The Era of rivalry, Biden vs. Trump and their respective parties

Speaking of crazy but true:

1. The Era of rivalry, Biden vs. Trump and their respective parties
   ...presidential primary, but former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley has moved ahead of Trump’s other rivals and holds second place, according to a...
   Post by: Sandy Shanks, 42 minutes ago in forum: Political Opinions & Beliefs
2. 
   Post
   Why are Trump supporters silent when it comes to Trump?
   ...presidential primary, but former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley has moved ahead of Trump’s other rivals and holds second place, according to a...
   Post by: Sandy Shanks, 50 minutes ago in forum: Political Opinions & Beliefs

How many more times do you plan to post this, and on how many different topics? It can't be that you forgot you had already posted it, you posted them both within 10 minutes of each other.

If you guys like her, you are welcome to her.

So Much for ‘Nikkimentum.’ “As Haley’s stature grew in the Republican Party, there were a couple of soft shoe drops along the way. The other day, a lead boot hit the ground.”


She likes wars.

'she came out against free speech on the internet.'

"The second thing," Haley told Fox News on Tuesday while discussing online speech, "is every person on social media should be verified by their name."

People have been publishing under fictitious names in America since we were colonies, but, Warmonger Slut, Nikki wants all that to stop.

'Totalitarian much there, ambassador? As many others have pointed out since Haley stepped in it with her jackboots on this issue, many of the people who were integral to the founding of this great nation wrote anonymously. In troubled times when revolution is in the air, that's the way to stay alive.'

'In 2023 Joe Biden's America, the ability to remain anonymous while expressing oneself online is especially important for conservatives. The cancel crowd is forever on the lookout for conservatives whose lives it can ruin. Haley's harebrained idea would essentially serve only to shut up people on the right. That's really not a good look for someone who is campaigning to be the Republican nominee for president of the United States.'

"Once given the power to compel speakers to reveal their identities, you know that Washington would define its new authority as broadly as possible."

And of course from the AG down, our Federal Law Enforcement is completely corrupt.

War Slut Nikki's pretense aside, the Federal Government is not empowered to put conditions on our right to communicate.

 

Day in, day out, Republican chaos continues. They were bailed out by the Democrats to fund our government, and their followers remain totally silent.

The Republican Party is so bad its followers can't even begin to defend their actions.

ABC reports, "Embattled Rep. George Santos faced renewed calls to resign on Thursday and the looming threat of another vote to expel him from Congress in the wake of a scathing report by the House Ethics Committee portraying him as an alleged fabulist and fraudster who used the prestige of political office to bilk tens of thousands of dollars out of other people.

"George Santos cannot be trusted," declares the 56-page report, written by an investigative subcommittee. "At nearly every opportunity, he placed his desire for private gain above his duty to uphold the Constitution, federal law, and ethical principles."

"The panel said its months long probe, which both paralleled and went beyond similar work by federal prosecutors, "revealed a complex web of unlawful activity involving Representative Santos' campaign, personal, and business finances."

"Sam Miele, a fundraiser for embattled Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y., pleaded guilty to wire fraud Tuesday in connection with impersonating an aide to then-House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.

"Miele was charged in August with aggravated identity theft and four counts of wire fraud.

'Miele is the second person charged alongside Santos to plead guilty following campaign treasurer Nancy Marks last month."

 

How in the world did this man get elected?

He was chosen by Republican voters. Well, that explains it. Twelve months from now they want to pick our next President.

ABC reports, "Embattled GOP Rep. George Santos is facing another resolution to expel him from Congress.

"Republican Rep. Michael Guest, chairman of the House Ethics Committee, filed the resolution on Friday -- one day after his panel released an explosive report stating a monthslong probe of the New York congressman "revealed a complex web of unlawful activity involving Representative Santos' campaign, personal, and business finances."

