President Donald Trump suggested to Voice of America host Greta Van Susteren on Tuesday that the 2020 Republican Convention in Jacksonville, Florida, which was previously scheduled to take place in North Carolina, could undergo alternative arrangements should the coronavirus pandemic make the current plans unfeasible.
“If the numbers continue to go up in Florida, and they continue to spike — may be testing or whatever but numbers going up — would you consider not having as big a convention,” Susteren asked Trump during an interview at the White House, reports <a href="https://www.1011now.com/2020/07/08/gray-televisions-greta-van-susteren-interviews-president-trump/">1011Now</a>.
“Well, we’re always looking at different things,” responded Trump, who explained that the first location choice of North Carolina fell through amidst coronavirus concerns. “Then we went to Florida, and when we went, we signed a few weeks ago, it looked good, and now all of a sudden it&#8217;s spiking up a little bit.”
While Trump did not detail any alternative plans, he maintained that the GOP is “very flexible,” and that the timing of the convention will be key.
The convention, which is planned for late-August, was scheduled to happen in North Carolina until Governor Roy Cooper (D) informed the Republican Party in a letter that he could <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/jacksonville-is-frontrunner-for-gop-convention-after-north-carolina-rejected-trump-demands">not guarantee</a> the convention could be hosted in full due to coronavirus concerns.
“With the nation, the state of North Carolina and the City of Charlotte still under states of emergency, it’s important to conduct the RNC convention accordingly,” wrote Cooper in <a href="https://files.nc.gov/governor/documents/files/2020_06_02_RNC-Response-Letter.pdf">the letter</a>. “As much as we want the conditions surrounding COVID-19 to be favorable enough for you to hold the Convention you describe in late August, it is very unlikely.”
As The Daily Wire previously reported, GOP Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel criticized the governor’s decision at the time, saying that convention attendees were “ready to go and fill their hotels and fill their restaurants, and he made a decision politically to not help us. I know that if I were the DNC it would have been a different decision.”
Politico <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2020/07/07/coronavirus-republican-convention-florida-trump-351483">reports</a> that “Republicans familiar with the event’s planning” have been working on back-up plans should the full convention become unfeasible. Those plans have not yet been publicly advertised, at least for the time being. However, the news agency notes that the GOP has already said in a memo that “everyone attending the convention within the perimeter will be tested and temperature checked each day.”
While five GOP senators have expressed that they will not be attending the convention — per <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/powerpost/sen-alexander-becomes-second-senior-republican-lawmaker-to-announce-plans-to-skip-gop-convention/2020/07/07/d240ac88-c060-11ea-b4f6-cb39cd8940fb_story.html">The Washington Post&#8217;s</a> count — only one person, Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA), 86, has cited coronavirus concerns as their reason for not attending the event.
&#8220;I’m not going to go. And I’m not going to go because of the virus situation,” Grassley, the oldest Republican in the Senate, and who has attended every Republican convention in the last four decades, told reporters in a conference call Monday, reports the <a href="https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/politics/2020/07/06/chuck-grassley-wont-attend-republican-national-convention-rnc-jacksonville-florida-coronavirus-covid/5383466002/">Des Moines Register</a>.
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President Trump Participates In National Dialogue On Safely Reopening Nation&#8217;s Schools

Trump Signals GOP ‘Flexible’ On 2020 Convention Plans

2020 Election

Donald Trump

Republican Party

I have a friend who despises Donald Trump. Whenever Trump does something he finds outrageous, my friend mocks the president’s supporters by mimicking their frequent defense of him: “At least he fights.”
As I’ve often said, Trump is a great big American character with great big American flaws – and some great big American virtues too, often overlooked.
But you know what? At least he fights.
Never-Trumpers have retreated from the political battle we’re actually in to an imaginary world where they are knightly defenders crossing swords with the Ray Harryhausen skeletons of ideological decay. They call their anti-Trump PAC The Lincoln Project. They call their anti-Trump websites The Remnant or The Ramparts. The idea is that they are the last men standing atop the last redoubt fighting for the party of 1860 against the perfidious President the Donald who has so badly disfigured it.
Well, no.
Black Lives Matter – a small and violent radical organization dedicated to a Marxist revolution and bent on hobbling our police and destroying the American family – has terrorized this country with riots and other ugliness for a long month now. They are not black – only one sixth of the protesters are black – and they don’t care about Black Lives or they wouldn’t be attacking the police. The police killed nine unarmed black men in 2018. Seven thousand four hundred blacks died at the hands of murderers that year. More than 200-thousand died at the hands of abortionists. Black Lives Matter doesn’t give a damn.
And yet what is the response of our elites to these terrorist thugs? Corporations rush to show support for them. Democrat governors, who impose unconstitutional bans on worship in the name of keeping us ever-so-safe from the Chinese Virus, celebrate and join in with their massive demonstrations. Democrat spokesmen – also known as the news media – play down the “mostly peaceful” violence while upbraiding and cancel-mugging any law-abiding citizen who dares to draw a gun to defend himself against it.
So what about the Republicans? The ones who get their ideological ideas from Honest Abe. The ones we’re standing on the ramparts to defend the remnants of.
Well, they’re negotiating. Maybe the Marxist terrorists have a point. Maybe some statues should come down. Maybe some Army bases should be renamed. Some are offering a new federal holiday on Juneteenth. Senator Ron Johnson has a great idea – let’s get rid of Columbus Day so the new Black Lives Matter holiday won’t cost the federal government another day of paid leave. We may be handing over our culture to terrorists, but think of the money we’ll save!
Hundreds of former Bush administration officials are endorsing Joe Biden, now little more than a moderate mask for the radicals who would surely run his administration. That’s who they are. That’s who they always were. Compassionate conservatism was Leftism with a flag on it.
Back in the Obama years, the leadership of the Republican Party told me to my face that they would “use” the Tea Partiers to maintain power while meeting none of their demands for constitutional governance. They announced in public that they would never try to impeach Obama, leaving him free to shred the Constitution with his misuse of the IRS, the State Department, and the FBI. They would not legislate against unbridled illegal immigration. They would not cut entitlements. They would not repeal the oppression of Obamacare.
What Lincolnian principles have these people represented in living memory? What ramparts are we standing on to defend what remnant? If the True Republican Party is an outpost, it’s Jamestown, long gone. Donald Trump did not destroy it. He rose to power because it had been destroyed. He is the emanation of their failures.
Republicans – and conservatives – are now what C. S. Lewis called men without chests. They have high-sounding theories and ideas about our founding and our Constitution, but they will not defend them from the radical destroyers.
Their theories and ideas are worthless. As Lewis pointed out, “In battle it is not syllogisms that will keep the reluctant nerves and muscles to their post in the third hour of the bombardment. The crudest sentimentalism… about a flag or a country or a regiment will be of more use.”
The ancients located such sentiments in the chest. With the help of an intellect trained from youth, those sentiments recall us to our duty when it’s time to face losing an election or profits or a social media platform or a sponsor in the defense of principle.
Instead, “we make men without chests and expect of them virtue and enterprise…” Lewis said. “We castrate and bid the geldings be fruitful.”
That’s your Republican Party. That’s your Conservative Movement, too. That’s why Trump is president. Because at least he fights.
The Daily Wire, headed by bestselling author and popular podcast host Ben Shapiro, is a leading provider of conservative news, cutting through the mainstream media’s rhetoric to provide readers with the most important, relevant, and engaging stories of the day. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/subscribe"> member</a>.

Republican tie

KLAVAN: Republican Men Without Chests

Joe Biden

Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel announced on Thursday that the party has moved its celebration of the re-nomination of President Donald Trump to Jacksonville, Florida, after running into problems in North Carolina.
The Charlotte Observer <a href="https://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/politics-government/rnc-2020/article243453231.html">reported</a> that the official business of the convention will still take place in Charlotte this August, but after the first day, the remaining three days of the event will take place in Jacksonville.
&#8220;We are thrilled to celebrate this momentous occasion in the great city of Jacksonville,&#8221; McDaniel said in a statement.  &#8220;Not only does Florida hold a special place in President Trump’s heart as his home state, but it is crucial in the path to victory in 2020.  We look forward to bringing this great celebration and economic boon to the Sunshine State in just a few short months.&#8221;
The RNC said in a statement that it moved the celebration portion of the convention because Democrat Governor Roy Cooper &#8220;refused to provide assurances&#8221; that the celebration could take place in Charlotte due to social distancing measures over the coronavirus pandemic, which originated in China.
The move could generate over $100 million in revenue for Jacksonville, the AP <a href="https://apnews.com/79a9c3b999f908fffb218bc0c8afd69d">reported</a>, adding that the city has a population of 1.5 million people and is home to a major military base.
Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) responded to the news in a tweet, writing: &#8220;I’m biased, but this is a great choice! The state of Florida and the city of Jacksonville are ready and excited to host President @realDonaldTrump for the fun part of the Republican Convention. It’s the first step towards a big win in November!&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
I’m biased, but this is a great choice! 
The state of Florida and the city of Jacksonville are ready and excited to host President <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@realDonaldTrump</a> for the fun part of the Republican Convention. It’s the first step towards a big win in November! <a href="https://t.co/T9NosKbsID">https://t.co/T9NosKbsID</a>
&mdash; Rick Scott (@ScottforFlorida) <a href="https://twitter.com/ScottforFlorida/status/1271242535273447429?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 12, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis responded to the news by saying in a statement: &#8220;Florida is honored to host this special event where we will celebrate the re-nomination of President Donald J. Trump. Jacksonville is a great city that will showcase Florida’s energy, facilities, entrepreneurship and commitment to bring together the delegates of the Republican Party at a historic time in our nation’s history.&#8221;
Fox News <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/republicans-jacksonville-convention-site-alternative-trump">noted</a> that Jacksonville was attractive to Republican officials from the start because the city has a Republican mayor, Lenny Curry, who made a strong pitch for the city to host the celebration by offering up the same venue that the city has used to host a major UFC fight—VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena.
Curry responded to the news by saying, &#8220;Today&#8217;s announcement is a huge win for the City of Jacksonville to host the celebration of President Trump’s acceptance of the nomination. The opportunity to highlight all our city has to offer and the tremendous economic impact is one I enthusiastically welcome, and we look forward to hosting an exciting event for all delegates and guests to enjoy.&#8221;
This is a breaking news story, refresh the page for updates.
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President Trump Participates In Signing Ceremony For H.R. 2, Agriculture Improvement Act Of 2018

Republican National Committee Announces New Location To Celebrate Trump’s Re-Nomination

Republican National Committee (RNC)

