A South Carolina Democrat is facing calls to withdraw from the governor’s race after a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gY5fKGke_W8" target="_blank" rel="noopener">video</a> surfaced showing him screaming obscenities at police officers during a narcotics episode.
Dashcam footage shows William McLeod swearing and yelling at officers for nearly 20 minutes in the back of the cop car, calling himself “god” and “superman,” and using the n-word twice.
The video circulated online after it was obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request, according to the <a href="https://nypost.com/2025/08/14/us-news/wild-video-shows-dems-pick-for-sc-gov-race-being-arrested-in-his-underwear-while-calling-himself-god-and-superman/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">New York Post</a>.
McLeod is currently the only Democratic runner for the 2026 South Carolina gubernatorial race. The prominent Charleston lawyer ran unsuccessfully for governor in 2010 and has served two terms as the Charleston County Democratic Party Chairman.
His party has requested that he withdraw from the race.
“After reviewing the transcript of the dash cam footage from his recent arrest, it is clear that Mr. McLeod is navigating profound challenges and should focus on his mental and emotional well-being instead of a campaign for governor,” the chair of the South Carolina Democratic Party, Christale Spain, said in a statement Wednesday.
“We offer him compassion and pray he finds the support he needs.”
But McLeod has shown no intent of backing down. His campaign team labeled the arrest “unlawful.” McLeod himself has touted the incident as a reason why he should be elected.
“When they learn what happened around my unlawful arrest, it will be a reason why I absolutely need to be our state’s governor,” he said.
He did not elaborate as to why.
McLeod was arrested on May 15 after he was found “yelling at the top of his lungs” while walking near the Battery in Charleston in only his underwear and shoes.
McLeod’s eyes were “extremely bloodshot and highly dilated … typical of an individual under the influence of a stimulant narcotic,” a preliminary incident <a href="https://www.counton2.com/news/local-news/south-carolina-democratic-party-calls-for-mullins-mcleod-to-exit-governors-race-following-release-of-arrest-video/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a> obtained by WCBD said.
When an officer asked for his name, McLeod replied, “It doesn’t matter, my friend, trust me. I’m one of the most just humans to ever walk this soil.”
“Superman works,” he added.
He also launched a tirade against one of his Republican opponents, Alan Wilson, the current Attorney General of South Carolina. “I will kick your teeth in … I’m going to kick every one of them in. If I do kick them in, you don’t know any dentist.”
He also seemingly threatened to kidnap Wilson’s German Shepherd: “When I’m governor, Snoop is coming with me,” he said.
It is unclear where the name Snoop came from. Wilson has a German Shepherd named <a href="https://www.facebook.com/AGAlanWilson/photos/a.512888925463554/2003104073108691/?type=3" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Lucy</a>.
McLeod refused to get out of the car when they arrived at the police station, saying he would sleep in the backseat. “No, I’m not doing it, no. I’m not getting out of this car. It’s time to go to bed.” He was forcibly removed and booked into jail around 1 a.m.
He currently faces misdemeanor charges for disorderly conduct.
He claimed that he had been exercising his “God-given, constitutional right to be in a public place” when he was arrested.
“The only thing I’d ask the voters is to please give me a little bit of grace and know that long before we go to Election Day, they’ll know exactly what happened,” he <a href="https://www.postandcourier.com/politics/south-carolina-mullins-mcleod-governor-2026/article_2cd1ea51-360d-4153-9497-e3428c7c37f3.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told the Post and Courier</a>.
Wilson <a href="https://www.counton2.com/news/local-news/south-carolina-democratic-party-calls-for-mullins-mcleod-to-exit-governors-race-following-release-of-arrest-video/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">responded</a> to McLeod’s threats in a statement on Wednesday, saying, “I am going to give him the benefit of the doubt and assume he means in a general election, not a street fight,” Wilson said.
He preferred to focus on his campaign rather than on McLeod’s remarks: “My plan for bold, conservative leadership is spreading, and my record of defending President Trump, parental rights, and the rule of law has put a target on my back. But we’re not slowing down, and I’m not done fighting for South Carolina families.”

Police

South Carolina Democrat Says Video Of Narcotic-Induced Tirade Shows Why He Should Be Governor

Arrested

Drugs

governor

South Carolina

Former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy has a clear path to the GOP nomination for Ohio governor after the state&#8217;s attorney general, Dave Yost, announced on Friday that he is suspending his short-lived campaign.
Yost said his chances went from a &#8220;steep climb&#8221; to &#8220;a vertical cliff&#8221; after the Ohio GOP threw its support behind Ramaswamy last week for the 2026 race, The Columbus Dispatch <a href="https://www.dispatch.com/story/news/politics/2025/05/16/dave-yost-drops-out-of-ohio-governors-race/80306921007/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>.
&#8220;I do not wish to divide my political party or my state with a quixotic battle over the small differences between my vision and that of my opponent. I am simply not that important,&#8221; Yost <a href="https://www.wcpo.com/news/state/state-ohio/ag-dave-yost-suspends-his-campaign-to-be-ohios-governor" target="_blank" rel="noopener">added</a>.
President Donald Trump backed Ramaswamy&#8217;s bid immediately after the tech entrepreneur launched his campaign in February. Ramaswamy was initially set to work in the Trump administration alongside Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency, but it was revealed on Inauguration Day that he would not serve in that role.
Yost said he wants Republicans to focus on defeating Democrats instead of a &#8220;family squabble.&#8221;
&#8220;Columbus needs re-engineering, not demolition,&#8221; Yost wrote in a letter to his supporters. &#8220;Sherrod Brown and the risky progressive ideas of his party will unwind all of the good that the last 15 years of Republican leadership has brought. This is a time to protect Ohio, not a time for a family squabble.&#8221;
Ramaswamy praised Yost in a statement and said that the attorney general will continue to play a role in the state&#8217;s political future.
&#8220;Congratulations to Dave on running a thoughtful campaign,&#8221; Ramaswamy said. &#8220;He has served Ohio with great dedication, and I am confident he will continue to play an important role in shaping the future of our state and our nation.&#8221;
While the Ohio GOP rallies behind Ramaswamy, Lt. Governor Jim Tressel — the former Ohio State football coach — said last week that he is considering jumping into the race, NBC News <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/elections/ohio-lt-gov-jim-tressel-confirms-considering-run-governor-rcna205734" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>. Tressel was tapped by current Republcian Gov. Mike DeWine to become lieutenant governor after Jim Husted was appointed to fill the Senate seat left vacant by Vice President JD Vance.
“What has been a surprise, and it has been humbling, is how many people are encouraging me to run for Governor,” Tressel said.
“I have not decided yet, but when I became Lieutenant Governor in February, Ellen told me that it seemed like God had more work for me to do, and she was right,&#8221; he added, referring to his wife. &#8220;While I have not ruled out a run for Governor — and there will be a time in the future for those conversations — for now, I will remain focused on helping Ohioans get off the sidelines and into our workforce so they can reach their full potential.&#8221;
In the GOP primary, Ramaswamy&#8217;s only declared opponent is Heather Hill, the former president of the Morgan County, Ohio, School Board, who is running a longshot bid.
On the Democratic side, the former director of the Ohio Department of Health, Amy Acton, is the only candidate who has jumped into the race. Along with former Sen. Brown, former U.S. Democratic Rep. Tim Ryan has <a href="https://www.wosu.org/2025-05-15/democrat-tim-ryan-says-hell-decide-this-summer-if-hell-run-for-ohio-governor-next-year" target="_blank" rel="noopener">expressed interest</a> in running for Ohio governor.

