Politics
Trump, at CPAC, claims Biden is to blame for Putin’s invasion of Ukraine
Former President Trump bashed President Biden for the nation’s excessive inflation charges and gasoline costs and blamed him for Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, which he known as “an outrage and an atrocity.”
Echoing much-criticized feedback from earlier within the week when he praised Russian President Vladimir Putin’s intelligence, Trump reiterated that he thought the autocrat “sensible.”
“The true drawback is that our leaders are dumb,” Trump stated, including that the Russian chief “is enjoying Biden like a drum, and it’s not a reasonably factor to look at.”
Trump additionally lauded Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who has drawn worldwide reward for standing as much as Russian aggression. The ex-president known as the Ukrainian chief a “nice man.”
“We’re praying for the proud folks of Ukraine,” stated Trump, who in 2019 sought to stress Zelensky to dig up political dust on Biden in alternate for badly wanted army help, an incident that led to Trump’s first impeachment.
Trump’s speech in Orlando, Fla., on the Conservative Political Motion Convention, generally known as CPAC, supplied clues about how he would method campaigning for the 2024 Republican nomination if he chooses to run, and whether or not he continues to keep up his grip on the Republican Occasion’s most ardent supporters.
The previous president’s 90-minute tackle, which was often interrupted by applause from an viewers decked out in crimson MAGA gear, was crammed together with his typical laundry checklist of grievances, together with false claims that the 2020 election had been stolen. He praised the truckers who blocked many streets in Canada’s capital in protest of COVID-19 vaccine and masks mandates, criticized Democratic insurance policies and attacked the primary Black girl to be nominated to serve on the Supreme Court docket as a “radical left zealot.”
Trump even hinted he had made up his thoughts about being a presidential candidate once more.
“We did it twice, and we’ll do it once more,” stated Trump, who has not formally introduced he’s operating in 2024. “We’re going to be doing it once more a 3rd time.”
The annual confab of a few of the Republican Occasion’s most ardent activists additionally revealed how GOP presidential aspirants are grappling with the lengthy shadow Trump casts over his get together’s politics. For probably the most half, they prevented specializing in the 2020 election and as an alternative sought to take advantage of Biden’s poor approval scores, rising inflation and divisive cultural points.
It’s a technique Republican Glenn Youngkin used final 12 months to win Virginia’s gubernatorial race. Republicans hope such ways assist them retake Congress, which is held by slim Democratic majorities.
The GOP leaders didn’t embrace Trump’s reward of Putin and as an alternative criticized Moscow for its unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, hailing Ukrainians who had been battling Russian aggressors. Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who on Feb. 18 known as Putin “an elegantly refined counterpart” and in any other case praised the Russian chief, in his speech Friday described him as a dictator terrorizing the Ukrainian folks.
Amongst these thought-about to be top-tier candidates if Trump doesn’t run are Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Sens. Ted Cruz of Texas, Josh Hawley of Missouri and Marco Rubio of Florida. In speeches, all of them derided coronavirus-related restrictions and warned of the hazards of presidency being managed by progressive Democrats.
Neither Hawley nor Rubio talked about Trump of their speeches and largely prevented speaking concerning the 2020 election. Additionally they didn’t reward Putin, who has been condemned by Western leaders for attacking Ukraine.
Rubio targeted his hearth on the danger posed by a Democratic-run authorities whereas praising the bravery of Ukrainians resisting Russia’s assault.
“The folks of Ukraine are inspiring to the world,” Rubio stated.
Hawley briefly defended his resolution to object to the certification of the 2020 election earlier than lacing into Biden over a laundry checklist of what he described as main coverage failures, together with the chaotic pullout from Afghanistan and the administration’s dealing with of immigration.
Like different audio system, Hawley additionally attacked Democrats over their purported help of important race concept, a decades-old lens college lecturers use to look at how racial inequality and racism are traditionally embedded in American insurance policies, authorized techniques and establishments. Many Republicans have appropriated the time period to seek advice from a litany of hot-button tradition struggle points.
The president is “making an attempt to shove important race concept down our throats and in each facet of our authorities. It’s within the army, it’s in authorities coaching, it’s in our universities, all backed now by the ability of the Biden administration,” stated Hawley.
DeSantis didn’t point out the previous president in his 20-minute tackle on Thursday. As an alternative, the governor railed towards the Biden administration’s method to the pandemic, saying he refused to let Florida grow to be a “biomedical safety state” or a “dystopia the place folks’s freedoms are curtailed and their livelihoods are destroyed.”
Like Hawley, DeSantis additionally warned attendees concerning the so-called risks of important race concept, immigration, excessive inflation charges and the spike in homicides across the nation.