Jacksonville, Florida, is the frontrunner to host the GOP convention this year after Republican officials scrapped plans to hold the full affair in North Carolina.
GOP chairwoman Ronna McDaniel appeared on conservative broadcaster Hugh Hewitt’s radio show on Wednesday and said that Florida’s chances to host the quadrennial event looked promising. She and other officials have stipulated though that no final decision has been made.
“There’s a couple more things we need to do before we can announce that, but Jacksonville is absolutely in the front-running position,” McDaniel told Hewitt, according to the <a href="https://www.miamiherald.com/news/article243428921.html">Miami Herald</a>.
Several other sites are still under consideration, however. Republican National Committee (RNC) spokesman Steve Guest told <a href="https://dailycaller.com/2020/06/10/rnc-washington-post-jacksonville-2020-convention-charlotte/">The Daily Caller</a> that along with Jacksonville, officials have also toured potential sites in Phoenix, Savannah, Georgia, and Dallas.
“We have been in conversations with several other potential locations,” Guest said.
The RNC has been making last-minute plans to move the bulk of the convention activities to a new location in the United States after North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper said that the convention, originally expected to take place in Charlotte, must follow coronavirus guidelines and cut the amount of people allowed to attend. President Trump <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/democrat-nc-governor-rejects-gop-convention-demand-trump-you-just-lost-your-state-hundreds-of-millions-of-dollars-jobs">announced</a> on June 2 that the convention would move to a new city.
“Had long planned to have the Republican National Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina, a place I love,” Trump began in a pair of tweets. “Now, [NC Gov.] Roy Cooper and his representatives refuse to guarantee that we can have use of the Spectrum Arena — [s]pend millions of dollars, have everybody arrive, and then tell them they will not be able to gain entry.”
“Governor Cooper is still in Shelter-In-Place Mode, and not allowing us to occupy the arena as originally anticipated and promised,” Trump said. “Would have showcased beautiful North Carolina to the World, and brought in hundreds of millions of dollars, and jobs, for the State. Because of [Cooper], we are now forced to seek another State to host the 2020 Republican National Convention.”
McDaniel also criticized Cooper’s decision in her Wednesday interview, saying that his decision was political and would not have happened to the Democratic National Committee (DNC).
“We were ready to go and fill their hotels and fill their restaurants, and he made a decision politically to not help us. I know that if I were the DNC it would have been a different decision,” McDaniel <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItnMXs3XVtw">said</a>. “So shame on him because he put politics over the people of his state.”
Cooper sent a letter to McDaniel on June 2 saying that allowing the RNC to have a full convention in Charlotte would put the rest of the state at risk of the coronavirus.
“With the Nation, the State of North Carolina, and the city of Charlotte still under states of emergency, it’s important to conduct the RNC convention accordingly,” Cooper wrote. “As much as we want the conditions surrounding COVID-19 to be favorable enough for you to hold the Convention you describe in late August, it is very unlikely. Neither public health officials nor I will risk the health and safety of North Carolinians by providing the guarantee you seek.”
The Daily Wire, headed by bestselling author and popular podcast host Ben Shapiro, is a leading provider of conservative news, cutting through the mainstream media’s rhetoric to provide readers the most important, relevant, and engaging stories of the day. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/subscribe">member</a>.

President Trump

Jacksonville Is ‘Frontrunner’ For GOP Convention After North Carolina Rejected Trump Demands

Florida

After President Trump suddenly announced last week that the Republican National Convention wouldn&#8217;t be held in North Carolina, GOP leaders have been left scrambling to find a new site.
One possible solution is holding a multistate convention with major speeches and rallies in a number of different cities, according to <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2020-election/republicans-look-multi-city-convention-trump-s-renomination-n1225331">NBC News</a>.
&#8220;GOP officials are already on the ground in places like Orlando and Jacksonville, Florida; Nashville, Tennessee; Dallas; Phoenix; and New Orleans. They may also schedule scouting visits to Atlanta; Savannah, Georgia; and Las Vegas in the weeks to come,&#8221; NBC reported.
The convention, which will re-nominate the president as the 2020 Republican contender, is set to begin on Aug. 24. The four-day soiree is used to reward hard-core Republicans who have worked to drum up support for the party&#8217;s nominee. The conventions are typically held in massive arenas &#8212; all of which have been closed down due to COVID-19. But with the advent of Zoom and other platforms, perhaps the time has come for an online virtual convention.
On Saturday, The <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/06/us/politics/republican-convention-charlotte-2020.html">New York Times</a> reported that Republicans are even having a hard time finding delegates to attend the convention.
&#8220;Adding to the uncertainty surrounding the convention is the trepidation delegates are feeling about attending a crowded gathering,&#8221; reported Annie Karni and Maggie Haberman. &#8220;Already, states like Indiana are having difficulty filling both their delegate and alternate spots. Many convention delegates are over 60 and therefore more vulnerable to the virus.&#8221;
&#8220;Indiana, Vice President Mike Pence&#8217;s home state, has struggled to fill its slots with the party donors and activists who typically compete for the highly coveted positions to represent the state on the convention floor,&#8221; the NYT said.
Trump got annoyed last week after North Carolina&#8217;s governor, Democrat Roy Cooper, and other officials “refuse to guarantee that we can have use of the Spectrum Arena” and were not “allowing us to occupy the arena as originally anticipated and promised.”
“Because of @NC_Governor, we are now forced to seek another State to host the 2020 Republican National Convention,” he wrote on Twitter.
&#8220;Had long planned to have the Republican National Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina, a place I love. Now, @NC_Governor Roy Cooper and his representatives refused to guarantee that we can have use of the Spectrum Arena &#8211; Spend millions of dollars, have everybody arrive, and&#8230; then tell them they will not be able to gain entry. Governor Cooper is still in Shelter-In-Place Mode, and not allowing us to occupy the arena as originally anticipated and promised. Would have showcased beautiful North Carolina to the World, and brought in hundreds of&#8230; millions of dollars, and jobs, for the State. Because of @NC_Governor, we are now forced to seek another State to host the 2020 Republican National Convention,&#8221; Trump wrote on Twitter.
But <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/501359-why-republicans-arent-likely-to-move-their-convention-out-of-charlotte">The Hill</a> reported on Sunday that &#8220;veterans of conventions past say it is almost certain that Republicans will have to keep the bulk of their convention activities&#8221; in Charlotte, N.C.
&#8220;The RNC’s Executive Committee has voted unanimously to allow the official business of the national convention to continue in Charlotte. Many other cities are eager to host the president’s acceptance of the nomination, and we are currently in talks with several of them to host that celebration,&#8221; Michael Ahrens, the RNC&#8217;s communications director, said in a statement.
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Republican National Convention: Day Four

Republicans Look At Multi-City Convention For Trump’s Renomination

Coronavirus

In a series of incensed social media posts blasted out early Tuesday morning, President Trump listed the &#8220;failures&#8221; of a group of &#8220;RINO&#8221; (Republican in name only) &#8220;losers&#8221; behind a new ad that mockingly echoes arguably the most famous political ad in American history, Ronald Reagan&#8217;s &#8220;Morning in America&#8221; ad, to criticize Trump. In the process of knocking around the folks behind the ad, the Lincoln Project, Trump also made sure to remind everyone that Abraham Lincoln was a Republican and suggested that the revered figure is &#8220;smiling&#8221; about how Trump is handling the presidency.
In a 60-second ad titled &#8220;Mourning in America,&#8221; the Lincoln Project, headed by vocal Trump critic George Conway, husband of White House counselor Kellyanne Conway, Reagan&#8217;s &#8220;positive impact&#8221; on the country in his first four years is contrasted with Trump&#8217;s first term, which the Trump-critical group portrays as a &#8220;failure.&#8221;
&#8220;[President Trump&#8217;s] failed presidency has left the nation weaker, sicker, and teetering on the verge of a new Great Depression,&#8221; the Lincoln Project tweeted Monday along with its new ad. &#8220;There’s mourning in America.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
📺 NEW VIDEO <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@realdonaldtrump</a>’s failed presidency has left the nation weaker, sicker, and teetering on the verge of a new Great Depression.
There’s mourning in America. <a href="https://t.co/QoEWJVNEXc">pic.twitter.com/QoEWJVNEXc</a>
&mdash; The Lincoln Project (@ProjectLincoln) <a href="https://twitter.com/ProjectLincoln/status/1257264160213217285?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 4, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Trump wasn&#8217;t amused, responding early Tuesday in a series of caps-filled tweets slamming Conway and his crew and pointing out all the achievements of his first four years, particularly related to the court system, the military, Second Amendment rights and slashing taxes and regulations.
&#8220;A group of RINO Republicans who failed badly 12 years ago, then again 8 years ago, and then got BADLY beaten by me, a political first timer, 4 years ago, have copied (no imagination) the concept of an ad from Ronald Reagan, &#8216;Morning in America&#8217;, doing everything possible to get even for all of their many failures,&#8221; Trump wrote.
&#8220;You see, these loser types don’t care about 252 new Federal Judges, 2 great Supreme Court Justices, a rebuilt military, a protected 2nd Amendment, biggest EVER Tax &amp; Regulation cuts, and much more,&#8221; he continued.
&#8220;I didn’t use any of them because they don’t know how to win, and their so-called Lincoln Project is a disgrace to Honest Abe,&#8221; Trump added. &#8220;I don’t know what Kellyanne did to her deranged loser of a husband, Moonface, but it must have been really bad. John Weaver lost big for Kasich (to me). Crazed Rick Wilson lost for Evan &#8216;McMuffin&#8217; McMullin (to me). Steve Schmidt [and] Reed Galvin lost for John McCain, Romney’s campaign manager (?) lost big to &#8216;O&#8217;, [and] Jennifer Horn got thrown out of the New Hampshire Republican Party.&#8221;
&#8220;They’re all LOSERS, but Abe Lincoln, Republican, is all smiles!&#8221; Trump concluded.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
&#8230;.get even for all of their many failures. You see, these loser types don’t care about 252 new Federal Judges, 2 great Supreme Court Justices, a rebuilt military, a protected 2nd Amendment, biggest EVER Tax &amp; Regulation cuts, and much more. I didn’t use any of them&#8230;.
&mdash; Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1257532110971318274?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 5, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
&#8230;.lost for Evan “McMuffin” McMullin (to me). Steve Schmidt &amp; Reed Galvin lost for John McCain, Romney’s campaign manager (?) lost big to “O”, &amp; Jennifer Horn got thrown out of the New Hampshire Republican Party. They’re all LOSERS, but Abe Lincoln, Republican, is all smiles!
&mdash; Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1257532114666508291?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 5, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The Lincoln Project&#8217;s ad wasn&#8217;t the only Trump-themed ad drama on Monday. CNN announced the same day that it has <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/cnn-sends-trump-campaign-cease-and-desist-letter-for-deceptive-ad-showing-cnn-agreeing-his-actions-saved-lives-campaign-slaps-back">sent a cease-and-desist letter</a> to the Trump campaign over an ad that shows a CNN analyst appearing to praise the actions of the president in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Trump campaign has since responded by standing by its ad and slamming CNN for finding a reason to &#8220;once again&#8221; block an ad from the campaign.
The Daily Wire, headed by bestselling author and popular podcast host Ben Shapiro, is a leading provider of conservative news, cutting through the mainstream media’s rhetoric to provide readers the most important, relevant, and engaging stories of the day. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/subscribe">member</a>.