Vivek Ramaswamy

Ohio AG Drops Out Of Governor’s Race, Giving Vivek Ramaswamy Clear Path To GOP Nomination

2026 Midterms

Donald Trump

Elections

Ohio

Politics

Mel Gibson is reportedly “flattered” by the news that he&#8217;s the leading Republican candidate to run for California Governor in a new straw poll, but will not be throwing his hat in the ring.
A source close to the 69-year-old actor told <a href="https://www.tmz.com/2025/03/18/mel-gibson-flattered-california-governor-poll-favorability/">TMZ</a> that the “Braveheart” star is “flattered” by getting 12% in the poll amid a recall effort to remove Democrat CA Governor Gavin Newsom following the massive wildfires in southern California, rising crime, and more. But the source also made it clear that Gibson has no interest in the job.
In the Wednesday straw poll from The Lost Coast Outpost, Gibson leads Republicans, beating out Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco who received 11% of the vote, after becoming the only notable Republican candidate to enter the race. Former Vice President Kamala Harris and former congresswoman Katie Porter received 20% and 25% percent of the vote in the same poll that was taken among 2,640 respondents.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Mel Gibson &#8216;Flattered&#8217; by Governor Poll Favorability, but Has Zero Interest | Click to read more 👇 <a href="https://t.co/sCL7fRyuwY">https://t.co/sCL7fRyuwY</a>
— TMZ (@TMZ) <a href="https://twitter.com/TMZ/status/1902039951039926627?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 18, 2025</a></blockquote>
&#8220;He&#8217;s sticking with his day job for now,&#8221; Gibson&#8217;s publicist, Alan Nierob, told the <a href="https://californiaglobe.com/fr/exclusive-mel-gibson-confirms-to-globe-he-isnt-running-for-governor/">California Globe</a> following weeks of speculation.
Gibson recently spoke out at a Newsom recall event and blasted the governor over his &#8220;gross mismanagement&#8221; of the state following the devastating wildfires.
During a <a href="https://x.com/TONYxTWO/status/1894948199934079110">press conference</a> in Los Angeles, Gibson told the crowd that both Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass had let them down after the actor became one of the numerous people who lost their homes in the Palisades Fire and Eaton Fire.
“Governor Newsom and Karen Bass let us all down,” Gibson said, pointing out how much California residents pay in taxes. “Now for that kind of money, we deserve much more and much better, and there is absolutely no adequate excuse the governor or mayor can make for this gross mismanagement and failure to preemptively deal with what they knew was coming.”
“Was it incompetence? Was it indifference, complacency, carelessness? Was it negligence? Absolutely,” he added, asking the crowd if the mayor or governor “give a damn about you,” to which the crowd replied, “no.” “Newsom … has brought us nothing but rampant crime, acute homelessness, horrendous inflation.”
“I mean, the industry I work in, the film industry, this used to be the Mecca of filmdom. It is no more. All of my fellow citizens who have lost their homes, they have no recourse, no insurance payouts because the carriers dropped them,” Gibson continued, per The <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/mel-gibson-slams-mayor-bass-governor-newsom-altadena-press-conference-1236148644/">Hollywood Reporter</a>. 
“Even the carriers realized that California was ill-prepared and had scant resources to deal with the inevitable fires. They knew that. So are we supposed to believe that our elected officials didn’t know that? Of course they knew that. Of course.”
The event, which was organized by <a href="https://savingcalifornia.vote/">Saving California</a>, is focused on recalling Newsom and fixing the state’s economy, per its website.
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/mel-gibson-blasts-newsom-at-recall-event-for-governor" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Mel Gibson Blasts Newsom At Recall Event For Governor</a>

Mel Gibson

Mel Gibson ‘Flattered’ By Report He’s Leading Republican In California Governor’s Race

Celebrities

Entertainment

Gavin Newsom

Hollywood

Republican

Vivek Ramaswamy is reportedly quitting his role at the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) ahead of an expected run for governor of Ohio.
Ramaswamy, an entrepreneur who unsuccessfully ran for president in 2024, was slated to head DOGE alongside tech magnate Elon Musk. Originally the brainchild of Musk, DOGE is to serve as an outside advisory group to the White House on cutting government waste.
Ramaswamy has yet to make a public announcement about either DOGE or a gubernatorial run, though he plans to announce his bid for Ohio governor next week, according to <a href="https://www.politico.com/live-updates/2025/01/20/donald-trump-inauguration-day-news-updates-analysis/ramaswamy-doge-ohio-governor-00199276" target="_blank" rel="noopener">POLITICO</a>. Last week, Ramaswamy shared a post on X from a parody account floating a Ramaswamy gubernatorial bid, calling it “not a bad idea.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Note &#8211; the below is a parody account.
(Not a bad idea, though) <a href="https://t.co/b0V3cSHAsh">https://t.co/b0V3cSHAsh</a>
&mdash; Vivek Ramaswamy (@VivekGRamaswamy) <a href="https://twitter.com/VivekGRamaswamy/status/1880372687647961361?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 17, 2025</a></blockquote>
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On Monday, the day of Donald Trump’s inauguration as the 47th president of the United States, Ramaswamy posted a photo of him and Musk, the two heads of DOGE, celebrating “a new dawn.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
A new dawn. 🇺🇸 <a href="https://t.co/a3Vthjth69">pic.twitter.com/a3Vthjth69</a>
&mdash; Vivek Ramaswamy (@VivekGRamaswamy) <a href="https://twitter.com/VivekGRamaswamy/status/1881360107956793647?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 20, 2025</a></blockquote>
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The rumors about Ramaswamy’s candidacy come after he met with Ohio Republican Governor Mike DeWine earlier this month about potentially filling Vice President-elect JD Vance’s Senate seat. DeWine passed over Ramaswamy in favor of his lieutenant governor, Jon Husted. Husted’s appointment clears a significant hurdle for Ramaswamy in a potential run for Ohio’s governor.
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DeWine is term-limited and set to leave office in 2027, setting up a competitive Republican primary for his governor’s seat in 2026.
In his press conference announcing his pick to fill Vance’s seat, DeWine predicted that both the Ohio governor’s race and U.S. Senate race, a special election for which is scheduled for 2026, would be competitive.
“I seriously doubt that it will avoid a contentious race for governor,” DeWine <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/17/us/politics/dewine-names-lt-gov-jon-husted-to-fill-jd-vances-senate-seat.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>. “Just stay tuned. You’re going to see how many people, you know, say that they’re running in both parties.”
Ramaswamy is a relatively new face to politics and has yet to hold public office. His first attempt was a short-lived presidential bid in the 2024 Republican primary. After suspending his campaign, he endorsed Trump and became an outspoken ally for him to retake the White House.

