May you govern well and return our federal government to some semblance of our Founders’ vision.
Tag: Donald Trump
Trump to Visit Muslim Community in Dearborn, MI
LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Donald Trump is set to visit Dearborn, Michigan — the nation’s largest Arab-majority city — on Friday, according to a local business owner who first insisted the former president call for peace in Lebanon before hosting him.
Metro Detroit is home to nation’s largest concentration of Arab Americans, with a large chunk of them living in Dearborn. The city — which President Joe Biden won by a 3-to-1 margin — has been roiled by political turmoil, with many upset with the Biden administration’s handling of the Israel-Hamas war.
While Vice President Kamala Harris has been working through surrogates to ease community tensions, Trump’s visit will mark the first by either candidate, according to a local leader, Osama Siblani. Earlier this year, Harris met with the city’s Democratic mayor, Abdullah Hammoud, though their discussion took place outside Dearborn.
Sam Abbas, the owner of The Great Commoner in Dearborn, told The Associated Press that Trump was set to visit his restaurant.
“We expect some remarks around ending the war and bringing peace to the Middle East,” said Abbas. “I’m not here to get political. I’m not here to tell people which way I’m voting. I am simply here because our family is being slaughtered and we just want to end the war. Stop the bombing.”
Israel invaded Gaza after Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack and last month launched an invasion of Lebanon to suppress Hezbollah, the militia that has continuously launched rockets into Israeli territory. At least 43,000 people have died in Gaza, according to Gaza’s health ministry, which does not distinguish in its death toll between combatants and civilians.
I think there are two major things in play here for why the Muslim community is lining up to support Trump. First, Muslim Americans are, after all, Americans. They are as frustrated with the higher cost of living, open borders, tax increases, etc. of the Biden/Harris administration. Muslims are also generally socially conservative (to put it mildly) and don’t like the woke BS infiltrating everything we do. For these voters, their religion is not necessarily the primary driver – just like Christians, Jews, and atheists who support Trump.
Second, for the Muslim Americans who are basing their support on America’s foreign policy in the Middle East, Trump’s foreign policy was far more effective in creating a framework for peace than Biden/Harris’ foreign policy. He was able to do this without wavering in his support for Israel by building connections on the basis of mutual self-interest – like a business deal. Trump was also more effective at keeping the crazies in their caves. He did this partially with the effective use and threat of force, and partly with effective diplomacy with the countries who can help control them. Trump neutered Iran, destroyed ISIS, and kept Russia at bay in the region. For Muslim Americans who want peace with dignity in the region, Trump is more likely to be able to deliver it.
Trump Trolls Garbage Comment Slur in Green Bay
Trump, however, told reporters while riding in the garbage truck that “250 million people are not garbage.”
Trump Works the Drive Through
We don’t see this kind of retail politics (pun intended) as much as we used to. The videos and pictures are just fun.
Former President Donald Trump has long been known for his love of the Golden Arches.
After landing at the Philadelphia International Airport on Sunday, Trump and his team traveled to a McDonald’s franchise in Feasterville-Trevose, Pennsylvania, where he donned an official employee apron and began handing out orders to customers waiting in the drive-thru lane. He also helped cook the restaurant’s signature fries.
And the Democrats responded with a characteristic lack of humor or humanity.
“When Trump feels desperate, all he knows how to do is lie,” Harris campaign spokesman Ian Sams told Business Insider. “He can’t understand what it’s like to have a summer job because he was handed millions on a silver platter, only to blow it.”
Trump at the Al Smith Dinner
This speech is great for a couple of reasons. First, the fact that Trump went to the event and delivered the speech while Harris sent an idiotically cringy prerecorded video is a statement. Trump is adhering to normalcy and willing to engage people in person while Harris is constantly hiding. When Harris comes out of hiding, like the Fox interview, it’s a disaster. Put this speech in contrast to Harris’ Fox interview or even her appearance on The View. The contrast is startling. Trump is clearly ready to be president again. Harris never will be.
Second, the speech itself is a riot. Funny, clever, smart, engaging… this is Trump in long form when he is at his best. Watch the whole thing. You won’t regret it.
Trump Appeals to Non-Traditional Republicans with Broad Message
Notice how the issues on which Trump is attracting non-traditional voters are the same ones that appeal to traditional Republicans. His message is a broad one on issues that impact everyone – the economy, the border, and cultural rot. The response from Harris is to offer racist, targeted, crass handouts based on race and ethnicity to woo back those voters. Trump’s message is one for all Americans. Harris’ message is the continued segmentation and dividing of Americans into the pigs and the sheep.