"House investigators detailed how it said Santos used dollars donated to his political campaign for his own personal benefit, such as $2,900 labeled for "Botox" and $10,000 spent at high-end Ferragamo and Hermes store. Santos slammed the report as "disgusting politicized smear" and said he'd continue to defend himself, although he also announced after its release that he would not run for reelection.

"Guest filed the expulsion resolution electronically as the House adjourned Friday for Thanksgiving recess. It is not a privileged resolution, meaning there is not a two-day time constraint to bring it to the floor for a vote, though that can change when lawmakers return on Nov. 28."

The forum's Republicans will, of course, say nothing.

 

I don't understand young Democrats. By being critical of the Democratic president, does that mean they prefer Trump? After all, today there are only two choices, the President or Trump.

Young progressives are responsible for the election of Trump. https://www.newsweek.com/bernie-sanders-trump-2016-election-654320

In addition, they seem to think this war between foreign adversaries a half a world away can be controlled by the President.

CNN reports, "Israel could not have asked for a better friend than President Joe Biden.

"In the anguished aftermath of the horror unleashed by Hamas on October 7, Biden grieved with Israelis as though he was one of them. As global anger mounted at the thousands of civilian deaths in Gaza during Israel’s counter-attack against Hamas, Biden has been unequivocal on the Jewish state’s right to hit back.

"But rising anger and splits inside the Democratic Party over the ferocity of Israel’s incursion into Gaza and the lack of a ceasefire (?) are creating a volatile political mood inside the United States. Dissent and restiveness among younger voters, appears to be increasing political risk for Biden on the cusp of the election year. Those divides threaten to exacerbate his weaknesses within his own party, which may pose the biggest risk to his hopes of a second term.

"New polling finds a rising share of the American public disapproving of Israel’s military response to the Hamas terrorist attack – especially Democrats and younger Americans."

"Bernie Sanders supporters switched their allegiance to Donald Trump in large enough numbers last November to sway the election for the real estate billionaire, according to an analysis of voter data released Tuesday by the blog Political Wire. Since Trump's shock victory over Hillary Clinton, much discussion has focused on the degree to which passionate Sanders supporters' refusal to embrace Clinton led to the Republican winding up in the White House," Newsweek.

Are these young Democrats going to do it again?

 

Many have been wondering about this.

CNN reports, "When was the last time you saw a live television news report from Ukraine? It’s likely been a while.

"The raging war in the Middle East has put the prolonged war in Eastern Europe largely on the back burner, in terms of media coverage, with Vladimir Putin’s campaign of brutality against Ukraine receiving much less attention from the press than it did prior to the Israel-Hamas conflict breaking out.

"The noted drop in Ukraine war coverage from the press, given the fresh violence in the Middle East, is not completely surprising. The horrific acts of violence Hamas carried out in Israel has shocked the world, arresting the attention of those who normally pay little regard to global affairs. U.S. outlets have also been juggling several other important stories in the last several weeks, including disarray in Congress, Donald Trump’s legal issues and a monstrous mass shooting in Maine.

"But, at the same time, the drop in attention paid to Ukraine has been nothing short of a boon for Putin. The authoritarian Russian leader, who has committed unspeakable atrocities as his forces invade a sovereign nation, has been able to wage his war with far less scrutiny on his appalling actions."

 

There are some who think that Donald Trump will make a better President than Joe Biden.

Trump recently confused Barack Obama with President Joe Biden, first saying he was “leading by a lot” against Obama.” (Obviously, Obama is not running in 2024.) Then Trump declared, “With Obama, we won an election (2016) that everyone said couldn’t be won.” Trump claimed that Biden would get the United States into “World War II,” apparently forgetting that WWII ended seventy-eight years ago..

Trump provided an uplifting speech in New Hampshire recently, providing insight into his political opponents. He wants to jail them.. “We will root out the communists, Marxists, fascists and the radical left thugs that live like vermin within the confines of our country,”

Trump is facing multiple criminal and civil trials. The judge has already ruled that he committed fraud against the state of New York and may lose his license to do business in New York, his home state. He is charged with 91 felonies within four criminal indictments.

