Tag: Donald Trump

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Trump Balked At Legal Bill After Raising $170+ Million From Supporters

Donald Trump

Trump balked at hefty legal bill after raising over $170 million from his cultists
Donald Trump speaking to Axios (screen capture)
Donald Trump balked at paying the legal bill proposed by the legal team that was set to defend him in his second impeachment trial. According to many, Trump wanted the lawyers to continue his line of baseless claims that the election was ‘stolen’ from him, which has no basis in reality. The attorneys said the best course of action would be to argue against the constitutionality of the impeachment proceeding saying the Constitution doesn’t provide for impeaching a president out of office. In any case, the legal eagles flew the coup coop. But now, Axios reports that Trump balked at paying the legal fees the lawyers were requesting. Mind you – this is after Trump had already grifted over $170 million from his cultists to be used for legal defense.

The notoriously stingy former president and his lead lawyer, Butch Bowers, wrangled over compensation during a series of tense phone calls, sources familiar with their conversations said. The argument came even though Trump has raised over $170 million from the public that could be used on his legal defenses.

The two initially agreed Bowers would be paid $250,000 for his individual services, a figure that “delighted” Trump, one of the sources said.

However, Trump didn’t realize Bowers hadn’t included additional expenses — including more lawyers, researchers and other legal fees that would be accrued on the job.

He was said to be livid when Bowers came back to him with a total budget of $3 million. Trump called the South Carolina attorney and eventually negotiated him down to $1 million.

Scrambling, Trump announced on Sunday he had found new attorneys to represent him:  David Schoen and Bruce L. Castor Jr. Trump is probably not worried about being found guilty anyway after a preliminary vote showed 45 Republican Senators are not in favor of the impeachment proceeding.

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Florida: Trump Plaza Dumps Trump Name

Donald Trump (screen capture)

Trump Plaza in West Palm Beach voted to dump the Trump name from building
Donald Trump (screen capture)
The folks at Trump Plaza in West Palm Beach are done with being associated with the Trump name. From the Palm Beach Post:

The Trump name has been dumped from a signature West Palm Beach condominium in the wake of the Jan. 6 siege on the U.S. Capitol.

Last week, the board of the Trump Plaza condominium voted unanimously to change the legal name of the twin-tower complex. As a result, former President Donald Trump no longer will have a condo bearing his name across the water from his island enclave on Palm Beach.

The 32-story, twin-tower complex decided to cut its last link with Trump following his actions in inciting the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6. The condo’s Jan. 19 vote cleared the way for residents to cast a ballot to choose a new name for the luxury condo, where units sell from $1 million to more than $4 million.

“The Trump brand is damaged, so rebranding the complex is a wise move,” said Burt Minkoff, a real estate agent with Douglas Elliman on Palm Beach.

It’s not just Florida, either. Data shows buildings in Manhattan bearing the Trump name have seen their value drop by half. “The Trump name is probably pretty radioactive right now,” realtor Mark Cohen told Business Insider.

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Trump Considered Firing Acting AG, Using Justice Dept To Overturn Georgia Election Results

Donald Trump

Donald Trump
Donald Trump (photo: Gage Skidmore/Flickr – CC License)
According to a new report, Jeffrey Clark, the acting head of the civil division at the end of the Trump administration, supported Donald Trump’s plans of undermining the 2020 presidential election and using the Department of Justice to pressure Georgia officials to change the state’s election results. From the New York Times:

The department’s senior leaders were shocked when Mr. Clark’s machinations came to light. They have spent recent weeks debating how he came to betray Mr. Rosen, his biggest champion at the department, and what blend of ambition and conviction led him to reject the results of the election and embrace Mr. Trump’s claims, despite all evidence to the contrary, including inside the department itself.

The plot devised by Mr. Clark and Mr. Trump would have ousted Mr. Rosen and used the Justice Department to pressure lawmakers in Georgia to overturn the state’s election results. But Mr. Trump ultimately decided against firing Mr. Rosen after top department leaders pledged to resign en masse.

Senior Justice department officials, including Rosen, former Attorney General William Barr and former acting Solicitor General Jeffrey Wall repeatedly refused to file a case with the Supreme Court case since there was no evidence of widespread voter fraud. The Times goes on to quote colleagues of Clark who were stunned to find out about the plan. “The story kind of shocked me because this is not the Jeff that I know,” said Theodore H. Frank, a friend and former co-worker. A Justice Department watchdog is now apparently investigating the matter. Read the full report at the New York Times.

