“A second Trump presidency will undermine the very foundation of our democracy, and I have serious concerns about whether the president can defeat Donald Trump in November,” Schiff, a top House Democrat running for Senate, said in a statement to the Los Angeles Times Wednesday.
While praising Biden for a “lifetime of service” Schiff told the Los Angeles Times he believes its time for the 81-year-old president to “pass the torch.”
Schiff met privately with donors over the weekend and had previously said that if Biden remained the party nominee, it could not only cost Democrats the presidency but also races down the ballot. With Schiff, the number of Democrats in the House calling for Biden to drop out of the race is more than 20, according to the New York Times.
Speaking to Forbes at the Republican National Convention Monday, Trump's son said, "Well, it's been a pretty somber mood, right? I mean, my father got shot at. Somebody took off half of his ear."
Posting on social media Saturday night, the elder Trump said a bullet had "pierced" the upper part of his ear.
Even Rep. Ronny Jackson (R-TX), who served as Trump's White House doctor, told The New York Times that "the bullet took a little bit off the top of his ear in an area that, just by nature, bleeds like crazy."
Revered entrepreneur and Shark Tank star Mark Cuban raised alarms Wednesday that a love affair between Silicon Valley and Donald Trump’s reelection campaign aspires toward creating a crippled economy in which cryptocurrencies reign supreme.
“It’s a bitcoin play,” Cuban posted on X Wednesday. “What will drive the price of BTC is lower tax rates and tariffs, which if history is any guide (and it’s not always ), will be inflationary.”
“Combine that with global uncertainty as to the geopolitical role of the USA, and the impact on the U.S. Dollar as a reserve currency, and you can’t align the stars any better for a BTC price acceleration,” Cuban wrote.
Cuban, who has long been a strong critic of Trump and a skeptic of cryptocurrency, expressed fears that a spike in crypto valuation, combined with the lowered valuation of the dollar globally will force bitcoin to become a “safe haven” for investors.
“Which means that BTC could be what countries and all of us look to buy as a means to protect our savings. Crazy ? It already happens in countries facing hyperinflation,” Cuban wrote. ”And if things really go further than we can imagine today … then BTC becomes exactly what the Maxis envision. A global currency.”
Bitcoin is currently valued at nearly $65,000 a share.
Silicon Valley investors dumped millions into Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign and gave even more to Joe Biden in 2020 to beat Trump. Tech's initial opposition to Trump stemmed from his confrontational style, rhetoric and policies, which were seen as potentially harmful to the industry but, over time, Trump has managed to woo leaders such as Elon Musk and PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel over to his camp with his “anti-woke” agenda and emphasis on deregulation.
Garnering more mainstream support from the tech industry could be a huge boon for the Trump campaign, which despite the recent assassination attempt on the former president, hasn’t seen a bump in polling numbers.
The setting was the Republican National Convention where Lindell's conservative broadcasting network had set up a booth for a live stream with Giuliani, the Washington Post reported Wednesday.
"During breaks, a woman wiped sweat off Giuliani’s bald head," writes Ben Terris. He then quotes Giuliani telling the woman, “Sponge bath for the dog...Woof woof!”
Terris then goes back to his initial subject, Lindell's inability to stop talking.
"For the past 3½ years, the mustachioed, motor-mouthed salesman hasn’t stopped talking about how the 2020 election was stolen," Terris writes. "It has cost him."
They aren't the only ones who need a break from Lindell, Terris writes.
"Even some of Lindell’s Republican compatriots would rather he give the election denialism a rest," Terris writes. "And yet, despite the legal threats, the financial drain and the political liabilities, Lindell appears constitutionally unable to stop talking."
This issue has staff popping up at the end of Terris' article, this time begging their boss for food.
“We need to get something to E-A-T, before we D-I-E,” a member of Lindell’s entourage said.
"Forty minutes later," Terris writes, "Lindell was still not done talking."
A very aggressive Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar (R-FL) cut off CNN's Dana Bash as she attempted to fact check her by pointing out that Republicans have continually derailed much-needed immigration reform during an interview at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee on Wednesday.
After letting the GOP lawmaker ramble on about the support Trump has been receiving at the convention, things went sideways when Salazar bashed the Biden administration on border policy and the CNN host corrected her.