The knock against Biden. He turned 81 today.

I don't expect Republicans to respond.

 

When considering the safety of the witnesses, prosecutors, the former vice-president, court staff, and their families, the judges took into consideration that Trump's extremist followers ransacked our capitol. Over 1,100 of Trump's followers were arrested. Paul Pelosi, the husband of Rep. Nancy Pelosi was viciously attacked.

CNN reports, "A limited gag order from district Judge Tanya Chutkan – which was temporarily frozen by the appeals panel when they agreed to hear the case — restricts Trump’s ability to directly attack Smith, members of his team, court staff or potential trial witnesses. He was allowed to criticize the Justice Department, proclaim his innocence, can say that the case is “politically motivated.”

"After 2 hours and 20 minutes of oral arguments, the three-judge panel of the DC Circuit Court of Appeals appears inclined to restore the limited gag order in former President Donald Trump’s federal election subversion case, but may loosen some restrictions so he can more directly criticize special counsel Jack Smith.

"None of the judges embraced Trump’s claims that the gag order should be wiped away for good because it is a “categorically unprecedented” violation of his free speech rights.

"Yet they also posed sharp questions to prosecutors as they tried to find the boundary of where intense campaign-trail rhetoric crosses the line of undermining a criminal case."

 

The media has been listening to me. All of a sudden the coverage of the war in Ukraine is back.

Just kidding.

CNN reports, "On the global stage, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has been consistently on message: In visits to Washington and other Western capitals, he has focused on keeping Kyiv supplied with more advanced arms, ammunition and financing.

"At home, however, he faces a human resources problem. The war is approaching the end of its second year, and Ukraine’s military needs more manpower to sustain a bloody war of attrition against Russia, a country with more than three times the population of Ukraine.

"In a recent essay, Ukraine’s top military commander, Valery Zaluzhny acknowledged that training and recruiting troops was becoming a serious challenge.

"So, how serious is Ukraine’s mobilization challenge? The issue is clouded, in part, by official secrecy. Kyiv does not publicly disclose its manpower targets; nor does it reveal the total number of dead and wounded, although casualties on both sides since February 2022 are estimated to number in the hundreds of thousands."

 

CNN reports, "A judge in Colorado confirmed the feeling of many Americans when she ruled Friday, after hearing a week’s worth of evidence, that by inciting the storming of the Capitol on January 6, 2021, President Donald Trump engaged in insurrection against the country.

"But Colorado District Judge Sarah Wallace said that the “insurrectionist ban” in the Civil War-era 14th Amendment, which says American officials who take an oath to support the Constitution are banned from future office if they “engaged in insurrection,” does not apply to presidents."

"Does not apply to Presidents?" Where did the judge get that? She simply said that "any office, civil or military, under the United States,” does not include the office of the presidency.

Perhaps she doesn't understand the meaning of the word "any."

More than likely no judge in the land wants to tackle that provision in the Fourteenth Amendment. Some have said it is up to Congress.

 

Things are not going well.

ABC reports, "On a surprise trip to the Ukrainian capital, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin tried to rally support for Ukraine and even suggested Ukrainian forces would be “even more aggressive” in their fight against invading Russian forces throughout this winter.

"Austin’s buoyant prediction about the next phase of fighting comes after Ukrainian forces failed to achieve any decisive breakthrough during a six-month counteroffensive which came at a heavy cost for Ukrainian troops.

"There is also serious concern in Ukraine about the longer-term future of U.S. military aid, with some Republicans wanting to halt support.

"Speaking to reporters in Kyiv, Austin appealed to Congress to approve additional funding, calling it "a smart investment" in U.S. security.

"This is about … not living in a world where a dictator can wake up one day and decide to annex the property of his peaceful neighbor," Austin told reporters in Kyiv.

"However, weapons supplies are under additional pressure from the war in the Middle East.

