All posts tagged "rnc"

'Not good ganja!' Ex-RNC chair warns against Eric Trump presidency

Michael Steele, the former chair of the Republican National Committee and current MSNBC host, referenced marijuana when asked about Eric Trump's political ambitions.

Chris Jansing began Monday, "So, Michael, there is so much confidence in the power of Trump and the Trump name, his son Eric's interview with the Financial Times ignited talk of a potential Trump dynasty."

Jansing read a portion of the report where Eric Trump claimed that "the political path" for a family dynasty "would be an easy one," opening the door for another Trump to seek office after his father leaves the White House.

"'I think I could do it," Jansing read Eric's words. "And by the way, I think other members of our family could do it, too."

Eric Trump's wife, Lara, who hosts a show on Fox News after a brief stint as head of the RNC, could make that dynasty a reality. Rumors have swirled that she'll run for Sen. (R-NC) Tom Tillis's seat in next year's midtermelections, since he announced he won't run again.

Eric Trump "also said he's wholly unimpressed by half the politicians I see," Jansing read, with Eric adding, "I could do it very effectively."

"You know, if Americans are drunk on stupid, yeah, Eric Trump is your next president," Steele said. "Put that one in your pipe and smoke it. That's not some good ganja, let me tell you!"

Steele continued, sarcastically, "Sure, why not? You know, let's expand the grift. Let's widen the opportunity!"

He then got serious.

"Look, this is all unserious stuff," Steele remarked before talking about the impact a Trump dynasty would have on "real people."

"It's on the members of my party, the Republican Party, that have agreed to cut programs that they told the American people they would not cut, to expand the reach and the depth and breadth of dollars for to the benefit of those who are much, far wealthier than those red districts that they that they represent. And they will have to now look those voters in the eye, and they'll either continue to lie to them, and the voters will buy it, or they won't, and they'll unelect them. That's the politics of this."

Read the Financial Times article here.

DNC ratings smoke RNC for third night in a row

For the third night in a row, television ratings for the Democratic National Convention handily bested ratings for last month's Republican National Convention featuring ex-president Donald Trump.

Via Fox Sports analyst Michael Mulvihill, the DNC on Wednesday night attracted an estimated 11.7 million viewers across seven combined television networks, compared to 9.1 million viewers who tuned into the RNC over its equivalent period last month.

What's more, writes Mulvihill, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz drew in 11.9 million viewers, which is more than two million more than the 9.6 million viewers Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH) drew last month.

On Monday, the DNC similarly beat the RNC in the initial overnight ratings by drawing 11.4 million viewers, compared to 9.4 million viewers who tuned in for the first night of the GOP's convention.

ALSO READ: Nazi infiltrators lurk at Democratic National Convention protests

On Tuesday, a speech by former President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama similarly helped the DNC outperform the RNC.

Former President Donald Trump has reportedly been anxious about ratings at the convention and he is said to be particularly nervous that Vice President Kamala Harris will draw more viewers for her speech on Thursday night than he drew for his acceptance speech.

Democrats compete with ultimate Trump billboard during national convention

CHICAGO — As the Democratic National Convention kicks off Monday, Republican nominee Donald Trump — not Democratic nominee Kamala Harris — arguably has the most permanent and grandiose billboard in town.

It’s not a traditional billboard suspended alongside the highway, although there are plenty of those surrounding the city with decidedly convention-focused messages.

Rather, it’s the massive letters spelling out TRUMP across the 98-story reflective skyscraper, Trump International Hotel and Tower.

Close-up of Trump sign at Trump International Hotel and Tower in downtown Chicago (Photo by Dave Levinthal/Raw Story)

Suspended over the Chicago River in the city’s downtown for the past 15 years, Trump Tower is the second tallest building in Chicago, and it can’t help but attract the attention of millions of visitors and locals who pass by.

Still, Trump’s permanent presence in Chicago hasn’t stopped both conservative and liberal organizations and media from trying to battle out their causes via traditional billboards.