"The Dems had, during [Barack] Obama and during Biden, the possibility to pass immigration reform law and give dignity to our people and they didn't" Salazar asserted.
"Well, I mean, I was there, I was in the hallways. This was blown up in large part because the Republican base didn't want it," Bash replied. "They were so close so many times."
Leaning in, Salazar interrupted, "During Obama, we were at this interview when he told us in 2008, that in the first 100 days of his presidency, he was going to sign an immigration reform law. And he invested that political capital in Obamacare. That was a lie! Now let's move forward: 2020, President Biden, he said, I'm going to give an immigration reform law to everyone who votes for me in our community within the first 100 days."
"And it was blown up by Donald Trump, who told —," Bash countered only to have Salazar speak over her and claim, "Not really," as Bash was talked over.
"The Dems had, under Nancy Pelosi, the Dems had Congress and they had Senate and they had, ah — everything passed," Salazar insisted. "BBB was considered and the infrastructure, the $1.9 trillion immigration. Unfortunately, immigration is not a top priority, even though they say it, it's also, I mean, it is impossible when it comes to these issues in Congress right now, which is Dems could have done."
"Again I was covering Congress then they tried and it fell apart for lots of reasons primarily because —," Bash attempted as Salazar interrupted again and blamed it on Nancy Pelosi.
Michele Fiore, a Trump-loving Nevada Republican, has been indicted by a grand jury for allegedly embezzling money from donors who believed that they were giving to a charitable foundation dedicated to building memorials for slain police officers.
The Nevada Independent reports that Fiore allegedly solicited donations for the charity in her capacity as a Las Vegas City Councilwoman, where she vowed that "100 percent" of the funds given would go toward making memorials for Nevada police officers killed in the line of duty.
In reality, the indictment claims, Fiore used that cash to pay for a wide range of different expenses, ranging from her rent to political fundraising bills to her own daughter's wedding.
She currently faces four charges of wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
As the Nevada Independent notes, Fiore has long been dogged by both political and legal controversies.
"While running for state treasurer in 2022, Fiore faced allegations of violating campaign finance law accusing her of taking donations exceeding the state’s $10,000 maximum contribution limit and benefiting from a potential 'straw donor scheme,'" the publication writes.
"Fiore later amended her campaign finance reports, acknowledging her involvement in a previously undisclosed business and revising the campaign donations that would have exceeded the $10,000 donation limit, alongside other changes. However, reporting by The Nevada Independent indicated that discrepancies remained."
J.D. Vance's hometown newspaper doubts he can deliver Ohio, the crucial swing state he represents in the Senate, to former President Donald Trump.
The Columbus Dispatch Wednesday published an editorial focusing on the junior senator's weaknesses when it comes to courting a crucial group of undecided voters.
"Vance espouses a blend of economic populism that appeals to white working-class males," columnist Jordan Barkin writes. "But women are not a focus."
Barkin expresses surprise that Trump ignored the political truism that presidential candidates should pander to the far wings then choose a running mate who will appease the base and intrigue the undecideds.
In choosing Vance, Trump bucked the trend.
"[Vance] appeals to the MAGA demographic that was going to vote for Trump anyway," writes Barkin.
Barkin argues Vance's hardline position on abortion — which he opposes in rape and incest cases — will turn swing voters away, citing a Public Research Institute poll that found a "clear majority of residents in the top swing state support abortions."
Barkin concedes Vance's Ohio roots may inspire voter turnout, but whether red or blue will claim its 17 electoral votes, he argues, remains to be seen.
This prediction is born out in another Columbus Dispatch editorial Barkin directs readers toward that features multiple locals' responses to Trump's chosen running mate.
"Many Americans are too familiar with the struggle to feed their family —including our U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance — but instead of supporting benefits that families like his relied on, he supports enormous budget cuts to them," wrote Jeanna Kenney.
However, the Columbus Dispatch editorial round-up shows Vance may deliver at least one Columbus swing voter to Trump, but not a reason to write home about.
"I am hoping that Trump picks Sen. J.D. Vance for his running mate," Joe R. Tilley wrote in May. "Then Ohio could get rid of the lying, bootlicking, butt kissing, weak-willed, integrity lacking, sickening obsequious sycophant."
