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'It happened under George W. Bush': Katie Britt shamed by MSNBC guest over ugly Biden lie

Sen. Katie Britt's State of the Union response after President Joe Biden addressed Congress has moved on from being mocked for the Alabama Republican's over-the-top dramatic presentation to being ripped apart for a blatant lie at the center of her speech.

At the center of the controversy was Britt's claim that, after she took office, the GOP senator stated she traveled to Texas where she met a woman who had been a victim of sex trafficking, with Britt telling a national TV audience the woman "... had been sex trafficked by the cartels starting at age 12. She told me not just that she was raped every day, but how many times a day she was raped."

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'Stop donating': Ex-Trump White House official urges RNC boycott after family takeover

Appearing on MSNBC on Saturday afternoon, a former Republican National Committee staffer who rose to advise the Donald Trump White House on national security issues urged conservatives to close their wallets and stop giving donations to the RNC.

Speaking with host José Díaz-Balart, Olivia Troye expressed dismay that her former employer is now being run by former North Carolina Republican Party Chairman Michael Whatley — a Trump loyalist — and Trump's daughter-in-law, Lara Trump.

"Olivia, you once worked for the RNC. How do you view this installation of Watley and Trump?" the host asked.

"I think it is horrific. I think the RNC, well, yes, they'll support the presidential candidate, but they are supposed to be supporting Republicans across the board, Republican candidates," she replied.

ALSO READ: ‘We're wounded:’ Speaker Mike Johnson struggles to lead GOP after ‘unnecessary purging’

"Instead, I feel like this is officially, overtly, become the Trump legal defense fund," she continued. "So I would say to Republican voters and independents stop donating to the party because the candidates are not going to see that money— we know that. "

"Think about where your funds are going and if you care about electing rational sane Republicans, focus on them directly maybe or turn away from what this is," she added. " Because, really, this is just an enabler for Trump and it's embarrassing."

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Trump warned by pollster that wavering voters 'hate him a little bit more'

According to conservative political strategist and polling expert Sarah Longwell, both Donald Trump and President Joe Biden have a problem with voters who are unhappy about their choices in the upcoming presidential election.

And that is worse news for the four-time indicted former president.

Speaking with CNN host Chris Wallace, Longwell discussed voters labeled "double haters" in a New York Times/Sienna College poll that pegged their number at a whopping 19 percent of the electorate.

That huge number is where the election will be won or lost she explained.

"I want to talk to you about something I've been hearing a term in the last few days that is new to me: 'double haters,'" host Wallace prompted. "I want to put up a poll. I have to say, I like this, it fits the campaign perfectly. In a New York Times poll, 19 percent were described as double-haters because they disapprove of both Biden and Trump. And Biden is, correct, currently leading among the double-haters 45 percent to 33 percent."

ALSO READ: 'What a piece of work': Marjorie Greene's 'childish' SOTU response trashed by Senate Dems

"So Sarah are the double-haters a real thing and who's going to end up winning the double-haters," he asked.

"So I conduct focus groups all the time and the double haters are absolutely a real thing," Longwell replied. "In fact, because we have this phenomenon here, where you essentially have two incumbents running against each other, the persuadable chunk of voters is different this time."

"It is people who have, they, they know both these guys and they don't like either," she continued. "And so that's why this is going to be a really negative campaign because persuadable voters — to bring them over — you're gonna have to make them hate the other guy more."

"The phrase that we hear in focus groups all the time, and if it was a drinking game we'd all be dead, is 'the first lesser of two evils' and what they mean is 'I'm basically going to make my decision on who I hate, slightly less' and Biden usually cleans up on that front because people hate Trump a little bit more," she concluded.

Watch below or at the link.

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Dem lawmaker who sat next to MTG dishes on her 'muttering' during Biden address

On MSNBC's "The Weekend," the Democratic lawmaker from Wisconsin who sat next to Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) during President Joe Biden's State of the Union address provided the hosts with a play-by-play on what the controversial House member was raging about to herself during the speech.

