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Category: Politics
November 8, 2023
Jack Montgomery
Politics

Cornyn: ‘I Was Wrong’; Grassley: ‘Trump’ll Carry Iowa’.

Republicans who once believed Donald Trump was unelectable or actively opposed his candidacy for 2024 are now conceding he is capable of dethroning Joe Biden, and that rivals such as Ron DeSantis are incredibly unlikely to oust him.

“Looks like I was wrong,” said Senator John Cornyn (R-Texas), after polling for The New York Times showed Trump is leading Biden by 11 points in Nevada, six in Georgia, five in Arizona, five in Michigan, and four in Pennsylvania, while the 80-year-old Democrat is ahead by just two points in Wisconsin.

Senator Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) also says “it looks like Trump’s going to carry it,” referring to the Iowa caucuses in the GOP primary race. Even if more candidates besides Mike Pence drop out, Grassley said, their support shifting to other candidates will impact Trump’s lead only “minimally”.

“The people thinking of dropping out are 2 or 1 percent,” he observed. “I don’t know how you calculate that.”

DeSantis backers such as Robert Bigelow, who donated $20 million to DeSantis, are already throwing in the towel: “I think Trump has the momentum,” he said, comparing the former president to a “bull” – and the Florida Governor to “dinner”.

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Republicans who once believed Donald Trump was unelectable or actively opposed his candidacy for 2024 are now conceding he is capable of dethroning Joe Biden, and that rivals such as Ron DeSantis are incredibly unlikely to oust him. show more

Editor’s Notes

Behind-the-scenes political intrigue exclusively for Pulse+ subscribers.

RAHEEM J. KASSAM Editor-in-Chief
It’s a big moment and a buried lede, or two, rather, in the POLITICO piece that we’ve linked to in the article
for exclusive members-only insights
It’s a big moment and a buried lede, or two, rather, in the POLITICO piece that we’ve linked to in the article show more
for exclusive members-only insights
November 8, 2023
William Upton
Politics

Judge Engoron’s Wife Has Been Tweeting Anti-Trump Memes Throughout the Trial.

The wife of far-left New York Supreme Court Judge Arthur Engoron is reported to have used a semi-anonymous account on X (formerly Twitter) to post politically-charged attacks against former President Donald Trump. Dawn Marie Engoron, the judge’s third and current wife, has almost exclusively used her X account to attack the former Republican President throughout the New York civil fraud trial her husband is presiding over.

Some of Mrs. Engoron’s most over-the-top posts include depicting Trump sitting in prison while wearing an orange jumpsuit and an image conveying simply “FUCK TRUMP.” Since the revelation yesterday as to her ownership of the X account, most of the posts directly authored by Mrs. Engoron have been deleted.

Judge Engoron has repeatedly accused Trump of using charged-political rhetoric to undermine the legitimacy of his court – going so far as to issue a gag order barring Trump and his lawyers from publicly discussing his partisan court staff.

“In the current overheated climate, incendiary comments can and in some cases already has, led to serious physical harm and worse,” said Engoron at the time he issued the gag order over a month ago.

On Monday, Engoron was the source of an angry outburst in his own courtroom when he slammed his hand on a table and shouted at Trump attorney Alina Habba after becoming frustrated with the former President’s testimony.

The highly partisan nature of Mrs. Engoron’s social media posts adds further credence to assertions made by Trump’s lawyers that the whole New York civil fraud prosecution is politically motivated witch-hunt. New York Attorney General Letitia James made her promise to prosecute Trump a center-piece of of her 2022 re-election campaign. With a rumored eye on the New York governor’s mansion, James has personally overseen much of the prosecution while also turning up the partisan rhetoric surrounding it.

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The wife of far-left New York Supreme Court Judge Arthur Engoron is reported to have used a semi-anonymous account on X (formerly Twitter) to post politically-charged attacks against former President Donald Trump. Dawn Marie Engoron, the judge's third and current wife, has almost exclusively used her X account to attack the former Republican President throughout the New York civil fraud trial her husband is presiding over. show more
November 8, 2023
Jake Welch
Politics

GOP House Votes to Slash Pete Buttigieg’s Salary to $1.

The GOP-controlled House of Representatives voted in favor of an amendment that would slash Democratic Transport Secretary Pete Buttigieg‘s salary to just $1 on Tuesday evening.

