Former President Donald Trump sued ABC News and anchor George Stephanopoulos on Monday, arguing that the news host defamed him on-air multiple times.
Trump filed the lawsuit in a federal court in Miami, alleging that Stephanopoulos harmed his reputation after the ABC News host said during an interview with Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) last week that Trump was found liable for raping writer E. Jean Carroll, The New York Times <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/18/us/politics/trump-lawsuit-abc-stephanopoulos.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>. Last year, a jury in a Manhattan civil case found the former president liable for sexually abusing Carroll, not for rape.
“Judges and two separate juries have found him liable for rape and for defaming the victim of that rape. How do you square your endorsement of Donald Trump with the testimony we just saw?&#8221; Stephanopoulos asked Mace during the interview.
In a 20-page <a href="https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.flsd.664183/gov.uscourts.flsd.664183.1.0.pdf">complaint</a>, Trump’s attorney Alejandro Brito wrote, “These statements were and remain false, and were made by Defendant Stephanopoulos with actual malice or with a reckless disregard for the truth given that Defendant Stephanopoulos knows that these statements are patently and demonstrably false.”
“Indeed, the jury expressly found that Plaintiff did not commit rape and, as demonstrated below, Defendant George Stephanopoulos was aware of the jury’s finding in this regard yet still falsely stated otherwise,” Brito added, according to <a href="https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/4541257-trump-sues-abc-stephanopoulos-alleging-defamation-mace-interview/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Hill</a>.
Trump has asked for an unspecified amount of damages in the lawsuit.
Mace <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/nancy-mace-rips-george-stephanopoulos-over-tense-interview-about-trump-tried-to-shame-me-as-a-rape-victim" target="_blank" rel="noopener">blasted</a> Stephanopoulos during the interview after he grilled her on her support of the former president, referencing that the congresswoman had been a rape victim herself. She insisted the question was “offensive” and “disgusting.” Mace added, “You’re questioning my political choices because I’ve been raped.”
The jury in the civil case found Trump liable for sexually abusing Carroll and defaming her after the writer claimed Trump followed her into a dressing room at the Bergdorf Goodman department store and forcibly digitally penetrated her in the mid-1990s.
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Trump has also attempted to countersue Carroll for continuing to accuse him of rape during appearances on cable news after the jury’s verdict. U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan, however, rejected Trump’s counterclaims, saying that “The difference between Ms. Carroll’s allegedly defamatory statements — that Mr. Trump ‘raped’ her as defined in the New York Penal Law — and the ‘truth’ — that Mr. Trump forcibly digitally penetrated Ms. Carroll — is minimal.”
“Both are felonious sex crimes,” Kaplan added.
The jury later <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/court-fines-trump-83-3-million-over-eight-times-lawsuits-request-in-e-jean-carroll-defamation-case" target="_blank" rel="noopener">awarded</a> Carroll $83.3 million in damages, finding that Trump owed Carroll $11 million to cover the costs of a campaign to repair the harm done to her reputation and $7.3 million to address the emotional harm the 80-year-old writer sustained from remarks Trump made in 2019 about her and her accusations of rape. The jury ordered Trump to pay another $65 million in punitive damages.
“Absolutely ridiculous!” Trump said in a statement following the jury’s verdict. “I fully disagree with both verdicts, and will be appealing this whole Biden Directed Witch Hunt focused on me and the Republican Party. Our Legal System is out of control, and being used as a political weapon. They have taken away all First Amendment Rights. THIS IS NOT AMERICA!”
Tim Pearce contributed to this report.

George Stephanopoulos/Donald Trump

Trump Sues George Stephanopoulos, ABC News After Host Said Former President Was Found ‘Liable For Rape’

Trump Sues George Stephanopoulos, ABC News After Host Said Former President Was Found 'Liable For Rape'

ABC News

Defamation

Donald Trump

E. Jean Carroll

George Stephanopoulos

Lawsuit

Media

Politics

Rep. <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/nancy-mace" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Nancy Mace</a> (R-SC) tore into George Stephanopoulos on Sunday after the ABC News anchor asked her to square her endorsement of former President Donald Trump with coming forward as a victim of rape.
&#8220;I’m not going to sit here on your show and be asked a question meant to shame me about another potential rape victim. I’m not going to do that,&#8221; Mace said on &#8220;This Week.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
I was brought on to talk about 2024…instead Clinton crony turned fake journalist <a href="https://twitter.com/GStephanopoulos?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Gstephanopoulos</a> attacked me and tried to shame me as a rape victim. 
Gross.<a href="https://twitter.com/ThisWeekABC?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ThisWeekABC</a> <a href="https://t.co/9uNhypsZdO">pic.twitter.com/9uNhypsZdO</a>
&mdash; Nancy Mace (@NancyMace) <a href="https://twitter.com/NancyMace/status/1766840801642885301?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 10, 2024</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The tense interview began with ABC showing a clip of Mace talking in 2o19 about the struggles women such as herself have experienced in speaking publicly about being raped.
Stephanopoulos then pressed the congresswoman to explain her support of Trump given her personal history and the former president being <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/breaking-jury-rules-trump-committed-battery-on-e-jean-carroll-defamed-her" target="_blank" rel="noopener">found liable</a> for sexual abuse and defamation in a case brought by E. Jean Carroll.
For several minutes, Stephanopoulos kept trying to get Mace to answer the question, denying he was trying to humiliate the congresswoman while she argued that was exactly what he was doing.
Mace insisted the question was &#8220;offensive&#8221; and &#8220;disgusting.&#8221; She added, &#8220;You&#8217;re questioning my political choices because I&#8217;ve been raped.&#8221;
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During the exchange, Mace noted that the judgement against Trump was in a civil case rather than a criminal one and pointed to how Carroll <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/penthouse-its-yours-e-jean-carroll-quips-about-spending-spree-with-trump-judgment-cash" target="_blank" rel="noopener">joked</a> about a spending spree with the judgement money she was awarded.
&#8220;It makes it harder for other women to come forward when another woman has made a mockery of it,&#8221; Mace said.
In sharing insight into her pick for president in the 2024 contest, Mace said she &#8220;endorsed the man that I believe is best for our country. It&#8217;s not Joe Biden.&#8221;
The interview eventually gave way to Stephanopoulos pressing Mace on the U.S. Capitol breach on January 6, 2021, and showing a clip of her saying not long after that Trump should be held accountable and not hold office again.
Asked why she is supporting Trump now, Mace said that she &#8220;listened to my voters&#8221; in South Carolina &#8220;and they&#8217;ve moved beyond January 6.&#8221;
Mace also said her constituents are concerned about the border crisis under President Joe Biden, and she mentioned American citizens, such as Laken Riley, who were allegedly murdered by illegal immigrants.
The interview ended with Stephanopoulos claiming that Mace &#8220;made it very clear&#8221; that she was &#8220;comfortable with Trump being found liable for rape and you&#8217;re comfortable for his actions on January 6.&#8221;
Mace shot back, accusing Stephanopoulos of &#8220;putting words in my mouth.&#8221;
In posts to social media that followed, Mace shared the entire video of her interview with Stephanopoulos and continued to criticize the anchor. She included references to him being an aide to former President Bill Clinton and the Monica Lewinsky scandal.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Rape victims go through enough trauma, pain and shame as it is. It&#39;s an abomination for a guy like this to try to shame me for my political choices as a rape victim. <a href="https://t.co/f3ZjXEgfGb">https://t.co/f3ZjXEgfGb</a>
&mdash; Nancy Mace (@NancyMace) <a href="https://twitter.com/NancyMace/status/1766843630856122654?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 10, 2024</a></blockquote>
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I’m not going to be shamed for being raped by a guy who worked for a President who wagged his finger and lied to the American people about having oral sex with an intern in the Oval Office…
STFU <a href="https://twitter.com/GStephanopoulos?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@GStephanopoulos</a> <a href="https://t.co/xq8NVqgQin">https://t.co/xq8NVqgQin</a>
&mdash; Nancy Mace (@NancyMace) <a href="https://twitter.com/NancyMace/status/1766844294659297525?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 10, 2024</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
I was asked to speak on 2024 today, NOT my own rape. I’ve carried this shame for 30 years, a shame George Stephanopolous will never know. I don’t need <a href="https://twitter.com/GStephanopolous?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@gstephanopolous</a> “mansplaining” rape to me or shaming me on national TV for being a survivor of rape. <a href="https://t.co/f3ZjXEgfGb">https://t.co/f3ZjXEgfGb</a>
&mdash; Nancy Mace (@NancyMace) <a href="https://twitter.com/NancyMace/status/1766859012643951023?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 10, 2024</a></blockquote>
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&#8220;I was asked to speak on 2024 today, NOT my own rape. I’ve carried this shame for 30 years, a shame George Stephanopolous will never know,&#8221; Mace said in one post to X from her personal account. &#8220;I don’t need [Stephanopoulos] &#8216;mansplaining&#8217; rape to me or shaming me on national TV for being a survivor of rape.&#8221;
She said in another, &#8220;I was brought on to talk about 2024…instead Clinton crony turned fake journalist [Stephanopoulos] attacked me and tried to shame me as a rape victim. Gross.&#8221;

Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C.

Nancy Mace Rips George Stephanopoulos Over Tense Interview About Trump: ‘Tried To Shame Me As A Rape Victim’

Nancy Mace Rips George Stephanopoulos Over Tense Interview About Trump: 'Tried To Shame Me As A Rape Victim'

Congress

Nancy Mace

U.S. House of Representatives

Fox Nation host Tammy Bruce mocked ABC News anchor George Stephanopoulos after his reportedly &#8220;stunned&#8221; reaction to a poll showing former President Donald Trump tied with President Joe Biden in a head-to-head match-up.
The poll in question was conducted by The Wall Street Journal and <a href="https://www.wsj.com/politics/elections/trump-is-top-choice-for-nearly-60-of-gop-voters-wsj-poll-shows-877252b6" target="_blank" rel="noopener">released</a> on Saturday, and it showed Biden and Trump each with 46% — a point Stephanopoulos seemed baffled by during a conversation on Sunday morning&#8217;s broadcast of &#8220;This Week.&#8221;
WATCH:
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Former DNC chair <a href="https://twitter.com/donnabrazile?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@DonnaBrazile</a> says the biggest challenge facing Democrats is that “young voters, young Black and Latino voters—they&#39;re not ready to come back to the party.” 
“Without them, it is a tight race, and it&#39;s going to come down to four states.” <a href="https://t.co/lCmr9iLfeR">https://t.co/lCmr9iLfeR</a> <a href="https://t.co/XQiDxlyxJf">pic.twitter.com/XQiDxlyxJf</a>
&mdash; This Week (@ThisWeekABC) <a href="https://twitter.com/ThisWeekABC/status/1698356529756283011?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 3, 2023</a></blockquote>
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&#8220;It is kind of shocking in a way that despite all of the baggage that Donald Trump carries, he&#8217;s tied with Joe Biden right now,&#8221; Stephanopoulos began, turning the floor over to former DNC Chairwoman Donna Brazile.
Brazile agreed, saying, &#8220;Yeah. I mean, George, when I looked at that recent poll, The Wall Street Journal, I said, &#8216;Oh. This could keep me up at night.'&#8221;
A Fox News Digital report characterized Stephanopoulos&#8217; reaction: &#8220;ABC&#8217;s George Stephanopoulos appeared stunned Sunday by a 2024 election poll showing former President Trump and President Biden tied at 46% in a hypothetical rematch, calling the findings &#8216;kind of shocking&#8217; in light of Trump&#8217;s mounting legal woes.&#8221;
Bruce shared that report — along with her own assessment of the situation — in a post via X.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
He wouldn&#39;t have been &quot;stunned&quot; if he had taken seriously all the other polls indicating the intense unhappiness of Americans in general. Our decline is artificial and Biden&#39;s doing. So get used to it, Georgie. &quot;ABC&#39;s George Stephanopoulos appeared stunned Sunday by a 2024…
&mdash; Tammy Bruce (@HeyTammyBruce) <a href="https://twitter.com/HeyTammyBruce/status/1698539292430127376?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 4, 2023</a></blockquote>
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&#8220;He wouldn&#8217;t have been &#8216;stunned&#8217; if he had taken seriously all the other polls indicating the intense unhappiness of Americans in general,&#8221; Bruce said. &#8220;Our decline is artificial and Biden&#8217;s doing. So get used to it, Georgie.&#8221;
Biden&#8217;s <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/gallup-biden-polls-significantly-lower-in-six-key-character-traits-than-he-did-before-taking-office" target="_blank" rel="noopener">poll numbers</a> have been steadily less-than-stellar, with the American people giving him <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/cbs-poll-majority-blame-biden-for-economy-and-say-its-getting-worse" target="_blank" rel="noopener">low marks</a> on his handling of the economy in particular. Another serious complication for Biden is the number of Americans, even Democrats, who have repeatedly <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/nearly-70-of-democrats-think-biden-is-too-old-for-second-term-ap-poll-finds" target="_blank" rel="noopener">voiced a preference</a> for someone who is younger — or just someone who isn&#8217;t Joe Biden — to be the Democratic Party&#8217;s 2024 nominee.

Secretary Of Commerce Wilbur Ross Visits “Lou Dobbs Tonight”

‘Get Used To It, Georgie’: Tammy Bruce Mocks ABC Anchor ‘Stunned’ By Biden-Trump Poll

'Get Used To It, Georgie': Tammy Bruce Mocks ABC Anchor 'Stunned' By Biden-Trump Poll

U.S.

