There was criticism in Israel on Thursday for President Joe Biden's threat of an arms freeze in the event of a further advance in Rafah in the south of the Gaza Strip.
Far-right Israeli Police Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir wrote on X on Thursday that the Palestinian Islamist Hamas loves Biden.
To make his message clear, he placed a heart emoji between the words "Hamas" and "Biden."
Israeli opposition politicians criticized Ben-Gvir for endangering Israel with such statements.
Barron Trump will be cast as one of Florida's at-large delegates when the Republican National Convention takes place this summer, NBC News reported.
When the three-day event kicks off on July 15 it will feature former President Donald Trump's youngest child playing a significant role to be alongside his older siblings to formally welcome their father as the Republican candidate to rival incumbent President Joe Biden.
“We have a great delegation of grassroots leaders, elected officials and even Trump family members,” Florida GOP chairman Evan Power told the outlet, after they received a list of the delegates expected to represent the Sunshine State. “Florida is continuing to have a great convention team, but more importantly we are preparing to win Florida and win it big.”
Eric Trump is the Florida delegation’s chairman and, according to NBC News, joined Power, the Florida GOP chairman, on a phone call with party leaders Wednesday night.
The others include Donald Trump Jr. fiancée Kimberly Guilfoyle, Michale Boulous, the husband of Tiffany Trump; former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, longtime Trump adviser Sergio Gor; prominent Trump donor and former Marvel Entertainment Chairman Ike Perlmutter among others.
The high-profile move dovetails off a recent report relying on sources close to the family saying that Barron, who turned 18 in March, wants to shed the isolated presence in the shadow of his gatekeeping mother, First Lady Melania Trump, once he graduates high school and heads to college.
Barron has retained much more of a private life than his older brothers, Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr., both of whom will also serve as Florida at-large RNC delegates, along with Trump’s daughter, Tiffany.
Barron's name splashed in recent headlines after his father requested a day off from his criminal hush money trial to attend the graduation.
Stefanie Lambert, a pro-Trump attorney, has been indicted on new charges by Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, who is additionally charging Adams Township Clerk Stephanie Scott, alleging the pair helped someone access confidential voter information.
According to The Detroit News, "Nessel, a Democrat and the state's top law enforcement official, revealed the charges in a news release, which didn't detail specifically which pieces of data were allegedly made available to an unauthorized individual through what Nessel's office described as a '2020 election voter data breach.' Lambert, an attorney who was once involved in a suit to overturn Democrat Joe Biden's 2020 presidential victory in Michigan, illicitly transmitted data from the Adams Township electronic poll book 'concerning the 2020 general election under the direction of Scott,' the statement from the Attorney General's office said."
An electronic poll book would include names and addresses of voters in a given precinct, which is not public information.
"When elected officials and their proxies use their positions to promote baseless conspiracies, show blatant disregard for voter privacy and break the law in the process, it undermines the very essence of the democratic process," stated Nessel. "Those who engage in such reckless conduct must be held accountable for their actions.”
Lambert was already charged with "undue possession of a voting machine, conspiracy to commit undue possession of a voting machine, conspiracy to commit unauthorized access to a computer system, and willfully damaging a voting machine," and turned herself in to authorities in March after being targeted by a bench warrant.
Additionally, Scott's arrest is not the first time a local elections officer has been implicated in an alleged criminal scheme to validate Trump's conspiracy theories about the 2020 election being stolen. Tina Peters, the former clerk of Mesa County, Colorado, was sentenced to home detention and community service last year for obstructing government operations, after a scheme in which she worked to breach elections equipment.
In a lengthy sit-down with independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., MSNBC's Ari Melber on "The Beat" confronted the third-party candidate about his suspected bromance with former President Donald Trump, his opponent and presumptive Republican nominee for the 2024 election.
Melber mentioned how RFK Jr. "seems warm" to Trump and "he is clearly warm towards you."
"I would definitely disagree with that," he said. "He just called me a 'radical effing liberal." (A Republican group reportedly launched that profane campaign.)
Melber doubled down. "But he also said you're a common sense guy and you guys in public have exchanged warm words; I think that's fair. And you said you're proud —
"I have said good things about President Biden too," RFK interjected.
Melber then confirmed that Kennedy voted for former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton when she ran against Trump in 2016.
