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Column: Trump betrays call for unity by embracing J.D. Vance, Marjorie Taylor Greene

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Column: Trump betrays call for unity by embracing J.D. Vance, Marjorie Taylor Greene

On Saturday, an attempt to assassinate former president and then-presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump at a rally in Butler, Pa., left firefighter Corey Comperatore dead, two others critically injured and Trump with a wound to his ear.

Social media, being the unregulated thirst game that it is, immediately exploded with a jumble of actual news and opportunistic misinformation — righteous shock and calls for prayer were thrown in among baseless conspiracy theories that ranged from “It was staged” to “Biden did it.”

President Biden attempted to restore calm, denouncing political violence in the strongest terms and calling on Americans to turn down the temperature of the 2024 election campaign, words that were echoed by Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-La.). Less predictably, Trump appeared to do so as well, calling for unity “against evil” and saying that, in light of the horrific event, the tone of the Republican National Convention, which began Monday, would change to reflect his message.

I say “less predictably” because it was Trump who ratcheted up and then normalized aggressive, and at times explicitly violent, political rhetoric in America. In the 2016 presidential election, he created a persona that relied almost entirely on blunt force trauma, treating that race, and the one that followed it in 2020, like bar fights. At one point early in the 2016 primary race he famously crowed, “I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody, and I wouldn’t lose any voters.” Relying on mockery, vilification, threats and a willingness to say pretty much anything that would elicit a cheer from the like-minded, he appealed to those who agreed with his strongman approach and/or mistook unfiltered emotion for truth.

We are, and should be, grateful that Trump was not killed at the Butler rally, but that doesn’t change the fact that he, unlike Biden, the Clintons or any other presidential candidate of the modern era, has been willing to incite violence on his own behalf. Trump is the only president in history to send a deadly mob to the Capitol to overturn a fair and legal election that he lost — and to threaten similar consequences should he lose this one. He has regularly promised to jail his opponents and warned that there would be a “bloodbath” if he is not elected in 2024.

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That Democrats eventually began responding with heated arguments that Trump posed a threat to democracy is not the same thing at all — on Jan. 6, 2021, we all watched him do it.

So for Trump to call for unity rather than vengeance, to suggest that the personal peril he faced had served as some kind of wake-up call, was, to say the least, notable.

As many have discovered throughout history, violence, when conjured, is not easily controlled or quelled. Our stories, on page and screen, are filled with those who believed otherwise only to find themselves consumed when violence becomes part of everyday life.

But if Trump had experienced a road-to-Damascus moment on the issue of political violence after the attempt on his life, by Monday it was clear that any reform would be short-lived. He posted a typical rant on Truth Social, celebrating the dismissal of his classified documents case to call for an end to “ALL the witch hunts” including “the January 6 hoax,” characterizing his legal woes, including those in which he was convicted, as an “Election Interference conspiracy” and a “Weaponization of our Justice System.”

Later that day, he named Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) as his vice presidential nominee. Vance, who in the moments after the shooting and long before any details about the shooter were known, was one of the first elected Republicans to publicly blame Biden and his campaign for the attack. “The central premise of the Biden campaign is that President Donald Trump is an authoritarian fascist who must be stopped at all costs,” Vance wrote in a post on X. “That rhetoric led directly to President Trump’s attempted assassination.”

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If Trump himself has not blamed the Democrats for the attack, he clearly supported those who did.

Vance’s uninformed and wildly inappropriate words were undercut not only by the emerging facts — the killer was a 20-year old registered Republican who appears to fit the white male demographic of virtually every mass shooter — but also by Vance’s own previous statements.

Eight years ago, it was Vance himself who called Trump “cultural heroin” and compared him to Hitler.

Even if one accepts Vance’s change of heart on his new running mate (Vance now says he bought into the media’s narrative about Trump), Vance is not exactly a bring-down-the-temperature, unify-the-country kind of guy.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., with Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., in the House chamber this spring. Greene was among the speakers at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee on Monday.

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(Jacquelyn Martin / Associated Press)

Nor were many of those chosen to speak at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee on Monday night. Right out of the box, Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) called Democratic policies “a clear and present danger to our institutions, our values and our people.” (When asked later about the hyperbolic statements, Johnson told an NPR reporter that an older version of his speech had been mistakenly loaded into the teleprompter.)