Ramaswamy To Leave DOGE Ahead Of Run For Ohio Governor

Report: Ramaswamy To Leave DOGE Ahead Of Run For Ohio Governor

Elon Musk

JD Vance

Mike DeWine

Michigan Republican Senate Minority Leader Aric Nesbitt announced on Tuesday that he is running for governor, becoming the first GOP candidate to enter a 2026 race that promises to be competitive.
Nesbitt, 44, said in a video posted on X that &#8220;Michiganders deserve so much better than what they&#8217;re getting from these Democrats up in Lansing.&#8221; The 2026 race in Michigan will put a new face in the governor&#8217;s mansion as Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is term-limited.
&#8220;What we&#8217;ve seen is higher taxes, more spending, more debt, and less jobs,&#8221; Nesbitt added. &#8220;You have Governor Whitmer giving free housing to illegal aliens, backing up the big business interests instead of folks back home that need to be protected. I hear it way too often: small business owners are left behind, our farmers are left behind. They show up and they go to work every day, and we need a governor that&#8217;s willing to show up and work just as hard as they are.&#8221;
Among his top priorities, Nesbitt called for ending electric vehicle mandates and standing with President-elect Donald Trump to bring back manufacturing jobs to Michigan. The gubernatorial candidate also said he wants to &#8220;ban sanctuary cities to make sure that our communities and families are safe.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
It’s time to start putting the people of Michigan first. That’s why I’m running for Governor. Let’s get to work! <a href="https://t.co/aZs5S7THhP">pic.twitter.com/aZs5S7THhP</a>
&mdash; Aric Nesbitt (@aricnesbitt) <a href="https://twitter.com/aricnesbitt/status/1879127887519043750?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 14, 2025</a></blockquote>
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For the past two years, Democrats have controlled the state house and senate in Michigan. However, a Republican wave bolstered by Trump&#8217;s victory in the 2024 election put the GOP back in control of the state House, while Democrats hold a narrow majority in the state Senate.
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Republicans have struggled in statewide elections in recent years. Whitmer cruised to re-election victory in the 2022 election, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2022/11/08/us/elections/results-michigan-governor.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">defeating</a> Republican candidate Tudor Dixon by more than 10 points. The Secretary of State and Attorney General positions have also been filled by Democrats since 2019, and Michigan voters elected Democrats to the U.S. Senate in the 2024 and 2022 elections.
Multiple Democrats, including Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg and Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, have been floated as possible candidates in the 2026 race. Republicans could see a crowded primary field, which could include Dixon and Kevin Rinke, who also ran for governor in 2022. Reps. Lisa McClain and John James have also been floated as potential candidates, but neither U.S. House member has said they are interested in running for governor.
Longtime Detroit Democratic Mayor <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/detroit-dem-mayor-announces-run-for-michigan-governor-as-independent" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Mike Duggan</a> was the first candidate to enter the 2026 governor&#8217;s race. In early December, he announced that he was running as an independent.

Aric Nesbitt for governor

First Republican Throws Hat In The Ring For 2026 Michigan Governor’s Race

First Republican Throws Hat In The Ring For 2026 Michigan Governor's Race

Election

Gretchen Whitmer

Michigan

Detroit Democratic Mayor Mike Duggan, who has been in office since 2014, announced that he is running for Michigan governor as an independent in the 2026 election.
Duggan, 66, who has served decades in public office in Wayne County and Detroit, told city employees last week that he would not run for another term as mayor. He officially announced in a press release on Wednesday that he is running to replace Michigan Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, who is term-limited after 2026, the Detroit Free Press <a href="https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/detroit/2024/12/04/detroit-mayor-mike-duggan-running-michigan-governor-independent/76234462007/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>. Duggan has been a Democrat for his entire political career but said he is running as an independent because he wants to change &#8220;the current system [that] forces people to choose sides.&#8221;
“I&#8217;m not running to be the Democrats&#8217; governor or the Republicans&#8217; governor. I&#8217;m running to be your governor,” Duggan said. “The political fighting and the nonsense that once held back Detroit is too often what we’re seeing across Michigan today. The current system forces people to choose sides — not find solutions. It’s time to change that. I intend to bring together Democrats, Republicans and Independents — and our young people, far too many of whom have given up on our political system — together to move Michigan forward.”
Whitmer, who easily won a second term in 2022, is a rising national figure in the Democratic Party and is being floated as a potential candidate for president in 2028.
Duggan has overseen a city that has gone through a decades-long spell of violence and decline. Earlier this year, the city <a href="https://detroitmi.gov/opportunities/detroit-tackling-crime-across-city" target="_blank" rel="noopener">boasted</a> of recording the lowest homicide rate since 1962, with 252 homicides reported in 2023. According to the city, non-fatal shootings and carjackings also decreased in 2023.
Despite these recent drops in violent crime, however, Detroit remains one of the most dangerous places to live in the U.S. According to 2022 data, Detroit ranked <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/217685/most-dangerous-cities-in-north-america-by-crime-rate/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">second</a>, only behind Memphis, for the highest violent crime rate in the nation at 2,027.9 violent crimes per 100,000 people.
Duggan touted his record of leading Detroit as the city came out of bankruptcy in 2014.
“Detroit’s story of resurgence is one of Detroiters who never gave up on their city,” Duggan said last month when he announced he would not run for a fourth term as mayor. “It has been the honor of a lifetime to serve as mayor over the past 12 years and I am incredibly proud of what we’ve accomplished together—from emerging out of bankruptcy to becoming a vibrant, healthy city that is a model of resilience and transformation.&#8221;
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Democrats who have been <a href="https://www.bridgemi.com/michigan-government/has-michigan-governor-race-begun-duggan-spurs-speculation-heres-who-might-run" target="_blank" rel="noopener">discussed</a> as potential Michigan gubernatorial candidates include Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, Michigan Senate Majority Whip Mallory McMorrow, Genesee County Sheriff Chris Swanson, and former Secretary of Transporation Pete Buttigieg, who recently moved to the Great Lakes State.
Numerous potential contenders on the Republican side include Congresswoman Lisa McClain, Congressman John James, Michigan Senate Minority Leader Aric Nesbitt, and conservative commentator Tudor Dixon, who was the GOP gubernatorial nominee in 2022.