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Biden Beats Trump With Higher Inaugural TV Ratings

L-R Donald Trump, Joe Biden (screen capture, campaign photo)
First Donald Trump lost the popular vote to Joe Biden, then the Electoral College, now – gasp – the TV ratings. From the New York Times:

President Biden’s inaugural address on Wednesday attracted about a million and a half more viewers than tuned in for Donald J. Trump’s inaugural speech four years ago, according to preliminary data from Nielsen.

Nearly 40 million people watched Mr. Biden’s address on the major cable news stations and the three big broadcast networks. In 2017, 38.3 million viewers watched his predecessor’s first speech as president, the Nielsen data shows.

CNN was the ratings leader, drawing roughly 10 million viewers from roughly 11:45 a.m. to 12:15 p.m., when Mr. Biden took center stage. Only 2.7 million watched Mr. Biden’s address on Fox News, the lowest of the major networks and a sharp reversal from four years ago, when nearly 12 million viewers tuned in to Mr. Trump’s preferred cable news network.

Of course, we’ve also seen reports that Trump was irked that Hollywood turned out bigly for the Biden inaugural with such stars as Lady Gaga, JLo, Garth Brooks, Katy Perry, John Legend, Bruce Springsteen, Demi Lovato, Tom Hanks and more. Every time a star showed up during either the swearing in ceremony or the Inaugural Concert last evening, my hubby Michael would remind me of Trump’s ‘galaxy of stars’ – Scott Baio, reality contestant Jackie Evancho and Lee Greenwood.

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Randy Rainbow Counts Down The Seasons Of Trump

Randy Rainbow serves up a satirical sendoff for the 'Seasons of Trump'

Randy Rainbow serves up a satirical sendoff for the Seasons of Trump
(image via YouTube)
Like many of us, political satirist Randy Rainbow has been counting down the days (even the minutes) until Donald Trump leaves the White House. The day before the Donald’s departure, Rainbow has reassembled some of his most popular characters from over 100 videos to perform this musical sendoff, a parody of the iconic “Seasons of Love” from the Broadway musical RENT. Throughout Trump’s time in the political spotlight, Rainbow has provided dozens of spot-on, uber-clever music video parodies skewering the Trumpster. Taking the melodies from Broadway and pop culture and meshing them with sharp-as-a-tack lyrics, Rainbow has served up hilarious helpings of biting commentary on Trump and his orange misdeeds. Today, Rainbow and company remember the “Seasons of Trump” the country has had to endure for the past 2,102,400 minutes.

Two million a hundred two thousand four hundred minutes With just one president so unhinged and unfit Two million a hundred two thousand four hundred minutes How do you measure four years of this sh*t?

In scandals, impeachments, in porn stars, in Scaramuccis In rallies, in insurrections, in flies In two million a hundred two thousand four hundred minutes How do you measure four years of the lies?

Along the way, we’re reminded of some of the outrageousness that was the Trump administration. That includes Trump’s declaration as ‘a very stable genius,’ plus a rogues gallery of characters like Kellyanne Conway, Sean Spicer, Sarah Huckabee Sanders and Kelly McEnany. Rainbow also manages to mention pee tapes, fake news, COVID, covfefes, and ‘alternative facts.’ It all culminates in a Mariah-inspired high note and a whispered ‘bye gurl.’ His most recent musical missive took aim at the insurrectionists who invaded the U.S. Capitol building. Co-opting the tune of ‘Tradition’ from Fiddler on the Roof, Rainbow’s ‘Sedition!’ garnered over 2 million views in less than a week. As Saturday Night Live has found, there’s always something in politics to lampoon, so here’s hoping Rainbow continues to entertain us even without the Orange one in office. You can find my many posts covering Rainbow’s past parodies by clicking here.

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Gallup: Trump’s Approval Rating Craters At 34%

Fifty-four percent of Americans believe Donald Trump should be impeached

The last Gallup poll to report on Donald Trump’s approval rating shows the 45th president will leave the Oval Office with a dismal 34 percent approval. The number of Americans who disapprove of the job Trump has done has skyrocketed to 62 percent. Those are Trump’s worst numbers in the weekly tracking poll. His average job approval over 4 years is 41 percent.

Donald Trump's approval rating has plummeted to 34 percent
(screen capture via Gallup)
It won’t be good news to Trump to learn that he lags far behind other recent presidents at this point in their time in office. At this point in their first terms in office, the three most recent presidents – Barack Obama, George W. Bush, Bill Clinton – all fared much better in terms of approval rating. Obama was at 54 percent, Bush was at 52 percent, and Clinton enjoyed 62 percent approval from the nation. Of course, it goes without saying that all three of those men served two terms in the Oval Office. See the graphic below. Donald Trump's approval rating is much lower than his recent predessessors As I recently reported, Trump’s approval rating hit another all-time low over at Pew Research which showed a sad 29% approval.