"What, since 2016, in his first term and then him refusing to leave office peacefully and January 6th and everything since then has made you warmer towards him," asked Melber.
Said Kennedy: "I can explain I'm running against him so obviously I don't want him to be president of the United States and I don't think he did a good job.
"And if you go look at my speeches, my statements, I am not mean-spirited and I think President Trump's and President Biden's administrations have been catastrophic for this country; they've run up a $34 trillion debt."
He then added that Trump and Biden have "both been catastrophic."
At one point both Melber and Kennedy clashed with the latter accusing the host of stoking vitriol.
"What have I said today that is vitriolic," Melber asked.
Kennedy snapped back: "... that is more vitriolic, more polarized, more poisonous and at any time since the American Civil War; and it's all being amplified by the social media algorithms. And it's hard to see a way out of that."
He continued: "If somebody doesn't come along and say, 'I'm not going to participate in that, and even people act crazy on both sides, I'm not going to be part of that craziness—'"
Melber played a medley of recorded statements Trump made over the past decade including denigrating migrants and praising White Nationalists and "convicted seditionists."
"People don't see what you seem to be saying, which is a type of false equivalence; do you see something different about that this election," Melber told Kennedy.
"This is why I say you're feeding the vitriol," Kennedy countered. "You're trying to get me to hate on President Trump."
Melber disagreed. He said he has laid out Trump's own statements and actions and that Trump is right now saying he has a "license to kill, license to coup, will pardon all those people — you seem to be saying, discussing that as vitriolic. No, it's not."
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden said Wednesday he would stop US weapons supplies to Israel if it attacks Rafah in southern Gaza, his most direct warning to date over the prosecution of the war against Hamas.
In an interview with CNN, Biden deplored the fact that civilians had been killed by the dropping of U.S. bombs on the Palestinian territory.
His warning came after the US last week halted a shipment of huge American bombs to Israel as it appeared ready to proceed with a major attack on Rafah, which is packed with Palestinians displaced by the war.
While Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) took to the House floor on Wednesday to introduce her motion to vacate House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) from office, a group of her fellow Republican lawmakers gathered on the Capitol steps to rail against what she was doing — and one lawmaker in particular didn't seem to rule out supporting some form of punishment for Greene.
"Do you think Marjorie Taylor Greene should be punished?" one reporter asked Rep. Dusty Johnson (R-SD).
"One dumpster fire at a time," Johnson replied. "Let's take care of the motion to vacate, and then we can worry about whatever comes next."
The motion to vacate rule was approved at the start of this Congress, with then-Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) agreeing to it as a condition for the far-right Freedom Caucus ending their blockade on the vote to elect him speaker. However, he only lasted in that role a few months before Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) and a band of renegades used the rule to throw him out of office, resulting in weeks of chaos that finally resolved with Mike Johnson being elected in his place.
Gaetz has claimed he ousted McCarthy for breaking deals with the Freedom Caucus, but he has reportedly admitted in private he really did it as revenge for an Ethics Committee investigation into him.
Greene, a far-right lawmaker known for her embrace of conspiracy theories, was a close ally of McCarthy and opposed that motion to vacate. However, she has become increasingly angered with Johnson as he passed short-term bills to keep the government open, and in particular allowed military defense spending for Ukraine, Taiwan, and Israel to clear the House. She has moved ahead even as former President Donald Trump himself voices support for the current speaker, and House Democrats signal they will intervene to prevent Johnson from being ejected.
Congress overwhelmingly denied Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene's (R-GA) rogue move to oust House Speaker Mike Johnson, an effort that reportedly earned a pitiful
11 votes.
"The House has resoundingly tabled a motion to oust @SpeakerJohnson..." writes Punchbowl News founder Jake Sherman.
The governmental body moved to "table" or kill Greene's motion to vacate the speaker's chair in a vote that was 359-43.
Republicans crafted a set of rules at the start of the new legislative session that began in Jan. 2023. Among those rules is one agreeing that a very small group of officials could remove the speaker for any reason. That happened first after former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) was voted out by a small group of irate conservatives led by Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL).
After a long battle for a replacement, Johnson was named. Now, after less than a year, he's the new foe of another sect in the GOP. The "Republicans in disarray" theme earned ridicule from those online watching the House devolve on Wednesday.