These attending the conference are clearly nonetheless dedicated to the previous president. They wore Trump gear and waved Trump flags and carried bedazzled Trump purses. Even so, some attendees expressed curiosity in different audio system.
Jill Periods, a resident of Lakeland, Fla., and candidate for the Polk County college board, expressed help for Trump however stated her main motivation for attending was to community with donors and watch DeSantis converse.
“I like our governor,” stated Periods. “That’s a politician who simply speaks like an individual. He’s simply frequent sense, and that’s what I like.”
On Sunday, convention organizers are anticipated to launch the outcomes of their annual straw ballot, which has typically signaled which presidential candidate the Republican base would again throughout the primaries.
A ballot of registered Florida Republicans launched Thursday by the Public Opinion Analysis Lab on the College of North Florida discovered DeSantis narrowly bested Trump in a hypothetical 2024 main, with 44% favoring the governor over the previous president. Forty-one p.c of these polled stated they’d vote for Trump, whereas 7% stated they had been undecided.
Politics
Appeals court rules Texas has right to build razor wire border wall to deter illegal immigration: 'Huge win'
A federal appeals court on Wednesday ruled that Texas has the right to build a razor wire border wall to deter illegal immigration into the Lone Star State.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced the ruling on X, saying President Biden was “wrong to cut our razor wire.”
“We continue adding more razor wire border barrier,” the Republican leader wrote.
Wednesday’s 2-1 decision by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals clears the way for Texas to pursue a lawsuit accusing the Biden administration of trespassing without having to remove the fencing.
TRUMP SAYS MEXICO WILL STOP FLOW OF MIGRANTS AFTER SPEAKING WITH MEXICAN PRESIDENT FOLLOWING TARIFF THREATS
It also reversed a federal judge’s November 2023 refusal to grant a preliminary injunction to Texas as the state resisted federal efforts to remove fencing along the Rio Grande in the vicinity of Eagle Pass, Texas.
Circuit Judge Kyle Duncan, a Trump appointee during the president-elect’s first term, wrote for Wednesday’s majority that Texas was trying only to safeguard its own property, not “regulate” U.S. Border Patrol, and was likely to succeed in its trespass claims.
LIBERAL NANTUCKET REELS FROM MIGRANT CRIME WAVE AS BIDEN SPENDS THANKSGIVING IN RICH FRIEND’S MANSION
Duncan said the federal government waived its sovereign immunity and rejected its concerns that a ruling by Texas would impede the enforcement of immigration law and undermine the government’s relationship with Mexico.
He said the public interest “supports clear protections for property rights from government intrusion and control” and ensuring that federal immigration law enforcement does not “unnecessarily intrude into the rights of countless property owners.”
Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton called the ruling a “huge win for Texas.”
“The Biden Administration has been enjoined from damaging, destroying, or otherwise interfering with Texas’s border fencing,” Paxton wrote in a post on X. “We sued immediately when the federal government was observed destroying fences to let illegal aliens enter, and we’ve fought every step of the way for Texas sovereignty and security.”
The White House has been locked in legal battles with Texas and other states that have tried to deter illegal immigration.
In May, the full 5th Circuit heard arguments in a separate case between Texas and the White House over whether the state can keep a 1,000-foot floating barrier on the Rio Grande.
The appeals court is also reviewing a judge’s order blocking a Texas law that would allow state officials to arrest, prosecute and order the removal of people in the country illegally.
Politics
Rep. Katie Porter obtains temporary restraining order against ex-boyfriend on harassment allegations
U.S. Rep. Katie Porter (D-Irvine) secured a temporary restraining order Tuesday against a former boyfriend, saying in dozens of pages of court filings that he had bombarded her, as well as her family and colleagues, with hundreds of messages that she described as “persistent abuse and harassment.”
Porter, 50, alleged in a filing with Orange County Superior Court that her ex-boyfriend Julian Willis, 55, was contacting her and her family with such frequency that she had a “significant fear” for her “personal safety and emotional well-being.”
Judge Stephen T. Hicklin signed a restraining order Tuesday barring Willis from communicating with Porter and her children until a mid-December court hearing. He also barred Willis from communicating about Porter with her current and former colleagues.
In the court filing, Porter said that Willis had been hospitalized twice since late 2022 on involuntary psychiatric holds and had a history of abusing prescription painkillers and other drugs.
She said in a statement to The Times that Willis’ mental health and struggles with addiction seemed to have gotten worse since she asked him in August to move out of her Irvine home. She said she sought the court order after his threats to her family and colleagues “escalated in both their frequency and intensity.”
“I sincerely hope he gets the help he needs,” Porter said.
Willis declined to comment. He will have an opportunity to file a legal response to the temporary restraining order and challenge Porter’s allegations.
