MSNBC contributor Jason Johnson has been benched from appearing on the network after bashing Sen. Bernie Sanders&#8217; (I-VT) staffers.
According to <a href="https://www.thedailybeast.com/msnbc-benches-contributor-jason-johnson-who-said-bernie-sanders-staffers-are-island-of-misfit-black-girls">The Daily Beast</a>, Johnson, who serves as an editor at The Root, came under fire last week after during an appearance on Sirius XM&#8217;s &#8220;The Karen Hunter&#8221; show, where he referred to Sanders&#8217; supporters as “racist white liberals” while charging the senator with doing “nothing for intersectionality.” He reserved his harshest critique for the black women on Sanders&#8217; staff.
“I don’t care how many people from the island of misfit black girls you throw out there to defend you,” Johnson said.
Shortly thereafter, Sanders’ national press secretary Briahna Joy Gray accused Johnson of racism and sexism. “I hope we can have political disputes without engaging in open racism and sexism. This misogynoir is disappointing, but not surprising from [Jason Johnson],&#8221; she tweeted.
Though calls erupted for Jason Johnson&#8217;s firing, MSNBC ultimately sidelined him and issued no official comment on the matter.
More from The Daily Beast:
<blockquote>Johnson’s temporary sidelining included him not being involved in coverage of last weekend’s Nevada caucuses or the post-game coverage of Tuesday evening’s South Carolina debate, which aired on CBS. In an email to media outlets hyping its post-debate plans, Johnson’s name was nowhere to be found.
The punishment appears to have also cost Johnson his chance to be on-air during the network’s coverage of this past Saturday’s Nevada caucuses, which Sanders won in a landslide.
Johnson’s absence has been noticeable, as he has become a staple of MSNBC’s Democratic primary analysis roster. Prior to his benching, he made nearly 40 appearances on the network in 2020 alone.</blockquote>
Prior to his benching, Jason Johnson was regularly featured on programs like &#8220;Morning Joe,&#8221; &#8220;The Beat with Ari Melber,&#8221; and &#8220;The 11th Hour.&#8221; He was also regularly featured on panels during the Nevada primary debate. His last appearance came on February 21, just hours before his comments about Sanders&#8217; staffers.
Most recently, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/msnbc-contributor-goes-bonkers-trump-could-shut-down-voting-in-california">Johnson asserted</a> that President Trump would shut down voting in California after the president’s attorney Alan Dershowitz argued during the impeachment trial that &#8220;abuse of power&#8221; was not an impeachable offense if the president did not commit a crime.
&#8220;And when people spout nonsense, whether its Dershowitz or whether it’s Fox News, Donald Trump always listens,&#8221; said Johnson. &#8220;The scenario that he set up yesterday, by basically saying the president can do what he wants; imagine Donald Trump deciding, sometime in June, well, I heard this conspiracy theory that a whole lot of illegal immigrants voted in California. So, I’ve decided that, during the presidential election, California has to undergo extreme vetting because we can’t trust their votes. We’re going to shut down voting in a state. This is literally the kind of thing he will do now. We’re not talking hypotheticals, anymore.&#8221;
He continued, “And that’s the part that I think disturbs me; for all of these people who were worried about their elections, we’re talking about the actual country. And anything he’ll do to Joe Biden, he’ll do to a senator, he’ll do to a senator in his own party. So why people aren’t concerned, why people don’t realize that this is step one to actual autocracy. Not the theoretical one, not the one we talk about in class, but an actual president who will say, ‘This state’s votes don’t count. These people don’t have a right to vote. These people can’t come into the country.’ That is what they are allowing to happen here. And I don’t understand how anyone can not be terrified, not just angry, but literally terrified about what the future’s gonna bring.”

JJohn

MSNBC Contributor Benched After Bashing Bernie Staffers: ‘Island Of Misfit Black Girls’

