, generally speaking, kills this kind of virus... A lot of people think that goes away in April as the heat comes in. We’re in great shape though, we have 12 cases, 11 cases, but we’re in very good shape.”
But people who actually know what they're talking about are not so sure...
Trump condemned after claiming 'very powerful death penalty' would reduce drug dealing
At that same meeting, the president suggested the US was ready to follow China's lead in making narcotic trafficking punishable by death - a remark that quickly drew angry criticism, with Human Rights Foundation chairman and chess champ Garry Kasparov denouncing Trump for toying with "the classic authoritarian line".
Here's Chris Riotta's report.
At that same meeting, the president suggested the US was ready to follow China's lead in making narcotic trafficking punishable by death - a remark that quickly drew angry criticism, with Human Rights Foundation chairman and chess champ Garry Kasparov denouncing Trump for toying with "the classic authoritarian line".
Here's Chris Riotta's report.
Trump tells Utah governor he can 'keep Mitt Romney' after senator voted to convict president
One final episode from yesterday's session with state governor's in the White House dining room: Trump told Utah chief executive Gary Herbert he can "keep" senator Mitt Romney after the Republican offered the lone party opposition to the president at his impeachment trial last week.
"How's Mitt Romney? You keep him. We don't want him," Trump told Herbert.
John T Bennett has this report.
Democratic senator taunted by Trump calls on him to behave like a 'responsible adult', denies being a 'Munchkin'
West Virginia Democrat Joe Manchin has told the president to grow up after Trump spent three straight days rebuking him on Twitter for failing to vote to acquit him in the Senate (there had been some speculation that he might).
“I expect - every American and myself would like my president and our president to act like a responsible adult, and he's not,” Manchin told CNN's New Day. “For the sake of the country, I hope he does.”
He also said Trump nicknaming him "Joe Munchkin" - after the diminutive characters in The Wizard of Oz - was inaccurate because he is taller than the president.
"I'm taller than him, I think, a little bit bigger than he is. Not heavier - he's much heavier than me, but I’m a little taller than him so I guess he got that little bit off."
West Virginia Democrat Joe Manchin has told the president to grow up after Trump spent three straight days rebuking him on Twitter for failing to vote to acquit him in the Senate (there had been some speculation that he might).
“I expect - every American and myself would like my president and our president to act like a responsible adult, and he's not,” Manchin told CNN's New Day. “For the sake of the country, I hope he does.”
He also said Trump nicknaming him "Joe Munchkin" - after the diminutive characters in The Wizard of Oz - was inaccurate because he is taller than the president.
"I'm taller than him, I think, a little bit bigger than he is. Not heavier - he's much heavier than me, but I’m a little taller than him so I guess he got that little bit off."
“Do you think names bother me? Do I look like I’m small and fragile?” he asked. “Names don’t bother me. The president knows he can’t get to me that way. I'm not going to retaliate.”
“The people want a mature adult - that's what the president should be. That's who we want as our president. I want him to succeed. This is not personal with me. I mean, he can call me all the names he wants to. It makes him look like an immature adult. I hope he rises above that. I think it's best for our country.”
Parkland father not invited to meeting with victim families after heckling Trump
Two bits of fallout from last week's State of the Union now.
Two bits of fallout from last week's State of the Union now.
Fred Gutenberg, whose 14-year-old daughter Jane was killed in the Parkland school shooting in Florida two years ago, was blocked from being part of the Stand with Parkland delegation visiting the president at the White House yesterday after he was removed from the House of Representatives last week for heckling the president as he discussed gun control legislation during his speech.
Alex Woodward reports.
Girl given scholarship by Trump at State of the Union doesn't need one
Also during Trump's speech on Tuesday, he singled out Philadelphia schoolgirl Janiyah Davis from the audience to promise her an academic scholarship of her choice.
The president says she was emblematic of students "trapped in failing government schools" but, it turns out, Davis actually attends a sought-after charter school.
Also during Trump's speech on Tuesday, he singled out Philadelphia schoolgirl Janiyah Davis from the audience to promise her an academic scholarship of her choice.
The president says she was emblematic of students "trapped in failing government schools" but, it turns out, Davis actually attends a sought-after charter school.
AOC loves the Chicken Connoisseur
In one of the weirdest developments in American politics for sometime (and that's really saying something under Trump), Democratic progressive Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez - who opened for The Strokes last night - turns out to be a fan of YouTube sensation Elijah Quashie AKA The Chicken Connoisseur.