MILWAUKEE — As delegates gathered for the second day of the Republican National Convention under the theme of “Make America Safe Once Again,” prominent speakers made the plight of American military veterans a recurring theme.
“They give illegal immigrants free hotel rooms while homeless veterans sleep on the streets,” Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) said during his speech on Monday night. “Disgusting.”
But on Tuesday afternoon, in a park about a mile west of the Fiserv Forum, where Republicans have gathered for their convention, visiting officers from the Columbus Police Department fatally shot homeless veteran Samuel Sharpe Jr., 43.
Republicans made no public mention of Sharpe during the four hours of speeches Tuesday night — a night when Republicans, under the theme of “Make America Safe Again,” accused President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris of prioritizing illegal immigrants at the expense of military veterans.
All the while, Republican speakers and delegates pledged their support for law enforcement officers, Republicans at the GOP convention lauded police officers and chanted “back the blue” while former President Donald Trump pumped his fist in support.
Memorialization of Sharpe, who lived in a tent that was part of a larger encampment sprawling across a nearby vacant lot, was left to some 300 demonstrators who gathered Tuesday evening in King Park for a candlelight vigil.
“A homeless veteran — isn’t that the narrative that the RNC paints that they care for its veterans?” Alan Shavoya, an activist with Milwaukee Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, said. “Yet they brought their circus to our city and killed a homeless veteran.”
Maria Hamilton, whose son, Dontre Hamilton, was killed by Milwaukee police 10 years ago in a different park, said the fight between Sharpe and another man that prompted police attention was a confrontation among two friends “in this community.” She accused police of mishandling the situation.
“The first thing they want to do is take lives, she said.
Hamilton and others gathered at King Park to remember Sharpe tried to make sense of what the Columbus Police were doing one mile from Fiserv Forum in a neighborhood separated from the convention by an interstate highway.
“They came here for these f***ing politicians,” Hamilton said. “They had no business in this park. Milwaukee Police Department, the city of Milwaukee should have had a space [near the convention perimeter] for them to meet, not in our community. We’re not involved with that.
“I know we still have another 72 hours of this invasion,” she added. “Please be safe…. We do not condone the invasion. Do what you came to do, and get the hell out of our town.”
Concerns about outside law enforcement realized
The Columbus Police Department is one of roughly 140 law enforcement agencies from across the country to augment convention security this week in Milwaukee.
Shavoya noted that a larger coalition of far-left groups organized a march with about 3,000 people that protested the Republican National Convention on Monday — without incident.
Shavoya said activists expressed concern to city officials in the runup to the convention that added law enforcement from across the country would cause problems for the Milwaukee community at large.
“When [the city] tried to put it on us that we would be the ones causing violence, we told them: ‘It’s going to be your law enforcement coming from out of state, or your own from Milwaukee that’s going to cause issues,’” Shavoya said. “So we warned them. They tried to flip it on us, and today shows that we were right, and that the city was wrong. That the city cannot control its own law enforcement, let alone law enforcement from outside the city.”
Police body-camera video released by the Columbus Police Department shows that the officers staged in King Park observed Sharpe wielding two knives during an altercation in the middle of West Vliet Street.
In the video, about nine officers can be seen debriefing on a previous incident involving protesters on opposite sides of the abortion issue.
An officer then announces: “He’s got a knife!”
“Stop! Drop the knife! Police!” the officers shout as they run toward Sharpe with guns drawn. The video shows that 15 seconds elapse from when officers observed the knife to when they began firing at least eight gunshots.
Milwaukee Police Chief Jeffrey B. Norman defended the officers’ actions during a press conference on Tuesday, saying that Sharpe “charged” at the other man with knives.
“This was an incident where somebody’s life was in immediate danger,” he said. “Again, two knives were recovered from this particular situation. Someone’s life was in danger. These officers who are not from this area took upon themselves to act to save someone’s life today.”
Norman said the Greenfield Police Department in Milwaukee County will lead an investigation into the incident.
After the vigil on Tuesday night, protesters marched past the spot where Sharpe died. They left votive candles behind to honor his memory. Two employees with the U.S. Justice Department Community Relations Services, a federal agency that provides mediation services to communities to communities experiencing racial tension, tagged along with the march.
Marching behind a banner that read, “End the war on Black America,” the protesters chanted, “The police at the RNC — ain’t no good. The police in Milwaukee — ain’t no good.”