"Just ahead of Austin’s trip, a Ukrainian official told ABC News that U.S. deliveries of NATO-standard artillery shells to Ukraine have fallen "by more than 30%" since Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza began last month.

"155mm artillery shells are arguably the most important munition for Ukraine in its fight against invading Russian forces, and some U.S. stocks, which were designated for Ukrainian forces, have been diverted to Israel."

 

The media thinks a deal to release some (20%) of the hostages is "imminent." Many are skeptical.. Hamas definitely needs a break in the fighting, and reports are they have agreed to the deal. Israel, bent on destroying Hamas after its Oct. 7 murder raid into Israel, has not agreed.

CNN reports, "Israel, Hamas and the US are on the cusp of reaching a deal for Hamas to release 50 women and children hostages taken during the October 7 terror attack on Israel, in exchange for a four-to-five day pause in fighting and three Palestinian prisoners from Israeli prisons for every hostage released, according to sources familiar with the negotiations. The Palestinian prisoners are also expected to be women and adolescents.

"Israel’s cabinet convened to consider the proposed deal on Tuesday, in a meeting that stretched into the early hours of Wednesday local time, following meetings of the country’s war cabinet and security cabinet.

“We are making progress. I don’t think it’s worth saying more, even at this moment, but I hope there will be good news soon,” Netanyahu said as he met with reservists on Tuesday.

"US officials close to the negotiations have stressed that while the deal is not done, they are increasingly optimistic and believe the many weeks of difficult work is about to pay off with a hostage release.

"The temporary ceasefire would potentially be extended beyond that for more hostages to be released. But Netanyahu has also made it clear that the war would continue after the end of the pause."

 

CNN reports, "The group trying to remove Donald Trump from the Colorado ballot based on the 14th Amendment’s “insurrectionist ban” has filed an appeal to the Colorado Supreme Court, hoping to overturn a lower-court ruling that said the ban doesn’t apply to presidents.

"The appeal was filed by Republican and independent voters who brought the lawsuit in coordination with a liberal-leaning watchdog group called Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington.

"Many experts believe the case will eventually reach the US Supreme Court in some fashion.

"Colorado District Court Judge Sarah Wallace issued a stunning 102-page decision Friday, that found Trump “engaged in an insurrection” on January 6, 2021, but concluded that the 14th Amendment’s “insurrectionist ban” doesn’t apply to presidents, based on the text of the amendment, which was ratified in 1868 in the wake of the Civil War.

"It says American officials who take an oath to support the Constitution are banned from future office if they “engaged in insurrection.” The provision explicitly bans insurrectionists from serving as US senators, representatives and even presidential electors – but it does not say anything about the presidency. It says it covers “any office, civil or military, under the United States,” and Wallace ruled that this does not include the office of the presidency.

"That key finding is what the anti-Trump challengers hope the Colorado Supreme Court will overturn."

 

Israel has agreed to the hostage release deal!

 

I knew it. There are problems with this hostage deal.

First, the two sides are still working on the details, very important details, such as who is going to be released, how many will be released and when.

We were told that the pause in the fighting would begin tomorrow and the release of hostages begin. That is no longer true.

CNN reports, "No hostages will be released before Friday, according to the Israel National Security Council. The start of an agreed temporary truce in fighting is also delayed until Friday, an Israeli official told CNN.

“Talks to release our hostages are advancing and are ongoing," the council said in a statement. "The start of the release process will take place according to the original agreement between both sides, and not before Friday."

The media is very tight-lipped on this development. The problem is, Israel is negotiating with a terrorist organization. That is not good.

"The temporary cease-fire paired with the release of hostages held in Gaza and Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails will likely not begin until Friday at the earliest, Israeli officials said on Wednesday night, as negotiators continued to hammer out details of an agreement between Israel and Hamas that would see a pause in fighting to allow for groups of hostages and Palestinian prisoners to be released," the Times said.

 

Israel will continue its siege of Gaza throughout Thursday.

Israel is anticipating delays in the negotiating process with the terrorist organization.