Donald Trump

Jason Johnson

MSNBC

Racism

Democrat presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren praised President Donald Trump during a CNN town hall event on Wednesday night over his administration&#8217;s decision to ban many flavored e-cigarette products, which aimed to stop the rise in young people taking up smoking.
&#8220;Senator Warren, earlier this month, the Trump Administration policy that banned many flavored E-cigarettes went into effect,&#8221; CNN&#8217;s Don Lemon said. &#8220;Does President Trump deserve some credit for that?&#8221;
&#8220;Uh, actually, yes,&#8221; Warren responded. &#8220;The head of FDA who did this, I spoke to him many times and said I would support him if he did this.”
&#8220;Look, when we see movement in the right direction we have to be willing to stand up and say &#8216;good,'&#8221; Warren continued. &#8220;Because it is good.&#8221;
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
A shocking clip of Elizabeth Warren&#8230; actually praising something from <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@realDonaldTrump</a> admin. She supports his move to ban flavored e-cigs. <a href="https://t.co/BOjmceGbiC">pic.twitter.com/BOjmceGbiC</a>
&mdash; (((Jason Rantz))) on KTTH Radio (@jasonrantz) <a href="https://twitter.com/jasonrantz/status/1232876883416477698?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 27, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
NBC News <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/health/vaping/federal-flavor-ban-goes-effect-thursday-many-flavored-vape-products-n1130466">reported</a> on the ban when it went into effect earlier this month:
<blockquote>The ban covers a number of kid-friendly flavorings, such as mint and fruit, though menthol and tobacco flavorings will remain legal. However, the ban only applies to specific types of devices: cartridge or pre-filled pod devices, like the ones made popular by Juul. All other devices will be left on the market.
&#8230;
Plans for restricting e-cigarette flavors on a federal level first came up in September, when key national data on teen vaping was released. It was revealed that from 2017 to 2019, rates of vaping had more than doubled among 8th, 10th and 12th grade students.
That report coincided with the peak of a public health crisis: mysterious, severe lung diseases linked to vaping.</blockquote>
Warren is not the only Democrat presidential candidate to praise Trump this week.
Michael Bloomberg <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/watch-bloomberg-praises-trump-during-democrat-debate">praised</a> Trump during last night&#8217;s debate on CBS News, saying that the administration has done a phenomenal job of strengthening the U.S. military.
CBS News asked Bloomberg, “Mayor Bloomberg, voters have not heard much about your foreign policy views, would you pull all combat troops out of the Middle East?”
“No, you want to cut it back as much as you can,” Bloomberg responded. “But, I think if we learned something from 9/11, people plan things overseas and execute them here, we have to be able to stop terrorism, and there’s no guarantees that you’re going to be able to do it.”
“But we have to have some troops in places where terrorists congregate and to not do so is just irresponsible,” Bloomberg continued. “We shouldn’t be fighting wars that we can’t win, we should go to war only as a last resort, nobody argues with that, but this is a dangerous world and if we haven’t learned that after 9/11 I don’t know what’s going to teach us what to do.”
“We have to do something, and I think that the things that I’ve seen recently convinced me that the military today is better prepared than they’ve been in an awful long time,” Bloomberg concluded. “And that the moneys they are spending on the war of weapons we need for the next war and not the last, a common mistake that they are not making now. They’re doing a good job.”

Presidential Candidate Elizabeth Warren Campaigns In South Carolina Ahead Of Primary