Heading north on Interstate 55, drivers first encounter billboards welcoming visitors to Chicago for the Democratic National Convention about 45 miles outside of the city near the far southwest, historically blue collar suburb of Joliet, Ill.

Then begins a steady stream of conservative billboards ranging from a sign encouraging drivers to “Discover why Jesus created you” to a “Truth & Tradition” ad from The Epoch Times, a conservative newspaper organization, which is in the midst of a scandal involving charges of money laundering. (The same billboard can be seen near O’Hare International Airport, too.)

An ad from the conservative Epoch Times newspaper organization, advertising its website to motorists driving toward downtown Chicago from O’Hare International Airport. (Photo by Dave Levinthal/Raw Story)

As drivers approach the city itself, the Illinois Democrats’ presence becomes more pronounced with various billboards highlighting talking points such as: “Record job growth.” “Balancing budgets.” “Rebuilding roads, bridges & schools.” “Protect women’s rights.”

One of several billboards from Illinois Democrats that says "Protect Women's Rights." This particular billboard is sponsored by Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker's campaign committee. (Photo by Matt Laslo/Raw Story)

The Chicago host committee for the convention unveiled a new campaign, “The Future Is Built In Chicago,” featuring local leaders from nine Chicago neighborhoods.The billboards can be seen approaching the city, featuring ambassadors ranging from Shermann “Dilla” Thomas, a historian and popular TikTok creator, to Chris Harris Sr., a pastor of two prominent churches.

An ad featuring Shermann “Dilla” Thomas, a historian and popular TikTok creator, as part of the "The Future Is Built In Chicago,” campaign. (Alexandria Jacobson/Raw Story)

Throughout the city, cause-based ads were interspersed between official party ads, which included an uncredited “Support Our Troops sign, a “Protect and Serve” ad supporting fallen Chicago Police Department officers, a welcome to “Union Town USA” sign from International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 134 and a message from pro-abortion rights organization, Women’s Declaration International USA, that said “Dear Democrats: only WOMEN need ABORTIONS.”

A billboard on Aug. 16, 2024, en route to downtown Chicago, sponsored by pro-abortion rights organization Women’s Declaration International USA. (Photo by Dave Levinthal/Raw Story)

Media organizations took to billboards as well to promote their convention coverage.

Nonprofit public affairs cable network, C-SPAN, advertised its “unfiltered view of the national convention” to travelers at O’Hare International Airport. Fox News advertised its “Democracy ‘24” coverage on a highway billboard.

An advertisement for C-SPAN’s coverage of the Democratic National Convention greets travelers at O’Hare International Airport on Aug. 16, 2024, in Chicago. (Photo by Dave Levinthal/Raw Story)

Another Fox News ad showed viewership graphs boasting the network in a distinct first place compared to competitors NBC, ABC and CBS with the slogan, “America is watching .. are you?

Fox News billboard Fox News channel ad with the slogan, "America is watching ... are you?" (Photo by Matt Laslo/Raw Story)

Billboard battles took place last month during the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, as well.

Visitors to Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport were greeted with billboards for the Heritage Foundation, the conservative group spearheading the controversial Project 2025 presidential transition” plan, and pro- and anti-Trump groups took to billboard campaigns with ads from the Republican National Committee to a political action committee backed by Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker.

Hotel heist: Fraudsters stole thousands from hospitality giant's political committee

WASHINGTON — An "unknown and unauthorized external party" stole nearly $7,500 from Marriott International's federal political action committee — the latest in a string of thefts affecting high-profile politicians, corporations and unions.

The thefts, which took place on Feb. 20 and March 12, according to federal documents reviewed by Raw Story, were not an inside job, the Marriott International Inc. Political Action Committee told the Federal Election Commission.

"The transactions were external fraudulent activity and not the result of committee staff misappropriating funds or due
to a failure to implement internal controls," Marriott International's PAC wrote the FEC on Aug. 6 following an inquiry from the agency in July. "In fact, the Committees internal controls contributed to the quick identification, reporting, and remedy of this issue."

