Tag: Trump campaign

Let’s break down this incredibly stupid Trump campaign email that’s almost impossible to fathom: analysis

AlterNet logo

Let’s take a look at a Trump-Pence campaign fundraising email, because we could all use a laugh.

Friend,

For MONTHS the Fake News polls have shown Sleepy Joe ahead of your President in key battleground states.

The lying media doesn’t want to upset their Democrat Partners, so in a recent poll, they’re still reporting I’m down a few points. Ridiculous. They’re trying to TRICK the American People into thinking I have no chance of winning, but WE know that couldn’t be further from the truth.

It’s going to be an uphill battle to win these critical states, and I am counting on YOU to step up and help ensure a MASSIVE VICTORY. I need you to contribute to the Official Battleground State Fund […]

Please contribute ANY AMOUNT TODAY to the Official Battleground State Fund and your gift will be 600%-matched.

Let’s break this down, why don’t we? Continue reading.

Trump’s campaign is caught between 2 worlds, with 2 months to go

The president is exploiting all the trappings of incumbency in his reelection drive, but at the same time upstaging himself with unorthodox tactics.

LAS VEGAS — Past presidents running for reelection have built entire campaigns around their incumbency: Events in the Rose Garden. Signing ceremonies in the Oval Office. Cross-country campaign swings on Air Force One. 

President Donald Trump has used this tactic to his advantage in recent weeks — parking the iconic presidential jet behind the stage at his rallies, turning the executive complex into a high-production venue for the Republican National Convention and unveiling an updated list of potential Supreme Court nominees against the elegant backdrop of the White House Diplomatic Reception Room.

But for the wildly unpredictable president, it’s not enough. Continue reading.

The Trump team welcomed Russian disinformation, the Trump administration further confirms

Washington Post logo

President Trump, in August, promoted information that the U.S. government has increasingly connected to a Russian disinformation campaign in the 2020 election — after his personal attorney, Rudolph W. Giuliani, worked with the man promoting it. Now the U.S. government says explicitly that the man behind it is a Russian agent.

The Treasury Department on Thursday identified Ukrainian politician Andrii Derkach as an “active Russian agent for over a decade” — a label that could lead to more direct penalties. It added that Derkach has “directly or indirectly engaged in, sponsored, concealed or otherwise been complicit in foreign interference in an attempt to undermine the upcoming 2020 U.S. presidential election.”

“This action is a clear signal to Moscow and its proxies that this activity will not be tolerated,” the Treasury Department said. Continue reading.

Trump campaign attacks Biden for going to church and his son’s grave

AlterNet logo

Over the last week, one of the biggest stories in the country has focused on President Donald J. Trump’s demeaning of veterans. With multiple confirmations, CNN, Fox News, and NBC News, along with the originator of the story, the Atlantic, confirmed that Trump had made just those references during a trip to Paris, France during 2018.

The Trump campaign has denied this, of course, but the heart of this story is: how does the campaign prove that it would never endorse such a thing? Could the campaign show a moral center that recognizes that this is not a campaign problem, it is a character flaw that cannot be resolved with a sound byte? No. In fact, while denying the problem entirely, the Trump campaign stooped to incredible lows today, and it should sicken most Americans.

Director of Strategic Campaign Response, Francis Brennan, who helps manage the Trump War Room campaign, took to social media this morning to attack Vice President Biden this way: Continue reading.

Is it a coincidence that Moscow is peddling the same lies as the Trump campaign?

AlterNet logo

No journalist has done a better job of fact-checking Donald Trump during his presidency than Daniel Dale. But now the CNN reporter, formerly of the Toronto Star, has done an invaluable service by outlining the nine conspiracy theories the president is continuously peddling. As Dale suggests, “Trump has been a conspiracy theorist for years.” but never before has he pushed so many at one time.

Two of them align completely with disinformation campaigns coming out of Moscow. For example, we learned that the Russian government began promoting the lies about mail-in ballots as early as last March.

Russia has sought to “amplify” concerns over the integrity of U.S. elections by promoting allegations that mail-in voting will lead to widespread fraud, according to an intelligence bulletin obtained by ABC News, again echoing a frequent and unfounded complaint raised by President Donald Trump.

Continue reading.

2 QAnon Promoters Will Rally Voters For Trump At Official Events This Weekend

The Trump campaign is not requiring masks or social distancing at the events — but attendees must sign a COVID-19 liability waiver.

The Trump campaign is hosting events across the country this weekend to capitalize on whatever momentum the Republican National Convention created and mobilize the party’s base of voters to turn out in November. HuffPost found that official campaign events in Georgia and Nevada will be hosted by people who promote QAnon, the hateful conspiracy theory that the FBI recently flagged as a domestic terror threat. 

Neither masks nor social distancing appear to be mandatory for any of the gatherings — and they have not been required at numerous Trump reelection events over the past two weeks, where campaign surrogates and supporters have frequently crowded into relatively small spaces without proper protection. Attendees are required to waive their right to sue the campaign and the host venue if they contract the coronavirus at the event. 

QAnon adherents baselessly claim that the world is controlled by a cabal of satanic, pedophiliac Democrats and wealthy Hollywood socialites who run a global sex trafficking ring and feed on the blood of abused children. They claim that President Donald Trump is engaged in a secret battle against the satanists and their so-called deep state supporters in government. QAnon rhetoric is steeped in anti-Semitism and threats of violence, and the FBI has warned it poses a domestic terrorism threat. Continue reading.

Trump Teases a Gettysburg Convention Speech. Experts Say It’s an Ethics Breach.

New York Times logo If he accepts his nomination at the Civil War battlefield, the president will be conducting partisan business on federal property.

After repeatedly throwing a wrench into plans for the Republican National Convention this summer, President Trump on Monday tried to offer something tantalizing about the upcoming gathering, saying that his renomination speech would take place either at the White House or the Civil War battlefield in Gettysburg, Pa.

“We will announce the decision soon!” Mr. Trump teased in a Twitter post.

It was perhaps a predictable move by the first president to be credited as an executive producer of a network reality show while sitting in office. Continue reading.

Trump campaign thought their ‘huge news’ on pre-existing conditions had Democrats cornered — but it backfired spectacularly

AlterNet logoDuring a bizarre Friday evening press conference at his private golf club in New Jersey, President Donald Trump vowed to protect Americans with pre-existing conditions.

Of course, Trump does not need an executive order to accomplish such a goal, as it is already federal law in the Affordable Care Act, that was passed a decade ago by congressional Democrats and then-President Barack Obama.

Trump campaign advisors soon took to Twitter to praise Trump’s promise as “huge news.” Continue reading.

To Reboot Failed Messaging, Trump Campaign Suspends Advertising

In yet another sign Donald Trump’s internal polls aren’t all they’re cracked up to be, the Trump campaign has halted ad spending over the next few days due to their “messaging strategy,” because that’s clearly the problem.

Following the campaign shakeup in mid-July, a senior campaign official sought to frame the cessation as completely par for the course. “There’s understandably a review and fine-tuning of the campaign’s strategy,” the official told CNN, adding that they would be back on the air “shortly.”

While the initial advertising focused on featuring Trump’s accomplishments, the latest ads have taken a darker turn as Trump’s reelection chances dim and the candidate descends into a sea of self-pity and petty grievances. Continue reading.