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September 5, 2024
Trump campaign says the former president believes 'anyone convicted of a crime' should be jailed
(NBC News) From Donald Trump’s perspective, his upcoming sentencing in the New York hush money case should include jail time. A spokesperson for his 2024 campaign commented this week on reports of a Trump clemency recipient being convicted of a domestic violence-related charge by saying, "President Trump believes anyone convicted of a crime should spend time behind bars.” The statement from Trump’s national press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, to The New York Times was in response to a new conviction of Jaime A. Davidson, whose sentence Trump commuted in 2021.
Go to discussionSignificantly more swing-state voters view Trump as a "threat to the country" than Harris
(Washington Post) Across six key swing states — Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin — an average of 54 percent of registered voters said Trump was “too extreme,” with 48 percent also saying that he threatens the country. In each state, at least half of voters said Trump was “too extreme,” and at least 46 percent said he was a threat to the country. Harris’s numbers were significantly lower: An average of 44 percent said she was “too extreme,” and just 39 percent regarded her perceived extremeness as a threat to the country. In no state did a majority regard her as too extreme; most voters instead regarded her as “generally mainstream.”
Go to discussionGOP sees worrying signs in North Carolina governor's race
(The Hill) Republicans in North Carolina are facing worrying signs in the governor’s race amid a torrent of negative headlines surrounding their candidate, Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson. Most polls in recent months have shown Democrat Josh Stein, the state’s attorney general, leading Robinson, an ally of former President Trump who has drawn criticism for his past rhetoric on everything from abortion to the civil rights movement. Some Republicans fear Robinson’s controversial persona could cost them the governor’s mansion — and the challenge will be even tougher for him as Vice President Harris has seemingly made inroads in the state as well.
Go to discussionNew Hampshire is the latest sign of Donald Trump's shrinking map
(Politico) Donald Trump hasn’t set foot in New Hampshire since he won the state’s GOP primary in January. His campaign hasn’t sent a high-profile surrogate here since the spring. And now, even as they insists he can win here, some of Trump’s most ardent supporters in this blue-leaning swing state are openly saying that his campaign should focus its efforts elsewhere. It’s a marked shift from when New Hampshire was among the bluish battlefields where Trump’s campaign boasted it could expand its electoral map as President Joe Biden faltered.
Go to discussionGoldman Sachs Warns a Trump Win May Slow the Economy
(Daily Beast) Goldman Sachs analysts predict another Donald Trump presidency could cool down economic activity with a “hit to growth.” In an analysis released Tuesday, the investment bank said Trump’s strong-armed foreign policies on immigration and tariffs on Chinese imports could cut into America’s gross domestic product (GDP) by as much as a half percentage point in 2025 before it rebounds. “We estimate that if Trump wins in a sweep or with divided government, the hit to growth from tariffs and tighter immigration policy would outweigh the positive fiscal impulse,” they wrote.
Go to discussionNote to Corporate Media: You Don't Have to Act Like Trump and Vance Are Serious People
(The Rude Pundit) Trump likes to say that all of his incoherent, disorganized storytelling is called "the weave" by English professors and he says it has a point. Let me assure you, as an English professor (no, really), it's not called that. The only weaving is Trump creating fiction out of lies and the point is to spread hateful propaganda. News media should report that he's lying and then figure out if it's intentional or if he's fucked in the head or both. There is no realm where this or anything Trump says needs to be taken seriously except as evidence of how delusional he is. And also how confused.
Go to discussionWhat journalism isn't. We see lots of examples of how news should not be covered.
(Marc Jacob) Journalism isn’t the mere act of turning on the microphones and letting politicians talk. Journalism isn’t inviting proven liars to come on your TV show and lie to your audience, and then thanking them for it. Journalism isn’t done for the benefit of journalists. Journalism isn’t listening to a lie by a lifelong liar and pretending to your audience that he might be telling the truth this one time. Journalism isn’t pretending dangerous people are not dangerous people because you don’t want those dangerous people coming after you. Journalism isn’t presenting political criminals as amusing characters. (more...)
Go to discussionLiz Cheney says she is voting for Harris for president
(CNN) Republican former Rep. Liz Cheney will vote for Vice President Kamala Harris in November, she said during remarks at Duke University, according to audio obtained by CNN. “As a conservative, as someone who believes in and cares about the Constitution, I have thought deeply about this, and because of the danger that Donald Trump poses, not only am I not voting for Donald Trump, but I will be voting for Kamala Harris,” the former Wyoming congresswoman said Wednesday, noting the importance of voting for Harris in battleground states like North Carolina.
Go to discussionTrump Jan. 6 case gets its first hearing since the Supreme Court's immunity ruling
(NPR) Lawyers for the Justice Department and former President Donald Trump are set to appear in federal court in Washington on Thursday for what could be the final hearing in his election interference case before the November election. This year, voters will decide the race for the presidency — and, by extension, whether Trump will ever face justice on charges that he led overlapping conspiracies to try to cling to power. A D.C. grand jury indictment accused Trump of actions that culminated in the violent siege at the U.S. Capitol in early 2021. If he regains the White House, Trump is expected to direct new Justice Department leaders to drop the landmark case.
Go to discussionThe Christian Group Quietly Installing Poll Workers in Swing States
(New Republic) A group of Christian nationalists will be working the polls across the country this election season. A group called “Lion of Judah,” led by self-described Republican opposition researcher Joshua Standifer, is traveling the nation to recruit Christians to “key positions of influence in government like Election Workers.” The group plans to stop what they believe will be widespread election fraud in November as “the first step on the path to victory this Fall.”
Go to discussion