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), one of the Republican Party’s most, let’s just say, incendiary members, was the night’s third speaker. Right after Saturday’s shooting, she posted on X that “Democrats wanted this to happen. They’ve wanted Trump gone for years and they’re prepared to do anything to make that happen.” Since then she‘s posted, “The left wants a civil war. They have been trying to start one for years. These people are sick and evil” and “the Democratic Party is flat-out evil and yesterday they tried to murder President Trump.”

The fact that she remained one of the convention’s opening-night speakers indicates Trump’s support for her specious claims.

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She did not make any of these dangerous and ill-founded accusations in her relatively short speech Monday night. Instead, she stuck, as many others did, to more general talking points about inflation and immigration, though she did manage to attack transgender people and “illegal” immigrants while indicating that Trump had been anointed by God.

It being the first night of a national convention, most of the speechifying revolved around the greatness of the nominee and the devolution of the country under his opponent. (Strangely, the many speakers who insisted that the country was in much better shape four years ago seem to have forgotten that, four years ago, COVID-19 was killing thousands of Americans every week and the economy was at a standstill.)

The assassination attempt was referenced often, with no blame beyond “evil” attached; certainly gun control was not discussed. Politically, it behooves Republicans to focus on Trump’s survival rather than the fact that yet another young man determined to do violence had access to an AR rifle, with which he killed Comperatore, who died protecting his family.

Many of the speakers commended Trump’s bravery and saw the hand of God in his escape. As expected, Trump made an appearance toward the middle of the evening, a large white bandage affixed to his ear. He moved slowly past the stage. He smiled, waved and offered a raised fist as the audience clapped and cheered, but he seemed uncharacteristically subdued.

First-night convention speeches are rarely barn-burners, but even with the appearance of their beloved nominee with his bandaged ear, the energy of the crowd was, like Trump, a bit muffled, as if his supporters were waiting for their cue to cheer Trump’s characteristic scorched-earth calls to action.

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It is difficult to imagine Trump campaigning with anything but. Violent rhetoric is Trump’s lingua franca. Exploiting this country’s political divisions with “make them pay” exhortations is his brand.

It’s what his base expects, what they appear to need, just like the heroin addicts Vance referenced eight years ago.

Long after Trump defeated Hillary Clinton, his supporters were still yelling “Lock her up” — even when it was clear that he had no reason for, or intention of, doing so. They supported Trump when he mocked the dreadful attack on Paul Pelosi and the plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer; they rallied around his insistence that, all factual information to the contrary, Biden did not win the 2020 election. Too many of then followed his instructions to prevent the certification of that election by a show of force that included breaking into and vandalizing the Capitol, killing a police officer and threatening the lives of those doing their sworn constitutional duty, including Trump’s own then-Vice President Mike Pence.

They cheer now when he continues to insist that he was the victim of election fraud, that Jan. 6 was simply a protest by patriots, that he is the victim of a conspiracy. They applaud when he vows to jail or destroy those who oppose him or become a dictator ‘for a day.”

It is true that the presidential campaign needs to cool down, to move from rhetorical violence to debates about policy and how Americans work together to improve its future. But it is disingenuous to suggest that both sides have contributed equally to the current conflagration.

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For almost 10 years now, Trump has blown through all the time-honored guardrails of American politicking and the American presidency. Despite the best efforts of those who believe those rails are in place for good reason, words and deeds that once seemed beyond the pale have become normalized. Even if Trump wants to put some of the rails back in place, even if he truly desires to unify the American people and make presidential politics safer for all concerned, he’s got nothing to work with but the wreckage of his own making.

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Video: Walz Drops Re-Election Bid as Minnesota Fraud Scandal Grows

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Video: Walz Drops Re-Election Bid as Minnesota Fraud Scandal Grows

new video loaded: Walz Drops Re-Election Bid as Minnesota Fraud Scandal Grows

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Walz Drops Re-Election Bid as Minnesota Fraud Scandal Grows

Governor Tim Walz of Minnesota abandoned his re-election bid to focus on handling a scandal over fraud in social service programs that grew under his administration.

“I’ve decided to step out of this race, and I’ll let others worry about the election while I focus on the work that’s in front of me for the next year.” “All right, so this is Quality Learing Center — meant to say Quality ‘Learning’ Center.” “Right now we have around 56 kids enrolled. If the children are not here, we mark absence.”

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Governor Tim Walz of Minnesota abandoned his re-election bid to focus on handling a scandal over fraud in social service programs that grew under his administration.

