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What’s next after Trump win? Emboldened, he’ll take charge in a Washington he changed

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What’s next after Trump win? Emboldened, he’ll take charge in a Washington he changed


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Now what?

With a stronger-than-ever electoral showing, Donald Trump is poised to take charge in a Washington he has changed.

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He leads a united Republican Party, the so-called Never Trumpers in the GOP establishment vanquished. He faces disheartened Democrats who have only begun the recriminations over what went wrong. With bolstered control of the Senate and perhaps also the House, the GOP is positioned to push the aggressive agenda he outlined in a bruising campaign.

One more thing: Trump himself knows more about how things work and is less willing to heed those who urge caution than he was when he unexpectedly won his first term in the White House eight years ago.

Donald John Trump, 78, has triumphed over Democrat Kamala Harris in a historic political comeback − prevailing despite two impeachments, two assassination attempts, a problematic debate, a criminal conviction and memories of the storming of the Capitol by his supporters four years ago. Not since Grover Cleveland in 1892 has a president come back from defeat to win a second term.

“We’ve achieved the most incredible political thing,” he told exultant supporters gathered for election night in West Palm Beach, Florida. He promised to “fix everything.”

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This time, he not only carried the Electoral College but also the popular vote, the first Republican to do so in two decades. His victory was so decisive that there was no need to wait for days of counting ballots as in 2020.

Instead, most Americans woke up Wednesday morning to news that Trump had the White House in hand, and to speculation about what exactly he would do when he moves back in Jan. 20.

What will he do?

His supporters brag and his opponents fear that Trump will claim a mandate to do precisely what he said he would do.

That would include across-the-board tariffs on imported goods. Mass deportations of undocumented migrants. A rollback of federal regulations on energy and the environment. An extension of the massive tax cuts enacted in his first term. An “America First” foreign policy that could pressure Ukraine to make territorial concessions to end its defensive war with Russia.

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He also vowed to seek “retribution” against his political foes and to pardon those convicted for their part in the Jan. 6 insurrection. He has made it clear he would end the federal prosecutions of himself − indictments charging that he tried to overturn the 2020 election and mishandled some of the nation’s most sensitive secrets.

The voices now likely to have his ear include controversial vaccine skeptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr., whom he praised at his victory celebration, and entrepreneur Elon Musk, the world’s richest man. “A star is born: Elon,” Trump declared to cheers.

The voices who will have more trouble getting his attention are likely to include the shrinking ranks of Republican moderates in Congress. With a Republican majority of at least 52 in the Senate, Trump could win confirmations and pass policy even if centrist senators Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine bolt.

Can disheartened Democrats rally?

For Democrats, the coalition that elected Barack Obama and Joe Biden has been shattered.

“We are going to have to sit down as a Democratic Party and look hard” at why voters didn’t turn out for Harris and down-ballot Democrats, said Delaware Sen. Chris Coons, an ally of Biden and co-chair of Harris’ campaign. On CNN, he dodged a question about whether he and other Democrats had regrets about Biden’s initial decision to seek a second term.

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“Look, I think it’s hard to look back and talk to what could-of or might-of or should-have been,” he said − words that were not a denial.

Trump already had reshaped the Republican Party, making it more populist, more male and more working-class.

With Tuesday’s election, he also reshaped the Democratic Party. He eroded its core support among Latino and Black voters, especially men, and dismantled the “blue wall” of Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin that had once been a partisan bulwark.

In Edison Research exit polls, Trump carried a 54% majority of Hispanic men, a record for a Republican, and 37% of Hispanic women. Among Black voters, he won just 7% of Black women but 20% of Black men.

He defeated Vice President Harris among white voters 55%-43%.

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The size and sweep of Trump’s victory defied any easy or singular explanation, especially against an opponent who was credited with record fundraising and a generally sure-footed campaign.

Some critics said Harris should have picked Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro instead of Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate, a choice that might have put the Keystone State in her corner. Others said she needed to do more to explain and distance herself from progressive positions she supported during her short-lived presidential bid in 2019. She faced hecklers, especially on college campuses, for the devastation among civilians in Gaza from Israeli attacks.

Most of all, though, voters said their top concern was the economy, expressing disapproval of the Biden administration’s record on inflation and saying they had suffered its effect on their own families.

On the other hand …

There’s another election in two years.

In victory and defeat, the late Democratic national chair Robert Strauss would caution that in politics, things are never as good as they seem or as bad as they seem − that the seeds of disaster or renewal are planted in the best and worst of times. Now, with their commanding position of power, Trump and his GOP troops are likely to be held accountable for good news and bad.

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Midterm elections almost always deliver rebukes to the party in power as voters express unhappiness with promises not kept. In the past five midterm elections, for instance, the president’s party has lost an average of 31 House seats.

Which would, of course, switch power there again.



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Washington

Denzel Washington says rumors about Oscar winning actor have existed for decades

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Denzel Washington says rumors about Oscar winning actor have existed for decades


Kevin Spacey has had his share of ugly headlines across the past couple of years, but Denzel Washington recently said rumors swirled about him a long time before those reports popped up.

In fact, Washington said, there was talk decades before the “House of Cards” actor, 65, was accused of sexual assault and harassment.