WATCH: Warren Praises Trump Over Recent Action During CNN Town Hall

2020 Election

Elizabeth Warren

On Wednesday, Jamie Lovegrove, a reporter for the Post And Courier covering the South Carolina primary, reported that former Vice President Joe Biden, in an attempt to woo South Carolina voters, attacked former U.N. Ambassador and South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley for refusing to expand Medicaid, appearing to start saying she “didn’t have the brains.”
Lovegrove wrote, “Biden has started criticizing @NikkiHaley more  directly in South Carolina recently for declining to expand Medicaid here. In Georgetown, he appears to start saying she ‘didn’t have the brains’ before stopping himself and changing it to ‘foresight’ because he wants to ‘be polite.’”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Biden has started criticizing <a href="https://twitter.com/NikkiHaley?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@NikkiHaley</a> more directly in South Carolina recently for declining to expand Medicaid here.
In Georgetown, he appears to start saying she “didn’t have the brains” before stopping himself and changing it to “foresight” because he wants to “be polite” <a href="https://t.co/xjT3Y2RL4H">pic.twitter.com/xjT3Y2RL4H</a>
&mdash; Jamie Lovegrove (@jslovegrove) <a href="https://twitter.com/jslovegrove/status/1232753472052834304?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 26, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Haley, getting wind of Biden’s remarks, fired back on Twitter, “Hold up, Joe. I will put my brain up against yours anytime. Bring it.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Hold up Joe. I will put my brain up against yours anytime. Bring it. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/GodBlessJoe?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#GodBlessJoe</a> <a href="https://t.co/x5bfrVCrCa">https://t.co/x5bfrVCrCa</a>
&mdash; Nikki Haley (@NikkiHaley) <a href="https://twitter.com/NikkiHaley/status/1232755267084996610?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 26, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<a href="https://www.atr.org/atr-applauds-gov-nikki-haleys-opposition-a7196">Americans for Tax Reform</a> applauded Haley’s restraint in September 2012, writing:
<blockquote>South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley has joined a number of other fiscally responsible governors in making the decision to opt out of Obamacare’s mandated Medicaid expansion. As ATR <a href="http://atr.org/pat-mccrory-hits-right-note-obamacares-a7045">previously noted</a>, the program is already growing at an unsustainable rate in its current state: “Nationwide, Medicaid costs are growing at an unsustainable rate, with taxpayers as always being on the hook for covering the soaring tab. According to a <a href="http://www.johnlocke.org/acrobat/policyReports/NCMedicaidReform.pdf">study by the John Locke Foundation,</a> total federal and state Medicaid spending has ballooned from $70 billion in 1990 to approximately $400 billion today- -a budget busting 571 percent increase.”
&#8230; In South Carolina, 1 in 4 citizens are receiving Medicaid, and the state simply cannot afford an additional expansion of an entitlement that is already projected to eat up more and more of the state’s budget, squeezing out funding for other priorities such as education and transportation.</blockquote>
ATR added, “Americans for Tax Reform urges South Carolina legislators to follow the lead of Governor Haley, who has taken a fiscally prudent position on the issue. Gov. Haley not only opposes Obamacare’s Medicaid expansion, but has also come out in <a href="http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/aug/27/south-carolina-health-requires-local-solutions/">support of block granting</a> Medicaid to the states, which allows states to take control of this runaway entitlement and reform how their tax dollars are spent.”
In September 2012, Anthony Keck wrote in <a href="https://www.healthaffairs.org/do/10.1377/hblog20120906.022849/full/">Health Affairs:</a> :
<blockquote>This year more than 1.1 million people will enroll in South Carolina Medicaid – almost one-quarter of our population – at a total cost of $5.95 billion. According to <a href="http://content.healthaffairs.org/content/31/8/1673.abstract">a recent study</a> published in Health Affairs, the state has one of the highest rates of Medicaid physician participation, largely tied to its high Medicaid reimbursement rates.  Last year, while many states were cutting services, Gov. Nikki Haley and the Legislature invested $176 million of new recurring state funds in Medicaid to enroll about 65,000 low-income children through Express Lane Eligibility, replace one-time revenue with recurring sources, and expand the number of home and community-based placements available to our beneficiaries.
&#8230;  when Gov. Haley says South Carolina won’t accept the expansion of Medicaid under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, she does so because she believes that its version of expansion will ultimately hurt the poor, hurt South Carolina, and hurt the country by doubling down on a system that already delivers some of the lowest value in the world.</blockquote>

Former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley Visits &#8220;Fox &amp; Friends&#8221;

Biden Appears To Question Nikki Haley’s Brains, Report Says. Haley Shreds Him.