With just weeks to go until the US presidential election, Kamala Harris is ramping up efforts to court black and Latino voters. Despite holding a clear lead among both groups, some Democrats have warned she needs to do more to energise these voters to turn out for her in November.
That’s in part due to recent polling which suggests Harris’s Republican rival Donald Trump is having success in winning over black and Latino voters, a continuation of gains he made in 2016 and 2020.
One New York Times and Siena poll indicated Harris had 78% support among black voters, compared to around 90% support for Democrats in recent elections, with men accounting for most of this drop-off.
[…]
The economy, particularly inflation and the cost of living, is the primary issue for a majority of voters.
This is the case for many black and Latino voters, with the New York Times suggesting a sizable majority of both groups are dissatisfied with the current state of the American economy.
[…]
Echoing the broader US electorate, both black and Latino voters have expressed concern about immigration and the handling of the US-Mexico border by the Biden administration.
Strong border controls and a pledge to deport millions of undocumented migrants form a central part of the Trump campaign’s platform.
[…]
Political science Professor Quardricos Driskell said black male voters in particular have turned away from what some see as a Democratic “embrace” of social agendas contrary to their own views.
“There’s this perception that there has been this assault on masculinity and what that means,” he said. “I think that’s what some black male voters are railing against.”
Trump Surges Among Men
I think this has less to do with Trump and more to do with a cumulative societal response.
Polls indicate the political gender gap among young people has widened since Kamala Harris became the Democratic nominee in July. Overall the vice-president seems to be pulling more young people into her camp – but her support among young women has risen faster than her support among young men.
Recent research by the Harvard Youth Poll indicates 70% of women under age 30 support Harris, while 23% plan to vote for Trump. Among men in the same age group, 53% back Harris and 36% support Trump.
Daniel Cox, director of the Survey Center on American Life, part of the conservative American Enterprise Institute think tank, says that the political gender gap mirrors larger social divisions which have left many young men feeling like few politicians are looking out for them.
For at least 20 years, our entire culture has shifted to ignore or outright denigrate men. From school to politics to entertainment, our culture has been trying to rectify the previous generations’ oppression of women by overcorrecting the other way. The result is a generation of men who have been told their entire lives that they are the lesser of the two genders. Of the two major political parties, the Democrats have doubled and tripled down on this cultural shift. The Republicans have actually started to respect men again. Ergo, men – especially young men who are less ideologically inclined and more culturally inclined – are leaning toward the Republicans. Trump is a beneficiary of this trend and is making some effort not screw it up.
Another Trump Assassin Thwarted
Thank goodness everyone is safe.
Former President Donald Trump is safe following an apparent assassination attempt at his Florida golf course, and a “potential suspect” is in custody, US authorities have confirmed.
Secret Service agents spotted the barrel of a rifle poking through some bushes and opened fire at him, officials said. The FBI said Trump was 300-500 yards away at the time.
An AK47-style firearm and scope, along with two backpacks and a GoPro camera, were later found at the scene.
A witness reported seeing the suspect running from some bushes and jumping into a black Nissan car after the agents had fired at him multiple times.
We should know more in the next few days. It does seem clear, however, that after years of the Left telling people that Trump is evil and a “threat to democracy,” that there are plenty of unhinged Leftists who believe it to be their duty to prevent Trump from returning to the White House by any means necessary. Political violence in our nation is heavily weighted to one side.
Trump Proposes Ending Income Taxes on Overtime Pay
Been busy… I’m slowly returning to a more regular schedule.
Former President Trump on Thursday called for ending taxes on overtime wages for individuals who work more than 40 hours a week, his latest proposal to slash individual taxes if he is reelected.
“We will end all taxes on overtime. You know what that means? Think of that. That gives people more of an incentive to work, it gives the companies a lot, it’s a lot easier to get the people,” Trump said at a rally in Arizona.
“The people who work overtime are among the hardest working citizens in our country, and for too long no one in Washington has been looking out for them,” he added.
The proposal would require congressional action. Trump did not offer additional details about how it would work.
The Harris campaign in a statement dismissed Trump’s proposal as “desperate,”
Trump is right in that it will encourage people to work more. It’s an instant raise for working overtime on top of a higher wage. It will also likely see a lot of people push to move to hourly wages instead of salaried. That eases pressure on businesses to layoff people when business is down because they can cut hours instead. Hourly employees are a much more variable expense than salaried ones.
