David Rubenstein, co-chairman of one of the world’s largest private equity funds, believes Donald Trump would most likely be reelected if the U.S. elections were held right now.
“If the election were held today it would be hard to see how Trump would lose that election,” said the billionaire founder of the Carlyle Group, which until 2015 was the number one private equity multinational in the world.
Speaking at the World Economic Forum (WEF) summit in Davos, Switzerland, Rubenstein said he did not think the Democrat-led court cases against Trump are “likely to change his momentum.”
“People should recognize that he’s a serious political force and not discount the fact that he could well be elected again,” he warned, citing the MAGA kingpin’s lead in key swing states.
European Central Bank (ECB) chief Christine Lagarde, sharing a panel with Rubenstein, reportedly rolled her eyes at the mention of Trump’s name, painting his possible return to office in dire terms.
“The best defense, if that’s the way we want to look at it, is attack,” said Lagarde, a former International Monetary Fund (IMF) and French government minister. “To attack properly, you need to be strong at home,” she added, arguing for more integration of the European Union’s member-states.
The Frenchwoman, convicted of negligence with public money in late 2016 but not punished, previously said Trump’s possible reelection “is clearly a threat” to the EU.
Other Davos attendees have been more measured, however. Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase, conceded Trump had turned out to be “kind of right” on several important issues, citing China, NATO, immigration, and his tax reforms.
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David Rubenstein, co-chairman of one of the world's largest private equity funds, believes Donald Trump would most likely be reelected if the U.S. elections were held right now.
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The former House Select Committee on January 6 deleted 117 encrypted files days before Republicans took control of Congress, a forensic investigation by the Committee on House Administration’s Subcommittee on Oversight found.
The Subcommittee on Oversight, led by Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-Ga), is currently tasked with investigating January 6 and was supposed to receive over four terabytes of data from the now-defunct Democract-led January 6 committee, helmed by Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss). However, Loudermilk’s committee received hard drives containing less than three terabytes of data. This led the Subcommittee on Oversight to hire a digital forensics team to investigate what information was withheld. The team discovered that 117 files were encrypted and deleted on January 1, 2023, only days before Thompson’s committee was supposed to hand the files over to Loudermilk.
Although the missing files have been recovered, the majority are password-protected and cannot currently be accessed, Loudermilk explained in a letter to Thompson demanding that the passwords be handed over. Loudermilk has also sent letters to the White House and Department of Homeland Security requesting “unedited and unredacted transcripts” of testimony given to the January 6 Committee.
“It’s obvious that Pelosi’s Select Committee went to great lengths to prevent Americans from seeing certain documents produced in their investigation. It also appears that Bennie Thompson and Liz Cheney intended to obstruct our Subcommittee by failing to preserve critical information and videos as required by House rules,” Loudermilk said in a statement given to Fox News Digital. “The American people deserve to know the full truth, and Speaker Johnson has empowered me to use all tools necessary to recover these documents to get the truth, and I will.”
Loudermilk previously revealed that video depositions of witnesses for the January 6 Committee were destroyed.
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The former House Select Committee on January 6 deleted 117 encrypted files days before Republicans took control of Congress, a forensic investigation by the Committee on House Administration's Subcommittee on Oversight found.
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Nimarata ‘Nikki’ Haley has repeatedly used the line, “it’s time for an accountant in the White House” during her GOP presidential primary campaign. The assertion functions as an attempt to criticize her rivals’ spending records. However, despite having a bachelor’s degree in accounting, Haley does not and has never held a certified public accountant license. Her bookkeeping experience is limited to her time as “chief financial officer” at her parents’ gift shop business, Exotica International, Inc.
Exotica’s financial record is poor. The company was hit with three liens for failure to pay taxes, resulting in thousands of dollars in penalties with interest. Records show Exotica also had a habit of filing taxes over a month late, well above the industry standard. It closed its doors in 2008.
The financial troubles followed her to the Trump administration. Bankers attempting to foreclose on her parents’ lake house in South Carolina tried to track her down at her United Nations workplace, and security had to turn them away.
Haley once listed her Exotica salary as $125,000, requesting the same amount when applying for a job at the Lexington Medical Center. Her tax returns, however, showed she never earned more than $47,000 a year from her parents’ company.
Haley has also been careless with her personal taxes and has had to pay thousands in late-payment penalties in the 2000s.
