Before joining Raw Story, Brad Reed spent eight years writing about technology at BGR.com and Network World. Prior to that, he wrote freelance stories for political publications such as AlterNet and the American Prospect. He has a Master's Degree in Business and Economics Journalism from Boston University.
A Trump fan yells at a Muslim Uber driver (Screen cap).
A Donald Trump fan was caught on camera yelling obscenities at a Muslim Uber driver and telling him that he would soon be deported once Trump was officially sworn in as president.
The Washington Post reports that Chris Cody, a St. Johns University adjunct professor who speaks Arabic, was taking an Uber ride in Queens this past weekend when his driver started talking about a man in another car who accosted him and yelled racial slurs at him. The driver, who is Muslim, filmed the man's racist tirade and gave Cody permission to share it with the Post.
"Trump is president, assh*le!" the man shouted out at the driver, who is a Muslim man. "So you can kiss your f*cking visa goodbye, scumbag. They’ll deport you soon. Don’t worry, you f*cking terrorist."
The man also told the Uber driver that he was a "loser" and a "terrorist" who wasn't "even from here." The man then stuck up his middle finger as he drove away.
"I could tell he was upset," Cody tells the Post. "He didn’t tell me exactly why he decided to take a video. I think he was just so shocked by what happened."
How many strikes will New York Judge Juan Merchan permit until he turns the screws on defendant Donald Trump's suspected violation of a gag order?
Ret. Judge Jill Konviser, who served on the benches in both Manhattan and Brooklyn courts, suggested former President Donald Trump has been treated with kid gloves compared to others accused of crimes.
"I think he's given an amazing amount of leeway and in that sense, you know we hear Trump talking about him being treated differently," she said during an appearance on CNN, regarding Merchan's patience and tolerance with Trump after two days of trial. "He's getting a benefit here because the judge is not holding his feet to the fire."
Konviser believes Merchan is trying to be even handed "to move this case forward" and because he "doesn't want any more stops."
She suspects the clock is ever present for Merchan and so he "wants to get it over with."
Prosecutors for District Attorney Alvin Bragg's office are angling to hit Trump with $1,000 sanctions for each of the three gag order violations they say Trump is responsible for.
But Konviser believes Trump has been going too far.
In fact, on Wednesday Trump quoted on Truth Social Fox News anchor Jesse Watters who said: “They are catching undercover Liberal Activists lying to the Judge in order to get on the Trump Jury."
This particular post for Konviser is hard to not see as a violation.
She said that Trump is "dancing on the line crossing the line" to add to his "tango lesson" last week with previous posts.
"So I think the judge would be well within his rights to make that make that call now," she said, noting that Merchan has to be prudent to prevent a mistrial. "But what does it get him at the end of the day, we still want to get through this as quickly as possible."
As a mutiny appears to be building from the right flank to clip House Speaker Mike Johnson from his post, the Louisianan is forging ahead to put a U.S. national security aid package to back war-torn Ukraine and Israel.
One of those Republicans who has been an outspoken critic of Johnson is Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) who appeared on CNN's "The Lead" with Jake Tapper to express his souring on his fellow conservative colleague.
"I would rather us do our job, try to move this stuff forward and work together, — but I will say I'm very disappointed in the speaker," he said. "This is a bridge too far in terms of where we're headed right now in terms of putting Ukraine first rather than America's borders first."
"I am sympathetic and open to having a conversation about Israel and Ukraine but only after you've done your job to secure the border in the United States; and so that's my starting place."
A pink slip drumbeat has been increasing ever since Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) threatened to sack Johnson by filing a
motion to vacate the speaker from office.
The move is reminiscent of the fate that befell former speaker Kevin McCarthy last year.
Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) joined her in seeking Johnson's removal.
Johnson's response, according to Massie, was to say fat chance.
"He said he would not."
Greene reinforced her determination for a change of guard posting on
Twitter/X: “Speaker Johnson must announce a resignation date and allow Republicans to elect a new Speaker to put America First and pass a Republican agenda.”
“I am not resigning,” Johnson boomed after meeting with fellow House Republicans at the Capitol. “We are simply here trying to do our jobs,” Johnson said, adding that the talk of his demise as speaker were “absurd ... not helpful.”
Roy wishes the speaker could return to his original stance of protecting America's borders first.
"I would love to do what we need to support Israel again... but in this $95 billion package there's $9 billion and humanitarian aid... which if you go look at it goes to fund Hamas," he told Tapper. "So if we funding Israel, I support it, but we're also funding Israel's enemies and funding has this is the kind of duplicitous crap the American people are tired of."
"So I'd like to go back to the drawing board, pass Israel stand-alone and not have this package that has that funding and it did that i think is nefarious and focus on the border first."
Rep. Marc Molinaro (R-NY) went off on Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) in an interview with CNN's John King on Wednesday evening, pinning much of the congressional dysfunction on her and demanding she move on from her threats to call a vote to remove House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA).
Greene has turned on Johnson as he faces pressure to bring a vote in the House on defense aid to Ukraine — something she adamantly opposes despite Johnson having loaded the proposed legislation with compromises to the far right, like making some of the aid into loans.
"I'm going to read some numbers that you know too well," said King. "These are more for our viewers. You went 51-49 — you're a freshman — you just want 51-49 while Biden carried your district, President Biden, by nearly five points in a presidential year, you're in a tough district."
"What happens when you raise your hand in the room and say, people, people, if we keep up the circus, I won't be here next year?" King followed up.
"Well, I would offer to you that I truly don't make my decisions based on that, but there are good number of us who understand that we live in a divided nation," said Molinaro. "We have a bipartisan government and the only way good policy is going to be made better. The only way we're going to stand shoulder to shoulder with our allies, Israel and Ukraine, the only way we push back against evil like Putin, is to do an a bipartisan way, and I'll want to be judged by my ability and willingness to work across the aisle with anyone who's honest in earnest about solving the problems that face america and the people I serve."
Regarding Greene, he added, "her theater in this constant effort to hold the Congress hostage has to come to an end. I'm gonna have no part in it and a good number of my colleagues, conservative and moderate, believe that enough is enough. It is time to move on and to move past this kind of nonsense."