South Carolina Republican Senator Lindsey Graham blasted the American justice system and the recent indictment of former President Donald Trump on Sunday, comparing his alleged actions to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. 
Appearing on ABC’s “This Week” with host George Stephanopoulos, Graham said that Trump is “stronger” politically than he was before the second indictment. He also says that espionage charges against the former president are “completely wrong” because it associates Trump with whistleblowers like Edward Snowden and Julian Assange, which he believes is an unfair comparison.  
“We live in an America where if you’re the Democratic candidate for president, Hillary Clinton, secretary of state, you can set up a private server in your basement to conduct government business, and when an investigation is had about your activity&#8230;” Graham said as he was interrupted by Stephanopoulos. 
“What I don’t like is a system in America where the secretary of state — who’s a Democratic candidate for president — has people take a hammer to social media devices and break them apart, apply BleachBit to a hard drive to erase emails, allow classified information to get on a felon’s computer — Anthony Weiner — you haven’t even mentioned that,” Graham told the host. 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
“Most Republicans believe we live in a country where Hillary Clinton did similar things and nothing happened to her. Pres. Trump will have his day in court, but espionage charges are absolutely ridiculous,” GOP Sen. Lindsey Graham tells <a href="https://twitter.com/GStephanopoulos?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@GStephanopoulos</a>. <a href="https://t.co/TAi6FOqGGJ">https://t.co/TAi6FOqGGJ</a> <a href="https://t.co/l0ld91Wxw6">pic.twitter.com/l0ld91Wxw6</a>
&mdash; This Week (@ThisWeekABC) <a href="https://twitter.com/ThisWeekABC/status/1667897013558562816?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 11, 2023</a></blockquote>
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Graham added that he believed the majority of Republicans see a &#8220;double standard&#8221; applied to politicians on a partisan basis, pointing specifically to Clinton, who &#8220;did very similar things and nothing happened to her.&#8221; 
&#8220;This double standard is real in the minds of most Republicans,&#8221; he said.
While he has endorsed the former president’s third bid, Graham acknowledged that he’s not arguing Trump’s alleged actions were flawless but that the law is applied unequally in the United States. The senator said he wanted to review the system in which politicians and presidents handle classified information. Graham added that Trump would argue the Presidential Records Act but made clear his view that the espionage charges are wrong and that the justice system is being used against the former president in nefarious ways. 
&#8220;I think Donald Trump is stronger today politically than he was before,” Graham said. “We&#8217;ll have an election and we&#8217;ll have a trial, but I promise you this: Most Americans believe, most Republicans believe, that the law is used as a weapon against Donald Trump.”
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Graham also pointed to President Joe Biden and former Vice President Mike Pence’s classified document scandals, saying he doesn’t “like any of that.” 
On Thursday, a federal indictment from the Southern District of Florida charged Trump with 37 counts, including alleged violations of the Espionage Act. Trump told POLITICO the recent indictment wouldn’t prevent him from continuing his campaign, <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2023/06/10/trump-vows-to-stay-in-the-race-even-if-convicted-00101403" target="_blank" rel="noopener">saying</a> he would “never leave” the race. 
Trump is <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2023/06/10/trump-vows-to-stay-in-the-race-even-if-convicted-00101403" target="_blank" rel="noopener">expected</a> to appear in court on Tuesday.

Lindsey Graham

Lindsey Graham Blasts Political ‘Double Standard’ In Justice System

Lindsey Graham Blasts Political 'Double Standard' In Justice System

Indictment

George Stephanopoulos used to be President Bill Clinton&#8217;s press secretary, and he has toed the liberal line for Democrats ever since as an ABC News anchor.
So for Stephanopoulos to call out President Joe Biden over his ever-dwindling poll numbers means something.
&#8220;This poll is just brutal for President Biden,&#8221; Stephanopoulos said Sunday on &#8220;This Week.&#8221;
The <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/05/07/president-biden-post-abc-poll/">poll</a> by ABC News and The Washington Post released Sunday found that 63% of Americans do not think Biden, 80, has the &#8220;mental sharpness&#8221; to be president. That&#8217;s up nine points since the same question was asked a year ago.
Just 32% believe Biden is mentally capable, while 5% have no opinion.
The numbers were similar on Biden&#8217;s physical health. Some 62% of Americans don&#8217;t think Biden is in &#8220;good enough physical health&#8221; to serve as president, while just 33% believe he is.
Former President Donald Trump fared much better in the poll, taken from April 28 to May 3. 54% of those surveyed said Trump has the mental sharpness compared to Biden&#8217;s 32%. And 64% said he&#8217;s physically fit enough to be president, compared to Biden&#8217;s 33%.
Biden&#8217;s approval rating is also in the dumper, hitting a new low of 36%, down six points since the same poll was conducted in February. More than half (56%) disapprove of the job Biden’s doing.
A majority (54%) of those surveyed said Trump did a better job with the economy than Biden. Just 36% think Biden is doing a better job.
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Plus, the poll showed Trump would beat Biden by 7 points in a head-to-head matchup.
&#8220;You&#8217;re seeing real weaknesses in the coalition that powered Joe Biden to the presidency in 2020,&#8221; ABC&#8217;s political director Rick Klein told Stephanopoulos, Fox News <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/media/george-stephanopoulos-2024-poll-brutal-president-biden">reported</a>. &#8220;This race is shaping up [to be] a lot more about the incumbent president Joe Biden than it is about any of his challengers.&#8221;
Donna Brazile, a former chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee, also appeared on &#8220;This Week&#8221; and said the poll should alarm Democrats.
&#8220;It kept me up, and I thought they should wake up and look at those numbers,&#8221; Brazile said. &#8220;It’s sobering in the sense that the coalition that elected Joe Biden, with the historic numbers that we saw in 2020, that coalition right now is fragmented. That should concern them,&#8221; she said.
The latest survey was just another in a string of bad polls. Shortly after Biden announced his re-election campaign two weeks ago — not with a live event featuring thousands of cheering supporters but with a video posted on his website — his job approval rating among the U.S. public slipped to 37%, Gallup <a href="https://news.gallup.com/poll/505202/biden-begins-reelection-bid-low-point-presidency.aspx">reported</a>.
That&#8217;s just slightly more than 1 in 3 people — not a winning number. In the 2020 election, Biden won 51.3% of the vote, so that&#8217;s a 14.3% drop in support.
For the record, 37% is the lowest Gallup has measured for him to date. The president&#8217;s job approval has been hovering in the low 40s for most of the last 18 months, after the initial honeymoon period. But he did drop to 38% last July, then his lowest.
The latest Gallup poll, taken April 3-25, shows a 3-point dip from March and a 5-point drop from February. His ninth quarter average in polling is 39.7%.
&#8220;Only Ronald Reagan in early 1983 had a lower ninth-quarter average among elected post-World War II presidents,&#8221; the pollsters wrote. &#8220;Reagan’s low ratings came during a period when the unemployment rate exceeded 10% after the 1981-1982 economic recession.&#8221;
The views expressed in this piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.
Joseph Curl has covered politics for 35 years, including 12 years as White House correspondent for a national newspaper. He was also the a.m. editor of the Drudge Report for four years. Send tips to josephcurl@dailywire.com and follow him on Twitter @josephcurl.