Joe Biden

Nikki Haley

On Tuesday, President Trump <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/text-notice-continuation-national-emergency-respect-cuba-2/">issued a notice</a> that the national emergency with respect to Cuba that was first instituted on March 1, 1996, almost exactly 34 years before, was being extended, as the Cuban government “has not demonstrated that it will refrain from the use of excessive force against United States vessels or aircraft that may engage in memorial activities or peaceful protest north of Cuba.”
Trump cited the initial 1996 proclamation, which was triggered by the “February 24, 1996, destruction by the Cuban government of two unarmed United States-registered civilian aircraft in international airspace north of Cuba.” The notice pointed out that the national emergency was expanded in 2004 and modified in 2016 and 2018.
On February 24, 1996, two of the Brothers to the Rescue Cessna aircraft were shot down by the Cuban Air Force. Brothers to the Rescue assisted Cuban emigrant rafters fleeing from the country.
Four pilots, Carlos Costa, Armando Alejandre, Jr., Mario de la Peña, and Pablo Morales, were killed. Both aircraft were outside Cuban airspace. The Brothers of the Rescue missions had reportedly dropped leaflets out of Cuban airspace that would be blown into Cuba. The ICAO report stated that the Commander of the Anti-Aircraft Defense of the Air Force of Cuba authorized pilots to shoot down any further flights whether or not they had entered Cuban airspace.
<a href="https://www.cidh.oas.org/annualrep/99eng/Merits/Cuba11.589.htm">The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights</a> reported:
<blockquote>While the two aircraft were still north of the 24th parallel, the Cuban Air Force ordered the scrambling of two military aircraft, a MiG-29 and a MiG-23, operating under the control of a military station on Cuban soil. The MiGs were carrying artillery, short-range missiles, bombs, and rockets, and they were flown by members of the FAC.  Extracts from the radio communications between the MiG-29 and the military control tower in Havana detail what transpired next:
MIG-29: OK, the objective is in sight; the objective is in sight. It is a small airplane. Copied; small airplane in sight.
MIG-29: OK, we have it in sight, we have it in sight.
MIG-29: The objective is in sight.
Military Control: Go ahead.
MIG-29: The objective is in sight.
Military Control: Airplane in sight.
MIG-29: Is it coming again?
MIG-29: It is a small airplane, a small airplane.
MIG-29: It is white; white.
Military Control: Color and registration of the airplane?
Military Control: Buddy.
MIG-29: Hey, the registration as well?
Military Control: What type and color?
MiG-29: It is white and blue.
MIG-29: White and blue, at low altitude, a small airplane.
MIG-29: Give me instructions.
MIG-29: Instructions!
MIG-29: Hey, give me authorization . . .
MIG-29: If we overfly it, things are going to get complicated. Let’s overfly it. There are some vessels coming that way, so I’m going to overfly it.
MIG-29: Talk to me; talk to me.
MIG-29: I’ve got a lock; I’ve got a lock.
MIG-29: We’re locked on. Give us the authorization.
MIG-29: It’s a Cessna 337. That one, that one. Hell, give us the authorization.
Military Control: Fire.
MIG-29: Hell, give us the authorization! We got it!
Military Control: Authorized to destroy.
MIG-29: We copy. We copy.
Military Control: Authorized to destroy.
MIG-29: Understood; I had already received it. Leave us alone for a minute.
Military Control: Don’t lose him.
MIG-29: First shot.
MIG-29: We blew his balls off! We blew his balls off!
MIG-29: Wait; look and see where he went down.
MIG-29: Yes! Yes! S***, we hit him! Jesus!
MIG-29: Mark the place where we took him down.
MIG-29: We’re on top of him. He won’t give us any more f***ing trouble.
Military Control: Congratulations to the pair of you.
MIG-29: Mark the place.</blockquote>
The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights concluded, &#8220;The fact that weapons of war and combat-trained pilots were used against unarmed civilians shows not only how disproportionate the use of force was, but also the intent to end the lives of those individuals. It is claimed the extracts from the radio communications between the MiG-29 pilots and the military control tower indicate that they acted from a superior position and showed malice and scorn toward the human dignity of the victims.&#8221;
In 2014, the daughter of the pilot Armando Alejandre, Jr. appeared on Fox News and <a href="https://video.foxnews.com/v/3951389545001#sp=show-clips">blasted the Obama Administration</a> for its warming of relations with Cuba, Marlene Alejandre-Triana added, “I would never go to Cuba until everyone in Cuba is free as I am free in this country to say what I feel about what happened yesterday, to the press. To anyone, without the fear of being put in jail, beaten, have my family in danger. I would never go there.&#8221;
Asked by Cavuto if the warming of relations with Cuba was what the Obama administration stated was a step in getting there, she answered, “Raul Castro himself said yesterday that nothing was going to change and they conceded nothing.”
Trump’s notice on Tuesday read:
<blockquote>On March 1, 1996, by Proclamation 6867, a national emergency was declared to address the disturbance or threatened disturbance of international relations caused by the February 24, 1996, destruction by the Cuban government of two unarmed United States-registered civilian aircraft in international airspace north of Cuba.  On February 26, 2004, by Proclamation 7757, the national emergency was expanded to deny monetary and material support to the Cuban government.  On February 24, 2016, by Proclamation 9398, and on February 22, 2018, by Proclamation 9699, the national emergency was further modified based on continued disturbances or threatened disturbances of the international relations of the United States related to Cuba.  The Cuban government has not demonstrated that it will refrain from the use of excessive force against United States vessels or aircraft that may engage in memorial activities or peaceful protest north of Cuba.
In addition, the unauthorized entry of any United States-registered vessel into Cuban territorial waters continues to be detrimental to the foreign policy of the United States because such entry could facilitate a mass migration from Cuba.  It continues to be United States policy that a mass migration from Cuba would endanger the security of the United States by posing a disturbance or threatened disturbance of the international relations of the United States.  Therefore, in accordance with section 202(d) of the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1622(d)), I am continuing the national emergency with respect to Cuba and the emergency authority relating to the regulation of the anchorage and movement of vessels set out in Proclamation 6867, as amended by Proclamation 7757, Proclamation 9398, and Proclamation 9699.
This notice shall be published in the Federal Register and transmitted to the Congress.</blockquote>