CNN reports, "There is uncertainty over the reasons behind a delay in the release of hostages from Gaza, with one Israeli official familiar with the matter downplaying its seriousness. They reduced the issue down to “fairly minor implementation details.”

"Another official told CNN part of the reason was Israel had not yet received names of the first hostages to be released by Hamas.

"Israeli media is reporting that neither Israel nor Hamas have signed the hostage release agreement, though it is not clear whether this should be enough to pause the deal.
Even so, no Israeli official has expressed concern the entire arrangement has fallen apart.

The Israel Defense Forces spokesperson had struck a note of caution over the hostage release process."

“This is a complicated process which is not yet complete – it will take time and will be executed in a number of stages. I wish to emphasize that it is not yet finalized, and it may yet take time until it is finalized,” Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said at his regular evening briefing.

“I don’t know when the truce will come into effect, but in the meantime … our focus is on the fighting,” he continued.

 

Based upon these attacks, it is easy to conclude Trump is dangerous.

He is the leading Republican candidate for the Presidency of the United States.

Trump continues to be a threat to others and his followers remain totally silent.

CNN reports, "The New York judge overseeing Donald Trump’s civil fraud trial and his law clerk have received hundreds of harassing messages that court security has deemed “serious and credible” since the former president began publicly criticizing court staff.

"Since October 3, when Trump posted on social media a baseless allegation about Judge Arthur Engoron’s law clerk, threats against the judge “increased exponentially” and were also directed to his clerk, according to Charles Hollon, a court officer-captain in New York assigned to the Judicial Threats Assessment unit of the Department of Public Safety, who signed a sworn statement.

"Hollon said the threats against the judge and his clerk are “considered to be serious and credible and not hypothetical or speculative.”

 

The Biden economy keeps humming along while Americans continue their bitching about the President.

Very puzzling.

ABC reports, "The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits fell sharply last week, a sign that U.S. job market remains resilient despite higher interest rates.

"The applications are viewed as a proxy for layoffs. They remain extraordinarily low by historical standards, signalling that most Americans enjoy unusual job security.

"The Federal Reserve has raised its benchmark interest rate 11 times since March 2022 to slow the economy and rein in inflation that hit a four-decade high last year. The job market and economic growth remained surprisingly resilient, defying predictions that the economy would slip into a recession this year.

"But hiring has slowed from the breakneck pace of 2021 and 2022 when the economy roared back unexpectedly [under President Biden] from the COVID-19 recession. Employers added a record 606,000 jobs a month in 2021 and nearly 400,000 last year. So far in 2023, monthly hiring has averaged a still-solid 239,000, but it's come in below 200,000 in three of the last five months."

“But job growth remains strong, the unemployment rate remains historically low, and businesses have yet to start reducing their workforce in a significant way,″ said Rubeela Farooqi, chief U.S. economist at High Frequency Economics.

 

ABC reports, "On Friday, 24 hostages, including 13 Israelis, were released by Hamas.

"Lt. Col. Gal Hirsh, appointed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to secure the release of Israeli captives in Gaza, has shared the list with family members of the hostages set to be released, Israeli officials said.

"Israeli security officials are checking the list, officials said, adding that more information will be released as needed. Note: No Americans were released.

"A new list of hostages to be released on Saturday was handed over to the Israel Defense Forces and Mossad, Israel's intelligence agency, Israeli officials said.

"The number of hostages to be released was not disclosed. Israeli officials said the list follows the schedule negotiated for freeing the captives in groups over a four-day cease-fire.

"The president said U.S. officials do not know when Americans -- including two women and 4-year-old Abigail Edan, whose parents were killed by Hamas terrorists -- will be among those that are released or their conditions. He added, “We expect it to occur” and that it’s his “hope and expectation” that it “will be soon.”

"There were 200 trucks carrying aid that entered Gaza through the Rafah border crossing on Friday -- the first day of the humanitarian pause.

"Of those 200 trucks, 137 unloaded goods at the reception point for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, the aid organization said. It was the largest single-day delivery of aid since Oct. 7, the agency said."