Upon Marriott International PAC officials notifying their bank — the committee lists both Trust and the Vanguard Group as its financial institutions — "the bank opened a fraud claim, investigated, and ultimately credited the committee for the funds fraudulently debited."

ALSO READ: 21 worthless knick-knacks Donald Trump will give you for your cash

It is unclear whether the hotel company separately involved law enforcement.

Melissa Froehlich-Flood, the Marriott International PAC's treasurer, and Marriott International's corporate media relations department, did not immediately return requests for comment.

The hotelier uses its PAC help bankroll the campaigns of prominent members of Congress, typically spending several hundred thousands of dollars during each two-year election cycle, according to federal data compiled by nonpartisan research group OpenSecrets.

Percentage-wise, Marriott International's PAC gives roughly the same amount of money to Republicans and Democrats.

During the 2023-2024 election cycle, for example, Marriott International's PAC gave a maximum donation of $5,000 to the reelection campaign of former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) before he quit Congress late last year. (McCarthy's campaign committee, incidentally, is a fraud victim, too.)

ALSO READ: Tim Walz's personal finances are extraordinarily boring — and that may help Harris

It has also given $5,000 to the reelection campaign of Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA), who is facing a stiff challenge from Republican businessman Dave McCormick.

Marriott International's PAC "has worked with its bank to block unauthorized ACH transactions and implement additional fraud prevention measures offered by the bank," it told the FEC last week. "There have been no subsequent fraudulent debits against the committee's bank account."

Numerous political thefts

Dozens of political committees have fallen victim this decade to thefts large and small.

Some thieves using sophisticated technology, while others use decidedly old-school methods such as mail theft and check washing.

The Wisconsin Republican Party, Sen. Jerry Moran (R-KS), Rep. Troy Nehls (R-TX), Rep. Diana Harshbarger (R-TN), the Managed Funds Association PAC, and the Retired Americans PAC — a super PAC that supports Democrats — each lost six- or seven-figure amounts.

Among the political committees that have lost five-figure amounts to fraud: President Joe Biden's 2020 presidential campaign; the Republican National Committee, the reelection campaign of Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Rep. Neal Dunn (R-FL); State Farm Insurance; the Business Industry Political Action Committee; and The Lincoln Project, an anti-Donald Trump super PAC.

It varies from committee to committee whether a political committee is able to recover lost funds in part or in full — or at all.

Trump admin official: Ex-president's staff was 'cringing' during RNC speech

Donald Trump's own campaign staff members were likely "cringing" after the former president's remarks at the Republican National Convention, according to someone who worked in his White House.

Former Mike Pence Homeland Security staffer Olivia Troye appeared on MSNBC, and was asked about Trump going "off the rails" in his RNC speech and repeating many of his regular talking points.

Troye said a tiger doesn't change its stripes, and then she described what it was like working at the White House under Trump.

ALSO READ: How much access did $50,000 buy someone at the Republican National Convention?

"I will say this, his speech started off and went off the rails like it usually does. I was picturing, honestly, Alex, the staff, we have all been there as we have worked at the White House, I was imagining the staff cringing, no, no, no, here he goes," she said. "And then sitting there going and shaking our heads. The reality is, the message that came across during that entire week was it is not the party of unity. It is the party of unifying between and behind an agenda to suit them, an extreme agenda."

Watch below or click the link.

'Don't believe media hype!' Radio host blows up reports about Trump's RNC viewer numbers

Donald Trump broke two records with his speech at the Republican National Convention Thursday night – not only did he deliver the longest speech ever in the history of party acceptance speech, but it was also watched by the biggest audience to date.

More than 25 million people tuned in to watch Trump’s keynote address, with Fox News raking in the most viewers, Axios reports.

That’s a slight bump from 2020 but a 22% drop from 2016, when Trump closed out the RNC to more than 32 million TV viewers. Fox News raked in the most eyeballs with more than 10 million viewers, about 5 times the number of people that watched on CNN, according to Axios’ data via Nielsen.