President Trump Attends The National Day Of Prayer Ceremony In The Rose Garden

TAKE THAT, BERNIE: Trump Extends National Emergency On Cuba

Bernie Sanders

Cuba

Left-wing CNN political commentator Ana Navarro ripped socialist Bernie Sanders following the Democrats&#8217; debate on Tuesday over his continued praise of communist dictators, saying that there is &#8220;no f***ing bright side.&#8221;
Navarro&#8217;s remarks came after Sanders has repeatedly defended his praise of murderous Cuban communist dictator Fidel Castro this week by falsely claiming that he made the Cuban people literate – they already had a high literacy rate.
&#8220;I was born in Nicaragua. My parents live there. My husband was born in Cuba,&#8221; Navarro tweeted. &#8220;Castros &amp; Ortega are corrupt, anti-American, murderous thugs. They jail, kill, torture, starve, beat, persecute political dissidents while enriching themselves. There is no f***ing bright side. Period.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
I was born in Nicaragua. My parents live there. My husband was born in Cuba. Castros &amp; Ortega are corrupt, anti-American, murderous thugs. They jail, kill, torture, starve, beat, persecute political dissidents while enriching themselves.
There is no fucking bright side.
Period.
&mdash; Ana Navarro-Cárdenas (@ananavarro) <a href="https://twitter.com/ananavarro/status/1232496056048291841?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 26, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Sanders reignited controversy over his fringe views this week during an interview on CBS News&#8217; &#8220;60 Minutes&#8221; with Anderson Cooper that aired on Sunday night.
“Back in the 1980s, Sanders had some positive things to say about the former Soviet Union and the Sandinistas in Nicaragua,” Cooper <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/bernie-praises-murderous-communist-dictator-fidel-castro-had-massive-literacy-program">said</a> while narrating during the segment. “Here he is explaining why the Cuban people didn’t rise up and help the U.S. overthrow Cuban leader Fidel Castro: ‘…he educated their kids, gave them health care, totally transformed the society, you know?&#8217;”
“We’re very opposed to the authoritarian nature of Cuba but you know, it’s unfair to simply say everything is bad,” Sanders responded. “You know? When Fidel Castro came into office, you know what he did? He had a massive literacy program. Is that a bad thing? Even though Fidel Castro did it?”
“A lot of dissidents imprisoned in Cuba,” Cooper responded.
During the debate on Tuesday, Sanders again doubled down on his support for Castro, saying, “Of course you have a dictatorship in Cuba. What I said is what Barack Obama said in terms of Cuba, that Cuba made progress on education.”
The crowd booed.
Sanders yelled back, “Really?!”
The crowd booed even louder.
“Really? Literacy programs are bad?” Sanders fired back, again parroting debunked communist talking points.
Following the debate, Sanders again continued to defend his remarks during an interview with CBS News.
“On this issue of the potential political peril you and Democrats could suffer in Florida, Congresswoman Donna Shalala said come on down to Miami and meet with the people who have been affected by his regime,” CBS News’ Ed O’Keefe said. “Would you be willing to do that?”
“Cuba is a dictatorship, I’ve said that 8 million times,” Sanders <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/bernie-continues-defending-communism-good-things-can-happen-under-a-dictatorship">said</a>. “But that does not mean to say, as Obama pointed out, that even under a dictatorship, you can teach people to read and to write, that you can provide health care to all people.”
Sanders&#8217; remarks were deemed so offensive that the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/watch-dnc-spokeswoman-goes-on-fox-news-and-bashes-bernie-sanders">Democratic Party</a> and <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/bernies-pro-castro-remarks-backfire-sound-of-bernies-latino-voter-wave-crashing">numerous politicians</a> from the party condemned Sanders&#8217; remarks.
The City of Miami, which has a large Cuban population, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/city-of-miami-announces-big-event-after-bernie-makes-pro-communist-remarks">responded</a> by announcing that it was holding an anti-communism concert.
“Sadly, even now, we see individuals defend and even promote communism and socialism,” Miami Mayor Francis Suarez said. “Just yesterday, presidential candidate Bernie Sanders glorified socialism in a 60 Minutes interview by defending elements of Castro’s regime.”
Suarez continued, “What Senator Sanders conveniently omitted from his colorful characterization of communist Cuba was Castro’s forceful and violent imposition of power, attacking human rights and freedom of speech, thereby minimizing the sacrifice of those who fought to break free from his suffocating hand.”