President Ronald Reagan at Durenberger Republican convention Rally, 1982

Trump Lists The Failures Of ‘Loser’ RINOs After Their Famous Reagan Ad Mockery, Says Lincoln Is ‘Smiling’

Abraham Lincoln

The Ragin&#8217; Cajun is ragin&#8217; again.
James Carville, a former adviser to President Clinton, blasted Republicans after a majority of the Wisconsin&#8217;s Supreme Court justices ruled that the state&#8217;s Democratic primary should proceed, despite concerns over the spread of SARS-CoV-2.
&#8220;My kind of mission in the short-term is to sound the alarm to say [that] Mitch McConnell and the Supreme Court — they&#8217;re going to do everything they can to hold onto power,&#8221; Carville said during an appearance on MSNBC.
&#8220;This thing in Wisconsin was one of the most awful things I&#8217;ve ever seen in my life,&#8221; Carville said. &#8220;The extent that they will go to to hold onto power — it was all about one Supreme Court seat in Wisconsin — they will kill people to stay in power, literally.&#8221;
Neither MSNBC anchor Brian Williams nor former Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele objected to Carville&#8217;s claim that Republicans &#8220;literally&#8221; will kill people.
He also called the court&#8217;s ruling &#8220;one of the most awful things I&#8217;ve ever seen in my life.&#8221;
Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers, a Democrat, had sought to delay the primary, asserting that voters and poll workers could be exposed to the flu-like virus. But in a 4-2 vote, the Supreme Court ruled that the governor did not have the power to postpone the election. Five of the seven justices on the court were appointed by Republicans, but one abstained because he was on Tuesday&#8217;s ballot.
Hours after Evers issued an executive order Monday postponing the primary, the Wisconsin high court ordered the election to proceed. But Evers said he issued the order because there was no other option. &#8220;There&#8217;s not a Plan B. There&#8217;s not a Plan C,&#8221; the governor said.
&#8220;Frankly, there&#8217;s no good answer to this problem — I wish it were easy. I have been asking everyone to do their part to help keep our families, our neighbors, and our communities safe, and I had hoped that the Legislature would do its part — just as the rest of us are — to help keep people healthy and safe,&#8221; he said.
Earlier in the MSNBC segment, Carville predicted that Trump would be soundly defeated in November.
&#8220;I am totally, totally unimpressed by President Trump&#8217;s political powers,&#8221; he said. &#8220;I have absolutely no fear. What I do fear is what you had in Wisconsin where they try to muck with the election and stop people from voting. But if we go to post in November with anything close to a level playing field, it&#8217;s going to be a Democratic wipeout. People are not going to vote for four more years of this.&#8221;
Carville, 75, appeared shortly after Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) suspended his presidential campaign, making former Vice President Joe Biden as the presumptive nominee. Carville expressed sympathy for the democratic socialist.
&#8220;I was not a fan of Sen. Sanders&#8217; candidacy — I was not for him,&#8221; Carville said. &#8220;However, every political professional, I mean, they have dreams. I mean, he ran and he and his wife had a dream &#8230; and I kind of feel sorry for him in a way.&#8221;

Politicon 2017 &#8211; Day 1

CARVILLE: Republicans ‘Will Kill People To Stay In Power, Literally’

Bernie Sanders

James Carville

Wisconsin

Sensing the sentiment in their state has swung toward the GOP, eight Mississippi political office holders who were either Democrats or Independents have joined the Republican Party.
“We have had a relentless focus on switching conservative Democrats over to the Republican party,” Mississippi Republican Party Chairman Lucien Smith said of the flurry of politicians looking for a safe haven. He added, “They recognize increasingly that there is only one party that represents the conservative values of our state and that is the Republican party,” as <a href="https://www.wlbt.com/2020/02/25/eight-elected-officials-announce-party-switch-join-mississippi-republican-party/">WLBT</a> reported.
Mississippi GOP governor Governor Tate Reeves echoed, “We are in a scenario in this country where you can choose to be a member of the party led by Donald J. Trump or you can choose to be a member of the socialist Democratic party led by Bernie Sanders.”
Millsaps Department of Government and Politics chairman Dr. Nathan Shrader chimed in, “They have a plausible argument to make with these elected officials that your constituent are already aligning with us, the voting patterns in your district are moving in our direction, you should join the team too.”
 The eight people joining the GOP include these former Democrats: Matt Sullivan, District Attorney for the Thirteenth Circuit Court District; Cindy Austin, Chancery Clerk; Anthony Grayson, Circuit Clerk; Mary Lou Powell, Tax Assessor-Collector; Danny Arender, Beat 4 Supervisor, and Hulon West, Justice Court Judge for the Southern District of Smith County
The Independents joining the GOP are Guy Easterling, Chancery Clerk, and Bobby Wayne Mooney, Justice Court Judge for the Northern District of Covington County.
Sullivan stated, “There are conservatives Democrats all across the state of Mississippi and there was once upon a time when the conservative Democrats controlled this state. It’s a new day in Mississippi and I believe the Republican party is growing and there’s a place in the Republican party for people like me.”
As The Daily Wire reported last week, more Republicans than any time in history have filed federal paperwork to run for either the U.S. House of Representatives or the U.S. Senate.
In 2018, the surge in applications came from the Democratic side of the ledger, but for the 2020 election, the surge is coming from the GOP. As <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/republican-revenge-record-gop-field-forms-on-2020-mission-to-take-down-socialists">Fox News</a> noted, “In 2019 alone, 781 Republicans filed federal paperwork to run for the House, the most ever recorded in an odd year at the Federal Election Commission. That’s up from 593 GOP candidates in 2017, when Democrats had an astounding 937 candidates at the same point.”
Fox News added, “The total number of House and Senate candidates reached an off-year record at 1,761, according to the FEC report obtained by Fox News, shattering the 2017 record of 1,739 candidates that was fueled by a wave of Democrats, especially women. This time, based on the latest data, more Republicans are running than Democrats — with 874 total candidates compared with Democrats&#8217; 842.”
Sarah Bryner, research director at the Center for Responsive Politics, told Fox News,“It&#8217;s all about enthusiasm driven by the president, both negative and positive. [Republicans] also saw the Democrats do it last cycle. So they know that it is possible. They saw some seats picked off that I think shocked the party and the public. They want to get those back.&#8221;

President Trump Holds Rally For Mississippi GOP Senate Candidate Cindy Hyde-Smith In Tupelo

Age Of Trump: Eight Mississippi Elected Officials Leave Dems, Independents, Join GOP

Mississippi

Determined to capitalize on the Democratic party’s lurch toward socialism, more Republicans than any time in history have filed federal paperwork to run for either the U.S. House of Representatives or the U.S. Senate.
In 2018, the surge in applications came from the Democratic side of the ledger, but for the 2020 election, the surge is coming from the GOP. As <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/republican-revenge-record-gop-field-forms-on-2020-mission-to-take-down-socialists">Fox News</a>notes, “In 2019 alone, 781 Republicans filed federal paperwork to run for the House, the most ever recorded in an odd year at the Federal Election Commission. That’s up from 593 GOP candidates in 2017, when Democrats had an astounding 937 candidates at the same point.”
Fox News added, “The total number of House and Senate candidates reached an off-year record at 1,761, according to the FEC report obtained by Fox News, shattering the 2017 record of 1,739 candidates that was fueled by a wave of Democrats, especially women. This time, based on the latest data, more Republicans are running than Democrats — with 874 total candidates compared with Democrats&#8217; 842.”
Sarah Bryner, research director at the Center for Responsive Politics, told Fox News,“It&#8217;s all about enthusiasm driven by the president, both negative and positive. [Republicans] also saw the Democrats do it last cycle. So they know that it is possible. They saw some seats picked off that I think shocked the party and the public. They want to get those back.&#8221;
<a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2019/12/retirement-congress-2020-hurd-alexander/596965/">The Atlantic</a> reported in late January of the numerous incumbents stepping down: “In all, 25 GOP House members and four senators are forgoing reelection this year without declaring their candidacy for another office, while just seven Democrats in the House and one in the Senate are retiring outright. The Republican retirements are quickly approaching the level the party saw in 2018, when 28 Republicans retired ahead of the midterms, foreshadowing the blue wave that swept in a Democratic House majority. More could be on the way, as members typically use the holiday recess to discuss their future plans with their family.”
That was recently updated by <a href="https://ballotpedia.org/List_of_U.S._Congress_incumbents_who_are_not_running_for_re-election_in_2020">Ballotpedia,</a> which wrote, “As of February 17, 2020, 36 representatives said they will not seek re-election to their U.S. House seats. 9 Democratic members of the U.S. House. 27 Republican members of the U.S. House.”
U.S. veteran Sean Parnell, who is challenging incumbent Pennsylvania Rep. Conor Lamb, explained, “There’s momentum on our side for sure. This is the national bellwether race. For Republicans to take back the House, we&#8217;ve got to win PA-17 and for Trump to win the state of Pennsylvania like he did in 2016, he has to win PA-17 … This is the first time in American history, where the president was impeached and he&#8217;s going to be on the ballot. The GOP turnout is going to be through the roof this election cycle. Everywhere we go, people are excited to vote.&#8221;
Another GOP candidate, Marjorie Greene from Georgia, echoed, “I&#8217;m tired of seeing my president attacked every day. I&#8217;m tired of seeing our future threatened. I&#8217;m tired of seeing my children&#8217;s future extremely threatened, and it’s time to get off the bench and really step up to the plate.”
&nbsp;