By Shawn Paik

January 6, 2026

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Pelosi heir-apparent calls Trump’s Venezuela move a ‘lawless coup,’ urges impeachment, slams Netanyahu

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Pelosi heir-apparent calls Trump’s Venezuela move a ‘lawless coup,’ urges impeachment, slams Netanyahu

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A San Francisco Democrat demanded the impeachment of President Donald Trump, accusing him of carrying out a “coup” against Venezuelan strongman Nicolás Maduro.

California state Sen. Scott Wiener, seen as the likely congressional successor to Rep. Nancy Pelosi, also took a swipe at Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Wiener has frequently drawn national attention for his progressive positions, including his legislation signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom designating California as a “refuge” for transgender children and remarks at a San Francisco Pride Month event referring to California children as “our kids.”

In a lengthy public statement following the Trump administration’s arrest and extradition of Maduro to New York, Wiener said the move shows the president only cares about “enriching his public donors” and “cares nothing for the human or economic cost of conquering another country.”

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KAMALA HARRIS BLASTS TRUMP ADMINISTRATION’S CAPTURE OF VENEZUELA’S MADURO AS ‘UNLAWFUL AND UNWISE’

California State Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, speaks at a rally. (John Sciulli/Getty Images)

“This lawless coup is an invitation for China to invade Taiwan, for Russia to escalate its conquest in Ukraine, and for Netanyahu to expand the destruction of Gaza and annex the West Bank,” said Wiener, who originally hails from South Jersey.

He suggested that the Maduro operation was meant to distract from purportedly slumping poll numbers, the release of Jeffrey Epstein-related documents, and to essentially seize another country’s oil reserves.

“Trump is a total failure,” Wiener said. “By engaging in this reckless act, Trump is also making the entire world less safe … Trump is making clear yet again that, under this regime, there are no rules, there are no laws, there are no norms – there is only whatever Trump thinks is best for himself and his cronies at a given moment in time.”

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GREENE HITS TRUMP OVER VENEZUELA STRIKES, ARGUES ACTION ‘DOESN’T SERVE THE AMERICAN PEOPLE’

In response, the White House said the administration’s actions against Maduro were “lawfully executed” and included a federal arrest warrant.”

“While Democrats take twisted stands in support of indicted drug smugglers, President Trump will always stand with victims and families who can finally receive closure thanks to this historic action,” White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly said.

Supporters of the operation have pushed back on claims of “regime change” – an accusation Wiener also made – pointing to actions by Maduro-aligned courts that barred top opposition leader María Corina Machado from running, even as publicly reported results indicated her proxy, Edmundo González Urrutia, won the vote.

“Trump’s illegal invasion of Venezuela isn’t about drugs, and it isn’t about helping the people of Venezuela or restoring Venezuelan democracy,” Wiener added. “Yes, Maduro is awful, but that’s not what the invasion is about. It’s all about oil and Trump’s collapsing support at home.”

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EX-ESPN STAR KEITH OLBERMANN CALLS FOR IMPEACHMENT OF TRUMP OVER VENEZUELA STRIKES THAT CAPTURED MADURO

Around the country, a handful of other Democrats referenced impeachment or impeachable offenses, but did not go as far as Wiener in demanding such proceedings.

Rep. April McClain-Delaney, D-Md., who represents otherwise conservative “Mountain Maryland” in the state’s panhandle, said Monday that Democrats should “imminently consider impeachment proceedings,” according to TIME.

McClain-Delaney said Trump acted without constitutionally-prescribed congressional authorization and wrongly voiced “intention to ‘run’ the country.”

SCHUMER BLASTED TRUMP FOR FAILING TO OUST MADURO — NOW WARNS ARREST COULD LEAD TO ‘ENDLESS WAR’

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One frequent Trump foil, Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., cited in a statement that she has called for Trump’s impeachment in the past; blaming Republicans for letting the president “escape accountability.”

“Today, many Democrats have understandably questioned whether impeachment is possible again under the current political reality. I am reconsidering that view,” Waters said. 

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“What we are witnessing is an unprecedented escalation of an unlawful invasion, the detention of foreign leaders, and a president openly asserting power far beyond what the Constitution allows,” she said, while appearing to agree with Trump that Maduro was involved in drug trafficking and “collaborat[ion] with… terrorists.”

Wiener’s upcoming primary is considered the deciding election in the D+36 district, while a handful of other lesser-known candidates have reportedly either filed FEC paperwork or declared their candidacy, including San Francisco Councilwoman Connie Chan.

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California Congressman Doug LaMalfa dies, further narrowing GOP margin in Congress

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California Congressman Doug LaMalfa dies, further narrowing GOP margin in Congress

California Rep. Doug LaMalfa (R-Richvale) has died, GOP leadership and President Trump confirmed Tuesday morning.