Bernie Sanders Rallies Supporters Across South Carolina Ahead Of Primary

CNN Commentator Who Escaped Socialism Torches Bernie: ‘There Is No F***ing Bright Side’

Ana Navarro

Socialism

The communications director to former President Barack Obama has called on South Carolina TV stations to stop The Committee To Defend The President, a pro-Trump super pac, from airing an ad that Obama fears will confuse voters into thinking he has denounced his own former vice president, Joe Biden. 
According to an op-ed published in The <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/02/26/ugly-pro-trump-ad-weaponizes-audio-obama-showing-whats-coming/">Washington Post</a>, Katie Hill, spokesperson for the president, wants TV stations to know that the ad has been designed to “suppress turnout among minority voters in South Carolina” and mislead voters. 
The ad, which was obtained by the news agency, features Obama’s voice narrating a passage in his 1995 memoir, “Dreams From My Father,” as photos of Biden appear in the background. The photos feature claims, written in large white text, attacking the former vice president, saying that Biden “joined segregationists,” and “blamed African American parents for inequality.” 
According to The <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/barack-obama-demands-south-carolina-stations-pull-misleading-ad-attacking-joe-biden/2020/02/26/45cc7012-58d6-11ea-9000-f3cffee23036_story.html">Washington Post</a>, the passage is from a segment of the memoir where Obama recalls a conversation he had with a Chicago barber, and it describes the history of the city’s “plantation politics,” during which Democratic politicians would feel entitled to the votes of African American residents. 
“Joe Biden promised to help our community,” reads a narrator toward the beginning of the ad. “It was a lie: Here’s President Obama.”
“Plantation politics: Black people in the worst jobs, the worst housing, police brutality rampant,” reads Obama in his memoir. “But when the so-called black committee-men came around election time, we’d all line-up and vote the straight Democratic ticket – sell our souls for a christmas turkey.”
The ad ends with the narrator denouncing Biden, and asks voters to ignore him in the upcoming primary: “Enough. Joe Biden won’t represent us, defend us, or help us. Don’t believe Biden’s empty promises.”
According to <a href="https://twitter.com/mikememoli/status/1232471131141001216">NBC News</a>, an attorney for Obama will be filing a cease and desist letter shortly. 
Andrew Bates, the Biden campaign’s rapid response communication director, told NBC News that the ad was an “intervention in the Democratic primary” and a “despicable torrent of disinformation by the president’s lackeys,” reports the <a href="https://twitter.com/mikememoli/status/1232782036538200068">news agency</a>. 
In a statement to The Washington Post, Hill denounced the ad as “Republican disinformation,” but maintained that Obama will not endorse anyone in the primary. 
“This despicable ad is straight out of the Republican disinformation playbook, and it’s clearly designed to suppress turnout among minority voters in South Carolina by taking President Obama’s voice out of context and twisting his words to mislead viewers,” Hill told the Post.“In the interest of truth in advertising, we are calling on TV stations to take this ad down and stop playing into the hands of bad actors who seek to sow division and confusion among the electorate. 
Biden, who has not yet won a Democratic voting contest, has been banking on a stand-out performance in the upcoming South Carolina primary in order to remain viable. 
According to <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/02/26/politics/jim-clyburn-endorses-joe-biden/index.html">CNN</a>, after Tuesday’s Democratic primary debate, the former vice president secured the endorsement of House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn (D-SC), who has served in Congress since 1993. According to <a href="https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/polls/president-primary-d/south-carolina/">FiveThirtyEight</a>, Biden currently leads all other Democratic primary candidates in South Carolina.

Former US President Barack Obama In Kuala Lumpur

Obama Demands TV Stations Halt Anti-Biden Ad; Features ‘Plantation Politics’ Comment

