Category: 2020 Election

Trump Jr. gets dragged for self-published book that includes glaring error on the cover

AlterNet logoThere are a few things that equal the mediocrity and base idiocy of Donald Trump. Their names are Donald Jr., Eric, Ivanka, and Jared. But, the greasy, sweaty, desperate nature of Donald Trump Jr. has a special patina of existential impotency that is hard to ignore. It’s hard to ignore, in part, because not unlike his father, Junior speaks at a loud blunt volume of dumb about 100% of the time.

Donald Trump Jr.’s newest idea is to self-publish a new book. But this time, it isn’t just about how liberals are being triggered all the time by the pure corruption of the conservative megalomaniac money machine. This time, in another sad attempt to receive the love his father is unable to feel for anything, Trump Jr. will spend however many pages it takes to try and make some money before the Republican National Convention in August. Unfortunately, the Trump family crest includes a guy wearing a dunce cap and cutting corners, and Junior’s announcement needed some copy editing.

“Thrilled to announce that during the last few months of quarantine, I’ve  been working on a new book, LIBERAL PRIVILEGE! Blown away by what Biden has gotten away with, more details next week! Libs already triggered! #LiberalPrivilege” Trump Jr. wrote on Twitter this past Saturday. He also provided a hellfire-inspired cover design: Continue reading.

DFL Party Statement on National Disability Voter Registration Week

SAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA – Today, Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party Chairman Ken Martin released the following statement in honor of National Disability Voter Registration Week:

“Right now in Minnesota, there are over 500,000 people with disabilities who are eligible to vote in the 2020 elections. Unfortunately, there are still far too many barriers in place that make it harder for the disability community’s voices to be heard at the ballot box.

“In honor of National Disability Voter Registration week, the Minnesota DFL Party is reaffirming our commitment to making voting as accessible as possible for each and every eligible Minnesotan. Earlier this year, the DFL Party released a comprehensive plan to do just that, which included mailing every eligible but unregistered voter a registration form, application to vote by mail, and prepaid postage for return. If we are going to be a truly inclusive democracy, then we must do more to proactively reach out to those who have been traditionally excluded from that democracy, including people with disabilities.

“Minnesota’s disability community is strong, proud, and diverse, and has done so much to make Minnesota the greatest state in the nation. The Minnesota DFL Party will continue to fight for change to ensure people with disabilities are fully and freely able to exercise their constitutional right to vote.”

Biden seeks to take on Trump over economy

The Hill logoJoe Biden is taking aim at President Trump on the economy, hoping to undercut Trump’s strongest argument in his reelection bid. 

With COVID-19 wreaking havoc on the economy and unemployment at its highest level in years, Team Biden believes it can go on offense on the issue, which had long been a strength for Trump.

Polls continue to show that a majority approve of Trump’s handling of the economy, but Democrats see a vulnerability. Continue reading.

Trump ad falsely suggests Biden supports defunding police

Washington Post logoThe Trump campaign has a problem. Former vice president Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, has firmly rejected calls from left-wing activists to “defund police.” But clearly the Trump campaign wants to tag him with the somewhat confusing slogan. So it produced an ad that slickly tries to get around this uncomfortable fact.

The Trump campaign must think the effort is a winner. Ben Taber, an account manager at Advertising Analytics, says that as of July 13, the Trump campaign had spent $6.7 million placing the ad on network television and on local stations in Florida, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Georgia, Ohio, Arizona, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Nevada, Iowa, New Mexico and Michigan.

But, factually, the ad is a loser.

The Facts

The scenes of mayhem in the ad come from some of the recent looting that took place after George Floyd’s death in police custody in Minneapolis. Okay, so these images are technically Donald Trump’s America, not Joe Biden’s. But we will leave that aside. Continue reading.

Leahy to Barr: Is Roger Stone sentence commutation ‘a crime’?

Vermont senator had asked attorney general about similar hypothetical during 2019 confirmation hearing

Attorney General William Barr said at his confirmation hearing that “it would be a crime” for a president to trade a pardon for a commitment not to incriminate that president.

