Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) on Sunday disavowed the far-right Patriot Front group after a march in New York City.
In a viral video on Saturday, members of the group could be seen marching toward the World Trade Center. The purpose of the protest was not immediately clear, but marchers carried a sign reading, "No Zionists in Government."
"Not a 'right wing' group," the lawmaker wrote on X. "Definitely not MAGA."
"The correct label would be 'FED-wing' whether some of them know it or not," she opined. "Is this entrapment operation just going to continue marching all around in their stupid masks?"
Reacting to reports that Donald Trumpwould like to take the stand on Monday at the E. Jean Carroll defamation trial, MSNBC legal analyst Lisa Rubin poured cold water on it, saying there is no reason for him to even show up.
"What can we expect if he's there, will he testify, will he get cold feet, what are you preparing for?" host Psaki prompted her guest.
"Jen, we have to prepare that he is going to come, if for no other reason than the sheer logistics of how disruptive his presence in any courthouse or courtroom has been," Rubin began before predicting, "However, my expectation is that, like he has before, he's bluffing, that he will not come to testify tomorrow."
Elaborating she continued, "That is in part because there's a very limited range of issues about which he could permissibly testify. This trial is just about damages, it's not about whether he sexually assaulted her, it's not about whether he defamed her or even continues to defame her with each passing day of the campaign. So, ultimately, I predict he won't come and, indeed, our folks in New Hampshire have not seen any indication that he's preparing to testify by taking the time for witness prep."
A Republican voter told CBS News that he was "not exactly worried" about abortion rights for women.
During CBS'
Face the Nation program on Sunday, host Margaret Brennan asked a panel of Michigan voters about what would happen to abortion rights if Donald Trump was re-elected.
"Do you think that there will be federal limits on abortion access?" Brennan said to a Republican voter named Sean.
"No, I don't believe so, because I think the court has been quite clear, and this was through their opinion in the Dobbs case, allowing states to tailor their own methods for regulating abortion and then in the several concurrences by the justices who wrote that opinion, that it wasn't going to be federally regulated," the Republican voter said. "The only way you can do that is if you change the Constitution."
"Or write a new law," Brennan pointed out.
"Well, they could write a new law, but unless they add it into an amendment, then I could see the court swiftly striking it down like the court does with many things in either presidency for Trump or Biden," Sean said. "So I'm not exactly worried about that issue."
"I would like to see instead what I just said, where Congress does make an amendment protecting the life of everyone, including people in the womb," he added.
But two women Democrats on the panel quickly disagreed.
"I wish I had confidence that you say in our Supreme Court justices," one Democrat said. "I'm very concerned about reproductive freedom in this country."
"Same," the second woman agreed. "I think it was, you know, looking bigger picture, just the last few Supreme Court nominees, the process was totally upended and totally disregarded."
"And I think it starts with that, and then freedoms were rolled back, such as reproductive freedoms," she remarked. "I think just again, the American people are for some type of abortion protection. Certainly, there's a sliding scale, but for the federal government to just disregard that and go the other way, I think, is appalling."
A long MSNBC panel discussion between conservative pollster Frank Luntz and former GOP strategist Rick Wilson ended with Luntz shaking his head in disagreement after Wilson predicted what would happen if a somewhat viable third-party candidate jumped into the 2024 presidential race.
After Luntz attempted to make the case that he could see a late-surging third-party run impacting the final 2024 results, and stating he saw it as a good thing, Wilson disabused him of the notion by pointing out it would likely propel Trump into the White House again with disastrous results.
Luntz stated his case, saying on Trump voters, "I know this is going to disagree with so many of your viewers, but they really want common sense. They want someone who doesn't change left to right, doesn't choose Republican or Democrat. They want someone who gets the job done in a smart, intelligent, effective way."
"The challenge, again I say this to viewers because I know you care about this so much, is I do believe there's going to be a third party." he continued. "I believe it's not going to be a binary choice. What you can see happening is that all those people in the center, 20, 25, even 30 percent will search for another alternative to Trump and to Biden. That is something that we need to start to consider, even now in January 2024."