President Trump Departs The White House For Travel To Florida

CONFIDENCE: Record Number of GOP Candidates File For Congress 2020

As the 2020 Democratic Party presidential candidates <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/48863/who-will-win-democratic-primary-latest-2020-josh-hammer">battle it out for the nomination</a>, politicos must pay close attention to President Donald Trump&#8217;s approval ratings — both nationally and across key swing states.
If anything, Trump&#8217;s approval rating has recently been on the affirmative rise, as evidence continues to mount that Democrats have <a href="https://nypost.com/2020/01/31/this-whole-pathetic-impeachment-effort-was-worse-than-a-waste-of-time/">overplayed their hand</a> on impeachment. Last week, the historically reliable pollsters at Gallup <a href="https://news.gallup.com/poll/284156/trump-job-approval-personal-best.aspx">released data</a> revealing Trump&#8217;s approval rating to be at an all-time personal best of 49%. &#8220;In addition to possibly reflecting sentiment regarding his impeachment, Trump&#8217;s increased approval rating may also result from other issues,&#8221; Gallup wrote. Those issues include the recent military skirmishes with Iran, foreign trade, and the economy.
Historically, presidents have fared well in re-election campaigns when they maintain approval ratings above 50%. This president has never had such an approval rating at any point throughout his presidency; but Trump is also a unique figure, in many ways, from the perspective of American political history. He defies many historical norms and loose &#8220;rules.&#8221; President Trump also oversees a genuinely soaring economy, with record-low unemployment rates, and regarding which Americans are the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/americans-are-more-optimistic-about-the-economy-than-they-have-been-in-decades">most optimistic they have been in decades</a>. One must also never forget the sheer power of incumbency: Since FDR, only Presidents Jimmy Carter and George H.W. Bush were elected and then subsequently not re-elected four years later.
As of February 11, 2020, the <a href="https://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/other/president_trump_job_approval-6179.html">RealClearPolitics average</a> for Trump&#8217;s national job approval rating sits at 45.1% — or 7.0% underwater. That Trump&#8217;s approval rating only rose while warding off impeachment only buttresses the theory that Democrats have overplayed their hand.
Henry Olsen of The Washington Post had an <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/11/06/trump-is-down-far-out" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&amp;q=https://email.dailywire.com/e2t/c/*W3HmRfg8wKtnCW4cGZSL1CSrXg0/*W5BKVhh96Gpb4W8-1y2m5m6ghN0/5/f18dQhb0Sq5J8Y9XHdW80JfVF1k63-nW7sTg0H2P2ZFHW6Dk5Sd1Vq7GqVLDpF18CSvhfW8CRtsF3P0gztW5yJNx18l2p1TW1nPLDM8rZZ3CW3L3hj18BVHkvW3knCMv8yXl2fN5x53HbSbM86W8CZT8L8tBst7VScmWZ5wMTWVW5wL96L1sL3M0W3Mybvy6RNDcsN5wYBLnZvRBfVRH-mh1l5XsBW55nSC91VJH71W4c2Rr971B_trW1x4lQB6GKLK6W1s0LSF5mKjF6W3m2jX953X_ZpW52Ylfx3_8mplW9fgwMT4fdf2wW1CKFgB4fCj-4W6yGjGM57QYy5W1zslkT7LNKKVW2twnxd6z4yN9W1GQ1T21fqP84W1BQNJF2PXVH6N8W1FtxGX70sW5YCjHQ1HGqqhW3mV5CD6Y6gM5W1j14QF1j9W8pN7KWJRDpdj-nV4slhZ3MYtL8W4HrzTg45Ly2MVkwRN48b6cnqW2GFB531GH84tW27PQWj8tVZYWVj8tbN4c-1VzW6PZLJt8zhkqrW4ffn6C5LdRRhW8qBft_2PLnMWW4rGbTz5ymY9KMZpcmq9ZLg8f2CCSW411&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1574867914609000&amp;usg=AFQjCNHkSMBe5OEEGUjYZNH6vGN2ZmbXFw">incisive piece</a> in November that analyzed the relationship between Trump’s approval ratings and his re-election chances. According to Olsen’s historically informed analysis, Trump would need his approval rating to rise to roughly 46% – 47% in order to confidently position himself to capture the Electoral College next November. That is well within the realm of possibility, given Trump&#8217;s current polling, although it will require the president to focus on reaching out to persuadable moderates, independents, and suburban swing voters. To that end, I have previously offered some <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/hammer-trump-needs-to-focus-on-a-safety-and-security-agenda-for-2020">unsolicited advice</a> to the Trump campaign: Focus on a safety and security agenda to appeal to these persuadable voters.
The Daily Wire will also be tracking Trump&#8217;s state-by-state approval rating as the general election nears. Here is the latest Trump approval rating information from across all the various swing states.
Battleground State-By-State Trump Approval Rating (latest data via <a href="https://morningconsult.com/tracking-trump-2/">Morning Consult&#8217;s January 2020</a> monthly survey)
ARIZONA:
<ul>
<li>2016 presidential result: Trump + 3.57%</li>
<li>Governor: Republican</li>
<li>U.S. Senate: Republican, Democrat</li>
<li>Current Trump approval rating: -1%</li>
</ul>
COLORADO:
<ul>
<li>2016 presidential result: Clinton + 4.91%</li>
<li>Governor: Democrat</li>
<li>U.S. Senate: Republican, Democrat</li>
<li>Current Trump approval rating: -10%</li>
</ul>
FLORIDA:
<ul>
<li>2016 presidential result: Trump + 1.20%</li>
<li>Governor: Republican</li>
<li>U.S. Senate: Republican, Republican</li>
<li>Current Trump approval rating: -1%</li>
</ul>
GEORGIA:
<ul>
<li>2016 presidential result: Trump + 5.09%</li>
<li>Governor: Republican</li>
<li>U.S. Senate: Republican, Republican</li>
<li>Current Trump approval rating: EVEN</li>
</ul>
IOWA:
<ul>
<li>2016 presidential result: Trump + 9.41%</li>
<li>Governor: Republican</li>
<li>U.S. Senate: Republican, Republican</li>
<li>Current Trump approval rating: -9%</li>
</ul>
MAINE:
<ul>
<li>2016 presidential result: Clinton + 2.96%</li>
<li>Governor: Democrat</li>
<li>U.S. Senate: Republican, Independent</li>
<li>Current Trump approval rating: -7%</li>
</ul>
MICHIGAN:
<ul>
<li>2016 presidential result: Trump + 0.23%</li>
<li>Governor: Democrat</li>
<li>U.S. Senate: Democrat, Democrat</li>
<li>Current Trump approval rating: -12%</li>
</ul>
MINNESOTA:
<ul>
<li>2016 presidential result: Clinton + 1.51%</li>
<li>Governor: Democrat</li>
<li>U.S. Senate: Democrat, Democrat</li>
<li>Current Trump approval rating: -7%</li>
</ul>
NEVADA:
<ul>
<li>2016 presidential result: Clinton + 2.42%</li>
<li>Governor: Democrat</li>
<li>U.S. Senate: Democrat, Democrat</li>
<li>Current Trump approval rating: -15%</li>
</ul>
NEW HAMPSHIRE:
<ul>
<li>2016 presidential result: Clinton + 0.37%</li>
<li>Governor: Democrat</li>
<li>U.S. Senate: Democrat, Democrat</li>
<li>Current Trump approval rating: -12%</li>
</ul>
NORTH CAROLINA:
<ul>
<li>2016 presidential result: Trump + 3.66%</li>
<li>Governor: Democrat</li>
<li>U.S. Senate: Republican, Republican</li>
<li>Current Trump approval rating: -1%</li>
</ul>
OHIO:
<ul>
<li>2016 presidential result: Trump + 8.13%</li>
<li>Governor: Republican</li>
<li>U.S. Senate: Republican, Democrat</li>
<li>Current Trump approval rating: -1%</li>
</ul>
PENNSYLVANIA:
<ul>
<li>2016 presidential result: Trump + 0.72%</li>
<li>Governor: Democrat</li>
<li>U.S. Senate: Republican, Democrat</li>
<li>Current Trump approval rating: -2%</li>
</ul>
TEXAS:
<ul>
<li>2016 presidential result: Trump + 8.99%</li>
<li>Governor: Republican</li>
<li>U.S. Senate: Republican, Republican</li>
<li>Current Trump approval rating: +5%</li>
</ul>
VIRGINIA:
<ul>
<li>2016 presidential result: Clinton + 5.32%</li>
<li>Governor: Democrat</li>
<li>U.S. Senate: Democrat, Democrat</li>
<li>Current Trump approval rating: -4%</li>
</ul>
WISCONSIN:
<ul>
<li>2016 presidential result: Trump + 0.77%</li>
<li>Governor: Democrat</li>
<li>U.S. Senate: Republican, Democrat</li>
<li>Current Trump approval rating: -10%</li>
</ul>
This article has been updated to reflect the most recent survey data.

Trump rally Kentucky

Will Trump Win? The Latest On Trump’s National And State-By-State Approval Ratings.

Economy

For perhaps the first time during his entire presidency, it seems reasonably clear that President Donald Trump is a favorite to win a second term at the ballot box this November.
For a myriad of reasons, Trump has always been an ahistorical president. He famously lost the national popular vote in the 2016 presidential election, instead relying on a Rust Belt-centric coalition to secure a narrow victory in the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/hammer-electoral-college-under-assault-heres-why-josh-hammer">Electoral College</a>. The somewhat lopsided nature of the final Electoral College margin obscured the fact that Trump&#8217;s victory was only due to <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/weekly-standard/the-election-came-down-to-77-744-votes-in-pennsylvania-wisconsin-and-michigan-updated">a mere 77,000+ voters</a> spread across Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin. And Trump&#8217;s job approval rating average has never once risen above 50%, which has oftentimes been viewed as a marker presidential incumbents strive to hit in order to feel comfortable about their chances for re-election.
The president&#8217;s margin for error, in short, is very slim. And while the Democrats&#8217; overly zealous <a href="https://nypost.com/2020/01/31/this-whole-pathetic-impeachment-effort-was-worse-than-a-waste-of-time/">partisan impeachment stun</a>t has no <a href="https://www.axios.com/trump-impeachment-poll-michigan-pennsylvania-wisconsin-6776a580-9a0f-4362-a8a7-e6180f18ed14.html">doubt disproportionately hurt Democrats</a> across many of the key Rust Belt swing states, the reality is that his approval rating in many of those same swing states was <a href="https://morningconsult.com/tracking-trump-2/">was lagging far behind</a> a comfortable level prior to the impeachment saga&#8217;s onset.
But despite all these trends, there now seems to be an emerging consensus that Trump is a <a href="https://www.predictit.org/markets/detail/3698/Who-will-win-the-2020-US-presidential-election">favorite, albeit a slight one</a>, to be re-elected this fall. This emerging consensus is correct, and there are a few reasons for that.
The president had a <a href="https://theresurgent.com/2020/02/06/the-democrats-terrible-week-donald-trumps-best-week/">historically good week</a> last week. In a span of three days, the Democratic Party exhibited an unforeseen level of gross institutional incompetence in the dumpster fire that was their botched Iowa caucuses process, Trump gave a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/hammer-trump-successfully-framed-the-stark-2020-election-choice-during-last-nights-sotu-address">very well-received</a> State of the Union Address, and he was acquitted on each of House Democrats&#8217; two adopted articles of impeachment. Furthermore, the post-Iowa fallout and crystallizing polling consensus for tomorrow&#8217;s New Hampshire Democratic Party presidential primary have both been simply disastrous for erstwhile frontrunner Joe Biden — the leading purported &#8220;moderate&#8221; of the Democratic field who many promoted as the candidate perhaps best positioned to defeat Trump in the general election.
The Democratic Party also evinced for all to see, during the State of the Union Address, just how substantively out of touch it is with the desired political agenda of the median <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/hammer-who-will-stand-for-the-forgotten-american">&#8220;forgotten&#8221;</a> American. Democrats routinely refused to applaud objectively salutary data about the extraordinary state of the American economy — an economy, that is, about which Americans have a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/americans-are-more-optimistic-about-the-economy-than-they-have-been-in-decades">higher collective sense of optimism</a> than they have had in decades. Democrats at the State of the Union Address also audibly booed during the president&#8217;s powerful excoriation of the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/watch-hammer-on-tipping-point-with-liz-wheeler-sanctuary-cities-are-neo-confederate">neo-Confederate</a>, <a href="https://cis.org/Camarota/NonCitizens-Committed-Disproportionate-Share-Federal-Crimes-201116">criminal-mollycoddling</a>, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/hammer-why-no-one-pointing-out-sanctuary-cities-josh-hammer">illegal</a> entities known as sanctuary cities. It is perhaps difficult to imagine a more out of touch moment than a political party opposing the deportation of violent illegal aliens who commit such heinous crimes as rape or homicide; alas, the modern Democratic Party, whose leading presidential candidates seem to love debating no issue more than they love debating whether to outlaw private health insurance for over a hundred million Americans, has become an utter <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/hammer-democratic-party-has-become-parody-itself-josh-hammer">parody of itself</a>.
The <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/who-will-win-democratic-primary-latest-2020-josh-hammer">leading candidate</a> for the Democrats&#8217; 2020 presidential nomination is an unvarnished communist who <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/hammer-bernie-sanders-entire-worldview-grotesquely-josh-hammer">literally honeymooned</a> in the former Soviet Union. Imagine the kind of person who gets married and decides to honeymoon abroad not in a Caribbean resort or a Pacific island, but in a freezing, gulag-riddled, totalitarian <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/100-years-of-communismand-100-million-dead-1510011810">beacon of pure evil</a> that, at the time of the honeymoon, happens to be in an existential state of &#8220;mutually assured destruction&#8221; with the United States. Seriously, try to imagine the kind of human being who does such a thing. That kind of human being is now the leading candidate to win the presidential nomination of the party of Harry Truman and John F. Kennedy.
Trump&#8217;s margin for error remains slender, and his <a href="https://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/other/president_trump_job_approval-6179.html">average job approval rating</a> still has a <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/11/06/trump-is-down-far-out/">bit of work to do</a> to allow his campaign operatives to sleep well at night. But for the first time of his presidency, it does seem that he is a favorite to win a second term.
&nbsp;
RELATED: <a href="http://lp.dailywire.com/getelectionwire/">Sign up here for Daily Wire Editor-at-Large Josh Hammer’s weekly newsletter on election news, polling data, and analysis: “Election Wire”</a>