The amendment to this year’s Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Act, responsible for funding for the General Services Administration, Securities, and Exchange Commissions, was passed by a voice vote after it was introduced to the House by GOP representative Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga). The bill will now be voted on by the full House in the coming days.

“Pete Buttigieg doesn’t do his job. It’s all about fake photo ops and taxpayer-funded private jet trips to accept LGBTQ awards for him. I’m happy my amendment passed, but he doesn’t deserve a single penny,” said Greene on X (formerly Twitter) after the vote.

Buttigieg, who rose to national prominence as an outsider candidate in the 2020 Democrat presidential nominee race, has been widely criticized for his performance as Transport Secretary, including his poor handling of the Ohio train derailment earlier this year as well as his decision to take “maternity leave” after the birth of his adopted twins.

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The GOP-controlled House of Representatives voted in favor of an amendment that would slash Democratic Transport Secretary Pete Buttigieg's salary to just $1 on Tuesday evening. show more
November 8, 2023
Jake Welch
News
Politics

Mississippi’s MAGA Governor, Tate Reeves, Triumphs.

Republican Governor of Mississippi Tate Reeves secured a second gubernatorial term in the Magnolia State, winning a clear majority of the vote against Democratic challenger Brandon Presley and therefore avoiding a run-off election. The sitting governor took 52 percent of the vote (404,926 votes) compared to Presley’s 47 percent (362,601).

“Mississippi has momentum, and this is Mississippi’s time,” Governor Reeves announced after the results to cheering supports in the state capital of Jackson on Tuesday night.

“This victory … it’s really about the direction that our state will go over the next four years,” he added.

Republicans have held the Mississippi governorship for the last two decades. The last Democrat to win in the state was Jimmy Carter in the 1976 presidential election. The race was unusually close between Reeves and Presley, though the state’s electorate preferred Reeves’ focus on job creation, low unemployment, and improvements to education.

Reeves was also endorsed by former President Donald Trump going into the race, with Don Jr, the son of the 45th President, posting on X (formerly Twitter), “Hey Mississippi don’t let some psychopath democrat take over and destroy your great state. It’s Election Day, get out and vote for Trump-endorsed [Tate Reeves] for Governor! MAGA!

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Republican Governor of Mississippi Tate Reeves secured a second gubernatorial term in the Magnolia State, winning a clear majority of the vote against Democratic challenger Brandon Presley and therefore avoiding a run-off election. The sitting governor took 52 percent of the vote (404,926 votes) compared to Presley's 47 percent (362,601). show more
November 8, 2023
Politics

Ron’s Biggest Backer: ‘Trump is Too Strong… An Ass Kicker; DeSantis is A User’.

Robert Bigelow – who gave Florida Governor Ron DeSantis a whopping $20m and never even so much as received a phone call of thanks – has told the Financial Times that President Donald J. Trump “would probably be the strongest commander, with the most experience… that’s only one guy.”

Bigelow had warned the DeSantis team as early as three months ago that he would be taking his support elsewhere if the campaign issues were not resolved. Now, it appears he is ready to pull the trigger on that pledge.

“Who would you want as a commander? I’d want somebody that would be a hell of an ass kicker if he needed to be,” Bigelow told the FT over a four hour conversation. “On the face of it, you lean toward Trump.”

“I think Trump is too strong,” he continued, “I think Trump has the momentum, the inertia, to beat [DeSantis],” he added, referring to the Governor of Florida as “dinner” and the 45th President as a “bull.”

And the hotel tycoon gave a fascinating insight into the way DeSantis treats his supporters: “Bigelow said he expected the governor to contact him. But it was DeSantis’s wife Casey who called, two weeks later.”

“Not having him bothering to call me for an explanation taught me that he’s more of a user of people, actually, and that I didn’t matter enough for him to pick up the phone,” Bigelow said.

The Bigelow Aerospace founder – the single largest donor to DeSantis to date – is not alone in abandoning hope in the Florida Governor. Two previously strong supporters – Keith Rabois and Jacob Helberg – defected to Nikki Haley’s campaign last month.

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Robert Bigelow – who gave Florida Governor Ron DeSantis a whopping $20m and never even so much as received a phone call of thanks – has told the Financial Times that President Donald J. Trump "would probably be the strongest commander, with the most experience... that’s only one guy." show more

Editor’s Notes

Behind-the-scenes political intrigue exclusively for Pulse+ subscribers.