George Stephanopoulos Admits New 2024 Poll ‘Just Brutal For President Biden’

Elections

Executive

Gallup

Joe Biden

Poll

Washington Post

U.S. officials believe the unidentified flying objects (<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/ufo" target="_blank" rel="noopener">UFO</a>) spotted over the United States and Canada over the past couple days are balloons, the Senate&#8217;s top Democrat said Sunday morning.
Senate Majority Leader <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/chuck-schumer" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Chuck Schumer</a> (D-NY) told ABC News&#8217;s George Stephanopoulos he discussed the situation with National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan on Saturday night.
&#8220;They believe they were, yes,&#8221; Schumer told the anchor of &#8220;This Week&#8221; when asked to confirm whether the objects shot down over Alaska and Canada were balloons.
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“I think the Chinese were humiliated. I think the Chinese were caught lying, and it’s a real step back for them…they look really bad,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer tells <a href="https://twitter.com/GStephanopoulos?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@GStephanopoulos</a> about the Chinese balloon surveillance program. <a href="https://t.co/eS3P8M0epS">https://t.co/eS3P8M0epS</a> <a href="https://t.co/GrR27nUY3d">pic.twitter.com/GrR27nUY3d</a>
&mdash; This Week (@ThisWeekABC) <a href="https://twitter.com/ThisWeekABC/status/1624775988558065664?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 12, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Schumer added that these objects were &#8220;much smaller&#8221; than the balloon shot down off the coast of South Carolina last weekend, and were flying at a lower altitude of about 40,000 feet, endangering commercial aircraft.
With salvage operations underway, Schumer said U.S. military and intelligence officials are focused on gathering and accumulating information. A &#8220;comprehensive analysis&#8221; will follow, the senator said.
Schumer also claimed the United States only recently discovered these flying objects. &#8220;Until a few months ago we didn&#8217;t know about these balloons,&#8221; he said.
Another UFO appears to have been detected over Montana late Saturday.
North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) detected what it called a &#8220;radar anomaly,&#8221; leading to a temporary flight restriction over the central part of the state. But a fighter aircraft sent to investigate &#8220;did not identify any object to correlate&#8221; the radar hits and the restriction was lifted, NORAD added.
The only UFO the U.S. military has publicly identified is the one shot down off the coast of South Carolina last weekend.
That vessel, the U.S. officials say, was a Chinese spy balloon that flew at a high altitude — away from commercial aircraft — across a wide swath of the United States. China claims the airship was a weather balloon that had been blown off course.
Authorities in China said they witnessed a UFO off the coast of a port city, a state-run newspaper claimed on Sunday. “Local maritime authorities in East China’s Shandong Province announced on Sunday that they had spotted an unidentified flying object in waters near the coastal city of Rizhao in the province and were preparing to shoot it down, reminding fishermen to be safe via messages,” <a href="https://twitter.com/globaltimesnews/status/1624734766057803776" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said a tweet</a> from the Global Times.

Chuck Schumer

Schumer Says U.S. Officials Believe UFOs Shot Down Over Alaska And Canada Were Balloons

Balloon

China

Communist China

Spying

This Week

World

ABC News&#8217;s George Stephanopoulos predicted two years of chaos during Kevin McCarthy&#8217;s House <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/breaking-kevin-mccarthy-elected-next-speaker-of-the-house" target="_blank" rel="noopener">speakership</a>, but his Republican guests weren&#8217;t having it.
In his opening segment on &#8220;This Week&#8221; Sunday, Stephanopoulos said that McCarthy&#8217;s concessions to 20 conservative members who opposed his bid would put the country on edge. He extended his alarmist rhetoric to interviews with two Republican congressmen, but both lawmakers rebuked him for it.
&#8220;On the second anniversary of the January 6th insurrection, Kevin McCarthy clinched his decade-long quest to be speaker of the House,&#8221; Stephanopoulos said. &#8220;It came with concessions to the most extreme members of his caucus, the help of the former president he denounced on the House floor two years ago, and the prospect of two more years of brinksmanship over his hold on the office, the fiscal security of the United States and the basics functions of governing.&#8221;
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McCarthy’s win means doom. <a href="https://twitter.com/GStephanopoulos?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@GStephanopoulos</a>: It “came with concessions to the most extreme members of his caucus&#8230;prospect of two more years of brinksmanship over his hold on the office, the fiscal security of the United States and the basic functions of governing.” <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ThisWeek?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ThisWeek</a> <a href="https://t.co/hcNI9Qrbjl">pic.twitter.com/hcNI9Qrbjl</a>
&mdash; Brent Baker 🇺🇦 (@BrentHBaker) <a href="https://twitter.com/BrentHBaker/status/1612092404516982784?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 8, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Specifically, Stephanopoulos seemed to take issue with three <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/here-are-the-concessions-house-speaker-kevin-mccarthy-gave-to-republican-holdouts-to-win-their-support" target="_blank" rel="noopener">concessions</a> McCarthy made: a proposed rule allowing a single member to make a motion to vacate the Speaker&#8217;s chair, a budget that stops the debt ceiling from increasing; and placing Freedom Caucus members on key committees.
Stephanopoulos kept up the negative tone in interviews with Rep. Andy Barr (R-KY) and House Freedom Caucus chair Rep. Scott Perry (R-PA). But both of the Republicans swatted him down.
First, Stephanopoulos tried to corner <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/ThisWeek/video/1-1-rep-scott-perry-96294861" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Perry</a> on the idea that the United States would default on its debt without a debt limit increase and that President Joe Biden was unwilling to negotiate.
&#8220;We can&#8217;t just keep doing the same thing under the same conditions with the same management and expect different outcomes,&#8221; Perry fired back. &#8220;The American people are sick and tired of this endless debt increasing. While I&#8217;ve been in Congress, George, the debt has increased double. It’s gone from about $15 trillion to $31.5 trillion. Where is the end of it? And there’s been no mechanism in sight to rein that in. At least we have a mechanism now.&#8221;
&#8220;I don’t know why President Biden says he’s not going to negotiate,&#8221; Perry said of Biden. &#8220;Saying you&#8217;re not going to negotiate, I think, is an untenable and unacceptable position for almost every single American no matter if you&#8217;re on the left, right, or in the center.&#8221;
In an interview with <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/ThisWeek/video/1-1-rep-andy-barr-96294806" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Barr</a> later in the program, Stephanopoulos claimed that the motion to vacate the Speaker, along with putting Freedom Caucus members on the Rules Committee, would undermine the Speaker&#8217;s authority.
Barr shot him down again.
&#8220;Well, let&#8217;s be clear, George, remember, this motion to vacate was only altered by Speaker [Nancy] Pelosi,&#8221; said Barr. &#8220;We&#8217;re just going back to the pre-Pelosi rule that was in place since 1910. I don&#8217;t think that&#8217;s an issue at all in terms of creating chaos. I think it&#8217;s what the House has had every term before Pelosi came into power.&#8221;
Barr also defended putting Freedom Caucus members on committees, saying it would strengthen both legislation and the party.
&#8220;If there are issues, if there’s a difference of opinion, you want those differences of opinion to be aired in committee on the front end, because you don&#8217;t want those difficulties when the bill comes out of committee on the House floor. Let&#8217;s have the opportunity to have an open amendment process in committee so that you forge that consensus at the beginning of the legislative process, so that the bills that are brought to House floor actually have a meaningful chance of passing.&#8221;