Mike Duggan

Detroit Dem Mayor Announces Run For Michigan Governor As Independent

Detroit

Virginia Republican Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears filed paperwork on Wednesday to run for governor in 2025, seeking to continue the GOP&#8217;s control of the governor&#8217;s mansion as sitting Gov. Glenn Youngkin is limited to one term.
Earle-Sears&#8217; filing makes her the first Republican candidate to jump into the 2025 governor&#8217;s race in the commonwealth, ABC 8 <a href="https://www.wric.com/news/politics/local-election-hq/lt-gov-winsome-earle-sears-files-paperwork-to-run-for-virginia-governor/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>. Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-VA), who entered the race last November, is currently the only Democratic candidate running for governor.
The lieutenant governor announced she would hold a rally in Virginia Beach on Thursday at 6:00 p.m. ET.
Earle-Sears rode a wave of Republican victories in Virginia in 2021, <a href="https://www.cnn.com/election/2021/results/virginia/lieutenant-governor" target="_blank" rel="noopener">winning</a> her race for lieutenant governor over Democrat Hala Ayala by just over 50,000 votes. Republicans swept the statewide office elections in 2021, with Youngkin winning the gubernatorial election by more than 60,000 votes and Attorney General Jason Miyares winning his election by 26,000.
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Virginia law limits the governor&#8217;s and lieutenant governor&#8217;s time in office to one four-year term before they must step aside until the next election or run for a different position. Before Youngkin&#8217;s victory in 2021, Democrats had won four of the previous five gubernatorial elections in the commonwealth.
Earle-Sears, an immigrant from Jamaica, served in the U.S. Marines before being elected to the Virginia General Assembly in an upset over a 20-year Democratic incumbent in 2001. During her time as lieutenant governor, Earle-Sears has caught the ire of Democrats and the legacy media on multiple occasions.
In June 2023, Earle-Sears, who is black, slammed President Joe Biden&#8217;s appointment of Ketanji Brown-Jackson to the Supreme Court, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/winsome-sears-calls-ketanji-brown-jackson-a-diversity-hire" target="_blank" rel="noopener">saying</a>, &#8220;Well, what you have is a justice who was chosen because she’s black and because she’s a woman.&#8221;
Earlier this year, Earle-Sears <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/virginia-democrats-derail-hearing-after-lt-gov-winsome-sears-says-yes-sir-to-transgender-senator" target="_blank" rel="noopener">responded</a> to a Democrat male state senator who identifies as a woman by saying, &#8220;Yes, sir.&#8221; The state senator, Danica Roem, stormed out of the room after Earle-Sears&#8217; comment. Upon returning, Roem refused to speak after being recognized by Earle-Sears.
<a href="http://www.amiracist.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.amiracist.com/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1724211156439000&amp;usg=AOvVaw2xQ8bdTcpfdrPBAzczIuck">WATCH THE TRAILER FOR ‘AM I RACIST?’ — A MATT WALSH COMEDY ON DEI</a>
&#8220;I said something that upset Sen. Roem. Let it be known I am not here to upset anyone,&#8221; she said. &#8220;I am here to do the job that the people of Virginia have called me to do and that is to treat everyone with respect and dignity. I myself have at times not been afforded that same respect and dignity, but in this body and as long as I am president of the Senate and by the grace of God, I will be treated with respect and dignity and I will treat everyone else with respect and dignity.&#8221;

Winsome Earle-Sears

Virginia Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears Files To Run For Governor