Washington made the revelation in a five-part, first-person essay written in a Nov. 19 issue of Esquire.

Washington remembered attending the 2000 Academy Awards due to his nomination for Best Actor for his performance in “The Hurricane.” While there, he recalled watching Spacey win the award instead.

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“I’m sure I went home and drank that night. I had to,” Washington, who also opened up in the piece about his decision to quit drinking and live a sober lifestyle over the past decade. “I don’t want to sound like, ‘Oh, he won my Oscar, or anything like that. It wasn’t like that.’

“And you know, there was talk in the town about what was going on over there on that side of the street, and that’s between him and God,” Washington added. “I ain’t got nothing to do with that. I pray for him. That’s between him and his maker.”

Spacey won the Best Actor Oscar for his role in 1999’s “American Beauty” after he won Best Supporting Actor in 1996 for the movie, “The Usual Suspects.” 17 years later, controversy struck and heavily impacted the actor’s career when Anthony Rapp became the first person to come out and publicly accuse him of sexual assault, with more accusers who came forward.

In 2022, a jury in New York found that Spacey wasn’t liable for battery in relation to Rapp’s accusations, and the following year, a U.K. court found him not guilty of nine counts of alleged sexual assault.

Allegations against Spacey have continued to mount, much like in documentaries such as Investigation Discovery’s “Spacey Unmasked,” which was released in May.

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Spacey has denied all claims and has received an onslaught of criticism after coming out as gay in response to Rapps initial accusations in 2017.



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Nick Begich defeats Mary Peltola for Alaska’s lone House seat- Washington Examiner

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Nick Begich defeats Mary Peltola for Alaska’s lone House seat- Washington Examiner


Republican Nick Begich ousted incumbent Rep. Mary Peltola (D-AK) on Wednesday, a victory two weeks after Election Day that will help the GOP pad its narrow House majority.

The Associated Press called the race for Begich shortly after 9 p.m. EST, with 95% of the vote counted. Begich received 48.4% to Peltola’s 46.4% at the time the race was called. Independent John Wayne Howe and Democrat Eric Hafner received 3.9% and 1%, respectively.

After two unsuccessful bids for the seat, Alaska’s ranked choice voting system yielded a result in Begich’s favor. Under the voting method, voters rank candidates in order of preference rather than choosing a single candidate. If no candidate receives 50% in the first round, votes are reallocated as candidates with the fewest first-choice votes are eliminated.

Ranked choice voting last cycle split the vote between Begich and former Gov. Sarah Palin. That, combined with Peltola’s appeal to independents and conservative voters, allowed the now-ousted congresswoman to win both the special and general 2022 elections.

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Begich previously celebrated his election win on Nov. 16, the day Decision Desk HQ projected he would win. The Associated Press took four more days to call the race, which was one of the narrowest in the country. Begich comes from a long line of politicians — his grandfather represented Alaska in the House and his uncle, Mark, was a Senator for Alaska.

“The ranked choice voting tabulation has been completed and has confirmed our win beyond any residual doubt. I am truly honored to have earned your trust and support,” Begich said in a statement Wednesday night.

“Alaska’s potential is unmatched, but much work remains for Alaskans to fully realize that potential. I am committed to fighting for our jobs and economy, protecting our unique way of life, and ensuring that our voices are heard loud and clear in Washington.”

Peltola conceded in a statement saying, “Working for Alaska as a member of our federal delegation has been the honor of my life.”

“The path ahead will not be built by one person or three people working for all of Alaska but by all Alaskans working together to build a future that works for all of us,” she said. Alaska’s congressional delegation has three members.

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CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

“Nick, I’m rooting for you,” she said. “Please don’t forget when D.C. people keep telling you that you are one of three. You are actually one of more than seven hundred thousand Alaskans who are ready to fight for our state, myself included.”

Begich will reassume the long line of Republicans in the House representing Alaska, which Peltola interrupted with her two-year term.



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Cybertruck seen in Trump’s motorcade to SpaceX launch – Washington Examiner

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Cybertruck seen in Trump’s motorcade to SpaceX launch – Washington Examiner


The convoy featured a mix of the typical black Chevys and Fords plus the lone electric vehicle. Presidents have long traveled via motorcade but typically use uniform, bulletproof vehicles for the president’s safety. Cybertrucks aren’t completely bulletproof but will protect from lighter gunfire. This inclusion of a Cybertruck was a nod to SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who welcomed Trump to the launch site.

Musk has been tapped by Trump to head the Department of Government Efficiency alongside entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy. The Tesla CEO endorsed Trump shortly after the first assassination attempt against the president-elect and started a pro-Trump super PAC. Before the launch, the two were most recently together at UFC 309 on Saturday.

The Washington Examiner reached out to the Trump campaign for comment on whether the Cybertruck will be among the presidential vehicles used once Trump is sworn back into office.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

During the third quarter, the Cybertruck was the No. 3 most popular EV sold. It followed Tesla’s other two models, Y and 3, respectively. Still, Tesla is just shy of 50% of the total EV sales in the United States.

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Influencer Adin Ross presented Trump with a Cybertruck of his own, with a stainless steel frame featuring a photo of the moment after a bullet grazed the former president’s ear. Despite Musk’s nomination, Trump has been public with his opposition to any sort of EV mandate.





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