George Stephanopoulos Predicts Chaos From McCarthy’s Speakership. His Republican Guests Aren’t Having It.

George Stephanopoulos Predicts Chaos From McCarthy's Speakership. His Republican Guests Aren't Having It.

House Republicans

House Speaker

Kevin McCarthy

Republican Party

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) snapped on Sunday when confronted with remarks from Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY), chairwoman of the House Republican Conference, who blamed the some of the shortages of baby formula on President Joe Biden sending pallets of formula to the U.S. southern border.
&#8220;Joe Biden continues to put America LAST by shipping pallets of baby formula to the southern border as American families face empty shelves,&#8221; Stefanik wrote on Twitter. &#8220;This is unacceptable. American mothers and their babies shouldn’t suffer because of the #BidenBorderCrisis.&#8221;
Pelosi was asked during an interview with George Stephanopoulos on ABC&#8217;s &#8220;This Week&#8221; whether the shortage was in-part due to Biden&#8217;s decision.
&#8220;As usual, her statement is totally irresponsible,&#8221; Pelosi responded. &#8220;Babies are crying. We need to get them food. And the president has — now what we&#8217;re doing this week in the Congress is, again, Bobby Scott, chair of the Education and Labor Committee, that&#8217;s the jurisdiction that will lower some of the regulations, et cetera, so that it&#8217;s easier to buy it.&#8221;
Pelosi did not directly dispute the accuracy of Stefanik&#8217;s remarks, but said that part of the issue was the &#8220;supply chain.&#8221;
Stefanik fired back on Twitter, writing: “As usual, your LEADERSHIP is totally irresponsible. Babies are crying. We need to get them food.”
WATCH:
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“As usual, her statement is totally irresponsible,&quot; House Speaker Nancy Pelosi tells <a href="https://twitter.com/GStephanopoulos?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@GStephanopoulos</a> when asked about GOP Rep. Elise Stefanik criticizing shipments of baby formula to southern border during shortage. <a href="https://t.co/oqluhc0Sad">https://t.co/oqluhc0Sad</a> <a href="https://t.co/w3Xh84nBk2">pic.twitter.com/w3Xh84nBk2</a>
&mdash; This Week (@ThisWeekABC) <a href="https://twitter.com/ThisWeekABC/status/1525848978276884480?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 15, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
TRANSCRIPT PROVIDED VIA <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/week-transcript-15-22-speaker-nancy-pelosi-ukrainian/story?id=84719384">ABC NEWS</a>:
<blockquote>STEPHANOPOULOS: So many families are also facing this baby formula shortage right now, dire shortage across the country. Congresswoman Elise Stefanik, Republican from here in New York, is laying this on President Biden and his shipping of pallets of baby formula to the southern border. She has a tweet right there where says &#8220;as American families face empty shelves, this is unacceptable.&#8221; Is that why we&#8217;re facing this shortage?
PELOSI: As usual, her statement is totally irresponsible. Babies are crying. We need to get them food. And the president has &#8212; now what we&#8217;re doing this week in the Congress is, again, Bobby Scott, chair of the Education and Labor Committee, that&#8217;s the jurisdiction that will lower some of the regulations, et cetera, so that it&#8217;s easier to buy it. Fifty percent of the &#8212; of WIC &#8212; 50 percent of the&#8230;
STEPHANOPOULOS: The Women, Infants, and Children program.
PELOSI: &#8230; WIC. And so loosening that. But in addition to that, Rosa DeLauro, who has been on this case for a while, she was the chair of the Agriculture Subcommittee of Appropriations when she &#8212; now she&#8217;s chair of the whole committee. But she has been working on this to have some funding so that we can immediately purchase, overseas &#8212; there are four countries, Chile, Mexico, Ireland and the Netherlands, that have supply that might be available to us. The president is quite correct. We must do something as quickly as possible, but as safely as possible, and use caution, for these babies. But we have to move quickly to do that. And part of this is, again, the supply chain issue.</blockquote>
RELATED: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/watch-pelosi-pressed-on-what-democrats-are-doing-to-slow-down-skyrocketing-inflation">WATCH: Pelosi Pressed On What Democrats Are Doing To Slow Down Skyrocketing Inflation</a>

Speaker Pelosi Holds Her Weekly News Conference On Capitol Hill

Pelosi Snaps After Top Republican Blames Baby Formula Shortage On Democrats Shipping It To The Border