President Trump Hosts Keep America Great Rally

HAMMER: Trump Is Finally A Favorite For Re-Election

Democratic Party

Impeachment

Iowa Caucuses

State of the Union

Authorities in Florida said on Saturday that a man deliberately rammed a vehicle into a tent of Republican volunteers who were registering people to vote.
&#8220;Jacksonville police say a driver intentionally crashed a van through a tent where Duval County GOP volunteers were registering voters Saturday afternoon,&#8221; The Florida Times-Union reported. &#8220;Several Duval County GOP volunteers were working at the registration tent when a white man in his early 20s driving an older – possibly 1980s – brown van pulled up toward the tent.&#8221;
Lt. Larry Gayle of the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office told reporters that law enforcement was looking at the incident “as in reference to interruption of the political process.”
“We are investigating this as a aggravated assault,” Gayle said. “Several people were in the area and could have been seriously hurt. &#8230; JSO is taking the situation very seriously.”
Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel responded to the alleged attack by writing on Twitter: &#8220;These unprovoked, senseless attacks on @realDonaldTrump&#8217;s supporters need to end. I want to echo the @DuvalGOP in saying: We will not be silenced by cowards, and these disgusting acts will only make us work harder to win November.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
These unprovoked, senseless attacks on <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@realDonaldTrump</a>&#39;s supporters need to end. I want to echo the <a href="https://twitter.com/DuvalGOP?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@DuvalGOP</a> in saying: We will not be silenced by cowards, and these disgusting acts will only make us work harder to win November. <a href="https://t.co/GQ7OrbtSO2">https://t.co/GQ7OrbtSO2</a>
&mdash; Ronna McDaniel (@GOPChairwoman) <a href="https://twitter.com/GOPChairwoman/status/1226303878251122688?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 9, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
President Donald Trump quickly responded, writing, &#8220;Law Enforcement has been notified. Be careful tough guys who you play with!&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Law Enforcement has been notified. Be careful tough guys who you play with! <a href="https://t.co/1Pq0hOrzy2">https://t.co/1Pq0hOrzy2</a>
&mdash; Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1226308565557706753?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 9, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The Florida Times-Union added that Gayle said that after the driver rammed the vehicle that he got out and flipped off the victims before running away.
“We are outraged by this senseless act of violence toward our great volunteers,” Duval GOP Chairman Dean Black said. “The Republican Party of Duval County will not be intimidated by these cowards and we will not be silenced. I call on every Republican in our great city to stand up, get involved and show these radicals that we will not be intimidated from exercising our Constitutional rights.”
In a series of tweets, the Duval County GOP documented the incident, writing, &#8220;Today in Jacksonville, Florida six Trump Campaign volunteers were intentionally targeted while registering voters.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Today in Jacksonville, Florida six Trump Campaign volunteers were intentionally targeted while registering voters. <a href="https://t.co/0wzaCYh5ut">pic.twitter.com/0wzaCYh5ut</a>
&mdash; Duval County GOP (@DuvalGOP) <a href="https://twitter.com/DuvalGOP/status/1226273637214408705?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 8, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&#8220;At approximately 2:45 p.m. a multi-colored brown and gold van driven by what is described as a white male in his 20s or 30s, accelerated into a crowd of volunteers at the Kernan Village shopping center located at 11900 Atlantic Boulevard,&#8221; Duval County GOP continued. &#8220;Thankfully, Republican volunteers narrowly avoided being struck by the accelerating van. The driver sped away after making an obscene gesture toward the crowd.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Thankfully, Republican volunteers narrowly avoided being struck by the accelerating van. The driver sped away after making an obscene gesture toward the crowd.
&mdash; Duval County GOP (@DuvalGOP) <a href="https://twitter.com/DuvalGOP/status/1226273640674623494?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 8, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Duval County GOP, <a href="https://twitter.com/DuvalGOP/status/1226273644290203651">concluded</a>, &#8220;The Republican Party of Duval County plans to redouble its efforts to register voters and will continue it’s fight with renewed intensity to re-elect President Donald Trump.&#8221;
Daniel Henry, the President of the Duval County Democratic Party, released a <a href="https://www.actionnewsjax.com/news/van-drives-through-republican-party-tent-walmart-parking-lot/MKQ43YDVGZBDRKMIRXLA3RQFO4/">statement</a> saying he condemns the attack: “The Duval County Democratic Party condemns this cowardly act of violence. No one’s life should be placed in danger for exercising their first amendment rights. As Democrats, but more importantly, as residents of this great city of Jacksonville, we call on our fellow citizens to act with dignity, civility and respect for one another during this election cycle and beyond. We look forward to JSO’s arrest of the perpetrator.”
This report has been updated to include additional information.

US-POLITICS-TRUMP

BREAKING: Man Deliberately Rams Vehicle Into GOP Tent Full Of Volunteers, Trump Responds

Crime

After weeks of speculation about which senators might vote against the party line, the U.S. Senate voted on the Democrats&#8217; two articles of impeachment against President Trump on Wednesday, and only of the 100 senators defected on one of the articles —frequent Trump critic Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT) voted &#8220;guilty&#8221; on &#8220;Abuse of Power,&#8221; which ultimately failed 48-52. Ahead of the vote, the Utah senator delivered a hand-signed note to each of his Republican colleagues.
The note, obtained and published by <a href="https://www.axios.com/mitt-romney-trump-impeachment-vote-note-c09e8704-0196-41e9-8d7a-5d640f06c7f7.html">Axios</a>, was delivered to Republican senators&#8217; individual boxes in the Senate cloakroom ahead of the vote Wednesday. In it, Romney defends the decision that he predicts will result in immense backlash against him, including from President Trump, insisting that his vote is &#8220;an act of conviction&#8221; stemming from the seriousness with which he takes his oath, &#8220;before God, to exercise &#8216;impartial justice.'&#8221;
&#8220;Does anyone seriously believe I would consent to these consequences other than from an inescapable conviction that my oath before God demanded it of me?&#8221; he asks in the letter, which is an excerpted version of his <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2020/02/05/mitt-romney-impeachment-vote-speech-transcript-110849">official statement on his decision</a>.
&#8220;As a Senator-juror, I swore an oath, before God, to exercise &#8216;impartial justice,'&#8221; Romney&#8217;s hand-signed letter to his peers begins. &#8220;I am a profoundly religious person. I take an oath before God as enormously consequential. I knew from the outset that being tasked with judging the President, the leader of my own party, would be the most difficult decision I have ever faced. I was not wrong.&#8221;
&#8220;Corrupting an election to keep oneself in office is perhaps the most abusive and disruptive violation of one&#8217;s oath of office that I can imagine,&#8221; he continues.
&#8220;I am aware that there are people in my party and in my state who will strenuously disapprove of my decision, and in some quarters, I will be vehemently denounced,&#8221; he states. &#8220;I am sure to hear abuse from the President and his supporters. Does anyone seriously believe I would consent to these consequences other than from an inescapable conviction that my oath before God demanded it of me?&#8221;
&#8220;As it is with each senator, my vote is an act of conviction,&#8221; he concludes. &#8220;We have come to different conclusions, fellow senators, but I trust we have all followed the dictates of our conscience.&#8221;
Romney was correct that his fellow Republicans would &#8220;strenuously disapprove&#8221; of his decision and he would be &#8220;vehemently denounced.&#8221; As <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/calls-for-expelling-romney-from-gop-surge-utah-lawmaker-files-motion-to-allow-recall-of-senators">The Daily Wire</a> reported Wednesday, &#8220;calls exploded either to expel Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT) from the Republican Party or recall him from the Senate immediately after he sided with the Democrats during the Senate’s vote to acquit President Donald Trump on Wednesday afternoon.&#8221;
<blockquote>The calls to remove Romney from the GOP were led by Donald Trump Jr., the president’s eldest son, who tweeted: “Mitt Romney is forever bitter that he will never be POTUS. He was too weak to beat the Democrats then so he’s joining them now. He’s now officially a member of the resistance &amp; should be expelled from the @GOP.”</blockquote>
Among those criticizing Romney&#8217;s decision is Romney&#8217;s own niece, Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel. &#8220;This is not the first time I have disagreed with Mitt, and I imagine it will not be the last,&#8221; tweeted McDaniel. &#8220;The bottom line is President Trump did nothing wrong, and the Republican Party is more united than ever behind him. I, along with the @GOP, stand with President Trump.&#8221;
The full text of Romney&#8217;s letter to his Republican colleagues below:
<blockquote>As a Senator-juror, I swore an oath, before God, to exercise &#8220;impartial justice.&#8221; I am a profoundly religious person. I take an oath before God as enormously consequential. I knew from the outset that being tasked with judging the President, the leader of my own party, would be the most difficult decision I have ever faced. I was not wrong.
&#8230;
Corrupting an election to keep oneself in office is perhaps the most abusive and disruptive violation of one&#8217;s oath of office that I can imagine.
&#8230;
I am aware that there are people in my party and in my state who will strenuously disapprove of my decision, and in some quarters, I will be vehemently denounced. I am sure to hear abuse from the President and his supporters. Does anyone seriously believe I would consent to these consequences other than from an inescapable conviction that my oath before God demanded it of me?
&#8230;
As it is with each senator, my vote is an act of conviction. We have come to different conclusions, fellow senators, but I trust we have all followed the dictates of our conscience.</blockquote>