Democrats

Glenn Youngkin

Republicans

Virginia

Winsome Sears

Kentucky Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear acknowledged on Tuesday night that President Joe Biden&#8217;s debate performance would &#8220;hurt the campaign&#8221; and that Democratic governors around the country &#8220;want a direct and candid conversation with the president.&#8221;
Beshear made the comments on CNN&#8217;s &#8220;The Situation Room&#8221; as some Democrats question Biden&#8217;s ability to run a successful re-election campaign against former President Donald Trump. A group of Democratic governors <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/dem-govs-held-private-meeting-over-concerns-about-biden-request-convo-with-president" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reportedly</a> held a private call on Monday to discuss meeting with Biden. The call was organized by Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, the chairman of the Democratic Governors’ Association, CNN anchor Jake Tapper <a href="https://x.com/jaketapper/status/1808155853431705800?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1808155853431705800%7Ctwgr%5Efa8a91721001ea672c3ec7933ca1d131ca663ef1%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailywire.com%2Fnews%2Fdem-govs-held-private-meeting-over-concerns-about-biden-request-convo-with-president" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>. On Tuesday afternoon, Tapper deleted three social media posts that described more details about the meeting.
“I think we’ve all got to be upfront and honest that what we saw in the debate – it was rough,” Beshear <a href="https://nypost.com/2024/07/02/us-news/kentucky-gov-andy-beshear-on-bidens-upcoming-meeting-with-democratic-governors-we-want-to-make-sure-hes-doing-ok/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>, “It [was] a rough night, and regardless of polls that you see, it’s going to hurt the campaign.&#8221;
According to Tapper, a meeting between the governors and the White House will &#8220;in all likelihood&#8221; be held on Wednesday. The meeting between Democratic governors and President Biden will include California Governor Gavin Newsom, who has been floated as one of Biden&#8217;s potential replacements on the Democratic ticket. Newsom will travel to the White House to attend the meeting in person, a Newsom spokesman said on Tuesday, according to <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2024/07/02/gavin-newsom-stand-with-biden-00166404" target="_blank" rel="noopener">POLITICO</a>.
“I think the governors just want a direct and candid conversation with the president. We want to make sure he’s doing okay,&#8221; Beshear continued. “We all know him. He has formed a personal relationship with us, and he says he is [OK], and we take him at his word, but it’s always good to see somebody in person.”
While Beshear encouraged Biden to be open about his health and fitness, he said that any decision on the future of his campaign &#8220;ultimately&#8221; falls &#8220;to him and his family.&#8221;
Illinois Democratic Governor J.B. Pritzker also said on CNN on Tuesday night that he is still &#8220;100% on board with supporting [Biden] unless he makes some other decision.&#8221; Pritzker was asked by CNN&#8217;s Kaitlan Collins if he thinks there&#8217;s a chance &#8220;that we are in a situation where you&#8217;re discussing who a new Democratic nominee would be.&#8221;
&#8220;I don&#8217;t know. You&#8217;d have to ask that to Joe Biden,&#8221; Pritzker responded, adding, &#8220;Because he&#8217;s the nominee of the party unless he says otherwise.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Pritzker: “Right now, Joe Biden is our nominee &amp; I&#8217;m 100% on board with supporting him, unless he makes some other decision &amp; then I think we&#8217;re all going to be discussing what&#8217;s the best way forward&#8230;Joe Biden will do what&#8217;s best for the Democratic party &amp; winning in 2024.” <a href="https://t.co/ecNROJk6sE">pic.twitter.com/ecNROJk6sE</a>
— Kaitlan Collins (@kaitlancollins) <a href="https://twitter.com/kaitlancollins/status/1808318122337693722?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 3, 2024</a></blockquote>
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Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-TX) was the first Democrat in Congress to call on Biden to step down, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/lawmaker-becomes-first-democrat-to-publicly-call-on-biden-to-step-down-after-debate" target="_blank" rel="noopener">saying</a> on Tuesday that Biden &#8220;has the opportunity to encourage a new generation of leaders from whom a nominee can be chosen to unite our country through an open, democratic process.&#8221;
&#8220;I am hopeful that he will make the painful and difficult decision to withdraw,&#8221; Doggett added. &#8220;I respectfully call on him to do so.”
Maine Rep. Jared Golden, another Democrat, also discussed Biden&#8217;s re-election chances, <a href="https://www.bangordailynews.com/2024/07/02/opinion/opinion-contributor/jared-golden-donald-trump-going-to-win-election-democracy-be-just-fine/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">writing</a> in an op-ed on Tuesday that &#8220;Biden’s poor performance in the debate was not a surprise.&#8221;
&#8220;It also didn’t rattle me as it has others, because the outcome of this election has been clear to me for months: While I don’t plan to vote for him, Donald Trump is going to win. And I’m OK with that,&#8221; Golden added.

US President Joe Biden and Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear

Group Of Dem Governors Want To Meet With Biden ‘To Make Sure He’s Doing OK’

Group Of Dem Governors Want To Meet With Biden 'To Make Sure He's Doing OK'