baby formula

baby formula shortage

Elise Stefanik

Nancy Pelosi

On Sunday, White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain claimed that President Joe Biden had not been in contact with the Department of Justice regarding an ongoing investigation into the president&#8217;s son, Hunter. He also added that Biden is confident that his family, including his brother Jim, have not crossed any ethical lines as it related to business deals with a Chinese energy company.
ABC News&#8217; George Stephanopoulos asked Klain several pointed questions about Biden&#8217;s awareness and involvement in various business and potentially illicit legal matters relating to Hunter. In a wide-ranging interview Sunday morning, the host of &#8220;This Week&#8221; noted that the &#8220;DOJ is intensifying its investigation&#8221; into Hunter, before saying, &#8220;I assume the president&#8217;s had no contact with the Justice Department about that?&#8221;
&#8220;Neither the president or any of us at the White House have had contact with the Justice Department about that,&#8221; Klain responded. (sic)
&#8220;Is the president confident Hunter Biden didn&#8217;t break the law?&#8221; Stephanopoulos followed up.
&#8220;Of course, the president is confident that his son didn&#8217;t break the law, but most importantly — as I said — that&#8217;s a matter that&#8217;s going to be decided by the Justice Department, by the legal process. It&#8217;s something that nobody at the White House has involvement in,&#8221; Klain claimed.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
On the Biden family corruption scandal, White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain says, &quot;Of course the president is confident his son didn&#39;t break the law.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/kn1WHZRDya">pic.twitter.com/kn1WHZRDya</a>
&mdash; RNC Research (@RNCResearch) <a href="https://twitter.com/RNCResearch/status/1510622665282838533?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 3, 2022</a></blockquote>
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Last week, the Associated Press <a href="https://www.fox13memphis.com/news/politics/federal-tax-probe/MGWYF5UIYOMEHT4FDFIYLBKE6E/">reported</a> that a &#8220;federal grand jury has heard testimony in recent months about Hunter Biden&#8217;s income and payments he received while serving on the board of a Ukraine energy company, according to two people familiar with the probe.&#8221;
The AP added that &#8220;&#8230;the grand jury activity underscores that a federal tax investigation into President Joe Biden&#8217;s son that began in 2018 remains active as prosecutors continue to examine foreign payments and other aspects of his finances.&#8221;
Hunter and Biden&#8217;s brother, James, have reportedly made millions from foreign business deals that many believe were only granted to the Bidens because of Joe Biden&#8217;s political connections as a senator, vice president, and presidential candidate.
In January, The Daily Wire <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/joe-bidens-son-hunter-and-other-family-members-have-made-31-million-off-chinese-elites-author-says">reported</a> that best-selling author Peter Schweizer claimed that Hunter and other members of the Biden clan have received at least $31 million from various Chinese elites as part of lucrative trade deals in multiple business ventures. Schweizer detailed this alleged money-making machine in an <a href="https://nypost.com/2022/01/27/chinese-elite-have-paid-some-31m-to-hunter-and-the-bidens/">opinion column</a> for the New York Post, excerpted from his latest book, “<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Red-Handed-American-Elites-Helping-China/dp/0063061147/?tag=nypost-20&amp;asc_refurl=https://nypost.com/2022/01/27/chinese-elite-have-paid-some-31m-to-hunter-and-the-bidens/&amp;asc_source=web" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow" data-ga-event="{&quot;category&quot;:&quot;affiliate ecommerce click&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:&quot;amazon&quot;,&quot;label&quot;:&quot;https://www.amazon.com/Red-Handed-American-Elites-Helping-China/dp/0063061147/?tag=nypost-20&amp;asc_refurl=https://nypost.com/2022/01/27/chinese-elite-have-paid-some-31m-to-hunter-and-the-bidens/&amp;asc_source=web&quot;}">Red-Handed: How American Elites Get Rich Helping China Win</a>.”
According to Schweizer, Biden&#8217;s brother James played a role in at least one of those business deals with Chinese elites:
<blockquote>Ye Jianming, a wealthy Chinese businessman and the head of CEFC China Energy, provided $6 million to the Biden family, according to a Senate investigation into Hunter’s activities.
In early 2017, one month after his father left office as vice president, Hunter Biden worked for Ye as a counselor and adviser, and Joe Biden’s brother James received some of the funds that Ye transferred to Hunter.
Five million came in the form of a forgivable, interest-free loan. Ethically, a loan is worse than a cash gift for a politician’s family, because the loan giver can always demand their money back if the recipient of the funds is not doing as they like.</blockquote>
That story was also reported on in Washington Post this past week after the paper <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/the-rest-of-the-country-is-starting-to-open-their-eyes-major-outlets-confirm-contents-of-hunters-laptop">verified</a> the contents of Hunter&#8217;s infamous missing laptop. Like Schqeizer, The Post claimed that &#8220;a Chinese energy company paid $4.8 million to entities controlled by Hunter and the president&#8217;s brother.&#8221;
While noting the story from the Post, Stephanoplous asked Klain, &#8220;Is the president confident his family didn&#8217;t cross any ethical lines?&#8221;
&#8220;Ah, George, the president&#8217;s confident that his family did the right thing,&#8221; Klain answered. &#8220;But again, I want to just be really clear these are actions by Hunter and his brother. They&#8217;re private matters, they don&#8217;t involve the president, and they certainly are something that nobody at the White House has been involved in.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Q: &quot;A Chinese energy company paid $4.8 million to entities controlled by Hunter and the president&#39;s brother. Is the president confident his family didn&#39;t cross any ethical lines?&quot;
BIDEN CHIEF OF STAFF: &quot;Ah, George, the president&#39;s confident that his family did the right thing.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/hNZAMQ85Kg">pic.twitter.com/hNZAMQ85Kg</a>
&mdash; RNC Research (@RNCResearch) <a href="https://twitter.com/RNCResearch/status/1510623566152278016?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 3, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The Daily Wire also <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/white-house-stands-by-claim-that-hunter-biden-did-not-profit-off-chinese-business-deals-docs-show-his-companies-made-millions">reported</a> last week that the White House claimed Thursday that Hunter did not make any money off business deals in China despite documented payments worth millions of dollars made to Biden-controlled entities.

Hunter and Joe Biden

Ron Klain: Joe Biden Is ‘Confident’ Hunter Didn’t Break The Law, Family ‘Did The Right Thing’ In Business Deals