"I love the idea of a third party, of a broader party system but like St. Augustine said, 'Lord, make me good, but not yet'," Wilson parried. "This is a moment where we are in a fight between Joe Biden and Donald Trump, everything else is a distraction and everyone else puts this country at risk."
"If we believe the luxury good of imagining that a third party could win 270 Electoral College votes, which has never happened, and it will not happen in our lifetimes given the two-party system, we are not going to be in a state where we have a lovely third-party imaginary candidate in. We're going to be in this position where Steve Bannon, Stephen Miller, and Donald Trump are running an authoritarian government in Washington, D.C., and America will not look like anything we recognize," he summed up.
That left Luntz with his lips pressed together and shaking his head in disagreement as host Ali Velshi interjected, "Guys, I love the disagreements. I respect you both about it, I can see Frank still nodding but, you know what? You both are friends of the show, so you're welcome here all the time."
NBC host Kristen Welker called out Gov. Chris Sununu (R-NH) after he admitted he would support Donald Trump in the general election despite concerns about potential abuse of power.
While Sununu supports Nikki Haley in the Republican presidential primary, Welker pointed out that he has said he would back Trump if he wins the GOP nomination.
"As you probably heard this week, Donald Trump
argued that a president has to have, quote, total immunity from prosecution even for things that cross the line, including, as his lawyers argued in court recently, for killing political rivals," Welker told Sununu. "Do you agree? Should a president have total immunity even for things that cross the line?"
"Of course not," Sununu replied. "The amazing thing about that clip is he was dead serious. He wasn't even making one of his ridiculous jokes. He was dead serious about that."
"I don't care what political party you're from, whether you're an extreme conservative or a socialist liberal, everybody should be concerned with that type of mentality going into the White House," the governor remarked.
"And yet you are saying if he is the nominee, that you are going to support him," Welker observed. "How can you say that you'll support him?"
Sununu didn't back off his plans to support Trump.
"At the end of the day, I think most Republicans are going to get behind the Republican nominee," he opined. "I'm hoping that it's obviously Nikki Haley. This is how bad Joe Biden is."
Welker pushed back.
"And yet you're saying that the comments by Donald Trump, everyone should be worried about that," the NBC host said. "It's clear that Trump's rhetoric and actions contributed to the January 6th insurrection. How can you support someone who you believe contributed to the insurrection?"
"No one's really thinking about the general election right now," Sununu scoffed. "If you want to beat Donald Trump, it has to happen at the ballot box. Don't sit on your couch. Don't wait for it to happen."
Fox News host Maria Bartiromo faced disagreement from Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX) on Sunday after she complained about his vote to fund the U.S. government.
"We begin this Sunday morning with Republican leadership coming up empty once again on securing the southern border as they agree to a third continuing resolution, once again extending the Democrat agenda set by then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer back in December of 22," Bartiromo announced as she kicked off her interview with McCaul.
"But in the end, they caved with 107 Republicans in the House and 26 in the Senate joining Democrats to continue funding the government with no money and no new security at the wide open Texas border," the Fox News host continued. "The chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Congressman Michael McCaul, Chairman McCaul was one of the 107 House Republicans to join 207 Democrats in voting to keep funding the federal government through early March without new border funding."
"So why did you do it?" she asked McCaul. "Why did you kick the can down the road and continue funding this government when you are up close and personal at the border and you see the devastating impact?"
"Well, I didn't kick any can down the road," he said. "I didn't want to take my football and go home and not play on the football field. You can't win the game if you're not on the field. And the fact is, it would jeopardize our military readiness at a very dangerous time."
"Our veterans and you know what I was with our border patrol all day yesterday for me to come home and tell them we're not going to give you your paychecks to do your job," he added. "That's insulting. What we need, Maria, is about a month to get this right."
"I think we made the responsible decision going home with their football and not being on the field doesn't solve anything."