EXCLUSIVE: Trump ‘secretary of retribution’ won't discuss his ‘target list’ at RNC

As for Trump’s record-breaking speech, many viewers didn’t stick around through the end.

While viewership on Fox, CNN and MSNBC peaked at the 15 minute mark, The New York Times reports that by the hour mark about 21 percent had changed the channel.

Radio host Dean Obeidallah blamed “corporate media,” for overblowing the RNC’s cable ratings compared to previous years.

“The last real RNC was 2016,” Obeidallah wrote on social media on Friday. “Don’t believe the corp media hype!”

Corporate media still hyping Trump. Headlines say Trump's speech on Thursday attracted 20 million viewers which they say was more than 2020. But 2020 was a small Covid convention. The last real RNC was 2016. Then Trump got 32 million viewers. Don't believe Corp media hype!
— (((DeanObeidallah))) (@DeanObeidallah) July 19, 2024

The strange reason Trump showed off misspelled jacket for firefighter killed at rally

Donald Trump initially made no move to contact the family of or attend the funeral of Corey Comperatore, the pro-Trump firefighter who was fatally shot at the rally where the former president also received a minor injury to his ear in a failed assassination plot.

Ultimately he got in touch with his widow, however, and put on display a jacket of the firefighter at the Republican National Convention — but a number of people immediately noticed something odd. Comperatore's name was misspelled on the jacket, leaving out the "A."

"OMG!!! The ridiculous prop that they used to politicize the actual murder that took place this weekend actually spelled the firefighters name wrong," wrote Fred Guttenberg, the gun safety activist who lost his daughter in the Marjory Stoneman Douglas school shooting in Parkland, Florida. "They didn't even care enough to check. It is Comperatore."

EXCLUSIVE: Trump ‘secretary of retribution’ won't discuss his ‘target list’ at RNC

But not so fast. According to KCRA News, it wasn't actually Trump's fault, or the fault of anyone at the RNC. Rather, it is Comperatore's real jacket, given by the Buffalo County Volunteer Fire Company, and it just happened to have the misspelling on it. The department added that the name “was in error years ago, and it was left that way by Corey.”

The reason for Comperatore keeping the misspelling is unclear, but some people have theories.

"No it isn’t distasteful," wrote the account @david_blette. "Probably, months or years ago when they originally made his jacket somebody did accidentally misspell his name. He and the other firefighters probably thought it was pretty funny and they weren’t willing to spend the money to fix it. Leave it be."

The RNC concluded this week after a series of controversial speeches, culminating in Trump accepting the nomination of the GOP for a third time in a lengthy rant that left many onlookers horrified after the ex-president vowed to promote unity among Americans.

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'Witchcraft': Far-right Republicans unleash hate on 'satanic' Sikh prayer at RNC

Republicans are hurling racist and bigoted insults at a Sikh speaker who offered a prayer to former president Donald Trump on the opening night of the Republican National Convention, the Guardian reports.

Harmeet Dhillon, a pro-Trump Republican party official and civil rights lawyer, took to the stage Monday to bless Trump with a Sikh prayer of peace. While her speech was met with applause that night, prominent Trump supporters reacted with hate laced with Christian nationalism on X.

White nationalist Nick Fuentes was among the first to deride Dhillon, calling the prayer “total blasphemy,” during his live stream of the event that night according to the Guardian.

EXCLUSIVE: Trump ‘secretary of retribution’ won't discuss his ‘target list’ at RNC

“Oh, f--- off. What a joke,” Fuentes said.

Former GOP Senate candidate Laura Witzke took a similar line in post on X Tuesday, adding a dash of racism.

“How about you get deported instead, you pagan blasphemer,” Witzke wrote. “God saves our president and the RNC mocks him with this witchcraft.”

Far-right internet persona and white nationalist Stew Peters shared a video of Dhillon’s speech on X, saying that the conference opening was “was complete with satanic chants and multiple prayers to FALSE GODS.”

One X user used a screenshot of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom villain Mola Ram holding a flaming human heart to “welcome” Dhillon to the conference.

