Los Angeles sheriff is 'the Donald Trump' of L.A. County: Rhambo

Los Angeles sheriff is 'the Donald Trump' of L.A. County: Rhambo
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The political toxicity of Donald Trump will be tested in Los Angeles County as Sheriff Alex Villanueva seeks re-election.

"Villanueva has appeared on Fox News to dismiss the notion of widespread police brutality, and in regular social media broadcasts, he has taken on a Trump-like demeanor, calling his critics trolls and out-of-touch elites. His news conferences have featured conservative politicians and personalities. He's reveled in publicly rebuking local elected Democrats, including the mayor of Los Angeles, for what he sees as their inept handling of the city's homelessness crisis, and he eagerly joined the campaign to kick the county's ultra-progressive district attorney out of office," the Los Angeles Times reported Monday.

Javier Gonzalez, a campaign consultant for Villanueva, said the campaign knows what it is doing, even though Donald Trump lost L.A. County by 44% points.

"We're running against the woke left, and we're going to win," Gonzalez said. "It's going to be a revolt of the regular people who want things done."

The similarities to Trump could harm Villanueva in the election.

LAX Police Chief Cecil Rhambo announced on Monday he is challenging Villanueva.

"The former assistant sheriff -- who stood up against corruption in the department under former Sheriff Lee Baca -- formally announced his candidacy on Monday," ABC 7 reports. "Rhambo has worked for 33 years in law enforcement and also served as city manager of Compton from 2017 through July 2019 and assistant city manager of Carson from 2014 to 2017."

"Sheriff Alex Villanueva is the Donald Trump of L.A. County," Rhambo said in a video announcing his bid.

Watch:

Cecil Rhambo for LA County Sheriff: For Good www.youtube.com

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A Department of Homeland Security official who was accused of using a "sugar baby" platform to fund her lifestyle had apparently accused her former boss of sexual harassment before the allegations surfaced, according to reports on Wednesday.

Deputy Assistant Secretary for Counterterrorism Julia Varvaro, 29, was placed on leave after she was accused of soliciting funds from "sugar daddy" men on the website Seeking.com in a report from The Daily Mail. She denied the allegations and said that an ex-boyfriend was disgruntled after they ended their relationship.

"The agency’s swift action against the 29-year-old stands in stark contrast to its response months earlier when she accused her then-superior, Paul Ingrassia, of sexual harassment," The Daily Beast reported.

She filed a complaint against Ingrassia, who was then serving as the White House liaison for the Department of Homeland Security, in 2025. She withdrew it just days later due to fear.

"In October, after Donald Trump nominated the 30-year-old to lead the Office of Special Counsel—which handles workplace harassment and discrimination claims—her allegations were leaked. Sources have now revealed to the Daily Beast that this woman was, in fact, the embattled Varvaro," the outlet reported.

Ingrassia allegedly cancelled a hotel room reservation at the Ritz-Carlton Orlando for Varvaro during a Florida work trip and forced her to share a bedroom suite with him instead, according to the complaint obtained by Politico in October.

Trump ended up withdrawing Ingrassia's nomination after leaked group chat messages among young Republicans were revealed amid allegations that Ingrassia had used racial slurs and described having a "Nazi streak."

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LIV Golf, the controversial golf league propped up by the Saudi Arabian sovereign wealth fund, is on the brink of collapse, the Wall Street Journal reported — and it comes as Trump's golf clubs, that have hosted their events at exorbitant sums, continue to try to promote them.

The problem, reported the Wall Street Journal on Wednesday, is that the Saudi funding is going away.

"LIV plans to tell players and staff by Thursday that Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund will no longer bankroll the circuit after this season, according to people familiar with the matter. The move sounds the death knell for the upstart that sowed chaos in professional golf by plowing billions into the sport and poaching A-list players," said the report. "The writing had been on the wall for nearly a month. When PIF recently laid out its vision for the next five years, it made no mention of the league that has divided the golf world since it first teed off in 2022. The people said that while LIV has grown the sport globally, the operation was no longer consistent with the new phase of PIF’s investment strategy."

"Even as LIV seeks outside investors to keep it afloat, it will be nearly impossible for it to exist bearing any resemblance to its current form after the Saudis lost billions on the endeavor," said the report. "They paid exorbitant fees to put on tournaments with lucrative purses featuring elite players such as Bryson DeChambeau and Jon Rahm. LIV is already in talks with outside investors, a person familiar with LIV’s thinking said."

As all of this is going on, the Trump National Golf Club in Washington, D.C. is putting out a statement on X touting a LIV Golf event.

"The excitement and anticipation are building at @trumpgolfdc as the finishing touches are being put in place for the arrival of LIV Golf next week," said the account. "We look forward to welcoming players, guests, and fans for what promises to be an extraordinary event. The countdown is on."

Despite LIV inking contracts worth over $100 million to steal away golf stars from the PGA tour, Forbes reported that Trump himself has made surprisingly little from his clubs hosting their events, with many of them netting him less than $1 million apiece.

Another Republican has decided to drop out of a key race — even before voting starts — as former Republican Party of Minnesota Chair and Minnesota Senate Minority Leader David Hann announced on Wednesday that he had suspended his campaign for Senate.

The Republican primary in Minnesota was slated for Aug.11.

Hann did not give a reason for dropping out of the race.

Hann had reportedly entered the primary "when Republicans were struggling to attract high-profile candidates," according to The Minnesota Star Tribune.

"Even as I share today that I am suspending my campaign, I have hope that Minnesotans will elect common sense, conservative leadership in November," Hann said.

"I encourage Republicans — and all Minnesotans — to stay involved and active. If I have learned anything over the course of my career in public service in this great state, it's that Minnesota is worth fighting for, and Anne and I plan to do just that going forward."


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