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Nimarata 'Nikki' Haley has repeatedly used the line, "it's time for an accountant in the White House" during her GOP presidential primary campaign. The assertion functions as an attempt to criticize her rivals' spending records. However, despite having a bachelor's degree in accounting, Haley does not and has never held a certified public accountant license. Her bookkeeping experience is limited to her time as "chief financial officer" at her parents' gift shop business, Exotica International, Inc.
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Sports Illustrated (SI) laid off its entire staff and the iconic sports brand could be headed to the graveyard after years of woke journalism and a recent artificial intelligence scandal.
The details: According to a letter to staff sent on Friday morning, Arena Group will lay off its SI staff, noting some employees would be terminated immediately and others would work through the next 90 days.
“Go woke, go broke”:In recent years, SI has allowed progressive narratives to creep into its journalism. For example:
Transgender: The 2021 and 2023 SI Swimsuit edition featured a transgender biological male [pictured above] on its cover.
Obesity: In recent years, SI featured obese women in runway shows and their swimsuit editions to promote ‘body positivity’ which is contradictory to a brand that’s supposed to be about athletics.
Gender pay gap: The brand wrote articles about closing the ‘gender pay gap’ in sports, a movement that ignores the reality that men’s sports bring in more revenue.
The AI scandal: Last year SI was caught using artificial intelligence-generated articles and posting them under the names of fake journalists. Making matters worse, SI tried to deny it.
Back up: The SI brand is owned by a company called Authentic Brands Group (ABG). ABG licenses SI to a company called the Arena Group for $15 million per year in exchange for the rights to publish in print and online.
Rent’s due: Arena Group missed a $3.75 million payment to ABG earlier this month.
What happens next? It’s too early to tell whether ABG will find a new licensee, work out a deal with Authentic Brands, or shutter the brand entirely.
Sports Illustrated (SI) laid off its entire staff and the iconic sports brand could be headed to the graveyard after years of woke journalism and a recent artificial intelligence scandal.
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Editor’s Notes
Behind-the-scenes political intrigue exclusively for Pulse+ subscribers.
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I love reading the Wake Up Right newsletter and you should too! It’s neat, fast, and free! And I’m trying to convince the guy who writes it to quit his job and come work at the Pulse show more
The U.S. military has declared that two missing U.S. Navy SEALs swept into the sea during a January 11 operation are now presumed dead. The incident took place off the coast of Somalia, where the SEALs were engaged in operations to seize Iranian-made weapons bound for the Houthis in Yemen.
The first SEAL was caught in turbulent seas during a night-time boarding of a boat where the weapons were discovered; the second SEAL jumped into the water to attempt a rescue, following protocol. Despite a substantial 10-day search over an expansive 21,000 square mile area by U.S., Japanese, and Spanish air and naval units assisted by oceanographers and meteorologists, the SEALs remain missing.
“We mourn the loss of our two Naval Special Warfare warriors,” said Gen. Michael Erik Kurilla, head of U.S. Central Command (Centcom). U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin — who was hospitalized at the time of the mission — expressed condolences to the families of the “two brave Navy SEALs,” adding that “we are grateful to all who worked tirelessly to try to find and rescue them.”
The operation in which the two missing SEALs took part resulted in the seizure of warheads for Houthi medium-range ballistic missiles, anti-ship cruise missiles, and parts for air defense systems. Initial analysis indicated the components were for missiles recently used by the Iran-backed Houthis to target shipping in the Red Sea. The Houthis control Yemen’s north, its capital, Sanaa, and the Red Sea coastline.
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The U.S. military has declared that two missing U.S. Navy SEALs swept into the sea during a January 11 operation are now presumed dead. The incident took place off the coast of Somalia, where the SEALs were engaged in operations to seize Iranian-made weapons bound for the Houthis in Yemen.
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A recent CNN/University of New Hampshire poll indicates that most likely, New Hampshire Republican voters who supported Florida Governor Ron DeSantis now favor former President Donald Trump. Of the DeSantis supporters surveyed, 62 percent affirmed they would switch their support to Trump. In contrast, a smaller proportion, 30 percent, named former U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley as their next preferred candidate. The poll involved 2,348 likely Republican voters, canvassed from January 16-19, a few days before DeSantis suspended his campaign.