Dhillon first came to prominence after pushing back on the racial profile of Sikh and has more recently become a staple of the Maga movement. Her law firm has received more than $10 million from GOP campaigns, according to the Guardian, and has helped fight some of the former presidents' legal battles, including representing Trump before the Supreme Court in January after he was stricken from ballots in Colorado and Maine.

Watch below or click the link.

'Crime wave must end': RNC mocked after Paul Manafort spotted on convention floor

An unexpected face was seen on the floor of the Republican National Convention on Wednesday: Paul Manafort, the former chief of the 2016 Trump campaign who was convicted of conspiracy against the United States and served two years of combined prison and home confinement before former President Donald Trump pardoned him on his way out of office.

The appearance of Manafort, whose convictions stemmed from bank fraud, illegal foreign lobbying, and lying to investigators about his contacts with Russian officials, prompted a firestorm on social media, with many pointing out that he is just one of many convicted felons — including the nominee — on the floor of a convention of a party that is supposed to stand for law and order.

"This crime wave must end," wrote Lincoln Project co-founder and political strategist Rick Wilson.

ALSO READ: Do presidents’ popularity increase after assassination attempts? History has an answer.

"People welcomed back to 2024 GOP convention: Paul Manafort," wrote Politico legal affairs reporter Kyle Cheney. "People not welcomed back to 2024 GOP convention: Mike Pence."

"I was going to count all the people at the RNC who have spent time in prison — or currently risk visiting one — but I simply don't have that kinda time!" wrote Canadian comedian Deven Green, through her satirical Mrs. Betty Bowers, "America's Best Christian" persona.

"Tonight’s unannounced theme is a soft focus look at the Trump crime family," wrote former Senate staffer Josh Dorner.

"Paul Manafort was pardoned after lying about why he shared campaign strategy with someone Treasury says is a Russian spy -- who gave the strategy to other Russian spies," wrote analyst Marcy Wheeler. "And note, the platform this time around pretty much sells Ukraine down the river, just like Kilimnik wanted."

"Is he already out of prison?" wrote the account @hollywoodpete69. "Oh wait, I confused him with Steve Bannon, I mean Peter [Navarro], uhm maybe Michael Cohen, or was it Roger Stone, but it could have been Weisselberg too……"

"Why is Paul Manafort, Russian colluder, allowed at the Republican Convention?" wrote the account @sto_k. "Republicans just flagrantly and brazenly showcase their criminality and collusion with hostile foreign governments now, apparently."

"Good lord … raise your hand if you are attending the @GOP Convention and DON’T have a criminal conviction … not too many, I’m guessing," wrote the account @DrainTheTrumps on Wednesday.

"The Republican National Convention! AKA the prison reunion show," wrote the account @DaleGaldret.

'Grindr Superbowl': Gay ex-lawmaker exposes RNC amid spike in reported app outages

Openly gay disgraced former New York Congressman George Santos says executives at the popular gay dating app Grindr are calling the Republican National Convention the “Grindr Superbowl” amid reported spikes in outages of the app.

Santos, who was expelled from Congress in 2023 after allegations he had fabricated much of his biography, took to X Wednesday to share his thoughts on the dating app’s alleged popularity at the conservative conference.

“Grindr executives are calling the RNC convention the Grindr Superbowl,” Santos said in a post on X.

ALSO READ: Associated Press issues warning about iconic Trump assassination attempt photo

Website tracker Downdectector reported Grindr had experienced a significant spike in outages in the 24 hours since the convention began Tuesday, and a map on the website showed a cluster of outages appeared to be reported near the Milwaukee area.

Representatives from Grindr did not immediately return requests for comment to confirm whether the outages were in the Milwaukee area or in any way related to the RNC.

Another video posted to X appeared to show a Grindr user at the convention swiping through scores of prospective matches.

“Let me tell ya’ something: just come out of the closet boys. Come on, it's fun. You can be gay and conservative,” Santos said on X. “But look Grindr is already outing you anyway based on the hits and guess who is in town? It's all you conservatives.”

Watch the video below or click here.