Tuesday, April 23, 2024

Trump Joins Gaetz, Luna With Realist Position on Mike Johnson: ‘We Have a Majority of One, OK?’

Donald Trump has signaled his support for Speaker Mike Johnson, who has been under fire from some conservatives after untethering military aid for Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan from border security in a series of standalone bills. The former President said he believes the Speaker is “trying very hard” in an interview with radio host John Fredericks. He also reminded listeners of the arithmetic Johnson is facing in the House of Representatives.

“Look, we have a majority of one, OK? So, it’s not like he can go and do whatever he wants to do,” Trump said when asked how he squared the “divide between MAGA and Mike Johnson.”

Even nominal control of the House would be jeopardized by this small margin if Johnson were ousted. Democrats would only need the votes of a handful of Republicans-in-name-only to install Democrat minority leader Hakeem Jeffries.

The position echoes the reluctant position of Reps. Gaetz, Luna, and others on this issue. Realistic Members of Congress understand that handing the gavel to Democrats six months before an election would lead to an immediate avalanche of subpoenas for almost everyone on the political right, as well as efforts to stack the Supreme Court, and ban Donald Trump from the ballot before November.

“…it’s a tough situation when you have [a majority of] one,” Trump added. “I think he’s a very good man, I think he’s trying very hard, and, again, we’ve gotta have a big election, we’ve got to elect some people in Congress, much more than we have right now.”

Trump also said it was essential to get rid of certain bad actors among Republican lawmakers. “We have to elect some good senators. Get rid of some of the ones we have now, like [Mitt] Romney — and others,” he said. “We have to have a big day, and we have to win the presidency.”

“If we don’t win the presidency, our country, I’m telling you, I think our country could be finished,” he warned.

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Donald Trump has signaled his support for Speaker Mike Johnson, who has been under fire from some conservatives after untethering military aid for Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan from border security in a series of standalone bills. The former President said he believes the Speaker is "trying very hard" in an interview with radio host John Fredericks. He also reminded listeners of the arithmetic Johnson is facing in the House of Representatives. show more
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Biden Israel Palestine

Joe Biden Thinks There are ‘Fine People on Both Sides’ of the Israel-Hamas Protests.

Joe Biden is trying to walk a fine line as anti-Israel, pro-Palestinian protests grip U.S. college campuses, seeking to denounce anti-Semitism while placating Muslim and young progressive voters who oppose the Israeli government’s operations against Hamas in Gaza.

“Do you condemn the anti-Semitic protests on college campuses?” a reporter asked Biden during an Earth Day event on Monday.

“I condemn the anti-Semitic protests; that’s why I’ve set up a program to deal with that,” the Democrat said. “I also condemn those who don’t understand what’s going on with the Palestinians,” he added hastily.

The 81-year-old Democrat has claimed for years that, when Donald Trump said there were “very fine people on both sides” during protests against the removal of a statue of Robert E. Lee in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2017, he was including “white supremacists, Nazis, and the KKK.”

In fact, Trump specifically said he was referring to people “other than neo-Nazis and white nationalists,” and even some anti-Trump figures, such as Mike Rapaport, have admitted they were wrong to repeat the “fine people” hoax as recounted by Biden.

Biden now finds himself having to suggest there are fine people among anti-Semites on college campuses ahead of the elections in November. The White House has been treading carefully throughout the conflict in Gaza, fearing backlash from traditionally Democrat-supporting voters in swing states like Michigan.

Biden is also struggling with young voters, who skew more pro-Palestinian than older voters, partly as a result of the war. The Democrat led Donald Trump by 23 points at this stage in the 2020 election, but his current lead is just eight points.

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Joe Biden is trying to walk a fine line as anti-Israel, pro-Palestinian protests grip U.S. college campuses, seeking to denounce anti-Semitism while placating Muslim and young progressive voters who oppose the Israeli government's operations against Hamas in Gaza. show more
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Mike Johnson APOLOGIZED to Joe Biden. Here’s Why…

Beleaguered House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) reportedly apologized to Joe Biden for his televised eye rolls during the State of the Union address earlier this year. Writing for RealClearPolitics, Philip Wegmann explains:

This past March, Johnson felt he owed Biden an apology. Seated just over the president’s shoulder during the State of the Union address, the speaker couldn’t mask his expressions of exhaustion and exasperation as Biden laid into Republicans. The two next met on Capitol Hill for the Friends of Ireland luncheon where Johnson toasted Biden as “America’s most famous Irishman.” On loan from the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, his pint glass was the same one Reagan used during a 1984 visit to Ireland. The Guinness the Southern Baptist speaker drank was non-alcoholic.

Johnson pulled Biden aside to “apologize for the eye-roll memes that went around the world.” The president laughed, then told the speaker he was glad Johnson was better behaved than Nancy Pelosi had been during the speeches of his predecessor: “I’m just grateful you didn’t rip my speech up.” The speaker replied, “Well, Mr. President, don’t think my friends back home didn’t want me to light it on fire.”