In other news… the Harris campaign will be copying this proposal in a few weeks.
Trump Accused of Choosing Towns with Racist Histories
Wow… are they reaching, or what? Is there any town in America that couldn’t be said to have a racist past or racist present? Heck, Milwaukee is one of the most racist cities I’ve ever experienced.
During a campaign stop at the Livingston County Sheriff’s Office in Howell, Michigan, Donald Trump suggested that deputies there should be deployed to the majority-Black city of Detroit.
“I’d love to have them working there during the election,” he told the group on August 20, standing in front of law enforcement officials and squad cars.
A week later, Trump held a “town hall” in La Crosse, Wisconsin. The next day, he rallied in Johnstown, Pennsylvania. He will speak in the town of Mosinee, Wisconsin, on September 7.
These relatively small cities — spread across midwestern swing states and far from dense metropolitan areas — all have one thing in common: They are former “sundown” towns, where threats of Jim Crow-era violence enforced racial segregation.
Or, hear me out, Trump chooses communities that have a nearby airport and are full of Trump supporters. But that’s what the reporter here is actually saying, isn’t it? You rural rubes who don’t live in big cities and support Trump are all racists, aren’t you? That’s how the media and the Left (but I repeat myself) sees you.
Trump Proposes Ending EV Tax Credit
Yes.
YORK, Pennsylvania (Reuters) – Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump said on Monday that if elected he would consider ending a $7,500 tax credit for electric-vehicle purchases and that he would be open to naming Tesla CEO Elon Musk to a cabinet or advisory role.
“Tax credits and tax incentives are not generally a very good thing,” Trump told Reuters in an interview after a campaign event in York, Pennsylvania, when asked about the EV credit.
Asked if he would consider naming Musk to an advisory role or cabinet job, Trump said he would. “He’s a very smart guy. I certainly would, if he would do it, I certainly would. He’s a brilliant guy,” Trump said.
Iran Hacked Trump Campaign
Clearly, Iran has a favorite in this race and a vested interest in the outcome.
Iran was behind the recent hack of Donald Trump’s presidential campaign, US intelligence officials have confirmed.
The FBI and other federal agencies said in a joint statement that Iran had chosen to interfere in the US election “to stoke discord and undermine confidence in our democratic institutions”.
The Trump campaign pointed the finger at Iran on 10 August for hacking its internal messages. Iranian officials denied it.
Sources familiar with the investigation told the BBC’s US partner, CBS News, that they suspect Iranian hackers also targeted the campaign of Democratic presidential contender Kamala Harris.
Notice how the story is written… we confirm that Iran hacked Trump, but to give the appearance that Iran hates Harris just as much, we get unnamed “sources familiar with the investigation” saying that they “suspect” that Iran “targeted” Harris too. There is no evidence or named sources to back it up, but the FBI and media have to run cover for Harris.
Trump’s Agenda in 36 Words
‘Basically, we’re going to drill, baby drill, get the energy prices down, almost immediately, we’re going to close the border and get the bad ones out,’ the Republican began. ‘And we’re gonna let a lot of people come in.’
There is almost universal support for welcoming more legal immigrants into our nation. We are, as they say, a nation of immigrants, after all. But we need to keep out the crooks and the communists. And we need to lean heavily toward people with valuable skills that will benefit our nation and allow them to support themselves. That allows for a reasonable number of true refugees too.
Trump Chooses Vance for VP
Meh.
The first-term senator from Ohio is now by Trump’s side as vice-presidential running mate – and, by extension, an early frontrunner for the Republican presidential nomination in 2028 – with a reliably conservative voting record and Midwestern roots that Republicans hope will boost support at the ballot box.
What I like: he’s a veteran, young, smart, appeals to middle and lower-class Americans, has a beautiful all-American family, and he’s quick on his feet.
What I don’t like: he’s more populist than conservative and is more of a mini-me Trump.
In general, the VP pick matters little. The election will be decided at the top of the ticket. Vance will be an effective communicator of the Trump message. But he doesn’t broaden the appeal.
One thing this pick does confirm is that the Republican Party has moved decidedly into the more populist direction. Trump no longer feels a need to pick a classic conservative or libertarian Republican to unify the party. It’s already unified behind him.
Trump’s Sentencing Delayed
I’m not a lawyer, but I don’t see how the SCOTUS ruling would impact a state case about something that candidate Trump allegedly did. Even if one accepts the facts of the case, it would not be an official act of a president.
A New York judge has delayed Donald Trump’s sentencing until September as his lawyers seek to challenge his conviction after a Supreme Court ruling.