Maria Hamilton, whose lost her son to police violence, speaks at a vigil for Samuel Sharpe Jr. on Tuesday.
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A South Florida dive bar has been hit by backlash after displaying a joke about the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump on its large outdoor sign.
“How do you miss a head that’s that inflated?” was arranged in large letters on the marquee outside Harry’s Banana Farm in Lake Worth Beach Monday, Miami News Times reports.
The sign was taken down within 24 hours following public outcry, mostly from supporters of the former president and current GOP nominee to return to the White House.
Trump was injured and a spectator was killed Saturday at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania when a 20-year-old shooter climbed a roof and fired off several shots before being killed by Secret Service members.
Harry’s Banana Farm manager Lou De Stout told WPTV News he has a penchant for crafting snarky signage outside the bar.
"I thought it was just another humorous sign but apparently it struck a nerve,” De Stout told WPTV.
Soon after the sign went up, Trump supporters gathered outside the restaurant Monday in protest and flocked to the business's online Yelp page, spamming it with negative reviews.
The following day, the bar had a new message on the marquee.
"Yeah for Trump. So happy for him. You crazy b-----ds happy?"
After the Saturday attack on Donald Trump, the U.S. Secret Service is releasing information about the ongoing threats against the ex-president.
Among the information uncovered by Bloomberg through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request is that there have been dozens of security breaches at Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort.
In Jan. 2019, the USSS released a report documenting how it secured Mar-a-Lago using the Coast Guard and local police on waterways and at the entrances around the perimeter. Guests can be subjected to "physical screening" but it relies mostly on "magnetometers, wands and visual checks."
"The Secret Service doesn’t have any say in who gets welcomed to the so-called Winter White House," Bloomberg said. "Although there are additional screening protocols for guests afforded close access to him, Trump is known to frequently socialize with guests who pay for an annual membership, sometimes making surprise appearances at weddings or parties.
The FOIA request details "dozens" of cases of people allowed to enter the facility with no authorization while Trump was in residence. There are a few cases where individuals were waived through without being checked at all by USSS.
In one case, a college student came to Mar-a-Lago, walking through a tunnel near the pool. He was screened and allowed to enter.
"Sneaking into Trump club is like taking candy from a baby," the 18-year-old posted on Snapchat in late 2018 after the incident.
Ultimately, USSS asked him some questions, and he confessed “he wanted to explore and was curious." He also said he knew Trump would be there. The report said they "sent [him] on his way." He was then charged with entering or remaining in a restricted building or grounds, which is a misdemeanor, Bloomberg explained.
A similar incident happened six months later when a man who identified himself as the "commander in chief" said he wanted to "survey Mar-a-Lago because it was his birthright." He explained to the agents that "ruling families of the world" were scheduled to meet Trump for "an interdimensional peace conference."
The man expressed his displeasure with the job Trump was doing but that he was happy to leave the area and communicate with Trump via "Morse code" using "lighters." He refused to speak with local police and was involuntarily committed to a mental health facility. The report doesn't reveal anything that happened beyond that.
During an appearance on CNN with host Jim Acosta, a former colleague of Nikki Haley, who served with her in the South Carolina House of Representatives, claimed he was not surprised in the least that she would set aside her principles and endorse Donald Trump.
Haley, the former governor of South Carolina, was given a key spot in the Republican National Convention on Tuesday where she endorsed the former president, whom she has previously labeled "unhinged" while claiming re-electing him would be equivalent to "suicide."
On Wednesday CNN contributor Bakari Sellars, a former South Carolina lawmaker, smirked when the topic came up and noted her history of being an opportunist with no fixed beliefs.
"I can tell you is that this surprises no one who knows Nikki Haley," he began. "She has the backbone of an octopus and so politically, when you have somebody who floats with the wind, this is not a surprise."
"I mean, I think this is one of the larger issues that Donald Trump actually had with Nikki Haley; the fact that she can do one thing in your face, then behind your back, do something totally different so that's kind of what we're seeing amongst the people around Donald Trump," he added.
"It's fascinating to see the Lindsey Grahams, the Marco Rubios, the Ted Cruzes, the Nikki Haleys who he [Trump] talks about like dogs," Sellars continued. "He talks about their wives. He called her 'birdbrain,' sent literal bird foods to her room. She says this and that, and then they kind of just crumble and it's missed and so the Republican Party that we're seeing on display is a Republican Party that is not like any Republican party before."