In fact, as Greene motioned to vacate the chair of Speaker of the House, the members of the House booed her.
Liam Donovan quoted President Barack Obama's often-used line, "Don't boo, vote," but modified it, adding "to table" at the end.
Grassroots political organization Really American said, "The boos from her fellow Republican colleagues rained down on her so vigorously, the House had to temporarily suspend."
"Hoo boy. Marge Greene is beginning efforts to remove Speaker Johnson. How long before we have Speaker Hakeem Jeffries?" said legal podcaster Allison Gill a.k.a. @muellershewrote.
Democratic strategist Sawyer Hackett agreed, "The Republican House majority is an absolute hot mess."
"Marjorie Taylor Greene is speaking now, moving forward with a motion to remove Mike Johnson. Why? He dared work with the rest of the Congress and not just MAGA extremists," Rep. Mike Levin (D-CA) posted on X. "The House under GOP control is, once again, complete chaos and dysfunction. This is a complete disgrace."
Republicans don't want to talk about a new development in former President Donald Trump's 2024 presidential campaign that one political expert warns will prove important.
MSNBC correspondent Molly Jong-Fast shared on X Wednesday afternoon an intriguing exchange between a Capitol Hill reporter and a conservative lawmaker who fled his questioning.
"Republicans don’t want to talk about this," said Jong-Fast. "But it seems important."
The journalist was The Hill staff writer Alex Bolton and the lawmaker was Sen. Todd Young (R-IN), who reportedly claimed he was "bored" by the interview request.
"I don't feel like answering any questions about politics," Young reportedly told Bolton. "I'm bored by it. Thank you."
While Young gave a broad reply, Bolton said he was cut off while asking a very specific topic: the 128,000 votes former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley claimed in the Indiana primary Wednesday night.
This isn't the first time the former United Nations ambassador took a chunk of votes away from Trump, having claimed 17.8 percent of the Arizona primary vote, 13.2 percent in Georgia, and 16.1 percent in Kansas.
Jong-Fast's assessment of the situation quickly garnered positive replies from followers who agreed Haley's popularity could prove problematic for Trump.
"In every single primary, even after she dropped out, Haley got significant votes," said Dream.org policy manager Joshua Hoe. "It is a real problem for DJT."
Even a pundit on the conservative television network Newsmax agreed Haley's votes spelled trouble for Trump, video shared by President Joe Biden's campaign shows.
"If he's missing out on a 100,000 votes in a state like that, and then 155,000 in Pennsylvania two weeks ago," the pundit said, "you can't tell me he doesn't have a problem."
A Republican member of Congress spurred outrage Wednesday with a political assassination joke broadly condemned by people who include a onetime co-defendant of former President Donald Trump and a Democratic strategist. It also garnered applause from MAGA right pundits.
Rep. Mike Collins (R-GA) appeared to be riffing on presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s newly reported statement that a worm ate part of his brain and died.
"You either die a Kennedy with a hole in the brain," Collins wrote, "or live long enough to become a Kennedy with a hole in the brain."
Collins made this statement about one month before the 56th anniversary of the assassination of the candidate's father, Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, who was fatally shot on the presidential campaign trail on June 5, 1968. He died of a severe brain injury the next day.
His brother President John F. Kennedy was fatally shot on Nov. 22, 1963 as he rode in a motorcade through downtown Dallas. He was struck in the neck and head.
On Wednesday, Collins' comment quickly made the rounds on social media where a slew of people in the political realm shared their disgust with the Georgia lawmaker.
Among them was Jenna Ellis, the former Trump attorney who accepted a plea deal in his Georgia election racketeering case last year.
"No," Ellis wrote. "Just….. no."
Democratic strategist Adam Parkhomenko took a lighter tone that included an unspoken jab at the 70-year-old Kennedy Jr., currently running as an independent against Trump and President Joe Biden.
"Way to ruin the fun," he replied.
CEO Robert J. Salvador suggested Collins backtrack on the statement, arguing it was not fitting from a member of the House of Representatives.
"Yea you should prob delete this one," he wrote. "You’re an elected official and it’s a disgusting comment."
Several journalists joined in to share their surprise and ire, among them Huffington Post political reporter Jennifer Bendery, On Democracy podcaster Fred Wellman and John Harwood, former journalist for the New York Times and Wall Street Journal.