Governor DeSantis called off his presidential run on January 21, before the New Hampshire primary. He announced his support for Trump while taking a jibe at Haley, referring to her as an echo of the “old Republican guard.” The decision came only two days before the New Hampshire primary, adding further uncertainty to the voting landscape.
In response to DeSantis’ withdrawal, Haley addressed a gathering of her supporters with “may the best woman win.” The once-crowded Republican field navigating the New Hampshire primary has seen an unexpected turn with the Florida Governor’s exit, leaving his supporters to choose between the two remaining high-profile candidates.
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A recent CNN/University of New Hampshire poll indicates that most likely, New Hampshire Republican voters who supported Florida Governor Ron DeSantis now favor former President Donald Trump. Of the DeSantis supporters surveyed, 62 percent affirmed they would switch their support to Trump. In contrast, a smaller proportion, 30 percent, named former U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley as their next preferred candidate. The poll involved 2,348 likely Republican voters, canvassed from January 16-19, a few days before DeSantis suspended his campaign.
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On this day in 1973, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down a landmark ruling in Roe v. Wade, establishing that restrictive state regulation of abortion was unconstitutional. The case was launched by Norma McCorvey – known in court documents as “Jane Roe” – a Texas waitress who became pregnant in 1969 and sought an abortion, an act largely prohibited in the state. When she could not afford to travel to another jurisdiction for a safer procedure, McCorvey took legal action against Dallas County District Attorney Henry Wade, arguing that the current abortion laws violated her constitutional rights. The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas agreed that the legislation infringed on her privacy rights.
The case eventually reached the Supreme Court in 1970, resulting in a landmark 7-2 ruling in McCorvey’s favor three years later. The Court agreed that state laws prohibiting abortion were in violation of the 14th Amendment, which promises that no state “shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens in the United States.” In the majority opinion, Justice Harry A. Blackmun wrote that the Texas statutes criminalizing abortions in most instances violated a woman’s constitutional right to privacy.
Ironically, McCorvey herself did not secure an abortion. By the time the decision was rendered in 1973, she had given birth and given her baby up for adoption. In the 1980s, McCorvey revealed her identity as “Jane Roe” and later underwent religious conversions becoming an evangelical Christian, then a Roman Catholic, and joining the anti-abortion movement. Despite the Supreme Court’s decision being overturned on June 24, 2022 – granting states the power to regulate abortion – the legacy of Roe v. Wade continues to be a flashpoint.
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On this day in 1973, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down a landmark ruling in Roe v. Wade, establishing that restrictive state regulation of abortion was unconstitutional. The case was launched by Norma McCorvey – known in court documents as "Jane Roe" – a Texas waitress who became pregnant in 1969 and sought an abortion, an act largely prohibited in the state. When she could not afford to travel to another jurisdiction for a safer procedure, McCorvey took legal action against Dallas County District Attorney Henry Wade, arguing that the current abortion laws violated her constitutional rights. The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas agreed that the legislation infringed on her privacy rights.
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Mark Epstein, brother of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, says he doesn’t believe the U.S. Department of Justice report stating his brother killed himself. He is demanding a new investigation into the disgraced financier’s death.
Jeffrey Epstein was arrested on charges of child sex crimes for a second time on July 6th, 2019 at Teterboro Airport in New Jersey. Just over a month later, he is alleged to have hanged himself in a New York prison.
“I would like a full investigation of his death,” Mark Epstein said in a recent interview, adding: “If you look at all the evidence, including the autopsy, the photographs of his body, the bullshit DOJ report that is filled with inaccuracies, you would never come up with the conclusion that this was a suicide — but based on what?”
While some hold other theories surrounding Epstein’s death, his brother Mark believes another prisoner was able to sneak into Jeffrey’s cell and murder him. According to the brother, not all of the cells on the tier that housed Jeffrey Epstein had been locked that night — giving potential opportunity to other inmates. Mark Epstein does still acknowledge, however, that someone may have had his brother killed on that night in August of 2017.
Mark Epstein also revealed that Jeffrey Epstein had no clue he would be arrested a second time. In 2007, the New York fancier struck a plea deal with federal prosecutors concerning charges he had had sex with minors. Mark Epstein claims Jeffrey Epstein believed that the deal shielded him from further federal prosecution.
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Mark Epstein, brother of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, says he doesn't believe the U.S. Department of Justice report stating his brother killed himself. He is demanding a new investigation into the disgraced financier's death.