Appearing on CNN after he recently delivered an overly enthusiastic endorsement of Donald Trump, Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) was confronted with his own words about the Jan. 6 insurrection when asked about the former president calling the rioters "hostages."
Appearing on "State of the Union," the South Carolina Republican was admonished by host Dana Bash for repeated accusations that the Department of Justice has been "weaponized" by President Joe Biden before pressing him on Trump defending convicted insurrectionists.
"Senator, I understand that you're talking about Joe Biden, but I do want to get your thoughts in a more fulsome way on Donald Trump, because your endorsement was a big deal and is a big deal," Bash began. "I want to take one of the examples that I gave. Donald Trump calls the January 6th rioters hostages. You were at the Capitol that day and you said that you took off your jacket, rolled up your sleeves, and you were prepared to defend yourself, quote, 'presumably until I died.'"
"Would you call the people who are now facing prosecution 'hostages'?" she pressed.
"I would say that every single person facing our justice system should have justice done," he offered. "The facts and the evidence in each individual case matters. I have confidence that that process will play out. Here's what I said also in the book that I wrote. I talked about January 6th because I'm one of the few people who was actually there. With the people outside, 99 percent of the people who showed up were there to exercise their First Amendment rights. What I said then is what I'll say now. I don't hold those people at harm. I don't hold them responsible for the actions of a few. I do hold the few responsible."
"So, to use your words, 'the few,' who are being prosecuted and going through the justice system, would you call them hostages?" Bash pressed.
"I believe that our Department of Justice should allow a jury of our peers to make the decisions. That's America," he replied, once again avoiding the question.
"So just to be clear, and I want to move on, you disagree with Donald Trump calling them hostages, it sounds like," the CNN host asked again.
"For the third time, I believe that we should have confidence in restoring the blindfold to Lady Justice's eyes," Scott replied.
ABC News host Martha Raddatz pressed Gov. Doug Burgam (R-ND) about his support for Donald Trump despite the candidate's apparent declining "mental acuity."
During a Sunday interview on ABC's
This Week program, Raddatz noted that Trump had recently confused former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) with Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley.
"The campaign has made a huge issue of 81-year-old President Biden's age and mental acuity," Raddatz told Burgum. "But take a listen here to this clip of Donald Trump, the 77-year-old, when he confuses Nikki Haley and Nancy Pelosi."
Burgum blamed the slip on Trump's hectic campaign schedule.
"I've been on the campaign trail, and I know when you're going around the clock, it's possible to, you know, to make, make, I don't want to say use words that don't fit in sentences," Burgum replied. "But I would say, you know, having been with the president last week and I went in New Hampshire and watching him go for 20 hours a day, I know that he's got, he's got the strength, he's got the experience to lead."
"And I think that if we're going to have, you know, the gaffe tape, you know, run that this morning on Joe Biden, there wouldn't be enough time on this show," he added.
"Saturday Night Live" kicked off its 2024 season by introducing cast member Chloe Fineman as Donald Trump's much-derided attorney Alina Habba who began by saying of her legal skills, "I am new at this and I am learning."
From there, Trump, played by James Austin Johnson, took over the proceedings by acknowledging Habba is "the worst lawyer I’ve ever had, which is quite an accomplishment," before sniping at the assembled lawyers behind him and stating, "This is the bottom of the barrel, folks, this is who said yes. I’m in the lead for president and this is the best I can get. Feels like a red flag. Well, you’re not getting paid, by the way. You know that, of course you do."
Addressing speculation that he is sliding into dementia, he continued, "As you can see, I am doing very well cognitively. Doing great with cognitive. I think I’m doing great with cognitive. I’m more cognitive than ever,” before adding, "The doctors said, ‘Sir, you have to be in the top 99 percent of all the concussion and dementia people we give this test to.' I said, ‘Wow, I guess I’m very good at recognizing elephants. Who knew?’ And now we’re here."