Trump was initially scheduled to be sentenced on 11 July.
His legal team asked for his conviction in a hush-money case to be overturned after the nation’s highest court ruled Monday that former presidents had partial immunity for “official” acts during their presidency.
Justice Juan Merchan said on Tuesday that he would issue a decision on the motions by 6 September.
If sentencing is necessary, the judge wrote, it will take place on 18 September.
Call me cynical, but I believe that the sentence will be in direct correlation to Trump’s position in the polls at that time.
Presidential Debate Answers a Lot of Questions
I listened to the debate on WISN, which had the Fox News Radio feed. Some thoughts, but first this:
The president came into the debate with a low bar to clear, and he stumbled. He was flat. He was rambling. He was unclear.
Roughly midway through the debate, the Biden campaign told reporters that the president was battling a cold – an attempt to explain his raspy voice. That may be so, but it also sounded like an excuse.
For 90 minutes, more often than not, Joe Biden was on the ropes. Particularly early in the evening, some of his answers were nonsensical. After losing his train of thought he ended one answer by saying, “We finally beat Medicare” – an odd reference to the government run healthcare programme for the elderly.
[…]
For those of us who have been paying attention, Biden’s terrible performance was not a surprise. At least, the fact that he’s an incoherent, mumbling, liar who is clearly well down the path of mental decline, was not a surprise. Perhaps the only surprise was the degree to which that is true and the fact that he is so far gone that they couldn’t juice him up enough to even pull off the first half hour of the debate before slipping.
The most pressing concern I had throughout the debate is, “WHO THE HELL IS RUNNING THIS COUNTRY!?!?” And no matter what one thinks about how the debate impacts the election, it cannot be overstated how the world just saw that the United States is rudderless without a captain at the helm right now.
While Biden’s performance was very bad, Trump’s performance was pretty good. There were a few times when he let his temper get the best of him and he strayed, but most of the time he was measured, direct, and stayed on the issues.
I was also pleasantly surprised by the debate format and moderators. I enjoyed the way each candidate spoke with very little crosstalk. The format, with slotted time and muted microphones, ended up favoring Trump. It kept him disciplined and on message. And the questions, while slightly slanted to the Left, were not terrible. They asked hard questions about the economy, border, inflation, etc. to Biden. These are issues that favor Trump. Of course they asked about abortion and global warming too. Trump’s answer on the abortion question was quite good. It was nuanced and compassionate while Biden’s was a screed. The only hot topic that was glaringly missed was about trans issues. But given the content of the rest of the debate, it may have just fallen victim to time.
By the standard that it is very hard to win a debate, but the goal is to not lose… Biden clearly lost. But even had Biden been more coherent in his delivery, his content was also bad. He contradicted himself on raising taxes, the inflation rate when he took office, and his administration’s record. He also shamed himself by bragging about the Afghanistan surrender and ignoring the Americans who were killed. Biden repeated proven lies, like the Charlottsville claim, even though that was debunked as recently as last week. It is clear that there is a world happening in his addled brain that is a reflection of BS that his wife and staff have been feeding him, and there is the world we are all living in. We needed a president who was willing and able to address the real issues hitting Americans. Biden is not that president.
Will the Democrats replace Biden? That seems to have been the overarching question after the debate being proffered by liberals and conservatives alike. I think some might try, but it will be difficult. There are two major roadblocks. First, the Democratic Party consolidated so much power into the hands of the president during Obama that Biden holds all of the reins of power. They cannot oust him without his consent. Given Biden’s tremendous ego and seemingly sincere belief that he is doing a great job and is the best protection for America against Trump, I do not think he will abandon his campaign unless he dies.
Second, who do you replace Biden with? The only real choice is Kamala Harris. She has the national name recognition and the Democrats have been telling us for four years that she is the best person to be a heartbeat away from the big chair. But if there is any Democrats less liked than Biden right now, it’s Harris. And were she to be the nominee, she would still have to own the disastrous results of the Biden presidency. But her ego is such that she will not willingly step aside either. And the intersectionality of the Democrat Party culture will not abide them pushing aside a Black woman in favor of another candidate. Such a move would fracture their already fragile coalition.
I believe that the most likely scenario is still that Biden meanders his way to November with his staff doing their best to hide him and gaslight the American people. Then the American voters will have a choice to make. Let us hope that that choice will be accurately reflected by our questionably secure and accurate electoral process.