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Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has dropped out of the Republican presidential primary, backing down after almost a year-long misadventure that began before President Trump’s announcement speech at Mar-A-Lago in November 2022.
DeSantis issued an X (formerly Twitter) statement on Sunday, endorsing Donald Trump and stating that he was proud of his campaign.
NEVER BACK DOWN.
DeSantis’s presidential aspirations were known to staff and those close to him for years before his glitched Twitter/X announcement speech with Elon Musk on May 24th, 2023. Indeed, what seemed to the uninformed like an unprovoked attack from Trump in November 2022 was in reality the culmination of both DeSantis staff and donors indicating to the press that as soon as the Florida Governor could persuade his state’s legislature to change the law so he could run while remaining Governor, he would enter the race. In one interview with Fox News, DeSantis and his wife Jill ‘Casey’ admitted to deciding to primary Trump as far back as November 2020.
Meanwhile, Ron embarked on a ludicrous “book tour” for a publication that scarcely sold any copies. He claimed to be advertising “the Florida model,” even tripping overseas, where he was labeled boring and uncharismatic. During that time, he left Jeanette Nunez – a woman who once described Donald Trump as the “KKK” – in charge of the Sunshine State.
In the early days, Trump’s barbs against DeSantis were condemned by most “conservative” talking heads, as well as many who professed to still be in the Trump camp, though later it would emerge they were playing both sides. The likes of Steve Cortes, John Cardillo, Matthew Tyrmand, Pedro Gonzales, Clay Travis, Tomi Lahren, and others would secretly back DeSantis. At the same time, the Florida Governor hired the axis of incompetence: Jeff Roe, Adam Laxalt, and Christina Pushaw to attack MAGA Republicans and the former President.
DeSantis’s disingenuous strategy was spotted early by this outlet, The National Pulse, which endorsed Trump as far back as November 2022 and shone a spotlight on those who were being dishonest about their choices early on. The duplicity would extend to how DeSantis ran his entire campaign, allowing his Super PAC, ‘Never Back Down,’ to effectively run most of the logistics, a move that was both legally sketchy and politically retarded.
‘JUST WAIT UNTIL…’
Following his botched launch, DeSantis’s online operation – which the candidate himself held at arm’s length – would undertake a campaign to try to “out-meme” MAGA Republicans on the internet, running head first into the buzzsaw of the “Dilley Meme Team” and others, who ritualistically humiliated DeSantis and his surrogates online. The embarrassment bled into the campaign’s day-to-day operations, which led Team Ron to hurriedly deploy an army of bot accounts to stem the bleeding. It didn’t work.
Instead, pro-DeSantis operatives attempted to kick the can down the road. “Just wait until he announces,” it began. Then, “just wait until he debates,” and finally, “just wait until Iowa.” Then Iowa came, and DeSantis was once again humbled by President Trump and his team, who maintained a remarkable discipline through 2023 in the face of many political indictments.
WHAT WENT WRONG.
There are far more nuances to DeSantis’s failure than a simple political campaign obituary can explore. But a few include:
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has dropped out of the Republican presidential primary, backing down after almost a year-long misadventure that began before President Trump's announcement speech at Mar-A-Lago in November 2022.
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Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and his top aides are having internal discussions about when and how he should drop out of the 2024 presidential race, according to people briefed on the campaign’s conversations.
The discussions are fluid, with the governor and his wife, Casey, as the final decision-makers, but one possibility is to leave the race before voting starts in New Hampshire on Tuesday, January 23 to avoid an embarrassing third-place finish.
New polling from CNN and the University of New Hampshire shows DeSantis earning just 6% of the state’s Republican vote, whereas Trump has 50% and Haley has 39%.
In recent days people close to the governor have begun making calls to top donors laying out what the campaign sees as their options at this point, which include possibly dropping out of the race in the coming days… the bundler page on the campaign’s finance website is no longer working, and that when credentialed individuals try to enter login information on the site, an error message appears.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, once seen as the most formidable opponent to Donald Trump in the Republican presidential primary, is planning to suspend his race Sunday, three sources confirmed to NBC News.
The move comes two days before the New Hampshire primary and is expected to come before the 5 p.m. event he had scheduled here in Manchester.
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Bloomberg is reporting Sunday afternoon:
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