According to Rep. Gwen Moore (D-WI), she took the seat because she arrived late and didn't want to stand for the speech after also being advised that no one wanted to sit next to the controversial Georgia Republican.

Pressed by the hosts about the experience, she stated, "I thought I would just ignore her but I couldn't, you know? I was fact-checking her in real-time."

ALSO READ: A criminologist explains why half of America does not care about Trump's crimes

Asked for examples, she replied, "I was trying to draw — bring out some empathy and to see if she had any, you know, and to recognize that, you know, instead of spending all of our time, you know, being surprised and shocked at Donald Trump having these supporters to try to listen to them."

"For example, this is a really good example," she continued. "When he [Biden] talked about Bettie May Fikes, who I have met on the march to Selma to the Edmund Pettus Bridge when he talked about her being there and voting rights and John Lewis. She said, '1965?' She was really truly surprised, I think. 'Nobody is having their — being prevented from voting.' Now, that was 1965. I said 'no girl, they tried to take my vote from me,' because I voted and used a drop box in the last election.' "

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'It's messed up as hell': Ex-RNC head launches epic rant over Ronna McDaniel's failures

On MSNBC's "The Weekend", former Republican National Committee chair Michael Steele went on a blistering rant aimed at outgoing RNC head Ronna McDaniel's tumultuous tenure by pointedly stating, "I was winning elections. What did you do?"

With McDaniel walking away — only to be replaced by Donald Trump loyalists — and asking for "unity," Steele, from his perch as the co-host of MSNBC show, wasn't having it.

"The unity thing is a two-way street, he lectured. "And you don't have unity when you refer to Republicans like me as a RINO [Republican In Name Only] who's been in the party for over 50 years. You don't have unity when you disavow and break apart the very foundations of a once proud party based on the principles and ideas of Lincoln and Eisenhower and Reagan and Bush."

"So y'all need to check the unity conversation amongst yourselves first before you bring it to others because that's where the disunity is," he continued. "It's not with me. I was doing just fine until your behind showed up. I was doing just fine. We were — I was winning elections, right? What did you do?"

ALSO READ: ‘We're wounded:’ Speaker Mike Johnson struggles to lead GOP after ‘unnecessary purging’

"You've just been showboating. You allowed [Georgia Republican] Marjorie Taylor Greene to show up in the House and disrespect your own house and the Republican brand by wearing some dumb behind cap on her head?" he exclaimed. "Come on folks, let's be real about what it is and what it isn't, and what it isn't is the stuff that myself and a lot of others have been fighting for."

"Look, I'm at a table with people that I would love to engage on public policy about, but we are talking about your dumb stupid stuff right?" he added. "This is the reality that you put us in. So unity is a two-way street. Y'all need to work on your end of the block because it's messed up as hell. "

Watch below or at the link.

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FBI officials say GOP’s Biden witness should have been disqualified long ago

Alexander Smirnov — the 43-year-old confidential FBI informant recently indicted for lying about President Joe Biden and his son, Hunter — had a long history of behavior jeopardizing his credibility long before he was criminally charged, according to several FBI officials.

Several ex-FBI employees with experience handling confidential informants recently told the Washington Post that Smirnov repeatedly violated protocol throughout his time as an FBI source by using his informant work as leverage for his personal benefit. Dmitry Fomichev, who is a tech investor, decided to loan Smirnov money because he "was representing himself as working for the FBI," and asserted that he was "a very powerful guy."

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Voters are 'questioning Trump's sanity': conservative pollster

According to conservative pollster Sarah Longwell, voters are less concerned with Donald Trump's age than they are worried about his mental fitness as they look at the presidential choices in 2024.

Appearing on MSNBC's "The Weekend," Longwell — founder of Republican Voters Against Trump — was asked about voter worries about both Trump and President Joe Biden and she replied the public seem to hold them to two different standards.