Porter is leaving the House of Representatives in January after losing in California’s U.S. Senate primary in March. She has been discussed as a front-runner in the 2026 governor’s race in California after Gov. Gavin Newsom is termed out, but has not said whether she will launch a campaign.
The 53-page court filing, first reported by Politico, included 22 pages of emails, text messages and other communications among Porter, family members and colleagues who had received messages from Willis, as well as messages that Willis sent to Porter’s attorney and to her political mentor Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.).
The filing also included messages between herself and Willis’ siblings as they discussed trying to help him during his psychiatric holds and while he was staying in a sober-living facility.
Porter said that since she ordered Willis to move out, he had sent her more than 1,000 text messages and emails, including texting her 82 times in one 24-hour period in September, and 55 times on Nov. 12 before she blocked his number.
Porter said in the filing that her ex-boyfriend had “already contacted at least three reporters to disseminate false and damaging information” about her and her children, which she said “poses a serious risk to [her] career and personal reputation.”
The filing includes an email that Porter said Willis sent to her attorney late Monday, in which Willis said he had visited Porter’s son at college in Iowa and told him that he would “bring the hammer down on Katie and smash her and her life into a million pieces.”
Another screenshot shows Willis telling Porter’s attorney that he would file a complaint about Porter, who has children ages 12 and 16, with child protective services.
One of Porter’s congressional staff members received a text message from Willis saying he would “punish the f—” out of him if he did not agree to “cooperate” with a New York Times reporter and Willis’ attorneys, according to a screenshot included in the court document.
Willis previously made the news in 2021, when he was arrested after a fight that broke out at a Porter town hall at a park in Irvine.
Times staff writer Christopher Goffard contributed to this report.
Politics
Homan taking death threats against him ‘more seriously’ after Trump officials targeted with violent threats
Incoming Trump border czar Tom Homan reacted to news of death threats against Trump nominees on Wednesday and said he now takes the death threats he has previously received seriously.
“I have not taken this serious up to this point,” Homan told Fox News anchor Gillian Turner on “The Story” on Wednesday, referring to previous death threats made against him and his family.
“Now that I know what’s happened in the last 24 hours. I will take it a little more serious. But look, I’ve been dealing with this. When I was the ICE director in the first administration, I had numerous death threats. I had a security detail with me all the time. Even after I retired, death threats continued and even after I retired as the ICE Director. I had U.S. Marshals protection for a long time to protect me and my family.”
Homan explained that what “doesn’t help” the situation is the “negative press” around Trump.
HARRIS NEVER LED TRUMP, INTERNAL POLLS SHOWED — BUT DNC OFFICIALS WERE KEPT IN THE DARK
“I’m not in the cabinet, but, you know, I’ve read numerous hit pieces. I mean, you know, I’m a racist and, you know, I’m the father of family separation, all this other stuff. So the hate media doesn’t help at all because there are some nuts out there. They’ll take advantage. So that doesn’t help.”
Homan’s comments come shortly after Fox News Digital first reported that nearly a dozen of President-elect Donald Trump’s cabinet nominees and other appointees tapped for the incoming administration were targeted Tuesday night with “violent, unAmerican threats to their lives and those who live with them,” prompting a “swift” law enforcement response.
ARMED FELON ARRESTED FOR THREATENING TO KILL TRUMP ATTENDED RALLY WEEKS AFTER BUTLER ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT
The “attacks ranged from bomb threats to ‘swatting,’” according to Trump-Vance transition spokeswoman and incoming White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt.
“Last night and this morning, several of President Trump’s Cabinet nominees and administration appointees were targeted in violent, unAmerican threats to their lives and those who live with them,” she told Fox News Digital on Wednesday. “In response, law enforcement acted quickly to ensure the safety of those who were targeted. President Trump and the entire Transition team are grateful for their swift action.”
Sources told Fox News Digital that John Ratcliffe, the nominee to be CIA director, Pete Hegseth, the nominee for secretary of defense, and Rep. Elise Stefanik, the nominee for UN ambassador, were among those targeted. Brooke Rollins, who Trump has tapped to be secretary of agriculture, and Lee Zeldin, Trump’s nominee to be EPA administrator, separately revealed they were also targeted.
Threats were also made against Trump’s Labor Secretary nominee, GOP Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer, and former Trump attorney general nominee Matt Gaetz’s family.
Homan told Fox News that he is “not going to be intimidated by these people” and “I’m not going to let them silence me.”
“What I’ve learned today I’ll start taking a little more serious.”
Homan added that he believes “we need to have a strong response once we find out is behind all this.”
“It’s illegal to threaten someone’s life. And we need to follow through with that.”
The threats on Tuesday night came mere months after Trump survived two assassination attempts.
Fox News Digital’s Brooke Singman contributed to this report
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