2024 Election

Andy Beshear

Executive

Joe Biden

The following is an edited transcript of a recent interview between Daily Wire&#8217;s Brent Scher and North Dakota governor Doug Burgum. They discuss Governor Burgum’s recent visit to Mar-a-Lago, the Biden administration&#8217;s war on the U.S. energy industry, and his claim that president Biden is using his administration to buy votes.
Brent Scher: We&#8217;re here with North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum. Governor, thanks so much for being with us.
Governor Burgum: Thanks for having me.
Brent: You&#8217;ve been all over the airwaves making the case against Joe Biden. You recently said Biden is using his administration to buy votes. There&#8217;s been a lot of pushback in mainstream media about whether there&#8217;s actually any evidence for this. Can you lay out the case for what you mean here?
Governor Burgum: Well, first of all, this goes back. It&#8217;s not just about forgiving student loans for a demographic that traditionally has been in their camp. Any governor will tell you when there was distribution of COVID funds under President Trump, it was generally distributed on a per capita basis. It was based on the idea that, hey, if we&#8217;ve got this pandemic, it&#8217;s affecting everybody equally. When the Biden administration came in and one of the first big blocks of capital went out, they said, well, we&#8217;re going to go into the places that got hit the hardest. So we&#8217;re going to distribute it to the people who have the highest unemployment and give them more. So, New York got more money than Florida and lots of small blue states got a lot more money than North and South Dakota because we were open and we had low unemployment and other places that had high unemployment, because they had more restrictive policies, got more capital. So, it was apparent right from the beginning that they were going to try to drive dollars back into places that helped elect Joe Biden because the highest unemployment was in blue metros, who also had the most restrictive rules during COVID.
And then along comes higher education loan forgiveness, picking up where Obama left off. We&#8217;re looking at a total now, all in, of over $1.6 trillion of student loan debt in this country. Well, it&#8217;s not student debt per se. It’s a pass-through grant that goes to a student, they turn around and write a tuition check to a university. So it&#8217;s been a form of providing subsidies to the universities, which we know typically vote 95% blue. This was a way to drive dollars, ideologically, towards that end, even when some of those students may not have been well served by college. And then what do we end up with? A pile of student debt. We end up with people who can&#8217;t pay the debt back because they didn&#8217;t get an ROI in their education. We&#8217;re short of people in every trade group in this country. Some of these same people that had student debt could have no debt and be making a hundred grand a year — electrician or a plumber or any kind of advanced construction role — they could be making that kind of money without any involvement from the federal government. So, states ended up pouring more money into higher education but not solving a workforce issue. Student loan forgiveness is so unfair, it cuts at the core of America. And then again, like Obama, and now Biden, they keep trying to do it. They make big announcements about it during election years. And when Biden was campaigning recently in North Carolina, he&#8217;s not talking about the border, he&#8217;s not talking about inflation, he&#8217;s not talking about campus riots, and he&#8217;s not talking about the wars — he&#8217;s talking about getting $3 billion of federal money to a plant in North Carolina. When he shows up, his whole campaign is always centered around making an announcement about the federal largesse. That&#8217;s a long answer, but it&#8217;s a pattern that is pretty consistent. It sure feels like if you&#8217;re shoving money towards places that vote in your direction, it sure feels like vote buying to me.
Brent: Do you think he&#8217;s doing the same thing when he basically emptied our Strategic Petroleum Reserves to temporarily stabilize rising gas prices?
Governor Burgum: Absolutely, positively, totally correct Brent. Because it is called the “Strategic” Petroleum Reserve for our country. Strategic means at a time when we might be facing World War III — which, of course, we&#8217;re inching closer to with Biden&#8217;s appeasement, his weakness, as opposed to Trump&#8217;s strength. His weakness is what&#8217;s making things worse. It&#8217;s just amazing to me that he was never called out on this. He drained it in half ahead of the midterms to try to get prices down at the pump because he knew that would help them make the argument that their economy was better. So, he was simultaneously attacking U.S. energy production, but then making up the difference by draining the petroleum reserve. And, of course, who benefits when you attack U.S. energy? Well, Russia, Iran, and the countries we are in wars with, they benefit. Their coffers are going up by hundreds of billions of dollars and who are they selling their oil to? China, the world&#8217;s largest importer of oil and gas. 10 million barrels of oil a day go into China. Do you know who&#8217;s filling up their petroleum reserves with discount Russian oil and gas? China. So while ours was draining, China&#8217;s was growing. And so strategically, that decision put us on bad footing. And I have said, it&#8217;s not called the “Political Petroleum Reserve.” It&#8217;s called strategic, and there&#8217;s nothing strategic about trying to artificially lower prices ahead of an election cycle.
Brent: This is interesting to me because you&#8217;re the governor of a state that&#8217;s smack dab in the middle of the country. You sound pretty well rounded on China, Iran, and what&#8217;s going on globally. Where does your interest or expertise in foreign policy come from? 
Governor Burgum: Well, it starts with North Dakota&#8217;s economy. We are an agricultural economy and an energy economy. Those are our two major drivers. If you talk to a 65-year-old farmer in North Dakota, he could tell you the price of soybeans in Brazil. Everyone raising crops here is competing against global markets. I grew up understanding the price of things that were important in North Dakota. You grow up understanding that all of these global events affect people right at home and hit them in their pocketbook. My dad passed away when I was a freshman in high school. He was a World War II Navy vet. Some years later, when I was in my mid-20s, I saw a computer and I thought, That&#8217;s going to change the world. I had 160 acres of farm ground at the time that I had received from my dad. Now, that&#8217;s not enough to farm, you need like a thousand acres to do a dryland wheat farm in North Dakota. So I mortgaged the farmland and that became the seed capital for a software company called Grain Plain Software. We started with 10 kids, but we built it into a company where we had customers around the world. By the time I left that place, we had customers in 132 countries and I understood at a very young age that there are people around the world using our products. They don&#8217;t have the right to vote. They don&#8217;t have the right to free speech. They don&#8217;t have the right to assemble. They certainly don&#8217;t have the right to bear arms. 
In 1989, I was coming back from Australia where we were trying to open up our first non-North American operations and I stopped in China. They said, “Hey, they&#8217;re selling software in a street market.” So, I went down there and we had not even begun selling software outside of North America. And I said, “Hey, do you have Great Plains?” And they said, “Sure.” The guy walks over and for a buck they hand you a 5 ¼ inch floppy disk. They were selling modules of our software. So, I&#8217;ve known for about 30 years that China&#8217;s been stealing every piece of software I&#8217;ve ever been involved with. When you grow up exposed to these things, with global business experience, managing people globally — I had people doing acquisitions around the world — you start to understand, uh, how, how the world works economically. 
Energy is at the core of all of our national security concerns, it&#8217;s at the core of all the wars we&#8217;re fighting right now. Iran is funding the Houthis, Hamas, and they&#8217;re funding them with oil sales. President Trump had those guys on their knees, financially, and now Joe Biden with his appeasement, they&#8217;re back and as rich as they&#8217;ve ever been. And Putin personally makes money off of all the oil sales. Russia operates more like the mafia than a country. And he&#8217;s the mob boss who gets a cut of almost everything. He could arguably be the richest guy in the world. So Joe Biden&#8217;s energy policies are hurting the U S and are helping our adversaries. Consequently, we&#8217;ve got to fund wars against them while the other side of the war is being funded by folks who have huge, huge oil exports. Ultimately, the reason they have huge oil exports is because Joe Biden is trying to choke down the U.S. energy industry. So, it drives me a little bit crazy that these economic policies of Joe Biden are what&#8217;s destabilizing the world. That&#8217;s why we need President Trump back in the White House.
Brent: Transitioning to Trump, you were recently seen at this high profile Mar-a-Lago event. There&#8217;s been a lot of reporting on what was said. I&#8217;m told the president gave an almost comically long and very colorful speech about Biden and current affairs. For somebody in the room, what was it like being in there? What was the energy among Trump supporters for that event?
Governor Burgum: Well, the energy was super high and it was very fun. In spite of how it might&#8217;ve been reported to mainstream media, there was a lot of laughter, a lot of, good humor. People in the room were excited, enthusiastic. There was the Rasmussen poll that came out the day before that showed Trump leading in all these swing states. The folks who were there were donors, all entrepreneurs and job creators. These are people who have created businesses and they&#8217;ve given back to their communities and they&#8217;ve got kids and grandkids and they care about the future of this country. The energy level was very high and, and President Trump — if people have ever heard him in that environment, the guy is very funny. He&#8217;s probably one of the only politicians we&#8217;ve ever had in this country who could actually probably work as a standup comic if he wanted to as a side job. But of course he&#8217;s also produced hit TV shows. The guy knows how to entertain an audience. And he certainly has his finger on the pulse on the concerns of the American people right now, which is people are worried about the border. In 2016, it was about immigration. Today it&#8217;s about national security and public safety. He understands that people are getting crushed by Joe Biden&#8217;s inflation, and he understands that people want these wars to end. Peace and prosperity were thriving when he was in office. And those people there remember that and they&#8217;re ready to go to battle to make sure that we can get back to that. So it was a great afternoon.
Brent: What about what it feels like being on that stage? I mean, there was a lot of attention on that picture because it included a lot of people who are reportedly in contention for Trump&#8217;s coveted VP slot. Does it feel like you&#8217;re in an episode of “The Apprentice” sometimes?
Governor Burgum: I&#8217;m smiling as you&#8217;re saying that because the last episode of “The Apprentice” that Trump was on was in December of 2015, right before he announced. I think it was one of the most-watched shows of that year. So, he knows how to entertain. He certainly was entertaining that Saturday afternoon. In his speech he thought there were 50 people on the short list. So I have to reject the premise of any “short list.” I didn&#8217;t run for president because I was looking for a cabinet job or a VP job. I was doing it because I cared about the country. And the topics I cared about the most — economy, energy, national security — are the three things that I aligned almost exactly with president Trump. So it was very easy to jump in and support him like I did in 2016 and in 2020 and I’m having a good time supporting him now, because this is so important to our country.It was a high energy, very fun event.
Brent: Last question.What do you think the key is to taking Biden down in November? What&#8217;s the case that really needs to be made?
Governor Burgum: Well, I&#8217;m not a pundit, but I am a governor and I&#8217;m a citizen. I think it goes back to that classic question: Were you better off under president Trump than you are under, under Joe Biden? And I think most Americans are going to say, we were better off [under Trump]. The border was secure. Biden inflation came like a thief in the night and stole 30% of Americans’ savings. The majority of Americans now have no savings, they&#8217;re living paycheck to paycheck. And those folks are having a hard time putting food on the table and gas in their car. Something else that&#8217;s going to hit everybody more by next fall is the price of electricity. Joe Biden&#8217;s assault on energy just isn&#8217;t on liquid fuels, it&#8217;s on gas, It&#8217;s assault on electricity in the grid itself. So those are those economic issues. Trump is so far ahead in some polls, he&#8217;s +20 on the economy, he&#8217;s +20 on inflation, he&#8217;s +20 on the border, and he is he going to be strong against these dictators overseas — the Iranians, the Russians, and the Chinese. So he wins on all that. It&#8217;s going to come down to whether or not the message can be delivered out to the swing voters in those swing counties, that&#8217;s what&#8217;s going to really matter in the end. If the message is out there, President Trump could win and could win big. But there are a lot of folks in the mainstream media and others who are pushing an alternative vision of the world, which, of course, I don&#8217;t think the facts support, but that&#8217;s going to be the challenge. So the Trump team and everybody supporting Trump is going to have to make sure they vote, they&#8217;re going to have to run through the tape. This is going to be a battle right to the end.
Brent: All right. Well, thank you so much for being with us, Governor Burgum. We appreciate it
Governor Burgum: Thank you, Brent.