Hunter Biden

Ron Klain

White House Chief Medical Advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci quickly backpedaled on Sunday after suggesting just last week that he might be thinking about retiring soon.
Fauci, who floated the <a href="https://www.mediaite.com/news/fauci-suggests-he-could-retire-soon/">possibility of retirement</a> during an interview with Brad Mielke on the podcast &#8220;Start Here,&#8221; said that he intended to stay in his position at least until the &#8220;pandemic phase&#8221; was over.
&#8220;I have said that I would stay in what I’m doing until we get out of the pandemic phase and I think we might be there already, if we can stay in this,&#8221; Fauci said, adding, &#8220;I can’t stay at this job forever, unless my staff is gonna find me slumped over my desk one day. I’d rather not do that.&#8221;
Although he stopped short of announcing an actual plan to retire, Fauci also said that he looked forward to the time when he could spend more time with his wife and the rest of his family.
But on Sunday&#8217;s broadcast of &#8220;This Week,&#8221; Fauci made it clear that he <a href="https://dailywire.com/news/fauci-unmasked-daily-wire-releases-new-docuseries/">didn&#8217;t expect anything to change</a> in the near future.
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
.<a href="https://twitter.com/GStephanopoulos?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@GStephanopoulos</a>: “Are we approaching the point where we are past the pandemic phase and you&#39;ll go get some rest?”
Dr. Fauci: “I&#39;m not so sure. I want to make sure we&#39;re really out of this before I really seriously consider doing anything different.” <a href="https://t.co/AcoWdwYNTg">https://t.co/AcoWdwYNTg</a> <a href="https://t.co/iRMDlyZXG4">pic.twitter.com/iRMDlyZXG4</a>
&mdash; This Week (@ThisWeekABC) <a href="https://twitter.com/ThisWeekABC/status/1505562622292557835?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 20, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Noting that the White House had hired Dr. Ashish Jha to replace <a href="https://dailywire.com/news/bidens-covid-19-response-coordinator-leaving-white-house/">former COVID Coordinator Jeff Zients</a>, &#8220;This Week&#8221; host George Stephanopoulos asked whether it was, as Fauci suggested, time for him to step aside and &#8220;get some rest.&#8221;
&#8220;You’ve said you’re going to stay in this job until we get out of the pandemic phase. You’ve served your country for decades. Are we approaching the point we’re beyond the pandemic phase and you’ll get some rest?&#8221; Stephanopoulos asked.
&#8220;I’m not so sure, George,&#8221; Fauci said, laughing. &#8220;I want to make sure we’re really out of this before I consider doing anything different. We’re still in this. We have a way to go. We’re clearly going in the right direction. I hope we stay that way.&#8221;
Fauci also suggested during that Sunday interview that the world should be prepared for the potential rise of new variants as time went on.
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Dr. Anthony Fauci: &quot;This virus has fooled us before, and we really must be prepared for the possibility that we might get another variant and we don&#39;t want to be caught flatfooted on that.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/JAxVOQT5k2">https://t.co/JAxVOQT5k2</a> <a href="https://t.co/rKjBJv6juk">pic.twitter.com/rKjBJv6juk</a>
&mdash; This Week (@ThisWeekABC) <a href="https://twitter.com/ThisWeekABC/status/1505561858186563586?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 20, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&#8220;This virus has fooled us before, and we really must be prepared for the possibility that we might get another variant and we don&#8217;t want to be caught flatfooted on that,&#8221; Fauci said.
He also hinted at the possibility of new lockdowns in the face of new variants, saying, &#8220;If in fact, we do see a turnaround and a resurgence, we have to be able to pivot and go back to any degree of mitigation that is commensurate with what the situation is. We can&#8217;t just say, &#8216;We&#8217;re done. We&#8217;re going to move on.&#8217; We&#8217;ve got to be able to be flexible because we&#8217;re dealing with a dynamic situation.&#8221;
Critics are likely to be disappointed by Fauci&#8217;s determination to stay in the game a little longer, some of whom had already voiced support for his possible retirement.
&#8220;Finally, something to cheer for,&#8221; Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) <a href="https://twitter.com/tedcruz/status/1505232766031458306">said</a>.
&#8220;It’s about time,&#8221; Mercedes Schlapp <a href="https://twitter.com/mercedesschlapp/status/1504908685734207493">added</a>.

Top Health Officials Testify Before Senate Hearing

Fauci Laughs Off Potential Retirement: ‘I Want To Make Sure We’re Really Out’

Anthony Fauci

COVID

Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY) slammed President Joe Biden and Democrats on Sunday for trying to deflect blame over rising gas prices and skyrocketing inflation.
Barrasso made the remarks during an ABC News interview with George Stephanopoulos, firing back when Stephanopoulos brought up the fact that Democrats are trying to pin blame on Russian President Vladimir Putin&#8217;s invasion of Ukraine.
&#8220;Well, Joe Biden can&#8217;t hide from the fact that he is the president of high gas prices,&#8221; Barrasso said. &#8220;And they&#8217;re looking for anyone to blame, whether it&#8217;s Putin, whether it&#8217;s Republicans, whether it&#8217;s the energy companies, whether it&#8217;s COVID.&#8221;
&#8220;The Democrats have a very big problem with 40-year high inflation, highest gas prices ever,&#8221; he continued. &#8220;When Joe Biden came into office, it was $2.38 a gallon for gasoline. Americans paid $1,000 more for energy last year than the year before. And on polling last week, 70 percent of Americans say more American oil and gas and less emphasis on climate.&#8221;
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
.<a href="https://twitter.com/POTUS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@POTUS</a> can&#39;t hide from the fact that he is the president of high gas prices. Democrats are looking for anyone to blame, whether it&#39;s Putin, Republicans, energy companies, or Covid. They have a very big problem with 40-year high inflation and the highest gas prices ever. <a href="https://t.co/oBqKsBN7yv">pic.twitter.com/oBqKsBN7yv</a>
&mdash; Sen. John Barrasso (@SenJohnBarrasso) <a href="https://twitter.com/SenJohnBarrasso/status/1505567935116500997?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 20, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
FULL TRANSCRIPT PROVIDED <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/week-transcript-20-22-sen-dick-durbin-sen/story?id=83551573">VIA</a> ABC NEWS:
<blockquote>GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS, ABC NEWS: Let&#8217;s bring in Senator John Barrasso right now.
Senator Barrasso, I do want to begin where Senator Durbin just left off in those attacks from Senator Hawley this week. You met with Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson earlier this week. And you said &#8212; you didn’t say &#8212; suggest how you’re going to vote, but you said this should not be a process of character assassination. Is that what Senator Hawley was doing?
SEN. JOHN BARRASSO (R-WY): Well, these hearings are going to &#8212; and the whole process is going to be fair, respectful and thorough.
I did meet with her. Clearly, very intelligent. We talked about judicial philosophy. I talked about Justice Scalia, that the &#8212; is Constitution, a legal document, not a living document. We had a very good meeting.
I’m less concerned about her statements than I am about Chuck Schumer&#8217;s statements. He said she&#8217;s going to rule with empathy. A judge ought to be making decisions based on the law as written, not the way they feel about it.
So, he also said check her record. And going through the record, there are some concerns that people have about her being perceived as soft on crime. That&#8217;s all going to come out with the hearings but they&#8217;re going to be respectful, they’re going to be thorough and they’re going to be fair, George.
STEPHANOPOULOS: Yeah. But do you think Senator Hawley&#8217;s attacks were fair?
BARRASSO: Well, he&#8217;s going to have his opportunity to question the judge as will all the members of the committee.
The last time we had a hearing with Kavanaugh, he was accused of being a serial rapist with no evidence whatsoever. So, I think we&#8217;re going to have a fair process and a respectful process, unlike what the Democrats did to Justice Kavanaugh.
STEPHANOPOULOS: You also heard Senator Durbin on gas prices and inflation, where he said it’s clearly &#8212; President Putin has to bear some of the blame. And he took on your comment about climate elitists saying we have to take climate change seriously. Is he wrong about that?
BARRASSO: Well, Joe Biden can&#8217;t hide from the fact that he is the president of high gas prices. And they&#8217;re looking for anyone to blame, whether it&#8217;s Putin, whether it&#8217;s Republicans, whether it&#8217;s the energy companies, whether it&#8217;s COVID.
The Democrats have a very big problem with 40-year high inflation, highest gas prices ever. When Joe Biden came into office, it was $2.38 a gallon for gasoline. Americans paid $1,000 more for energy last year than the year before. And on polling last week, 70 percent of Americans say more American oil and gas and less emphasis on climate.
STEPHANOPOULOS: Let&#8217;s talk about the war in Ukraine. What should the United States be doing right now that it&#8217;s not doing?
BARRASSO: Well, first, you just had Senator Durbin on. He and I were in Ukraine together in 2014, the day that Russia took Crimea.
There&#8217;s a bipartisan group of senators right now at the border between Poland and Ukraine. There is a bipartisan, committed group in Washington committed to helping the heroic people of Ukraine. So proud of President Zelenskyy and the courage that he has shown. And, in Congress, we are trying to get the administration on board to a level that we feel we&#8217;ve filled the void in a bipartisan way.
The president has had to be pushed and pulled to where he is today. It was Congress that brought about sanctions, that brought about the ban on Russian oil, that brought about weapons and all of this big aid package that I voted for a week or two ago, $13 billion. So far the administration has only released $1 billion of that. And if &#8212; as President &#8212; I think if they&#8217;d done more in sanctions, we might not have been in this situation if they had done punishing sanctions before the tanks began to roll.
STEPHANOPOULOS: Senator, one &#8212;
BARRASSO: President Biden is going to NATO this week. He&#8217;s &#8212; he&#8217;s going to &#8212; he&#8217;s going to NATO this week. And if he wants to lead from the front and America lead from the front rather than leading from behind, there are three specific things he needs to do, in my opinion, at NATO this week.
STEPHANOPOULOS: What are the three specific things?
BARRASSO: Well, number one is, he needs to tell NATO that we collectively are going to supply the people of Ukraine things that they know how to use, whether it&#8217;s drones, planes, missile systems. Number two, he has to say that he is going to go from Brussels to the eastern front of NATO to show the resolve of NATO and the United States&#8217; commitment as well. And, third, he needs to say to the people of Europe who are really in a tough situation with regard to energy and the dependence that they have on Russian energy, that we are going to increase the exporting of liquified natural gas from America to them.
Even Germany has come up to the fact that they said, look, energy security, George, is much more important than climate zealotry. The president needs to lead by saying, we are going to increase production of oil and natural gas in the United States, we&#8217;re going to send it to you and we &#8212; that&#8217;s what &#8212; what leadership is all about. I have legislation, in a bipartisan way, to make that possible.
STEPHANOPOULOS: Senator Barrasso, thanks very much for your time this morning.
BARRASSO: Thank you, George.</blockquote>