RAHEEM J. KASSAM Editor-in-Chief
No wonder DeSantis world is busily trying to spin last night’s Virginia, Kentucky, and Ohio losses against Donald Trump
for exclusive members-only insights
No wonder DeSantis world is busily trying to spin last night’s Virginia, Kentucky, and Ohio losses against Donald Trump show more
for exclusive members-only insights
November 8, 2023
Analysis
Politics

Youngkin, McConnell Candidates Fail As DeSantis-World Bizarrely Blames Trump.

Democrats have regained full control of the Virginia General Assembly in a blow to Governor Glenn Youngkin, who poured millions of dollars into securing the legislature for his final two years in office. Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell also saw his Kentucky Governor candidate, Daniel Cameron, lose to Democrat Andy Beshear.

Anti-Trumpers within the GOP ranks have rushed to somehow blame the 45th President for the GOP’s pitiful displays on Wednesday, including an abortion rights blow-out in Ohio.

But Trump’s endorsement of Cameron was a last ditch attempt to save a struggling GOP campaign that has been stymied by its establishment backers, including recent DeSantis endorser Kim Reynolds, head of the Republican Governor’s Association, who failed to campaign or even mention Cameron’s race once, preoccupied with campaigning with DeSantis across Iowa.

Youngkin, who many had tipped to enter the Presidential race if his slate of candidates did well on Tuesday, is also a client of DeSantis’s chief strategist Jeff Roe, which is likely why the Florida Governor’s online operation has been told to trash Trump on the back of Tuesday night, rather than have the limelight aimed at Roe and his network.

The Democratic Party not only maintained its slim majority in the Virginia State Senate, but also seized control of the House of Delegates, held by Republicans since 2021.

Youngkin did not immediately comment on the results. The chairman of his PAC, Dave Rexrode, however, posted on X (formerly Twitter) that “[w]e had hoped for a stronger outcome this evening but are proud of the effort all of our candidates put in to these extremely competitive districts.”

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Democrats have regained full control of the Virginia General Assembly in a blow to Governor Glenn Youngkin, who poured millions of dollars into securing the legislature for his final two years in office. Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell also saw his Kentucky Governor candidate, Daniel Cameron, lose to Democrat Andy Beshear. show more

Editor’s Notes

Behind-the-scenes political intrigue exclusively for Pulse+ subscribers.

The DeSantis-McConnell Axis of Idiots Took the Ls Last Night, Not Trump.

RAHEEM J. KASSAM Editor-in-Chief
People will obviously try
for exclusive members-only insights
People will obviously try show more
for exclusive members-only insights
November 7, 2023
William Upton
Politics

GUARDIAN: Trump Would Win Election Today.

The United Kingdom’s Guardian newspaper is the latest corporate media outlet to acknowledge former President Donald Trump is not just running away with the Republican presidential primary, but now looks poised to defeat President Joe Biden in the 2024 general election as well. The paper’s Washington, D.C. bureau chief, David Smith, laments “…Trump appears politically bulletproof and Democrats sweat over the disconnect between Biden’s record and his flagging numbers.”

A series of recent swing state polls has set off a panic among Democrat Party leadership and their media allies. According to the newest NYT/Siena poll Trump leads Biden by 10 points in Nevada, 5 points in Arizona, 4 points in Pennsylvania, 6 points in Georgia, and 5 points in Michigan – Biden has a slim 2 point lead in Wisconsin. If the election were held today, Trump would likely win the White House in an electoral landslide.

Catching up to Trump’s lead may be difficult for the Biden campaign. The same polling indicates voters are unconvinced by Biden’s insistence the state of the economy is strong– just 37 percent said they trust Biden over Trump on economic issues. Even more troubling – and more difficult to overcome – for Biden is the 71 percent of voters who say he is too old to serve as President – only 39 percent of voters think Trump is too old.

Despite acknowledging Trump is likely leading Biden in the 2024 presidential contest, the corporate media hasn’t yet come around as to why. The Guardian‘s David Smith, unwilling to acknowledge that Trump’s foreign and economic policies remain popular, blames the former President’s political resurgence on the American voter, writing, “….it is increasingly hard to deny that something strange and perverse is happening in American politics.”

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The United Kingdom's Guardian newspaper is the latest corporate media outlet to acknowledge former President Donald Trump is not just running away with the Republican presidential primary, but now looks poised to defeat President Joe Biden in the 2024 general election as well. The paper's Washington, D.C. bureau chief, David Smith, laments "...Trump appears politically bulletproof and Democrats sweat over the disconnect between Biden’s record and his flagging numbers." show more
November 7, 2023
Jack Montgomery
Politics

DeSantis Held His ‘Major’ Endorsement Event with Kim Reynolds In Iowa Last Night. Only 150 People Showed Up.