Donald Trump Holds Campaign Rally At The Jersey Shore

Governor Doug Burgum On Democrats Buying Votes And The War On U.S. Energy

Energy

interview

North Dakota

Readers Pass

President Joe Biden referred to Terry McAuliffe — the Democratic gubernatorial candidate who lost to Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin in 2021 — as “the real governor” of Virginia on Tuesday. 
Biden held a campaign rally with his supporters in Manassas, Virginia, which was the president’s first joint campaign event for the 2024 cycle with Vice President Kamala Harris, CBS News <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ERhujitvi8I" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>. The president’s speech focused on protecting abortion rights and hitting Trump for his role in the reversal of Roe v. Wade. As Biden took the stage, he pointed out McAuliffe in the crowd, calling him “the real governor.” 
“Hello, Virginia,” Biden began his remarks. “And the real governor, Terry McAuliffe.” 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Joe Biden: “Hello, Virginia, and the real governor, Terry McAuliffe.” <a href="https://t.co/hygNHhP52g">pic.twitter.com/hygNHhP52g</a>
&mdash; Conservative War Machine (@WarMachineRR) <a href="https://twitter.com/WarMachineRR/status/1749913639757168852?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 23, 2024</a></blockquote>
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Youngkin <a href="https://www.politico.com/election-results/2021/virginia/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">defeated</a> McAuliffe by more than 60,000 votes in 2021, becoming the first Republican governor elected in Virginia since 2009. McAuliffe previously served as governor of the state from 2014 to 2018. Biden’s remark at the campaign event on Tuesday confused politicians and political commentators, who pointed out that the president has focused his 2024 campaign on rehashing Trump’s denial of Biden’s 2020 election victory. 
Just in the past month, Biden has <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-compares-trump-and-his-supporters-to-defeated-confederates-in-south-carolina-speech" target="_blank" rel="noopener">compared</a> Trump and his supporters to “defeated Confederates” and called the former president a threat to “democracy.” In remarks addressing the anniversary of the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot, Biden even <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-celebrates-hundreds-of-prison-sentences-for-trump-supporters-3-years-after-january-6-capitol-storming" target="_blank" rel="noopener">celebrated</a> the prosecution of hundreds of Trump’s supporters who stormed the capitol in protest of the election results. 
Youngkin responded to Biden&#8217;s comment on Tuesday, <a href="https://twitter.com/GlennYoungkin/status/1749920568218980600?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener">writing</a>, “Mr. President, I’m right here.” 
Some political commentators said the president’s remark was “bizarre” and “monstrously stupid.” 
“This is monstrously stupid, even if intended as a silly joke,” CNN contributor and The Dispatch Editor-in-Chief Jonah Goldberg <a href="https://twitter.com/JonahDispatch/status/1749923014987124874?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>. “If you’re going to make the other side’s election denial central to your campaign, the last thing you want to do is this nonsense.”
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“Bizarre,” <a href="https://twitter.com/Alyssafarah/status/1749930930540540311?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener">wrote</a> Alyssa Farah Griffin, a former Trump aide and current co-host of “The View.” “When you’re running on ‘defending democracy’ jokes about elections being stolen are *not* funny at all.”
Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares <a href="https://twitter.com/JasonMiyaresVA/status/1749918591317577754?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener">asked</a>, “So Joe Biden is an election denier?” 
Biden has ramped up his attacks on Trump and his supporters in recent weeks as he begins his re-election campaign with all signs pointing to a Biden-Trump rematch. Trump, the GOP frontrunner, has won the first two contests in the Republican primary, taking Iowa easily last week and cruising to a victory in New Hampshire on Tuesday. 
Biden <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2024/01/23/us/elections/results-new-hampshire-democratic-primary.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">won</a> the New Hampshire primary easily on Tuesday night over Congressman Dean Phillips (D-MN) and self-help author Marianne Williamson. The president relied on a write-in campaign in the state after the Democratic National Committee made South Carolina the first state in the party&#8217;s primary. 
General election polls show Trump leading Biden by around three points, <a href="https://www.realclearpolling.com/polls/president/general/2024/trump-vs-biden" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according</a> to the Real Clear Politics average.