 

Donald Trump is a sick man, afflicted by extreme narcissism, and his rural base, largely farmers and shopkeepers, are not equipped to respond to the issues ... as this thread shows.

His writing indicates a person who has lost his sanity.

The Independent reports, "In what was bizarrely named a “Happy Thanksgiving” post on Truth Social, the former president unleashed once again on what he described as “the Racist & Incompetent Attorney General of New York State, Letitia ‘Peekaboo’ James”, “the Radical Left Trump Hating Judge, a ‘Psycho,’ Arthur Engoron” and “his Politically Biased & Corrupt Campaign Finance Violator, Chief Clerk Alison Greenfield”.

"Hours earlier, a court security official said Mr Trump’s violation of his fraud trial gag order led to Justice Arthur Engoron and his staff facing hundreds of “serious and credible” threats.

"On Friday, the former president’s attorneys dismissed those threats as “irrelevant.”

Donal Trump wants to be our next President. Little wonder as to why his fans are unable to respond.

 

Hamas must be very desperate. They are not looking forward to the IDF resuming its vicious and demoralizing attack on Gaza.

NPR reports, "Another 11 Israeli hostages were freed by Hamas on Monday, as Israel prepared to release more Palestinian prisoners in another swap under a temporary cease-fire deal. The latest exchange came on the same day that the two sides agreed to extend the truce, which was set to expire.

"The extension of the deal would allow for dozens more captives to be freed and increase the flow of humanitarian aid into the embattled Gaza Strip.

"Hours before Hamas freed the fourth batch of captives, the foreign ministry of Qatar said the truce had been prolonged. Qatar has been a key broker in the negotiations over the temporary cease-fire, along with Egypt and the U.S.

"In a statement, Hamas confirmed the agreement for another two days "under the same conditions as the previous truce."

"Israel did not immediately comment on the expansion of the cease-fire, but previously indicated its willingness to continue the arrangement for up to 10 days if Hamas continued freeing captives at a rate of 10 per day. Around 240 captives were seized by Hamas in last month's attack on Israel and about 1,200 people killed."

 

"President Trump famously declared during his 2016 campaign that he loved the “poorly educated” because voters with lower levels of schooling delivered an overwhelming share of votes to him," the conservative Washington Times."

Disregarding anarchists, foolish and uninformed voters, troublemakers, and other miscellaneous Trump followers incapable of responding to the issues, do Americans really want this.

Using a little know law passed shortly after the Revolutionary War, if elected President, Trump intends to use the military against cities controlled by Democrats.

Hard to believe, but true. Trump said it.

ABC reports, "Campaigning in Iowa this year, Donald Trump said he was prevented during his presidency from using the military to quell violence in primarily Democratic cities and states.

"Calling New York City and Chicago “crime dens,” the front-runner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination told his audience, “The next time, I’m not waiting. One of the things I did was let them run it and we’re going to show how bad a job they do,” he said. “Well, we did that. We don’t have to wait any longer.”

"A law first crafted in the nation’s infancy would give Trump as commander in chief almost unfettered power to do so, military and legal experts said in a series of interviews.

"The Insurrection Act allows presidents to call on reserve or active-duty military units to respond to unrest in the states, an authority that is not reviewable by the courts.

"Congress passed the act in 1792, just four years after the Constitution was ratified, Joseph Nunn, a national security expert with the Brennan Center, said. It's an amalgamation of different statutes enacted between then and the 1870s, a time when there was little in the way of local law enforcement.

“It is a law that in many ways was created for a country that doesn’t exist anymore,” he said.

"Trump has not spelled out precisely how he might use the military during a second term, although he and his advisers have suggested they would have wide latitude to call up units. A spokesman for Trump’s campaign did not respond to multiple requests for comment about what authority Trump might use to pursue his plans.

Trump is ignorant of our laws. He picks the fantasy he wants to believe and runs with it.