Barack Obama

Republicans in South Carolina have launched &#8220;Operation Chaos 2020&#8221; and other grassroots efforts by urging fellow Trump supporters to switch sides and vote for Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) in the South Carolina primaries so that he would clinch the presidential nomination. Obviously, this has been motivated by the fact that a Sanders candidacy would cause a serious divide in the Democratic Party that would likely benefit President Trump&#8217;s reelection.
&#8220;We are calling for specifically for Republicans and Trump supporters all across South Carolina to turn out and vote for Sen. Bernie Sanders in the Democratic primary on Saturday,&#8221; Stephen Brown of Operation Chaos 2020 said, as <a href="https://www.wyff4.com/article/one-person-dead-in-shooting-at-herdklotz-park-in-greenville-deputies-say/31116209">reported</a> by WYFF.
Videos of Trump supporters encouraging other fellow travelers to vote for Bernie in the coming primary have since been circulating all over social media, such as this one from the group &#8220;Trump 2-29&#8221;:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
A Trump-Sanders smoking gun. South Carolina Trump activists in a much-promoted Facebook video: &quot;We&#39;re asking South Carolina Republicans to show their support for President Trump by crossing over and voting in the Democratic primary for Senator Bernie Sanders.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/FNqEUNXDWq">pic.twitter.com/FNqEUNXDWq</a>
&mdash; Bill Kristol (@BillKristol) <a href="https://twitter.com/BillKristol/status/1232731739467976704?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 26, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
“I’m a Republican &amp; Trump supporter&#8230; we have an operation chaos going on &amp; all over the state we’re encouraging Republicans to vote for Bernie because we believe Bernie is the best worst candidate in contrasting his socialism against Trump and his capitalism.” <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/RidinWithBiden?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#RidinWithBiden</a> <a href="https://t.co/wV7PyafIQj">pic.twitter.com/wV7PyafIQj</a>
&mdash; Bryan Dawson (@BryanDawsonUSA) <a href="https://twitter.com/BryanDawsonUSA/status/1232729591405588483?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 26, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
When pressed if Operation Chaos could potentially backfire by making Bernie Sanders president in November, Brown said he is confident that America will &#8220;reject socialism.&#8221;
&#8220;I believe that our nation will reject socialism – I can&#8217;t say there&#8217;s no risk, any time you have an election there&#8217;s a risk – but I think we&#8217;ll have an overwhelming and resounding victory for President Trump,&#8221; said Brown. &#8220;And if we can&#8217;t defeat a socialist here in 2020, we wouldn&#8217;t deserve the freedoms that we have. I&#8217;m confident that Donald Trump will prevail.&#8221;
Brown added that the Democratic establishment clearly does not want Bernie to win the nomination and that they will split their party in an effort to keep him down.
&#8220;We see things happening behind the scenes to help undo Bernie&#8217;s nomination, so we as Republicans think that there&#8217;s a very reasonable chance that Democrats might deny the nomination to Bernie Sanders,&#8221; he continued, &#8220;and if they were to do that, we believe it would enrage the Left, cause the Democratic Party to split, and only help Donald Trump in his reelection because I want to be clear, all of us are fully supporting Donald Trump in his reelection. We&#8217;re excited about that. We can&#8217;t wait to vote for Donald Trump in November.&#8221;
Though Greenville County&#8217;s GOP chair said that the party considered a cross-voting push, they are ultimately not involved in either Operation Chaos 2020 or Trump 2-29.
&#8220;The Republican Party is not encouraging voters to cross-party vote,&#8221; said Nate Leupp, chairman of the Greenville County Republican Party. &#8220;We understand some of our affiliates and members and friends are, and we understand the logic behind it. But from a party standpoint, we feel that that push is best left to the activists like the Trump 2-29 organization.&#8221;
In response, Greenville County Democratic Party accused the groups of voter interference and undermining the electoral process.
&#8220;In calling for voters to select a specific candidate for the purpose of disrupting Saturday&#8217;s primary, Operation Chaos 2020 is engaging in interference in a free and fair election,&#8221; said Kate Franch, chair of the Greenville County Democratic Party. &#8220;They are undermining and dishonoring the very right to franchise that they claim to want to protect.&#8221;
&#8220;Elections are not games,&#8221; Franch continued. &#8220;Democrats believe in the right to directly choose our representatives and welcome any voter to participate in the democratic process we champion. Every voter should carefully select the candidate who most closely reflects his or her values with the knowledge that that candidate can ultimately win the seat. Your vote is your voice – it should not be wasted or debased.&#8221;
Jessica Bright, the Sanders&#8217; campaign state director in South Carolina, did not specifically condemn either movement while asserting that the socialist senator from Vermont is the best candidate to beat Trump.
&#8220;Recent reports have made it clear that Donald Trump and the Republican establishment have always been afraid to run against Bernie Sanders going back to 2016 and this is more of the same,&#8221; said Bright. &#8220;The truth is that Sen. Sanders consistently beats Trump in general election matchup polls in battleground states. He&#8217;s the only candidate with more individual donations than Trump and the only candidate with the network of grassroots volunteers it takes to win in November.&#8221;

WATCH: S.C. Republicans Urge Fellow Trump Supporters To Vote For Bernie Sanders In The Primary: ‘He’s The Best Worst Candidate’