The senator who asked that question wants to know why that logic does not apply to President Donald Trump’s announcement on Friday that he was commuting the sentence of former Trump campaign associate Roger Stone.

“Do you believe a president can lawfully issue a pardon in exchange for the recipient’s promise to not incriminate him?” Sen. Patrick J. Leahy of Vermont asked during Barr’s January 2019 confirmation hearing.

“No, that would be a crime,” Barr said in response. Continue reading.

Medical Schools Voice Support For Fauci Amid White House Attacks

The Association of American Medical Colleges is “concerned and alarmed” by the Trump administration efforts to undercut the U.S.’s top infectious disease expert.

The Association of American Medical Colleges released a statement Monday in support of Dr. Anthony Fauci, who’s come under fire by the White House for his dire warnings about the United States’ surging coronavirus case counts.

“The AAMC is extremely concerned and alarmed by efforts to discredit Anthony Fauci, MD, our nation’s top infectious disease expert,” the letter said. “Dr. Fauci has been an independent and outspoken voice for truth as the nation has struggled to fight the coronavirus pandemic.”

The letter follows White House statements to media outlets on Sunday attempting to discredit Fauci, who heads the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and was a fixture of the once-regular coronavirus task force briefings. Continue reading.

Donald Trump’s niece free to discuss explosive family book, judge rules

Donald Trump’s niece, Mary Trump, has been released from a temporary restraining order and is free to discuss her book about the president, Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World’s Most Dangerous Man.

A judge in New York state supreme court issued his ruling on Monday, a day ahead of the book’s publication.

Publisher Simon & Schuster was originally included in the temporary restraining order won by Robert Trump, the president’s brother, but subsequently dropped. Continue reading.

The GOP’s reliance on mega-donors is backfiring

AlterNet logoThe Supreme Court’s ruling on Citizens United was handed down in 2010. In response, “superPACs and other independent groups dumped more than $1 billion into the 2012 election, largely on behalf of Republicans.” They spent most of that money flooding the television airwaves with negative ads about Democrats.

Then along came a service employee who surreptitiously video-taped a speech by Mitt Romney to big donors in which the candidate talked about the 47 percent of Americans who vote for Democrats because they are dependent on the government for freebies. That videotape went viral and is perhaps one of the main contributors to Romney’s loss in 2012. And it didn’t cost the Democrats a dime.

That didn’t stop Republicans from their reliance on superPACs. Continue reading.

Trump is trying to kick out foreign students amid the pandemic

Since Trump took office, foreign students have only faced greater challenges in coming to the US.

Many foreign students have fled the US amid the pandemic, going back to their home countries while they await word from university administrators about whether they will be able to come back to campus in the fall. But some have stayed in the US — and a new Trump policy would force them to either return home, transfer to programs with in-person classes, or potentially face deportation.

The news has been a blow to students like João Cardoso, a rising senior at Yale University from Portugal on an F-1 student visa, for whom going home isn’t really an option.

His mother lives in a single rented room, and he is locked into a lease that doesn’t expire until next May. Yale subsidizes his housing as part of his financial aid package; if he were to leave the country, that money could disappear, and so would his ability to make rent. Continue reading.

Giuliani contradicts Trump’s excuse for hiding his taxes

AlterNet logoFormer Lifelock spokesperson Rudy Giuliani tells Salon that the audits of President Trump’s tax returns have been “completed and accepted,” except for “possibly not most recent.”

Giuliani was confirming claims he made Sunday morning to Fox News host Maria Bartiromo. This new story, however, seems to undermine the president’s excuse that he can’t release his returns because they are under audit, a line he has been repeating since the 2016 campaign.

Last Thursday, following the Supreme Court’s 7-2 ruling that the Manhattan district attorney can subpoena the president’s tax returns, White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany repeated the excuse to reporters, saying, “The media’s been asking this question for four years, and for four years, the president has said the same thing, his taxes are under audit, and when they’re no longer under audit, he will release them.” Continue reading.