"I wonder, in your focus groups, how the two issues or bearing out, the question of the candidates and the comparison points between the two them," co-host Alicia Menendez pressed.

ALSO READ: A criminologist explains why half of America does not care about Trump's crimes

"Look, whether it is fair or not, voters don't question Trump's mental capacity, they are questioning his sanity," she replied. "They question whether he is fit enough to be commander in chief from a moral and ethical standpoint."

"Trump has big lunatic energy," she continued as the hosts laughed. "He just doesn't come off the same way that Biden does. So the concerns for voters around age do rest with President Biden."

You can watch below or at the link.

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Revealed: Government wants neo-Nazi defendant to review evidence at FBI facility

Federal prosecutors in North Carolina are considering a plan that allows a neo-Nazi defendant to review discovery evidence from a seized hard drive that contained classified documents at a secure FBI facility.

The plan is described in a notice jointly filed by prosecutors in the Eastern District of North Carolina and defendant Jordan Duncan. The notice confirms reporting earlier this week by Raw Story that the government inadvertently turned over classified information to Duncan.

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Bill Barr accused of 'derailing' huge DOJ investigation after Trump appointment: report

Department of Justice employees are raising questions about a massive investigation into tax avoidance by heavy equipment manufacturer Caterpillar that fell apart after Donald Trump appointed Bill Barr to be his Attorney General.

According to a report from the New York Times, the DOJ was working hand in hand with the IRS on an extensive criminal investigation of the company only to be blocked from interviewing a key witness that helped cause the case to fizzle.

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‘Put it between your knees’: Republican says aspirin is all the contraception women need

A top Republican state lawmaker is touting what he suggests are the off-label benefits of aspirin: as a contraceptive, if used as he directs.

"Bayer Company invented aspirin. Put it between your knees,” Arizona state Senate Majority Leader Sonny Borrelli, a far-right Republican who has promoted false election fraud claims, told the Arizona Mirror, as Heartland Signal reports.

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'Matter of national security': Entity behind Trump’s $91M bond guarantee draws scrutiny

After US District Judge Lewis F. Kaplan denied his petition for a stay, former President Donald Trump finally posted a $91.6 million bond for his appeal of writer E. Jean Carroll's judgment on Friday.

That $91.63 million includes the full $83.3 million judgment, along with a 9% statutory interest the State of New York tacks onto surety bonds. That money has been set aside in a court-managed account to be paid to Carroll in the event Trump loses his appeal. The ex-president's bond was guaranteed by the Federal Insurance Company — a New York-based subsidiary of the company Chubb Group LLC, which is headquartered in Switzerland. In 2018, Chubb CEO Evan Greenberg served on a trade advisory committee in the Trump White House. The Washington Post reported that "it was not clear from court records what collateral Trump presented to obtain the bond from Chubb."

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'Total monster' Trump hammered by Robert De Niro in rant on Bill Maher's 'Real Time'

"Move over Marjorie Taylor Greene and Lauren Boebert," comedian Bill Maher said in introducing Alabama Republican Sen. Katie Britt's State of the Union response on Friday evening.

Maher, who recently cornered a Trump defender regarding the ex-president's criminal indictments, opened by ridiculing Britt before welcoming actor Robert De Niro to the stage. Upon asking about Britt's performance "as the greatest actor," De Niro said he doesn't "understand why they would even have someone like her do it."

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'She seemed like a Stepford wife': Katie Britt's SOTU response panned by focus group

GOP strategist and publisher of The Bulwark Sarah Longwell appeared on CNN's "NewsNight" with Abby Phillip late Friday explain what was on display following President Joe Biden's State of the Union address was a coordinated effort centered on Sen. Katie Britt (R-AL).

"The fact is, they have been hemorrhaging college-educated suburban women and you could just tell from the way that this was staged from the sitting in the kitchen, the way she was coached to use that breathy voice, because that's not how she normally talks," Longwell said. "She's a serious person. She is a good senator, a sharp person."

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