Johnson is currently fending off challenges to his leadership, specifically relating to the recent foreign aid packages designed to assist Ukraine in its ongoing war with Russia.

Johnson emphasized, “When I go home, I want to look my kids in the eye and tell them that daddy acted like a gentleman.”

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Beleaguered House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) reportedly apologized to Joe Biden for his televised eye rolls during the State of the Union address earlier this year. Writing for RealClearPolitics, Philip Wegmann explains: show more
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young trump supporters image by Gage Skidmore

THE KIDS ARE ALRIGHT: Biden’s Young Person Lead Over Trump Shrinks to Single Digits.

The Spring 2024 Harvard Youth Poll found Donald Trump’s support among voters aged 18-29 — the key to Joe Biden’s reelection prospects — now stands at 37 percent. The Democrat incumbent leads his predecessor by eight points, at 45 percent, but this is a drastic drop from his 23-point lead among younger voters at this stage in the 2020 election.

Biden’s lead over Trump is much smaller among young men — at six points — than among women, at 33 points. He is also less popular among the youngest Generation Z voters, aged 18-24, than among voters aged 25-9, by a margin of 12 points.

Trump-backing youngsters are also far more enthusiastic than Biden-backing youngsters. Seventy-six percent of young Trump supporters say they “enthusiastically support their candidate,” while just 44 percent of young Biden supporters say the same.

Regarding their priorities, younger voters put the economy and immigration at the top of the list. Trump generally outperforms his successor in polling on both issues.

Reuters/Ipsos polling on 18-29-year-old voters in March painted an even bleaker picture for the 81-year-old Democrat, with a 29 percent to 26 percent advantage — just three points.

The findings come as Biden is already struggling with black male voters, another demographic key to his official victory in the 2020 election.

Trump enjoys solid support among America’s hardest workers, with support at 80 percent among people working over 60 hours a week. Biden, meanwhile, only takes a decisive advantage among people working 29 hours or less.

Similarly, Biden enjoys majority support among people who believe they have an “above average” or “far above average” income. In contrast, Trump enjoys majority support among people who think their income is average, below average, or far below average.

These developments likely contribute to Trump’s current lead in six out of seven swing states.

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The Spring 2024 Harvard Youth Poll found Donald Trump's support among voters aged 18-29 — the key to Joe Biden's reelection prospects — now stands at 37 percent. The Democrat incumbent leads his predecessor by eight points, at 45 percent, but this is a drastic drop from his 23-point lead among younger voters at this stage in the 2020 election. show more
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China Spying

5 Charged With Spying For China, Including Govt Aide.

Two British men and three German citizens have been arrested on suspicion of spying for Communist China. In Britain, Christopher Berry of Witney and Christopher Cash of Whitechapel have both been charged with violations of the Official Secrets Act. Cash is a parliamentary pass holder and worked as a research aid for Conservative Member of Parliament Alicia Kearns. The Crown Prosecution Service says Berry and Cash “will be charged with providing prejudicial information to a foreign state, China, and will appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Friday, April 26.”

GERMAN PLOT TO EXPORT LASER TECH.

In Germany, two police raids resulted in the arrest of three German citizens. They are accused of breaching the country’s export laws. State officials say they illegally obtained and sent a laser device to China at some point prior to June 2022.

German police allege that one of the suspects acted as an agent on behalf of an employee of China’s Ministry of State Security. This individual facilitated a partnership between his Chinese handler and the other two German nationals. At the time of the arrests, the three conspirators were in the process of negotiating additional research and technology transfers to their Chinese partners.

“We are keeping an eye on the significant danger from Chinese espionage in business, industry and science,” German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said in a statement. She continued: “We are watching these risks and threats very closely and have warned and sensitized people clearly so that protective measures can be stepped up everywhere.”

U.S. CONTINUES EFFORTS AGAINST TIKTOK.

American lawmakers, meanwhile, are continuing their efforts to reign in TikTok. Over the weekend, Congress advanced legislation to force the Chinese technology and entertainment conglomerate ByteDance to either divest from the TikTok social media app or face its ban. TikTok is accused of having lied about its data-sharing policies, with mounting evidence showing the social media app has transferred American user data to China — something it has claimed it would not do.

The effort to reign in TikTok has received opposition from more libertarian and progressive lawmakers, as well as a major lobbying and public relations campaign backed by ByteDance.

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Two British men and three German citizens have been arrested on suspicion of spying for Communist China. In Britain, Christopher Berry of Witney and Christopher Cash of Whitechapel have both been charged with violations of the Official Secrets Act. Cash is a parliamentary pass holder and worked as a research aid for Conservative Member of Parliament Alicia Kearns. The Crown Prosecution Service says Berry and Cash "will be charged with providing prejudicial information to a foreign state, China, and will appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Friday, April 26." show more
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