"I would venture to say, doesn't stand for much," he added, to which host Acosta added, "Yeah, he collects these critics turned converts like baseball cards."
It has been four days since Donald Trumpcame inches from death after a failed assassination attempt, and the campaign still hasn't released any kind of medical report talking about the injuries.
While Washington is at work trying to uncover failures by the U.S. Secret Service on Saturday, the ex-president is walking around the Republican Convention with a giant pad of gauze and tape covering his ear.
This raised concerns from Rep. Joe Walsh (R-IL), a former Tea Party Republican who has since turned against Trump and the MAGA movement.
"No medical reports," posted Walsh. "No doctor’s statements. No information at all on the Republican nominee for President who was shot and injured four days ago. That’s just wrong. Shitty job media. If it were the Democratic nominee who’d been shot, [Sean] Hannity, et al, would be blowing a gasket."
“Trump has posted that his ear was pierced by a bullet, but the sad fact is that he’s an unreliable source. News organizations need to wait for more credible confirmation of what happened,” wrote journalist Steven Beschloss on Saturday.
Questions have surfaced asking whether the bullet pierced Trump's ear, grazed it, or broke a piece of the TelePrompter and the glass that shot out at Trump's ear.
Ex-prosecutor and commentator John Flannery asked, "Was it a bullet or shrapnel from a teleprompter - hey Don, release your medical records."
"It's been almost 90 hours since the first assassination attempt on a president or former president in more than four decades, and we still don't have any info from medical experts who have examined Donald Trump," said writer Charlotte Clymer. "No interviews, pressers, or statements. Nothing. Isn't that weird?"
"For 2 weeks media talked about Biden's health non-stop after a bad debate. Are we ever going to get a medical report on Trump, since the GOP claims he was 'shot in the face'? Even though it was a minor injury, it's traumatic to be shot at. Where's the mental health check?" asked investigative reporter Victoria Brownworth.
"It has been several days since Trump was injured. No medical reports. No statements from doctors. Nothing," he said on X. "And the media is barely talking about it, instead discussing an imaginary 'pivot'."
Arriving from Politico Wednesday is a new polling memo circulating among Democratic party officials aiming to convince Joe Biden to end his presidential campaign and bring in a fresh face to compete with former President Donald Trump.
In a test of possible candidates that interviewed over 15,000 voters in seven battleground states, nearly every suggested alternative Democrat performed better than Biden. The other candidates outperform Biden by three percentage points on average.
Notably, this includes Vice President Kamala Harris, "who runs better than the President (but behind the average alternative),” the memo states.
Other conclusions from the memo? “Some of the gains are coming from winning undecideds and those previously supporting a third party. However, alternative candidates are also pulling votes from Donald Trump. All candidates continue to hold the Democratic base.”
And: “Voters are looking for a fresh face. Those more closely tied to the current administration perform relatively worse than other tested candidates.”
The polling data fits with some political operatives' suggestion that Harris isn't the strongest candidate to take on Trump. In particular, Biden saddled Harris with managing the border, which has been a strong line of attack for Republicans.
According to Politico, "The strongest potential candidates are (in alphabetical order) Arizona Sen. Mark Kelley, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer All four outpaced Biden 'by roughly 5 points across battleground states.'"
“Nearly twice as many voters say delegates should nominate the best candidate over picking the next in line,” the memo says. This faction of the #DumpBiden movement wants an open process to replace Biden — who, by the way, still says he has no intention of stepping aside."
Top Democrats in Congress have privately been expressing concerns that Biden could drag down the Democratic ticket. Adam Schiff, a senior Democrat from California who recently led the House Intelligence Committee told donors at a private fundraiser on Saturday that if President Joe Biden remains in the presidential race, Democrats could face overwhelming losses in the upcoming election.
“I think if he is our nominee, I think we lose,” Schiff said, according to the New York Times. “And we may very, very well lose the Senate and lose our chance to take back the House.”
Biden, for his part, says that he is staying in the race. He recently received support from Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), who penned an editorial praising him in the New York Times. Biden also has strong support from Black Democratic lawmakers.