In one of the weirdest developments in American politics for sometime (and that's really saying something under Trump), Democratic progressive Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez - who opened for The Strokes last night - turns out to be a fan of YouTube sensation Elijah Quashie AKA The Chicken Connoisseur.
For the uninitiated, our man is a self-described "food critic for mandem who care to know what the finest chicken restaurants in London are".
Trump on hyperbolic form on Twitter
This president deals in extremes and his first tweets of the day are as overblown as they are difficult to substantiate.
This president deals in extremes and his first tweets of the day are as overblown as they are difficult to substantiate.
Don Jr, Mark Meadows sport matching jackets on Fox and Friends
The president's son and favourite congressman have been conspiring to turn Fox into an even more nightmarish alternative to QVC this morning by modelling matching Team Trump merchandise.
In other news from the MAGAverse, Ted Cruz has been complaining that, if Bernie Sanders were to get elected in November, he'd have to can his podcast.
The president's son and favourite congressman have been conspiring to turn Fox into an even more nightmarish alternative to QVC this morning by modelling matching Team Trump merchandise.
In other news from the MAGAverse, Ted Cruz has been complaining that, if Bernie Sanders were to get elected in November, he'd have to can his podcast.
Republicans for the Rule of Law push back on Vindman, Sondland firings
Senior White House adviser Kellyanne Conway hinted yesterday that their could be further vengeance dismissals from the administration after Lt Col Alexander Vindman and Gordon Sondland were removed from their positions over the weekend as punishment for testifying against the president to the House impeachment inquiry.
Senior White House adviser Kellyanne Conway hinted yesterday that their could be further vengeance dismissals from the administration after Lt Col Alexander Vindman and Gordon Sondland were removed from their positions over the weekend as punishment for testifying against the president to the House impeachment inquiry.
But pressure group Republicans for the Rule of Law are fighting Vindman's corner (though not Sondland's) by running an attack ad on Fox arguing that the Purple Heart recepient deserved better for his courage.
US job creation down 19 per cent under Trump compared to Obama, data reveals
As we saw earlier, Trump is continually blustering about the health of the US economy at the moment - the point expected to be a key argument for his re-election.
He insisted, utterly disingenuously, during his State of the Union address a week ago that he "inherited a mess" from the Barack Obama administration, which - as Nancy Pelosi was quick to point out - is simply not true. Obama certainly did inherit a mess from George W Bush, taking office just as the subprime mortgage crisis was about to break in 2009, but the 45th president simply cannot make the same claim with a straight face.
Worse for Trump, according to a Huffington Post analysis of the latest job creation figures from Trump's own Department of Labor, even his bid take credit for the upward curve he was handed doesn't stack up.
During the final three years of Obama's tenure between 2013 and 2016, his administration created 8.1m new jobs.
In the first three of Trump's - 2017 to 2020, just 6.6m were created. That's a decline of 19 per cent.
As we saw earlier, Trump is continually blustering about the health of the US economy at the moment - the point expected to be a key argument for his re-election.
He insisted, utterly disingenuously, during his State of the Union address a week ago that he "inherited a mess" from the Barack Obama administration, which - as Nancy Pelosi was quick to point out - is simply not true. Obama certainly did inherit a mess from George W Bush, taking office just as the subprime mortgage crisis was about to break in 2009, but the 45th president simply cannot make the same claim with a straight face.
Worse for Trump, according to a Huffington Post analysis of the latest job creation figures from Trump's own Department of Labor, even his bid take credit for the upward curve he was handed doesn't stack up.
During the final three years of Obama's tenure between 2013 and 2016, his administration created 8.1m new jobs.
In the first three of Trump's - 2017 to 2020, just 6.6m were created. That's a decline of 19 per cent.
Cynthia Nixon forced to silence Hillary Clinton boos at Bernie rally
Two bits from New Hampshire you might have missed.
Sex and the City star turned activist Cynthia Nixon took to the stage to stump for Bernie Sanders last night and was forced to silence the crowd when they booed at the mention of Hillary Clinton's name...
Two bits from New Hampshire you might have missed.
Sex and the City star turned activist Cynthia Nixon took to the stage to stump for Bernie Sanders last night and was forced to silence the crowd when they booed at the mention of Hillary Clinton's name...
...and Andrew Yang wore a giant Frank Sidebottom-style fake head.
Our own Clark Mindock is in the Granite State and has this report.