Mitt Romney

READ IT: Here’s The Note Romney Gave To Every Republican Ahead Of The Impeachment Vote

&#8220;In both law and politics, I think the essential battle is the meta-battle of framing the narrative. As Sun Tzu said, every battle is won before it’s fought. It’s won by choosing the terrain on which it will be fought.&#8221; – Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) to The New Yorker&#8217;s Jeffrey Toobin, <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/06/30/the-absolutist-2">June 2014</a>
Although President Donald Trump no doubt prefers to vent his off-the-cuff frustrations in tweet threads and campaign rallies, it is the planned teleprompter format in which he most clearly excels. Since assuming office, Trump&#8217;s State of the Union addresses have consistently been visceral, evocative, rhetorically fine-tune affairs that make brilliant use of audience guests to drive home his substantive agenda.
Last night&#8217;s speech was <a href="https://theresurgent.com/2020/02/04/best-state-of-the-union-ever/">no exception</a>, and the president was tremendously successful in framing the 2020 election as a stark choice between two competing visions of American governance: The economic prosperity, domestic security, and &#8220;peace through strength&#8221; deterrence of the Right, and the socialism, lawlessness, and capitulatory foreign policy of the Left. To borrow from Cruz&#8217;s quoting of Sun Tzu, Trump has &#8220;cho[sen] the terrain on which&#8221; the 2020 election &#8220;will be fought.&#8221;
The president <a href="https://thefederalist.com/2020/02/05/president-trump-offers-a-sharp-rebuke-of-socialism-at-precisely-the-right-time/">spoke at length</a> about the revving American economic engine, thus placing on the defensive the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/hammer-aocs-squad-will-destroy-democrats-2020-josh-hammer">toxic brand of socialism</a> that has come to dominate the modern Democratic Party. The Democrats are a political party with a <a href="https://www.predictit.org/markets/detail/3633/Who-will-win-the-2020-Democratic-presidential-nomination">statistical frontrunner</a> of a presidential nominee who is a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/hammer-bernie-sanders-entire-worldview-grotesquely-josh-hammer">lifelong communist activist</a> — a man who literally honeymooned in the Soviet Union and infamously hung a hammer-and-sickle Soviet flag inside his Burlington, Vermont mayoral office. They are advancing that nominee (and so many others who now mimic his economic illiteracy) in the context of an American electorate that, according to reliable pollster Gallup, is the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/americans-are-more-optimistic-about-the-economy-than-they-have-been-in-decades">most optimistic</a> it has been about the economy in decades. Americans <a href="https://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/other/president_trump_job_approval_economy-6182.html">currently approve</a> of Trump&#8217;s handling of the economy by over 17%, and Democrats&#8217; solution for that is to stage a presidential primary where one of the leading &#8220;intellectual&#8221; debates among the candidates is whether to literally abolish private health insurance in favor of a government monopoly.
Good luck with that.
The president also spoke about the gruesome horrors of sanctuary cities, the great majority of which are <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/hammer-why-no-one-pointing-out-sanctuary-cities-josh-hammer">clearly illegal</a> under a straightforward reading of <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/8/1373">8 U.S.C. § 1373(a)</a>: &#8220;Notwithstanding any other provision of Federal, State, or local law, a Federal, State, or local government entity or official may not prohibit, or in any way restrict, any government entity or official from sending to, or receiving from, the [Department of Homeland Security] information regarding the citizenship or immigration status, lawful or unlawful, of any individual.&#8221; The president masterfully provided gut-wrenching details of the crimes committed by illegal aliens mollycoddled by sanctuary jurisdictions — thus seemingly borrowing a tactic from Supreme Court Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas, each of whom has at times provided vivid details of the underlying murders of those defendants whose capital punishment appeals reach the Court. Trump forced Democrats in the House chamber to retreat to the unenviable position of loudly booing his oratory assaults on criminal aliens and the sanctuary jurisdictions that harbor them. It was a remarkable sight to behold.
The president has thus successfully framed the 2020 election as a referendum about whether the nation will reject the Left&#8217;s two most profoundly ruinous current hobbyhorses: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/hammer-a-political-wish-for-2020-less-socialism-more-law-and-order">Socialism and lawlessness</a>. He also spoke directly to the heart and mind of the proverbial <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/hammer-who-will-stand-for-the-forgotten-american">forgotten American</a> — the tax-paying, church-attending, law-abiding American who still has an innate love and appreciation for what has always made America great. Say what one might about Trump, but one cannot plausibly deny that he is an &#8220;Americanist,&#8221; properly understood.
The American people will head to the ballot box this November with an exceedingly straightforward choice before them. Here is hoping they make the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/hammer-here-are-three-reasons-why-i-plan-vote-josh-hammer">right decision</a>.

President Trump Delivers State Of The Union Address

HAMMER: Trump Successfully Framed The Stark 2020 Election Choice During Last Night’s SOTU Address

Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi

Clarence Thomas

Communism

Law Enforcement

Qassem Soleimani

Radical Islam

On Monday, the always-inevitable U.S. Senate acquittal of President Donald Trump&#8217;s U.S. House impeachment charges barreled further along toward its natural conclusion.
&#8220;The impeachment trial of President Trump drew closer toward its almost-inevitable conclusion with closing arguments Monday, as Democratic House impeachment managers made a last-ditch push to convince the Senate that an acquittal would be a &#8216;death blow&#8217; to the ability to hold a president in check, while Trump’s defense team accused the Democrats of engaging in a rushed, partisan, unjustified endeavor,&#8221; Fox News <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-impeachment-trial-nears-end-with-closing-arguments">reported</a>.
The outlet is predicting that Trump&#8217;s formal acquittal vote may happen as soon as Wednesday — seemingly as good a guess as any.
House impeachment manager Rep. Jason Crow (D-CO) &#8220;addressed an argument put forth by Trump legal team member Alan Dershowitz, who claimed that Trump was working in the national interest, and not his personal interest, by asking Ukraine to investigate possible corruption related to former vice president Joe Biden and his son Hunter,&#8221; the cable news giant continued. &#8220;Dershowitz asserted that even if Trump was acting to aid his own re-election if he believes his re-election to be in the nation&#8217;s best interest, it would be proper.&#8221;
Another prominent Trump impeachment defense attorney, former federal judge and Clinton-era special counsel Ken Starr, also argued earlier on Monday against a freewheeling, exceedingly broad interpretation of Congress&#8217; impeachment power — including those impeachments haphazardly attempted with little substantive grist to back them up.
&#8220;They’ve got the power, but that doesn’t mean that anything goes,&#8221; Starr said on the Senate floor, as Fox News noted. &#8220;Did the House Judiciary Committee rush to judgment in fashioning the articles of impeachment? Did it carefully gather the facts, assess the facts, before it concluded we need nothing more than the panel of very distinguished professors and the splendid presentations by both the majority counsel and the minority counsel? What was being said in the sounds of silence was this: we don’t have time to follow the rules.&#8221;
In a <a href="https://nypost.com/2020/01/31/this-whole-pathetic-impeachment-effort-was-worse-than-a-waste-of-time/">New York Post op-ed</a> over the weekend, I decried the Democrats&#8217; partisan impeachment effort as &#8220;pathetic&#8221; and &#8220;worse than a waste of time&#8221;:
<blockquote>
After months of hype and pseudo-drama ginned up by the left, public and secret testimony and breathless “smoking-gun” headlines, it’s taking the Senate just two weeks to <a href="https://nypost.com/2020/01/31/senate-votes-against-new-witnesses-in-trump-impeachment-trial/" data-reader-unique-id="2">bring an end, finally, to the impeachment circus</a>. And it is ending with the always-inevitable acquittal of President Trump.
What a tragic, monumental waste of time it has been. After all, anyone capable of rudimentary arithmetic could have seen this foreordained outcome coming from Day One. &#8230;
Alas, to call it a mere waste of time is likely far too charitable. The Democrats took stock of the decrepit state of our national politics, the bitterly fractious nature of our partisan tribalism, the pathetic regard the American people have for their Congress and took a sledgehammer to it all. The most immediate tangible result of this failed gambit will be to only further coarsen and debase our politics. &#8230;
Most damaging of all, the Democrats’ pursuit of the draconian remedy of impeachment based on their claims of Trump’s corrupt subjective intentions on a diplomatic phone call has set a truly reckless precedent for the future. The general conduct of foreign policy is a core Article II function constitutionally vested in the president, and soliciting a “quid pro quo” while acting lawfully amounts to constitutionally protected free speech.
For Democrats to argue that Trump’s purportedly corrupt motive somehow transmogrifies such constitutionally protected conduct into an impeachable offense is nothing short of astonishing. Their zeal to impeach for what amounts to a policy disagreement over a diplomatic phone call reeks of the “maladministration” impeachment standard the Framers deliberated and then conscientiously rejected at the 1787 constitutional convention.
</blockquote>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Democrats are making their final <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/impeachment?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#impeachment</a> arguments right this second. 
But there&#39;s no way around it. This whole sham has been a waste of time and resources.
Move on. <a href="https://t.co/6pHIece54X">https://t.co/6pHIece54X</a>
&mdash; Oversight Committee Republicans (@GOPoversight) <a href="https://twitter.com/GOPoversight/status/1224367498180677633?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 3, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Senate Impeachment Trial Of President Trump Continues