The danger lies in what Trump wants to do if elected President.

Deploying the military regularly within the country's borders would violate Posse Comitatus.

The Posse Comitatus Act of 1878, which removed the military from regular civil law enforcement, was enacted in response to the abuses resulting from the extensive use of the army in civil law enforcement during the Civil War and the Reconstruction.

 

Where are the American hostages/ The White House doesn't know.

NBC reports, "White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby told reporters that the U.S. does not know whether the American hostages in Gaza are being held captive by Hamas or another group in the enclave.

He added that the U.S. does not have details on the status of all the American citizens who were kidnapped from Israel on Oct. 7.

"We think the number is less than 10, probably in the neighborhood of 8 to 9," Kirby said, referring to the captives. "But we don’t necessarily have firm information on each and every one of them."

 

"President Trump famously declared during his 2016 campaign that he loved the “poorly educated” because voters with lower levels of schooling delivered an overwhelming share of votes to him," the conservative Washington Times."

Trump's followers, mostly farmers and shopkeepers in the rural counties of America, have placed Trump at the top of the Republican heap without knowing what he says and does. Most are unaware that Trump is charged with 91 felonies within four criminal indictments.

And they certainly do not know that Trump wants to use the military to invade Democratically controlled cities like New York and Chicago.

As shown by this thread, they are incapable of responding to today's issues.

So, of course, they don't know that a huge Republican backer is supporting. Nikki Haley. Hell, most of Trump's followers don't know Haley is running for President.

The Times reports, "The political network founded by the billionaire industrialist brothers Charles and David Koch has endorsed Nikki Haley in the Republican presidential nominating contest, giving her organizational muscle and financial heft as she battles Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida to be the top rival to former President Donald J. Trump.

"The group announced its plans in a memo on Tuesday.

"The commitment by the network, Americans for Prosperity Action, bolsters Ms. Haley as the campaign enters the final seven weeks before the Iowa caucuses. Since the first Republican primary debate, Ms. Haley has steadily climbed in polls, even as Mr. DeSantis has slipped. Mr. Trump remains the dominant front-runner in the race.

 

ABC reports, "Speaking with special counsel Jack Smith's team earlier this year, former Vice President Mike Pence offered harrowing details about how, in the wake of the 2020 presidential election, then-President Donald Trump surrounded himself with "crank" attorneys, espoused "un-American" legal theories, and almost pushed the country toward a "constitutional crisis," according to sources familiar with what Pence told investigators.

"The sources said Pence also told investigators he's "sure" that -- in the days before Jan. 6, 2021, when a violent mob tried to stop Congress from certifying the election -- he informed Trump he still hadn't seen evidence of significant election fraud, but Trump was unmoved, continuing to claim the election was "stolen" and acting "recklessly" on that "tragic day."

"Pence is the highest-ranking current or former government official known to have spoken with the special counsel team investigating efforts to overturn the 2020 election. What he allegedly told investigators, described exclusively to ABC News, sheds further light on the evidence Smith's team has amassed as it prosecutes Trump for allegedly trying to unlawfully "remain in power" and "erode public faith" in democratic institutions.

"Pence could take the stand against Trump should Smith's election interference case go to trial, which is currently slated to occur in March."

 

The 147 Republicans Voted to Overturn Election Results

CNN reports, "In her new book, former Rep. Liz Cheney paints a scathing portrait of the Republican Party, condemning her former colleagues and party leaders as “enablers and collaborators,” who after the 2020 election were “willing to violate their oath to the Constitution out of political expediency and loyalty to Donald Trump.,” and were willing to support former President Donald Trump, who she calls “the most dangerous man ever to inhabit the Oval Office.”

"Cheney delivers a particularly devastating takedown of former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, who she says told her that Trump knew he’d lost the election. Cheney is also critical of McCarthy’s successor, House Speaker Mike Johnson, who “appeared especially susceptible to flattery from Trump and aspired to being anywhere in Trump’s orbit,” she writes"