Referencing Trump recently telling Iowa Republicans to go caucus even if they were deathly ill, he added, "My people love me. I got the old people. They’re waiting in the snow for 2 hours to vote for Trump. We just need them to stay alive until November; stay alive until November. Just pull that lever and drop dead. Why? Because I am sent by God, and God has a plan for me, or whatever.”
Donald Trump on Saturday evening ordered his audience and/or security team members to remove a man who appeared to be yelling during the former president's New Hampshire rally.
Trump was speaking at the SNHU Arena in Manchester, New Hampshire, when he interrupts himself to say, "Who is this? You can get him out of here, get out of here."
He continued:
"Go ahead, you can throw him out," the former president said, causing the audience to boo the individual and then chant "U.S.A."
"Now we know politics is getting serious. He is just a disturbed person. That used to happen all the time. People used to call for it, we want it back," he said as footage shows the man being physically removed.
The former president then changed the subject, saying, "This is only happening, all of this, because all of the weaponization."
Donald Trump is facing serious cases from legitimate prosecutors who could end up getting a conviction against the former president, according to Joe Tacopina, who recently left Trump's legal team.
Tacopina, who earlier in the Saturday MSNBC interview opened up about his reasoning for leaving Team Trump, was also asked about which case against his former client could possibly go the distance. Tacopina seemed to think that the federal cases are more worrisome for Trump than the two local criminal cases.
"The two federal cases are serious cases. I think they are not to be taken lightly. Let's put it that way," Tacopina said, before the host Al Sharpton asked him if a conviction is possible.
"Is it possible? Absolutely," Tacopina said. "You have a jury of 12 who is ultimately going to decide this. Jack Smith is a federal prosecutor who I knew from his days in Brooklyn. That's a serious prosecutor. These are federal cases, and you have a jury."
Tacopina went on to say Trump was indicted by grand juries and will likely face trials in unfriendly territories.
"That's going to be something to really have to grapple with there," he said. "You can't say there's no way he will get convicted, there is no way he will be sentenced."
The lawyer who recently ditched Donald Trump's team just opened up about his reasoning in what he called "the first and only" interview he will do on the topic.
Joe Tacopina represented the former president at the initial E. Jean Carroll trial, which Trump didn't attend and ended up losing. Just before the second trial, Tacopina left and took two other attorneys with him, according to news reports.
Now, Tacopina appeared on MSNBC's PoliticsNation, where he was interviewed by American civil rights activist Al Sharpton, with whom Tacopina said he has worked extensively.
"By the way, it's the first and only interview, reverend, that I will be doing on this topic. You are someone, obviously, very special to me. Someone I have a relationship with," Tacopina replied.
He then said he "had to follow my compass."
"My compass told me my time there was done. There are a lot of personal reasons that went into that. Things that I can't and won't discuss."
Appearing on MSNBC on Saturday morning, conservative attorney George Conway was asked how the jury in the E.Jean Carroll defamation trial is likely viewing Donald Trump in the flesh as opposed to just seeing clips of him on TV.
In a word, the attorney said they are being exposed to a "psychopath."
Getting right into it with the hosts of MSNBC's "The Weekend,' Conway explained, "When you see little clips of him, you kind of think you know, it's reality TV. He's silly, he's harmless, it's just nonsense and he just does his thing, he does his schtick. But when you see him up close and in person you start to realize there's something seriously wrong with him."
"And that's what happens with his own people," he continued before recalling, "Remember how his chief of staff, General Kelly, brought in a book, like the psychiatrists had written about Donald Trump, saying he was completely out of his mind, and he [Kelly] is like, 'This is the key. We could figure this out!'"
"People learn, there is something seriously wrong with this guy, and I think what this jury is going to learn, which is like you are in this solemn proceeding you are taking this seriously, and jurors generally don't look at scams and people behaving badly in the courtroom, and here, they have this psychopath sitting right there," he elaborated. "It's got to be off-putting and scary, and just appalling to them, because they were actually seeing him in the flesh, this real person, not this caricature on TV, this self-caricature on TV. They're seeing the face, the face literally, of evil right there."