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Trump Pardoning Himself Is Very Unpopular With Americans

Donald Trump (screen capture)

A large majority of Americans oppose Donald Trump pardoning himself before leaving office
Donald Trump (screen capture)
A new ABC News/Washington Post poll shows two-thirds of Americans approve of how President-elect Joe Biden is handling the weeks leading up to his inauguration. According to the survey, 67% of those polled approve of Biden’s handling of the presidential transition while only 25% disapprove. Additionally, 49% are confident Biden will make the right decisions. Four years ago, only 35% believed  Trump would make good decisions. And speaking of the Donald… A large majority – 68% – oppose Trump pardoning himself versus 28% who support the move. Also – 54% of those polled feel Trump should be charged with a crime for inciting the riot that took place at the U.S. Capitol building on January 6. By an almost 2-1 margin, Americans believe Biden won the presidential election. While 32% are naysayers, 62% believe Biden had a clean win. A clear majority of Americans – 58% – support Twitter’s decision to permanently suspend Trump’s account. Forty-one percent oppose the idea. Almost half, 48%, strongly support the decision, while 36% strongly oppose it. My thoughts: count on Trump pardoning himself before he boards Marine One on the 20th. You can find the full results of the survey here.  

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Graham: Pardons For Rioters Would ‘Destroy’ Trump

Sen. Lindsey Graham says rioters should not be pardoned

Sen. Lindsey Graham says rioters should not be pardoned
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC)
As news outlets begin reporting arrested insurrectionists are planning on asking Donald Trump to pardon them for invading the U.S. Capitol, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) sends a message to Trump: No pardons for rioters. Graham fears Trump handing out pardons to the folks who violently attacked the Capitol would “destroy” the Donald. Speaking to Fox News host Maria Bartiromo, Graham said:

“There are a lot of people urging the president to pardon folks who participated in defiling the Capitol, the rioters.

“I don’t care if you went there and spread flowers on the floor, you breached the security of the Capitol, you interrupted a joint session of Congress. You tried to intimidate, assault, you should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, and to seek a pardon of these people would be wrong.

“I think it would destroy President Trump and I hope we don’t go down that road. They chose to go into that Capitol, defile the Capitol. President Trump never said, ‘Go into the Capitol and try to interrupt a joint session of Congress.’”

I completely agree that if Trump were to issue presidential pardons for rioters it would just make him look that much more guilty. Graham also flipped the script and attempted to place the blame for the assault on the Capitol building on Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA).

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Misinformation Dropped Dramatically After Trump Banned From Twitter

Misinformation dropped dramatically after Twitter suspended Donald Trump's account

Misinformation dropped dramatically after Twitter suspended Donald Trump's account Color me shocked, but a new report shows misinformation on social media dropped dramatically after Donald Trump was banned from Twitter. From the Washington Post:

Online misinformation about election fraud plunged 73 percent after several social media sites suspended President Trump and key allies last week, research firm Zignal Labs has found, underscoring the power of tech companies to limit the falsehoods poisoning public debate when they act aggressively.

The new research by the San Francisco-based analytics firm reported that conversations about election fraud dropped from 2.5 million mentions to 688,000 mentions across several social media sites in the week after Trump was banned from Twitter.

Election disinformation had for months been a major subject of online misinformation, beginning even before the Nov. 3 election and pushed heavily by Trump and his allies.

The drop in misinformation was seen across numerous platforms after Trump was kicked off social media including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, Spotify and more. And it wasn’t just removing Trump that made the difference. Twitter also removed more than 70,000 accounts affiliated with the conspiracy movement known as QAnon, which played a large role in raising temperatures that led to the Capitol invasion on January 6. Read the full article at The Washington Post.

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Pew Research: Trump Numbers Are Down, Biden’s Are Up

Results from latest Pew Research Center
L-R President Donald Trump, President-elect Joe Biden
As Donald Trump exits the presidency and Joe Biden is about to take the reins, Pew Research Center has released the results of its latest survey. The news is good for Biden, not so good for Trump. First of all, Trump leaves office with the worst job approval rating (29%) since he took office. The percentage of voters who score Trump’s conduct since the election as only fair or poor has ticked up from 68% in November to 76%. Pew shares that nearly all of the increase was in his “poor” ratings (62% now, 54% then). