Tag: 2020 election

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Trump: ‘Little Michael’ Bloomberg Will Fail

Donald Trump told reporters today he’d be “happy” if former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg were to jump in the 2020 presidential election.

“There’s nobody I’d rather run against than Little Michael. I‘ve known Michael Bloomberg for a long time. He said a lot of great things about Trump. But I know Michael. He became just a nothing. He’s not going to do well, but I think he’s going to hurt Biden, actually. But he doesn’t have the magic to do well.

“He’ll spend a lot of money. He has some really big issues, some personal problems, and he’s got a lot of other problems. But I know Michael Bloomberg fairly well. Not too well, but fairly well. Well enough. He will not do well. And if he did run, I’d be happy.”

As much as the Donald loves to talk about how rich he is, Bloomberg – worth more than $52 billion – is really, really rich.

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News Round-Up: November 7, 2019

Some news items you might have missed: • InstaHunks: From the looks of woofy Jeff Ferreira’s photo (above) today, the high of 57 degrees in NYC must have felt preeeety warm 🙂 • Iowa Caucuses: The latest polling from Quinnipiac University shows Mayor Pete Buttigieg moving into the number two spot. Senator Elizabeth Warren receives 20% support among Iowa likely Democratic caucus-goers, with South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg getting 19%, Sen. Bernie Sanders at 17%, and former Vice President Joe Biden at 15%. • NY Times: The Trump administration has filed a lawsuit against Gilead Sciences, which sells Truvada used as HIV-prevention medication for PrEP, accusing the company of earning billions from research funded by taxpayers without paying taxpayers back. • Advocate: Scientists say they have discovered a new strain of HIV for the first time in nearly two decades. • Watch What Happens Live: Queer Eye guy Karamo Brown initially told the press he and former White House press secretary Sean Spicer had become “friends” during his time on Dancing with the Stars. But on WWHL this week, Brown backpedaled on that saying there “was no friendship.” • Washington Blade: Two judges have now struck down a controversial Trump administration rule allowing health care providers to opt-out of procedures to which they have religious or moral objections, a policy that threatened care for LGBTQ people and others. • Christmas Music: Political satirist Randy Rainbow releases a 7-track EP titled, HEY GURL, IT’S CHRISTMAS! tomorrow featuring guests Kathy Griffin, Alan Cumming, Norm Lewis, and Lorna Luft.

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Former NYC Mayor Mike Bloomberg Weighing A 2020 White House Run

Former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg

Former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg
Former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg
From the New York Times:

Michael R. Bloomberg is actively preparing to enter the Democratic presidential primary and is expected to file paperwork this week designating himself as a candidate in at least one state with an early filing deadline, people briefed on Mr. Bloomberg’s plans said.

Mr. Bloomberg, the former New York City mayor and billionaire businessman, has been privately weighing a bid for the White House for weeks and has not yet made a final decision on whether to run, an adviser said. But in the first sign that he is seriously moving toward a campaign, Mr. Bloomberg has dispatched staffers to Alabama to gather signatures to qualify for the primary there. Though Alabama does not hold an early primary, it has a Friday deadline for candidates to formally enter the race.

A Fox News poll found in late October that Mr. Bloomberg would face more opposition than enthusiasm at the outset of a primary campaign: Presented with Mr. Bloomberg as a hypothetical entrant into the primary, 6 percent of Democratic primary voters said they would definitely support him, while 32 percent said they would never vote for him.

I highly doubt Democrats are clamoring for a 77-year-old billionaire who used to be a Republican to enter the race. That said, Bloomberg would irritate Trump by being in the race if for nothing else than the fact that the former NYC mayor is REALLY, REALLY rich.

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Warren Pledges To Reverse Trump Military Trans Ban On Day One

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA)

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA)
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA)
Democratic White House hopeful Sen. Elizabeth Warren has released a detailed plan on the rights of service members, veterans, and military families, which includes a pledge to reverse Donald Trump’s ban on transgender service members on day one of her presidency. In a tweet, she wrote, “A Warren administration will protect the rights of LGBTQ+, women, Black, and Latinx service members. I’ll reverse Trump’s shameful ban on trans service members on Day One. My administration will protect veterans and family members of serving military personnel from deportation.”

“I’ll reverse it on the first day of my presidency,” says Warren in her plan, adding that “the only thing that should matter when it comes to allowing military personnel to serve is whether or not they can handle the job.” Her plan states she would make sure trans soldiers would be provided with “all medically necessary care related to the health of transgender people” including transition-related surgery.

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New Poll: 49 Percent Support Impeaching/Removing Trump From Office

The results of a new NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll shows 49 percent of American voters support impeaching and removing Donald Trump from the presidency while 46 percent oppose. That’s an increase in support of impeachment by 6 points in a month, while the opposition has dropped 3 points. The poll also shows former Vice President Joe Biden would beat Trump in a hypothetical head-to-head matchup by 9 points. Sen. Elizabeth Warren would also trump the Trumpster by an 8 point margin. Meanwhile, the Donald’s approval/disapproval rating has pretty much remained in the same range: 45 percent give Trump a thumbs-up while a majority of 53 percent disapprove of the job he’s doing. When you dive into the details, though, 31 percent say they ‘strongly’ approve versus 45 percent who say they ‘strongly’ disapprove. Here are the full results of the poll.

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Beto O’Rourke Exits 2020 Presidential Race

Former Rep. Beto O’Rourke is leaving the 2020 presidential race
Former Rep. Beto O’Rourke is dropping out of the 2020 presidential campaign. From The Daily Beast:

Former Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-TX) is ending his presidential campaign after struggling for months to gain sustained momentum, as the crowded Democratic primary thins out less than 100 days until the Iowa caucus.

“Though it is difficult to accept, it is clear to me now that this campaign does not have the means to move forward successfully,” O’Rourke wrote in a Medium post announcing his move on Friday.

“My service to the country will not be as a candidate or as the nominee. Acknowledging this now is in the best interests of those in the campaign; it is in the best interests of this party as we seek to unify around a nominee, and it is in the best interests of the country.”

Rumors about O’Rourke’s candidacy began shortly after his Senate campaign concluded. But for months, he put off making a decision, leaving top Democratic operatives who may have signed on with him to look elsewhere. The entrance into the race of South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg, perceived to occupy the same lane for a young, fresh-faced outsider, appeared to further dull the allure of O’Rourke’s bid.

For months, people in Democratic circles have urged O’Rourke to run for Sen. John Cornyn’s (R-TX) seat. Within minutes of O’Rourke’s announcement, “Run For Senate” began to trend on Twitter. We shall see.

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News Round-Up: October 31, 2019

Joe Blizzard (via Instagram)
Some news items you might have missed: • InstaHunks: Woofy Joe Blizzard (above) looks a little too scared to venture out on Halloween, but looks just fine where he is… • LGBTQ Nation: LGBTQ members of Congress speak out on the Donald Trump impeachment resolution. • Back2Stonewall: Delta Airlines, which has scored 100 percent on the Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index (CEI) multiple times, apparently edited out all gay references and a same-sex kiss from the Elton John biopic Rocketman. • Throwback Thursday: Camp, camp, camp – Florence Henderson performs “That Old Black Magic” on the uber-gay The Paul Lynde Halloween Special October 29, 1976.

• 2020 Battleground States: A new NY Times/Siena University poll shows voters across six important swing states support the House impeachment inquiry 52-44 percent. However, at this time, a majority of those voters (52-42) oppose removing Trump from office. • OUT: After the dismal failure that was the Boston ‘Straight Pride’ Parade, the folks behind that debacle now plan to head south to Dallas, Texas,  to hold another bullsh*t anti-LGBTQ event there. • New York Times: A National Security Council aide, Timothy Morrison, testified on Thursday that a top diplomat close to Donald Trump told him that a package of military assistance for Ukraine would not be released until the country committed to investigating Trump’s political rivals, corroborating earlier impeachment inquiry testimony. • Global News: Global Calgary meteorologist Jordan Witzel showed up dressed as a mystical unicorn named Ferdinand for Halloween 2019, and no one on set could stop laughing as he tried to report the weather in his magical ensemble.

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News Round-Up: October 30, 2019

Ramses Principe (image via Instagram)
Some news items you might have missed: • InstaHunks: Ripped AF Ramses Principe (above) is staring down Hump Day like a Boss! • OUT: Despite the beautiful monologue by the father at the end of the coming of age film, Call Me By Your Name, author Andre Aciman says he never intended to imply Elio’s dad was gay. • Twitter: Don’t forget – Game 7 of the World Series takes place tonight. Will the Houston Astros make it their second title in three years, or will the Washington Nationals bring it home for the very first time? You know I love baseball…

• C&C: You may have heard about GoFundMe crowdfunding campaigns, but how about ‘ComeF*ckMe’ fundraising? A Twitter user shared a screen capture of a Grindr chat inviting someone to an orgy, but there was a $50 entrance fee. Turns out the event was to raise money to help the families of two victims of a shooting incident pay funeral costs. #ok… • NPR: New numbers from the Commerce Department show the economy lost steam during the summer and early fall. GDP, the broadest measure of economic activity, grew at an annual rate of just 1.9% during the third quarter. That’s a deceleration from the lackluster second quarter when GDP grew at a 2% pace. • Morning Consult: As the primary season edges closer and closer, the lead many Democratic White House hopefuls held over Donald Trump in hypothetical match-ups is tightening according to Morning Consult polling.
(image via Morning Consult)

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Iowa: Mayor Pete Jumps To Second Place In New Poll

Mayor Pete Buttigieg (screen capture)
Earlier this week, I shared polling results out of Iowa, the first-in-the-nation contest for the Democratic presidential nomination, that showed Mayor Pete Buttigieg had surged into third place. Just days later, a new poll from Iowa State University shows Mayor Pete moving into the number two spot. From the new survey:

Of likely caucus-goers, 20% said Buttigieg is their top choice among the field of Democratic presidential candidates. That moves him to second in the poll – up from fourth in September – just behind Sen. Elizabeth Warren who maintained her lead at 28%.

The Iowa State University/Civiqs poll surveys the same pool of voters each month leading up to the Iowa Caucuses to understand how voter preferences are shifting.

Dave Peterson, a professor and Whitaker Lindgren faculty fellow in political science who organized the poll, says Buttigieg’s ground game in Iowa is paying off.

“You can attribute some of his momentum to basic retail politics. Buttigieg is incredibly well organized and is spending a lot of resources in Iowa. His presence at the Iowa Steak Fry last month was better than any other candidate,” Peterson said.

Former Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Bernie Sanders were tied for second in the September poll. Sanders is now third with 18% and Biden is fourth at 12%.

After being the top fund-raising Democrat at the end of the second quarter, Team Buttigieg announced it would put that money to good use. In the past months, Buttigieg has opened more field offices in Iowa than any other candidate. While national polls look impressive, the story (if you’re looking for one) happening in primary season is the early states. A good finish in Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina or Nevada could inspire new traction for a candidate. If Buttigieg comes in second in Iowa, that will be a notable development.

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Warren Takes The Lead In Two More Polls

Sen. Elizabeth Warren surges past former Vice President Joe Biden in latest Iowa poll

Sen. Elizabeth Warren surges past former Vice President Joe Biden in latest Iowa poll
L-R Sen. Elizabeth Warren, former Vice President Joe Biden
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) continues to surge in polls as 12 of the Democratic presidential candidates prepare for the 4th primary debate tonight. From the Washington Post:

The most recent George Washington University Politics Poll shows the senator from Massachusetts leads the Democratic field with 28 percent of the vote.

Sanders is second at 21 percent, and Biden, the front-runner since his entrance into the race, is at 18 percent. South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg and Sen. Kamala D. Harris each draw 5 percent.

And from Quinnipiac Polling:

According to a Quinnipiac University national poll released today, Warren receives 30 percent of the vote among Democratic voters and independent voters who lean Democratic, while Biden gets 27 percent.

Sen. Bernie Sanders trails the two frontrunners, getting 11 percent support, with South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg at 8 percent and Sen. Kamala Harris at 4 percent. No other candidate tops 2 percent.

This compares to an October 8 poll from Quinnipiac University, in which Warren received 29 percent, Biden got 26 percent, and Sanders had 16 percent of the vote.

But according to Morning Consult, Biden maintains his frontrunner status with an 11-point lead over Elizabeth Warren and a 13-point lead over Bernie Sanders ahead of the October debate, according to the latest edition of ‘Political Intelligence: The State Of The Democratic Primary. ‘ The report also finds that Sanders has seen his vote share decline in early primary states. Tune in to tonight’s Democratic debate on CNN coming to you from Westerville, Ohio.