ALMOST OVER: Senate Impeachment Trial Reaches Closing Arguments

John Roberts

U.S. Senate

Senator Kelly Loeffler (R-GA), who was sworn into the Senate earlier this month, hit her colleague Mitt Romney, former GOP presidential nominee and sitting Republican senator from Utah, for his stance with regard to the impeachment trial of President Donald Trump.
In a viral tweet, Sen. Loeffler blasted Romney for wanting to &#8220;appease the left&#8221; over his support of impeachment witnesses, when, according to the senator, there is &#8220;no case for impeachment.&#8221;
&#8220;After [two] weeks, it’s clear that Democrats have no case for impeachment,&#8221; Loeffler posted via social media on Monday. 
&#8220;Sadly, my colleague [Senator Romney] wants to appease the left by calling witnesses who will slander the [Donald Trump] during their 15 minutes of fame,&#8221; she said.
The senator added, &#8220;The circus is over. It’s time to move on!&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
After 2 weeks, it’s clear that Democrats have no case for impeachment. Sadly, my colleague <a href="https://twitter.com/SenatorRomney?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SenatorRomney</a> wants to appease the left by calling witnesses who will slander the <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@realDonaldTrump</a> during their 15 minutes of fame. The circus is over. It’s time to move on! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/gapol?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#gapol</a>
&mdash; Senator Kelly Loeffler (@SenatorLoeffler) <a href="https://twitter.com/SenatorLoeffler/status/1221850900798607360?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 27, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
As noted by The Hill, Romney said Monday that he&#8217;d like to hear from former National Security Advisor John Bolton.
<div id="dfp-ad-incontent_desk_2-wrapper" class="dfp-tag-wrapper wrapper">
“It’s pretty fair to say John Bolton has relevant testimony,” the 2012 GOP presidential nominee said. &#8220;I think it&#8217;s increasingly likely that other Republicans will join those of us who think we should hear from John Bolton.&#8221;
</div>
As highlighted by The Hill, &#8220;Loeffler and her husband donated to a pro-Romney super PAC in 2012, <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/news/2019/12/gop-senate-appointee-kelly-loeffler-has-extensive-history-of-givin/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">according to Open Secrets</a>.&#8221;
As noted by <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/critics-hammer-bolton-after-book-pre-order-goes-live-following-leaked-manuscript-published-by-nyt">The Daily Wire</a>, Bolton was criticized on Sunday over a report regarding the former national security advisor&#8217;s forthcoming book. Bolton reportedly claims Trump &#8220;directly tied financial assistance to Ukraine with Ukraine announcing an investigation into Democrat presidential candidate Joe Biden.&#8221;
“President Trump told his national security adviser in August that he wanted to continue freezing $391 million in security assistance to Ukraine until officials there helped with investigations into Democrats including the Bidens, according to an unpublished manuscript by the former adviser, John R. Bolton,” The New York Times <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/26/us/politics/trump-bolton-book-ukraine.html">reported</a> Sunday. “In recent days, some White House officials have described Mr. Bolton as a disgruntled former employee, and have said he took notes that he should have left behind when he departed the administration.”
Loeffler was appointed by Republican Georgia Governor Brian Kemp  to succeed Senator Johnny Isakson after the longtime Republican senator resigned due to health issues.
&#8220;The Georgia Republican, who chairs both the Veterans’ Affairs and Ethics committees, has Parkinson’s disease and has been recovering from a fall that took place in July,&#8221; reported <a href="https://www.rollcall.com/news/congress/sen-johnny-isakson-resign-end-2019">Roll Call</a>.
“In my 40 years in elected office, I have always put my constituents and my state of Georgia first. With the mounting health challenges I am facing, I have concluded that I will not be able to do the job over the long term in the manner the citizens of Georgia deserve,” Mr. Isakson said in a statement, according to the outlet. “It goes against every fiber of my being to leave in the middle of my Senate term, but I know it’s the right thing to do on behalf of my state.”
&#8220;I look forward to continuing to help the people of Georgia in any way I can and also helping those who are working toward a cure for Parkinson’s,” the statement later added.

Sen Mitt Romney And Sen. Kelly Loeffler

Newly Sworn-In GOP Senator Hits Romney On Impeachment: ‘Wants To Appease The Left’

If you are a Republican, the first week of impeachment meant the Democrats were unserious clowns, out to launch a coup against the duly elected President of the United States. The President&#8217;s team was diligent, thoughtful and proficient.
If you are a Democrat, the first week of impeachment meant the President&#8217;s team was a cast straight from the island of misfit toys, unable to make a coherent argument — and the Democrats were veritable geniuses. Impeachment, and your view on impeachment, is all in the eye of the beholder. Republicans think it is a scam, and Democrats think it is necessary.
In 1998, the roles were reversed, including in the press. Major media figures during the Clinton impeachment thought it would be a waste of time to hear from witnesses. Now, many of the same figures think it is vitally necessary. In 1998, Republicans thought the future of the republic depended on it, and Democrats thought it was a partisan coup. Guess where they stand now?
The most significant difference is that in 1998, Republicans got more Democrats on board than Democrats have gotten now against Trump. That is very notable, if for only one reason. There are 22 House Republicans leaving Congress. Half of them, at least, hate the President of the United States. They blame him for their districts turning against them. They blame him for their loss of power. They blame him for their departures. But the Democrats got precisely zero of them to vote their way, while the GOP picked up a seat in Congress with a Democrat turning Republican.
If House Democrats cannot get the Republicans who hate President Donald Trump and no longer have to fear his voters to go for impeachment, getting two-thirds of the Senate to go along for their ride is going to be an impossible task. To be clear, the President should not have done what he did. It was wrong, and any Republican who says otherwise lacks the intellectual honesty to acknowledge they would be demanding Barack Obama&#8217;s head if he had done the same.
But is it impeachable? I think, with the nation less than a year from an election, it is not. If the President were in a second term and incapable of being held accountable by the voters, or early in a first term, the conclusion could be different. But the conclusion here is that the President did something wrong, and his staff knew it — but it is in the open and he will face voters in less than 11 months. Likewise, Democrats failed to call key witnesses they could have called to build a better case, such as former National Security Advisor John Bolton.
Instead, they tried to hide behind the courts and endless delays, but they never even wanted to pick the fight. The reality is that the courts would have accommodated the Democrats and rapidly expedited the fight. The Democrats chose never to go that far and now want the Senate to do the House&#8217;s job.
Impeachment is a partisan fundraising tool for both sides at this point. Democrats have managed to help the President unite the Republican base while uniting their own base. There can be only one winner, and it will be Trump. Democrats will take their loss and turn it into a public relations and fundraising victory with their base. Relying on an overly biased and sympathetic media, the Democrats will cast doubt on the 2020 election, savage the GOP and make a case for taking back the Senate.
In less than a month, the nation will move on and have other things to focus on. Time will advance, the President will be on the ballot in November and voters will care about something else. This is historic. This is the third presidential impeachment in American history and only the second in living memory. Its ending is a foregone conclusion. It distracts from more important things. It will do nothing but make Americans more cynical as the ties that bind us fray just a bit more.
To find out more about Erick Erickson and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

Capitol Hill.

ERICKSON: The Sound, Fury And Predictability

America is based on trust. That’s why President Donald Trump is winning and why Democrats are flailing — on the campaign trail and in their impeachment trial. Let me explain.
Our nation was born, in 1776, with our Founders’ promise of “our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor” to one another. Our Constitution was rooted in 1787, creating — in Benjamin Franklin’s famous warning — “a republic, if you can keep it.” And of course, the only way to “keep” a republic is through institutions of mutual trust and responsibility — from your local churches and Little Leagues up to federal agencies and the news media who cover it.
Today, you hear a lot about our institutions breaking “down,” but in truth, they are breaking “trust.” Recent examples are fresh in our minds: The child abuse scandals in the Catholic Church, the explosion of #MeToo cases finally taking down prominent business and entertainment superstars, the monstrous lies of the Bush and Obama administrations told to cover up their military failures in Afghanistan, and even the revelations of rampant cheating in Major League Baseball.
But perhaps the greatest threat we face today is that in this age of distrust, scandals like those are still shocking, but no longer surprising. America’s vast reserves of trust — built up through generations of cooperative association in our voluntary civil society, our free enterprise economy, and our accountable, constitutional republic — are being drawn down every day. Leaders treat their organizations the way spoiled toddlers treat their toys.
The problem is everywhere, but like most problems, it’s worst in Washington, D.C.
Today, Congress is leading America’s institutional race to the bottom. Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and her lieutenants think their impeachment witch hunt is hurting President Trump. But the president’s polling indicates they’re not making a dent — he’s as popular as ever, and deservedly so given his record of almost uninterrupted success in foreign, domestic, and economic affairs. No, Washington Democrats are really hurting the American people, by turning the House of Representatives — and now the Senate — into a phony kangaroo court.
No one involved with the impeachment believes Donald Trump committed high crimes and misdemeanors. No one believes he’s going to be removed from office. They simply see the impeachment process as one long attack ad against the president that the liberal media will happily air for them, free of charge. All they care about is attacking President Trump and defeating him in November. (Just like 20 years ago, they didn’t care President Bill Clinton was a perjurer and serial sexual predator; they cared about defending “their team.”)
Blinded by partisanship, Washington Democrats in both cases ignored the damage they have done to the credibility of our governing institutions.
As a nation, we’re facing generational challenges: $22 trillion in debt, driven by unsustainable entitlement programs like Medicare and Social Security; a crisis on our border that could explode any time, as drug cartels continue to gain power in Mexico.
Congress created those problems, and so squandered the public trust necessary to solve them right away. But rather than doing the hard work of rebuilding that trust on which our system of government depends, they are embracing the dysfunction. This impeachment fiasco, following on the Mueller investigation, has not only undermined Congress’s credibility — but that of the FBI, the Justice Department, the media, and the entire governing class. Thanks to the Democrats’ reckless partisanship, our institutions are literally in worse shape today than they would have been had they done nothing at all for the last three years.
At a time when the American people are craving authenticity and candor — like President Trump’s straight-talking approach — the Democrats are doubling down on the politics of deception. From the media’s addiction to “Fake News” to Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s (D-MA) biographical lies to Rep. Adam Schiff’s (D-CA) dissembling about the “whistleblower” to the Deep State’s open conspiracy against the president, the Democratic Party sees its only political hope in exacerbating America’s crisis of distrust.
They believe the only way they can win is by making sure we all lose.
It’s up to Republicans to follow the president’s lead, in this impeachment trial and beyond, to finally rebuild that credibility. He seems to be the only leader in Washington who understands that the only way to win back the people’s trust … is to actually be trustworthy.
&nbsp;
Jim DeMint, chairman of <a style="font-style: italic;" href="https://www.conservativepartnership.org">Conservative Partnership Institute</a>, formerly served as president of The Heritage Foundation and as a U.S. congressman and senator from South Carolina.

President Trump Welcomes College Football Champions LSU Tigers To The White House