Democratic Party

Operation Chaos 2020

South Carolina

Education Secretary Betsy DeVos slammed socialist Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), a critic of school choice, this week over the representative’s hypocrisy after it was revealed that she got her goddaughter into a charter school.
“This area’s like a lot of where my family is from,” Ocasio-Cortez said in a Facebook Live video in 2017, before she was a public figure. “My goddaughter, I got her into a charter school, like, maybe a block or two down.”
&#8220;Embracing charters would be a big no-no for Ocasio-Cortez’s Democratic socialist base, which calls for the total abolition of charters, arguing that their existence hurts traditional public schools,&#8221; The New York Post <a href="https://nypost.com/2020/02/22/aoc-says-she-got-goddaughter-into-bronx-charter-school/">reported</a>. &#8220;Though Ocasio-Cortez has frequently talked about how her own family fled the Bronx to avoid the borough’s failing public schools, she has also publicly stood in total lockstep with anti-charter advocates.&#8221;
The Post noted that Ocasio-Cortez&#8217;s party said in its New York City platform, “Charter schools act as tools for privatizing education and weakening the power of unionized teachers,” and called for ending “the creation of new charter schools, [banning] the expansion of existing charter schools, and transform[ing] existing charter schools into public schools.”
Ocasio-Cortez also strongly opposed school choice in a <a href="https://twitter.com/AOC/status/1086304554734571521">tweet</a> last January, writing, &#8220;Tens of thousands of LA public school teachers, parents, and students are on a historic strike to improve + protect local public schools from privatization. This is inspiring!&#8221;
DeVos responded to The Post&#8217;s report by highlighting Ocasio-Cortez&#8217;s hypocrisy, tweeting, &#8220;How nice that 
@AOC claims to have helped her goddaughter get into a public charter school. It’s a shame she works to deny that opportunity to every other disadvantaged family in America. &#8216;Good for me, but not for thee,&#8217; indeed. #EducationFreedom&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
How nice that <a href="https://twitter.com/AOC?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@AOC</a> claims to have helped her goddaughter get into a public charter school. It’s a shame she works to deny that opportunity to every other disadvantaged family in America. “Good for me, but not for thee,” indeed. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/EducationFreedom?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#EducationFreedom</a><a href="https://t.co/a2RhOEeU0o">https://t.co/a2RhOEeU0o</a>
&mdash; Secretary Betsy DeVos (@BetsyDeVosED) <a href="https://twitter.com/BetsyDeVosED/status/1232036448339140610?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 24, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Ray Domanico, director of education policy at the Manhattan Institute, blasted Ocasio-Cortez for her hypocrisy.
“I am not surprised by the hypocrisy,” Domanico told The Post. “Charter schools are incredibly popular with the communities and populations that a lot of these Democratic politicians claim to be representing … People in the Bronx can find a good school for their young ones now as the congresswoman apparently did for her goddaughter.”
Despite her apparent opposition to school choice, Ocasio-Cortez accidentally made the case for school choice earlier this week during an interview with The Breakfast Club.
“We do need to address situations with charter schools, I think. It doesn’t mean that they’re all bad, it doesn’t mean that they should one hundred percent go away,” Ocasio-Cortez <a href="https://thefederalist.com/2020/02/25/aoc-mistakenly-makes-the-case-for-school-choice/">said</a>. “The charter school movement, especially in about the 1970s, they were community charters. So, often times it was pastors, community organizers, starting community-based schools. So the school came from the community, it was for the community.”
Ocasio-Cortez continued, “My cousin, and you know my goddaughter, he made a choice given what that was in the South Bronx. And he asked me to help him. Would I help him fill out the form so that he could pursue this choice that he made for his daughter. How are you gonna tell someone no?”

AOC Devos

School Choice Opponent AOC: I Got Goddaughter Into Charter School. Education Secretary DeVos Rips Her.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

Betsy DeVos

Education

Menu

School Choice Opponent AOC: I Got Goddaughter Into Charter School. Education Secretary DeVos Rips Her.

MSNBC Contributor Benched After Bashing Bernie Staffers: ‘Island Of Misfit Black Girls’

WATCH: Warren Praises Trump Over Recent Action During CNN Town Hall

Biden Appears To Question Nikki Haley’s Brains, Report Says. Haley Shreds Him.

TAKE THAT, BERNIE: Trump Extends National Emergency On Cuba

Ep. 433 - Billionaires And Millionaires Gather For A Debate

Ep. 851 - Castro Wins the Debate

Ep. 501 - Bernie’s Pervy Revolution

Ep. 961 - The Final Debate!