Voting for the Least Bad Choice
Of those who said they see the election as a judgement on Trump, most vote for Biden, 66 percent to 34 percent. When people see it as a judgement on just Biden, they vote for Trump, also 66 percent to 34 percent.
With voters who see it as a comparison between the two candidates, slightly more respondents are voting for Trump, 53 percent, over Biden, who shored up 47 percent support.
Zelensky Stumps for Biden
He knows who is buttering his bread. You’ll forgive me if I put little stock in the opinion of a wannabe dictator welfare queen.
‘Does (Trump) want to become a loser president? Do you understand what can happen… the institutions of the United States will become very weak – the US will not be the leader of the world anymore.’
[…]
‘A ceasefire is a trap,’ he said, adding that Putin would humiliate Trump by violating the terms of any deal to ‘go further’ in Ukraine and pursue his own goals.
He said that failure to continue providing Ukraine with aid and military support would degrade America’s reputation as a powerful world leader.
‘This is not about him [Trump], as a person but about the institutions of the United States. They will become very weak. The US will not be the leader of the world any more… in terms of international influence it will be equal to zero,’ the Ukrainian president declared.
He also warned a Trump decision to end US support of Kyiv could embolden other countries and groups with nefarious intentions to risk waging wars of their own.
And finally, he confirmed that he remains in close contact with former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, whom he said he was ‘using as an instrument’ to hold informal talks with the US, and apologised for doing so.
Trump Convicted
We all knew it was inevitable because it was clear from the beginning that the trial was rigged. A biased partisan prosecutor fabricated charges in front of a hack judge and a jury of stupid rabid liberals with not enough integrity to see past their own hate to uphold the rule of law. All of this was done for political reasons to eliminate a presidential candidate for the benefit of the sitting incumbent. From the perspective of thinking of the general health of our Republic, this is a true turning point. We do not easily walk back from this.
From a political perspective, the verdict is still out. No doubt this will continue to polarize the electorate. I can say from personal observation that it has hardened my mind. It has moved me from being a grouchy and reluctant Trump voter to one who will vote for him for the sake of our Republic. If Biden and the Democrats are allowed to retain and extend their power after throwing their opponents in jail, they will repeat the tactic at all levels forevermore. Biden has become America’s Putin.
It is also noting how the Democrats are willing to mobilize the entire judicial system to prosecute and convict Trump for an alleged paperwork crime (it was not a crime) from a decade ago, but they let rapists, thieves, and violent criminals walk the streets with impunity. Were I a New Yorker, I would be beside myself that I can’t safely walk through Central Park while my politicians use the police and judicial system to further their political interests.
There will be brighter days, but our Republic is different now. Worse. More flawed. Less fair. Less free.
Liberal Columnist Greives over Prospect of Trump Win
One would never know from looking at the data that Trump is the defendant in a criminal trial in New York City that’s been going on for weeks, where testimony has implicated him in cheating on his wife with a porn star and planting sleazy smears of his political opponents in national tabloids.
Trump critics have spent nine years waiting for Americans to have a “eureka” moment that he’s unfit for office. But the problem has never been getting voters to recognize that he’s unfit; the problem has been getting them to agree that he’s less fit than his opponent.
Between persistent inflation, left-wing wedge issues like the war in Gaza and of course his very advanced age, Biden is less qualified now than he was four years ago to make the case that he’s the fitter of the two candidates. Despite his best efforts to turn the race into another referendum on Trump, the data suggests that for most voters it’s more of a referendum on the incumbent, as reelection bids tend to be.
For cripes sake, he’s at 33% in the Times swing-state poll when Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Jill Stein and Cornel West are included as options for respondents.
In fact, despite Biden trailing Trump in Arizona, Nevada and Pennsylvania, the same Times poll finds the Democratic candidates for Senate in all three states leading their Republican opponents.
Democrats likewise lead in the generic ballot average nationally even though Biden consistently trails Trump head-to-head. The president’s the weak link in the Democratic Party, plainly; a meaningful share of swing voters who are open to voting for Democrats in principle really do not want to vote for him again.
It took me a while to get Trump’s appeal in 2016, but I think I get it now. I can understand this columnist not getting it. What continues to flummox me is liberals’ inability to see Biden’s failures. His term has been an utter disaster on the domestic and foreign fronts. Americans are significantly less well off in terms of their economic well-being and physical security since Biden took office. And yet, liberals seem to keep thinking that it’s a messaging problem. It’s not. It’s a performance problem. And even though Trump is a mess of a man, he was a helluva a president. Americans get that.