DEMINT: The Secret To Trump’s Winning: Trust

After the clock struck midnight on the East Coast last night, toward the final hours of the marathon U.S. Senate impeachment trial session that featured both the U.S. House manager prosecution and the presidential defense team dueling about the trial&#8217;s procedural rules, Chief Justice John Roberts was peeved. The nation&#8217;s highest jurist, <a href="https://www.heritage.org/constitution/#!/articles/1/essays/17/trial-of-impeachment">constitutionally required</a> to preside over a Senate impeachment trial of a president, excoriated both sides for the rambunctiousness and juvenility of their respective rhetoric.
&#8220;A marathon, 12-hour first day in the Senate impeachment trial against President Trump erupted into a shouting match well after midnight Wednesday morning, as Trump&#8217;s legal team unloaded on Democratic impeachment manager Rep. Jerry Nadler, D-(NY) — in an exchange that prompted a bleary-eyed Chief Justice John Roberts to sternly admonish both sides for misconduct in the chamber,&#8221; Fox News <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/senate-impeachment-trial-begins-with-win-for-the-white-house-as-dems-rules-proposal-is-nixed">reported</a>.
&#8220;Nadler, who was overheard apparently planning to impeach Trump back in 2018, said it would be a &#8216;treacherous vote&#8217; and a &#8216;cover-up&#8217; for Republicans to reject the [former National Security Advisor John] Bolton subpoena amendment, claiming that &#8216;only guilty people try to hide evidence,'&#8221; the outlet continued. &#8220;Bolton has reportedly described Trump&#8217;s conduct as akin to a &#8216;drug deal,&#8217; and he has indicated he would be willing to testify and provide relevant information.&#8221;
President Trump&#8217;s two main defense lawyers, White House Counsel Pat Cipollone and Jay Sekulow, both fired back against Nadler. &#8220;Mr. Nadler came up here and made false allegations against our team,&#8221; Cipollone said. &#8220;He made false allegations against all of you [senators]; he accused you of a cover-up. He&#8217;s been making false allegations against the president. The only one who should be embarrassed, Mr. Nadler is you, for the way you&#8217;ve addressed the United States Senate. This is the United States Senate. You&#8217;re not in charge here. &#8230; It’s about time we bring this power trip in for a landing.&#8221;
This exchange proved too much for the chief justice.
&#8220;It is appropriate at this point for me to admonish both the House managers and the president&#8217;s counsel in equal terms to remember that they are addressing the world&#8217;s greatest deliberative body,&#8221; Roberts sternly rebuked. &#8220;One reason it has earned that title is because its members avoid speaking in a manner, and using language, that is not conducive to civil discourse.&#8221;
&#8220;In the 1905 [Judge Charles] Swayne [impeachment] trial, a senator objected when one of the managers used the word &#8216;pettifogging&#8217; — and the presiding officer said the word ought not to have been used,&#8221; the chief justice continued. &#8220;I don&#8217;t think we need to aspire to that high a standard, but I do think those addressing the Senate should remember where they are.&#8221;
That the chief justice saw fit to reprimand both sides did not sit well with every Republican senator in the &#8220;world&#8217;s greatest deliberative body.&#8221; Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT), himself a lawyer and former U.S. Supreme Court law clerk for Justice Samuel Alito, <a href="https://video.foxnews.com/v/6125557687001#sp=show-clips">told Fox News</a> earlier today that he thought it was &#8220;unfair&#8221; for Roberts to include Trump&#8217;s defense lawyers alongside the Democratic prosecution as part of his critical remarks.
Chief Justice Roberts, a George W. Bush high court nominee who is <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/hammer-kavanaugh-and-gorsuch-have-issues-john-josh-hammer">widely reputed to care tremendously</a> about preserving the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/hammer-it-past-time-trump-openly-defy-court-order-josh-hammer">purported</a> non-politicization of Alexander Hamilton&#8217;s <a href="https://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/fed78.asp">&#8220;least dangerous&#8221;</a> branch, famously analogized the role of a Supreme Court justice to that of a baseball home plate umpire calling balls and strikes during his Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing. Politico <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2020/01/20/john-roberts-trump-impeachment-101114">recently observed</a> how his role overseeing the nation&#8217;s first presidential impeachment trial in two-plus decades could afford him a unique opportunity to bring that analogy to fruition:
<blockquote>[I]n his 14 years as chief justice, Roberts hasn’t really had the role of umpire — and he knows it. That said, Roberts’s comment about balls and strikes probably reflected an aspiration. To the extent that the Court can be perceived (rightly or wrongly) as acting with principled neutrality, its reputation as an arbiter floating above the political scrum is strengthened. And for judges who like to be perceived as doing nothing more than faithfully applying the law, the umpire analogy is always tempting. There’s something appealing about just getting to call balls and strikes.
Now for the first time, the impeachment trial is giving Roberts that chance. For once, Roberts will have a decision-making role in a forum where he himself is not a major player in the drama. The big players are people like McConnell and Schumer, Romney and Murkowski, Nadler and Schiff, Starr and Dershowitz, the witnesses (if any) who testify—and, offstage, the president. Roberts is there, at the center, and he needs to make decisions. But this time, he really is just the umpire. He’s not the one we’re tuning in to see, and the game’s most important decisions and actions belong to other people. And the rulings he makes, for once, can be made under an umpire’s decision-making conditions: All by himself, yes or no, and maybe in real time.
</blockquote>
Roberts, the infamous deciding vote in favor of constitutionally upholding Obamacare&#8217;s individual mandate back in 2012, has long drawn the ire of many conservative critics. Last summer, I opined in a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/hammer-kavanaugh-and-gorsuch-have-issues-john-josh-hammer">Daily Wire op-ed</a> about the lessons conservatives should learn from his oftentimes lackluster career on the nation&#8217;s highest court:
<blockquote>
The lessons to learn from Roberts’ tremendously disappointing career on the Court are the same <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/47351/hammer-draw-right-lessons-kavanaughs-bad-start-no-josh-hammer" data-reader-unique-id="67">lessons that conservatives ought to learn</a> from [Justice Brett] Kavanaugh’s similarly disappointing start. I have <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/44037/hammer-three-things-conservatives-must-look-future-josh-hammer" data-reader-unique-id="68">identified three broad criteria</a> for which we ought to carefully vet the next Supreme Court nominee: (1) full-spectrum conservatism, (2) stiff resistance to the “<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenhouse_effect_(United_States_Supreme_Court)" data-reader-unique-id="69">Greenhouse Effect</a>,” and (3) eagerness to aggressively correct course. And for the love of God, also make sure the nominee is also someone with a lengthy paper trail and who will not be tempted by non-legal concerns — such as Roberts’ obvious and indefensible preoccupation with the Court’s “institutional integrity.”
</blockquote>

Chief Justice John Roberts

Chief Justice Roberts, Finally The ‘Umpire’ He Wanted To Be, Criticizes Both Sides Of Impeachment Trial

Jerry Nadler

Supreme Court

President Trump held another one of his jam-packed rallies Thursday night — the first of 2020 — this time in the crucial battleground state of Ohio, making clear how much his campaign values securing the state&#8217;s 18 electoral votes he won by eight points in 2016.
During the raucous rally in Toledo, Trump pointed to his decision to order an airstrike on Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani as evidence that he will bring &#8220;<a href="https://www.daytondailynews.com/news/state--regional-govt--politics/president-trump-ohio-tonight-for-2020-kickoff-campaign/iAPspsmIwCvRhc0eAn80PI/">American justice</a>&#8221; to those who pose a threat to Americans and America&#8217;s interests and taunted Democrats over the standoff with Iran, suggesting he should win the Nobel Peace Prize for his handling of the situation.
In a series of tweets highlighting photos and video from the rally, Trump touted the &#8220;tremendous crowd&#8221; and summed up some of the themes of the night, including his commitment to &#8220;NEVER make excuses for America&#8217;s enemies&#8221; and to &#8220;never hesitate in defending American lives.&#8221; He also offered up a new slogan for the Republicans, along with a withering summary of the Democratic Party&#8217;s platform.
&#8220;Heading to Toledo, Ohio, for first Rally of the year. Tremendous crowd. Here we go for a big 2020 Win!&#8221; Trump wrote in the first of a series of rally-themed tweets Thursday evening (posts below).
&#8220;Under my administration, we will NEVER make excuses for America’s enemies – we will never hesitate in defending American lives – and we will never stop working to defeat Radical Islamic Terrorism!&#8221; he wrote in a tweet showing him on stage in the packed-out Huntington Center in Toledo.
&#8220;After years of rebuilding OTHER nations, we are finally rebuilding OUR nation. We are finally putting AMERICA FIRST!&#8221; the president added in another post featuring a shot of the crowd.
Trump then contrasted the radical policies increasingly embraced by the Democrats with the goals of the Republican Party: &#8220;Democrats are now the party of high taxes, high crime, open borders, late-term abortion, socialism, and blatant corruption. The Republican Party is the party of the American Worker, the American Family, and the American Dream!
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Heading to Toledo, Ohio, for first Rally of the year. Tremendous crowd. Here we go for a big 2020 Win!
&mdash; Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1215406817297088512?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 9, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
THANK YOU TOLEDO, OHIO!<a href="https://t.co/PL96KjQWat">https://t.co/PL96KjQWat</a>
&mdash; Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1215452636260061185?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 10, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Under my administration, we will NEVER make excuses for America’s enemies – we will never hesitate in defending American lives – and we will never stop working to defeat Radical Islamic Terrorism! <a href="https://t.co/022PjwhHjs">pic.twitter.com/022PjwhHjs</a>
&mdash; Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1215454244519718912?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 10, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
After years of rebuilding OTHER nations, we are finally rebuilding OUR nation. We are finally putting AMERICA FIRST! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/KAG2020?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#KAG2020</a> <a href="https://t.co/azKL54A6BU">pic.twitter.com/azKL54A6BU</a>
&mdash; Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1215455064183230465?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 10, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Democrats are now the party of high taxes, high crime, open borders, late-term abortion, socialism, and blatant corruption. The Republican Party is the party of the American Worker, the American Family, and the American Dream! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/KAG2020?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#KAG2020</a> <a href="https://t.co/05XRX2odxN">pic.twitter.com/05XRX2odxN</a>
&mdash; Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1215457108327571458?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 10, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Trump&#8217;s rally followed a significant series of events for his presidency. After he ordered an airstrike that took out Iran&#8217;s top military leader and the man responsible for the deaths of hundreds of Americans and countless terrorist operations, Iran retaliated Tuesday by firing over a dozen ballistic missiles at two Iraqi bases at which U.S. and coalition personnel were stationed.
The attack resulted in no American or Iraqi casualties, and Iran quickly <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/iran-sent-messages-through-three-back-channels-to-u-s-after-attack-to-say-they-were-done">signaled to the U.S.</a> that it hoped to de-escalate the situation. The next morning, Trump gave a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/breaking-trump-addresses-nation-after-attack-no-lives-lost-iran-appears-to-be-standing-down">televised national address</a> announcing that Iran appeared to be &#8220;backing down&#8221; and unveiling new economic sanctions on the terror-sponsoring state.
“Iran appears to be standing down, which is a good thing for all parties concerned, and a very good thing for the world,” said the president. “No American or Iraqi lives were lost because of the precautions taken, the dispersal of forces, and an early warning system that worked very well.”
While Trump was providing Americans the welcome news, the Democrats were preparing to vote on a War Powers Resolution to limit his ability to take military action against Iran, a resolution that passed in the House on Thursday. While House Speaker Nancy Pelosi insists that the resolution is an important check on Trump&#8217;s authority, Republicans have dismissed it as &#8220;<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-targets-pelosi-ahead-of-vote-on-toothless-war-powers-resolution">toothless.</a>&#8220;

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Republican Party

Trump Signals GOP ‘Flexible’ On 2020 Convention Plans

KLAVAN: Republican Men Without Chests

Republican National Committee Announces New Location To Celebrate Trump’s Re-Nomination

Jacksonville Is ‘Frontrunner’ For GOP Convention After North Carolina Rejected Trump Demands

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Trump Lists The Failures Of ‘Loser’ RINOs After Their Famous Reagan Ad Mockery, Says Lincoln Is ‘Smiling’

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Age Of Trump: Eight Mississippi Elected Officials Leave Dems, Independents, Join GOP

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READ IT: Here’s The Note Romney Gave To Every Republican Ahead Of The Impeachment Vote

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ALMOST OVER: Senate Impeachment Trial Reaches Closing Arguments

Newly Sworn-In GOP Senator Hits Romney On Impeachment: ‘Wants To Appease The Left’

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Chief Justice Roberts, Finally The ‘Umpire’ He Wanted To Be, Criticizes Both Sides Of Impeachment Trial

Trump Holds Packed-Out Rally In Ohio, Taunts Dems Over Iran, Tests Out New Slogan For GOP

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