Joe Biden/Terry McAuliffe

Biden Calls Failed Virginia Dem Candidate Terry McAuliffe ‘The Real Governor’

Biden Calls Failed Virginia Dem Candidate Terry McAuliffe 'The Real Governor'

Terry McAuliffe

In New Mexico, the Democratic governor apparently thinks the Constitution doesn’t apply to her.
“New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham on Friday issued an emergency order suspending the right to carry firearms in public across Albuquerque and the surrounding county for at least 30 days in response to a spate of gun violence,” the <a href="https://apnews.com/article/albuquerque-guns-governor-concealed-carry-fc5b4b79bf411b8022c3ad58975724d7" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Associated Press</a> reported. “The Democratic governor said she expects legal challenges but she was compelled to act because of recent shootings, including the death of an 11-year-old boy outside a minor league baseball stadium this week. Lujan Grisham said state police would be responsible for enforcing what amount to civil violations.”
The New Mexico governor claims that emergency powers give her the ability to simply suspend constitutional law. But the Albuquerque police chief is already saying he won’t enforce her order because it’s unconstitutional: “No constitutional right, in my view, including my oath, is intended to be absolute,” Grisham stated. “There are restrictions on free speech. There are restrictions on my freedoms. In this emergency, this 11-year-old, and all these parents who have lost all these children, they deserve my attention to have the debate about whether or not in an emergency, we can create a safer environment. Because what about their constitutional rights?”
When people speak of political fascism, this is it. When a member of the government simply declares via emergency order that they can willy-nilly violate full-scale constitutional rights based on no actual emergency — we are not talking about a tornado hitting the state or some sort of giant earthquake — that’s fascism. She is basically saying, “I don’t like that people got shot. Therefore, I’m banning you from exercising your constitutional rights.”
<h4><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/show/the-ben-shapiro-show" target="_blank" rel="noopener">WATCH: The Ben Shapiro Show</a></h4>
You could do this for anything. Someone could say, “Listen, we have a national epidemic of hate.” (You’ve seen this in places like Chicago, where the former mayor, Lori Lightfoot, tried to declare that racism was a public health emergency.) You could see somebody like this idiot governor saying, “Racism and hate are public health emergencies, and I’m declaring an emergency. Therefore, you are not allowed to say the following words in my state,” and then just list them. That would be a significant First Amendment violation.
She could go even further. She could say, “You’re not allowed to use the internet because the internet obviously has facilitated so much violence. I’ve decided in my state, you’re not allowed to use it — not on the basis of any sort of elected legislative session, but on the basis of my own judgment that an emergency has now been constituted because I don’t like what is happening.” If all of your rights are simply dependent on one lady deciding she really doesn’t like what is happening in the world, that is tyranny. That is the essence of tyranny.
It’s amazing she would try this, but it was always going to happen. The minute we shut down everything in the world for COVID, and then maintained that for two years, even as the data emerged that it actually wasn’t the sort of national emergency that was being suggested, it was only a matter of time before Democratic officials tried to do something like this.
If this is the new way the Democrats make law, then they could do it on the basis of anything.
And that’s a pretty terrifying prospect.
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Ben Shapiro Editorial Series 01 copy1

The Democratic Governor Of New Mexico Has A Taste For Fascism

Ben Shapiro

Fascism

Gun Laws

New Mexico

Opinion

Second Amendment

After a New Mexico sheriff stated that his office would not enforce a segment of the Democratic governor’s order suspending the right to carry open and concealed guns publicly — echoing the state’s attorney general, who called the move unconstitutional — the governor mocked the sheriff, declaring “It&#8217;s not for police to tell me what&#8217;s constitutional or not.”
Bernalillo County Sheriff John Allen stated, “In reference to concealed carry and open carry, the Bernalillo County Sheriff&#8217;s Office will not enforce this segment of the order. While I understand the urgency, the temporary ban challenges the foundations of our Constitution. But most importantly, it is unconstitutional.”
Democratic Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham, interviewed by CNN’s Poppy Harlow, snapped, “It&#8217;s not for police to tell me what&#8217;s constitutional or not. They haven&#8217;t supported one, not one gun violence effort in the State of New Mexico including domestic violence protections, universal background checks.”
“You&#8217;re an attorney,” Harlow noted. “Do you think you&#8217;re on solid constitutional ground here?”
“Well, we&#8217;re going to see,” Grisham declared. “I mean, look, I wouldn&#8217;t do it if I didn&#8217;t think I had the right. I have the right.”
“But where is the right? Where is the right?” Harlow pressed.
“In the State of New Mexico, public — it&#8217;s a suspension. It&#8217;s not a ban. And we&#8217;ll see what all of these court actions do,” Grisham replied.
Then she tried to compare gun rights to abortion: “I got a Supreme Court that says my personal bodily autonomy can be restricted. And yet, NRA and other issues on the Second Amendment keep getting broadened.”
“The Supreme Court last year totally changed what we&#8217;re allowed to do, what you&#8217;re allowed to do,” Harlow stated. “And they say, unless you can base it in the history and tradition, you don&#8217;t have grounds to do something like this. The New Mexico constitution, I looked last night, Article 2, Section 6, says this, ‘No law shall abridge the right of citizens to keep and bear arms for security and defense. No municipality or county shall regulate in any way any incident the right to keep and bear arms.’ Are you not in violation of both the U.S. Constitution and your state&#8217;s constitution?”
“I don&#8217;t believe that we are,” Grisham sniffed. “And if that narrow reading of the constitution, which has been tested in the state, we wouldn&#8217;t have universal background checks, we wouldn&#8217;t have a waiting period, we wouldn&#8217;t have a red flag law, we wouldn&#8217;t have prohibitions for straw purchases. None of those would have been deemed constitutional. And today all of them are.”
“They were before the Supreme Court ruled that,” Harlow pointed out.
“But they haven&#8217;t been tested again,” Grisham argued.
“Are you going to keep doing this 30 days, take it up to the Supreme Court, or is this about a statement right now?” Harlow asked.
“Listen, I can make any number of statements and already have,” Grisham boasted.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
N.M. <a href="https://twitter.com/GovMLG?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@GovMLG</a>: “It’s not for police to tell me what’s constitutional or not. They haven’t supported one, not one gun violence effort in the state of New Mexico, including domestic violence protections, universal background checks.” <a href="https://t.co/KE7YT0BS9B">pic.twitter.com/KE7YT0BS9B</a>
&mdash; Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) <a href="https://twitter.com/tomselliott/status/1701618616955806179?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 12, 2023</a></blockquote>
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