Sen. John Barrasso

WATCH: Senator Barrasso Torches Democrats For Trying To Deflect Blame For Fuel Cost, Inflation

Former Governor Chris Christie (R-NJ) unloaded on an ABC News panel Sunday morning, firing back after fellow panelist Donna Brazile claimed that President Joe Biden deserved credit for uniting the world against Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The discussion on ABC&#8217;s &#8220;This Week&#8221; began with anchor George Stephanopoulos and Jonathan Karl discussing continued calls from Ukraine for a NATO-assisted no-fly zone — and the fact that many Republicans, like Senator Marco Rubio (FL), who were often critical of Biden appeared to be on the same page in saying that would escalate into a war with Russia.
Stephanopoulos then noted that the United States did appear to be preparing to <a href="https://dailywire.com/news/nato-countries-have-greenlight-to-send-fighter-jets-to-ukraine-blinken-says/">send planes</a> to European nations in order to &#8220;backfill&#8221; supplies as those nations gave planes to Ukraine.
&#8220;It should have happened a long time ago. I would disagree with Donna on this one,&#8221; Christie said. &#8220;A president did unite the world. It was Zelensky, not Biden. He was very clear about what leadership was supposed to look like. We should have been arming the Ukrainians for the last year. We weren’t. We should have been doing much more on domestic production of oil. Instead we’re going backwards and gave Putin the card to hold us hostage and with Nord Stream 2 we gave him the card to hold Europe hostage.&#8221;
&#8220;I believe if we aggressively armed Ukraine from the time Joe Biden got in office, if he continued the Trump policy and continued to arm Ukraine –&#8221; Christie continued.
Katl interrupted, arguing that former President Donald Trump had held back arms from Zelensky.
&#8220;Jon, the Ukrainians were armed,&#8221; Christie pushed back, saying that Biden had ultimately <a href="https://dailywire.com/news/quit-pussy-footing-around-tom-cotton-blasts-biden-administrations-weak-sanctions-on-ruthless-dictator-putin/">ended the arming</a> of Ukraine. &#8220;We import half a billion barrels a day from Russia. We could stop paying blood money if we increased domestic production.&#8221;
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Could have stopped Putin. <a href="https://twitter.com/GovChristie?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@GovChristie</a>: “If [Biden] continued the Trump policy and continued to arm Ukraine-” <a href="https://twitter.com/jonkarl?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@JonKarl</a> scoffed: “Continued the Trump policy?”<a href="https://twitter.com/GovChristie?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@GovChristie</a>: “The Ukrainians were armed and in January of 2021 Joe Biden stopped that policy.” <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ThisWeek?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ThisWeek</a> <a href="https://t.co/ODlF9cV7nw">pic.twitter.com/ODlF9cV7nw</a>
&mdash; Brent Baker (@BrentHBaker) <a href="https://twitter.com/BrentHBaker/status/1500487854161543173?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 6, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Brazile pivoted back to Christie&#8217;s point, claiming that Trump had &#8220;tried to play a game&#8221; with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
&#8220;He tried to play a game and was impeached for it,&#8221; Brazile said, insisting that Biden was the one who deserved credit for a Europe unified again Russian aggression. &#8220;I think the president has rallied the country, rallied NATO. Gotten the Germans – look at the countries coming to help the Ukrainians.&#8221;
&#8220;You think that’s because of Joe Biden?&#8221; Christie asked.
&#8220;Yes, I believe Joe Biden has shown leadership,&#8221; she said.
&#8220;No. Donna –&#8221; Christie pushed back.
&#8220;It’s because of his leadership,&#8221; Brazile interrupted.
&#8220;It’s because when the tanks rolled into Ukraine they were closer to Germany than before,&#8221; Christie argued. &#8220;You can’t give Joe Biden credit for that.&#8221;
Christie went on to argue that banning Russian oil was the obvious next step, and Stephanopoulos challenged him on that: &#8220;You’re for this right now if the president does it. It feels like he’s going to move in that direction. Will Republicans forego criticizing him for increased gas prices?&#8221;
Christie pushed back, however, saying that banning Russian oil was only half of the solution — and dramatically <a href="https://dailywire.com/news/you-would-have-a-trifecta-mike-pompeo-says-biden-could-do-three-things-right-now-to-turn-us-energy-policy-around/">increasing domestic production</a> was the other half.
&#8220;You have to ban Russian oil and increase domestic production. That’s where Joe Biden is going to have a problem. He’s held captive by the environmental left,&#8221; Christie explained.

Former NJ Governor Chris Christie Discusses His New Book “Let Me Finish”

‘He Gave Putin The Card To Hold Us Hostage’: Chris Christie Blows Up ABC Panel After Donna Brazile Claims Biden Is Leading On Ukraine

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