"Holy s---, congressman," replied Bendery.
"This jack--- is working hard to be the biggest POS in Congress," wrote Wellman.
"Repugnant," said Harwood.
But Collins also earned approbation from far-right commenters such as pro-Trump activist Laura Loomer and podcaster Joey Mannarino.
"Whoever is doing your tweets deserves the biggest raise," Mannarino said.
"We need to strip @SpeakerJohnson of the nickname 'MAGA MIKE' and give it to Mike Collins @RepMikeCollins instead," added Loomer. "B---SY AF!!"
A projected Indiana Republican primary winner died two months ago, according to Wednesday reports.
Per the Colorado Gazette, 59-year-old Jennifer Pace died "suddenly in early March, according to reporting from the IndyStar and WIBC Indianapolis, and had previously run for the nomination in 2022, earning 12% of the vote."
The state's primary elections were held Tuesday, May 7, Newsweek reports. Pace was nominated to run against Democratic incumbent André Carson for control of Indiana's 7th Congressional District in November.
"No one knew she was dead. Last week I researched the candidates online. I read their websites and questionnaire responses. I googled them. No mention of her death. No obituaries," a social media user who lives in the district wrote, according to the Gazette.
"Given her responses I strongly considered voting for her. Local media failed again."
Indiana Republican Party Press Secretary and Digital Director Griffin Reid provided a statement to the Gazette on Pace's death, saying, "It is our understanding that that is accurate."
When asked about whether the state GOP knows the cause of her passing, Reid replied, "We do not."
Newsweek notes, "The seat is unlikely to become competitive in November, as the district comprises Democratic-leaning Indianapolis."
The data center in question is being built by Microsoft in the same area where Trump once pledged electronics manufacturer Foxconn would build "the eighth wonder of the world" and usher in a slate of well-paid blue-collar jobs.
Microsoft, meanwhile, has pledged that its new data center will initially create 2,300 construction jobs and then as many as 2,000 data center jobs once the project is complete.
While discussing the project in Wisconsin, President Biden drew a sharp contrast between himself and his primary opponent in the upcoming presidential election.
"Six years ago, when my predecessor came...with the promise of 'claiming our country's proud manufacturing legacy,' and we had 'Infrastructure Week' every week for four years and we didn't build a damn thing," he said.
"He and his administration promised a $10 billion investment by Foxconn... In fact, he came here with your senator, Ron Johnson, literally holding a golden shovel, promising to build the 'eighth wonder of the world.'"
Biden recalled to the crowd a promise he said Trump left completely unfulfilled.
"Are you kidding me? Look what happened!" he exclaimed. "They dug a hole with those golden shovels -- and then they fell into it!"
Biden noted that many homes in the area were bulldozed for the project, even though it never came to fruition.
"Foxconn turned out to be just that -- a con," Biden said. "Go figure!"
Fox News' Peter Doocy, who is well known for getting into sparring matches with Biden White House press officials, highlighted some news on Wednesday that President Joe Biden's campaign couldn't resist sharing.
During a Wednesday morning broadcast on "Fox & Friends," Doocy discussed Microsoft's announcement that it would be building an artificial intelligence data center in Mount Pleasant, Wisconsin — the same location where former President Donald Trump once vowed to build a job-creating Foxconn plant that never came to fruition.
As the Wall Street Journal reported, Biden traveled to Wisconsin to tout the new project on Wednesday along with executives from Microsoft, who "said the new site would initially create 2,300 construction jobs and eventually as many as 2,000 data center jobs."
"Microsoft said it is also investing in a new AI lab at the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee campus to train workers to use AI technology," noted WSJ.
"Fox & Friends" host Steve Doocy, who happens to be Peter Doocy's father, made sure to note that the Microsoft data center was being built in the same community where "Foxconn said, 'We're going to build a big plant' and they never did."
"Yes," replied Peter Doocy. "And that was a huge Trump announcement back then and he said that the factory was going to be the 'eighth wonder of the world.' But then Foxconn decided to really scale back their plans and the land is still available, so Microsoft is going in."
"It's going to be good for those people," Steve Doocy replied.
The official Biden-Harris HQ Twitter account took note of the reporting and made sure to tout it in a rare instance of the conservative cable news network providing positive coverage of the Biden White House.