“Jacquie and I are devastated about the sudden loss of our friend, Congressman Doug LaMalfa. Doug was a loving father and husband, and staunch advocate for his constituents and rural America,” said Rep. Tom Emmer (R-Minn.), the House majority whip, in a post on X. “Our prayers are with Doug’s wife, Jill, and their children.”

LaMalfa, 65, was a fourth-generation rice farmer from Oroville and staunch Trump supporter who had represented his Northern California district for the past 12 years. His seat was one of several that was in jeopardy under the state’s redrawn districts approved by voters with Proposition 50.

Emergency personnel responded to a 911 call from LaMalfa’s residence at 6:50 p.m. Monday, according to the Butte County Sheriff’s Office. The congressman was taken to the Enloe Medical Center in Chico, where he died while undergoing emergency surgery, authorities said.

An autopsy to determine the cause of death is planned, according to the sheriff’s office.

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LaMalfa’s district — which stretches from the northern outskirts of Sacramento, through Redding at the northern end of the Central Valley and Alturas in the state’s northeast corner — is largely rural, and constituents have long said they felt underrepresented in liberal California.

LaMalfa put much of his focus on boosting federal water supplies to farmers, and seeking to reduce environmental restrictions on logging and extraction of other natural resources.

One LaMalfa’s final acts in the U.S. House was to successfully push for the reauthorization of the Secure Rural Schools Act, a long-standing financial aid program for schools surrounded by untaxed federal forest land, whose budgets could not depend upon property taxes, as most public schools do. Despite broad bipartisan support, Congress let it lapse in 2023.

In an interview with The Times as he was walking onto the House floor in mid-December, LaMalfa said he was frustrated with Congress’s inability to pass even a popular bill like that reauthorization.

The Secure Rural Schools Act, he said, was a victim of a Congress in which “it’s still an eternal fight over anything fiscal.” It is “annoying,” LaMalfa said, “how hard it is to get basic things done around here.”

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In a statement posted on X, California Democratic Sen. Adam Schiff said he considered LaMalfa “a friend and partner” and that the congressman was “deeply committed to his community and constituents, working to make life better for those he represented.”

“Doug’s life was one of great service and he will be deeply missed,” Schiff wrote.

Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom in a statement called LaMalfa a “devoted public servant who deeply loved his country, his state, and the communities he represented.”

“While we often approached issues from different perspectives, he fought every day for the people of California with conviction and care,” Newsom said.

Flags at the California State Capitol in Sacramento will be flown at half-staff in honor of the congressman, according to the governor.

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Before his death, LaMalfa was facing a difficult reelection bid to hold his seat. After voters approved Proposition 50 in November — aimed at giving California Democrats more seats in Congress — LaMalfa was drawn into a new district that heavily favored his likely opponent, State Sen. Mike McGuire, a Democrat who represents the state’s northwest coast.

LaMalfa’s death puts the Republican majority in Congress in further jeopardy, with a margin of just two votes to secure passage of any bill along party lines after the resignation of Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene on Monday evening.

Adding to the party’s troubles, Rep. Jim Baird, a Republican from Indiana, was hospitalized on Tuesday for a car crash described by the White House as serious. While Baird is said to be stable, the Republican House speaker, Mike Johnson from Louisiana, will not be able to rely on his attendance. And he has one additional caucus member – Thomas Massie of Kentucky – who has made a habit of voting against the president, bringing their margin for error down effectively to zero.

President Trump, addressing a gathering of GOP House members at the Kennedy Center, addressed the news at the start of his remarks, expressing “tremendous sorrow at the loss of a great member” and stating his speech would be made in LaMalfa’s honor.

“He was the leader of the Western caucus – a fierce champion on California water issues. He was great on water. ‘Release the water!’ he’d scream out. And a true defender of American children.”

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“You know, he voted with me 100% of the time,” Trump added.

A native of Oroville, LaMalfa attended Butte College and then earned an ag-business degree from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. He served in the California Assembly from 2002 to 2008 and the California State Senate from 2010 to 2012. Staunchly conservative, he was an early supporter of Proposition 209, which ended affirmative action in California, and he also pushed for passage of the Protection of Marriage Act, Proposition 22, which banned same-sex marriage in California.

While representing California’s 1st District, LaMalfa focused largely on issues affecting rural California and other western states. In 2025, Congressman he was elected as Chairman of the Congressional Western Caucus, which focuses on legislation affected rural areas.

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