The allegedly “historic” endorsement of Ron DeSantis by Governor Kim Reynolds in Iowa, where the Floridian has less than half the support of Donald Trump, appears to have been attended by only around 150 people.

A simple headcount of the crowd present for the much-hyped endorsement shows around 150 people, give or take a handful of photographers, journalists, and campaign and venue staff. The modest turnout suggests Reynolds, trailed as a possible running mate for DeSantis, will be unlikely to galvanize a significant increase in support for the Floridian, who is currently on 18 percent in the Hawkeye State.

Trump, meanwhile, is on 44 percent – a much greater gap than the one between DeSantis and Nikki Haley, who is just a few points away from overtaking him at 15 percent.

The Florida Governor’s situation is even more dire in New Hampshire, the other early battleground state in the GOP race, where he is in third place behind Haley, and has at time polled as low as fifth place.

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The allegedly "historic" endorsement of Ron DeSantis by Governor Kim Reynolds in Iowa, where the Floridian has less than half the support of Donald Trump, appears to have been attended by only around 150 people. show more
November 6, 2023
Jake Welch
Crime
Politics

Comer Prepares ‘TWO DOZEN’ Subpoenas For Biden Family.

House Oversight Committee chairman James Comer (R-KY) is preparing to serve members of the Biden family at least “two dozen” subpoenas over the coming days in connection to its business dealings abroad, often with hostile foreign countries like China.

“Just like the things with the bank records, there are many more shell companies, many more Bidens involved. Whenever you start digging into the Bidens, you get a whole lot more than you expected,” said Comer in an interview over the weekend following the revelations that the National Archives discovered over 80,000 emails sent or received by President Joe Biden using various pseudonyms last Monday.

He explained only 14 of the 82,000 emails have been handed over by the National Archives, which has “blocked” and “stonewalled” all attempts to access them. “We always get what we subpoenaed,” Comer stated, concluding, “I think you’re gonna see swift action on Biden, and I would predict somewhere around two dozen subpoenas in the very near future.”

The House Oversight Committee dropped other bombshell revelations last week concerning the extent of the Biden family’s financial gains from CCP-linked companies, which saw Joe Biden receive $40,000 after passing through Hunter Biden, James Biden, and James Biden’s wife, Sara.

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House Oversight Committee chairman James Comer (R-KY) is preparing to serve members of the Biden family at least "two dozen" subpoenas over the coming days in connection to its business dealings abroad, often with hostile foreign countries like China. show more
November 6, 2023
Jake Welch
Culture
Politics

DeSantis Gave ‘Women’s Spirit’ Award to Trans Man, Calling Him ‘Shining Role Model’ & ‘Mentor & Advocate to Children’.

Governor of Florida Ron DeSantis, a self-styled enemy of woke culture and politics, gave a women’s community spirit award to a transgender activist for the biological man’s contributions to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in the Sunshine State last year, lauding the man’s “shining example of a positive role model,” and referring to him as “Ms.”.

Ashley Brundage, a former vice president of DEI in the financial industry and board member of the LGBT advocacy group GLAAD, who claims to have “worked tirelessly to promote awareness and acceptance of gender identity and expression,” received a letter from the Florida Governor after being nominated for the prize. The letter from Governor DeSantis stated:

“I appreciate your dedication and hard work as a mentor and advocate to children and women.”

– Ron DeSantis to transgender man, 2022.

“As Governor, and the father of three children, I believe that community involvement is essential as we work to improve and enrich the lives of others and engage in the issues that impact Florida families… Keep up the great work,” his letter added.

DeSantis has forced his embrace of DEI and transgenderism deep into the closet, preferring to build much of his governorship and presidential campaign around his supposed “anti-woke” policies. He has regularly called for the elimination of DEI in the Sunshine State and remarked earlier this year, for example, “The whole experiment with DEI is coming to an end in the state of Florida.”

Asked by POLITICO to comment on the letter, the DeSantis campaign ignored requests.

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Governor of Florida Ron DeSantis, a self-styled enemy of woke culture and politics, gave a women's community spirit award to a transgender activist for the biological man's contributions to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in the Sunshine State last year, lauding the man's "shining example of a positive role model," and referring to him as "Ms.". show more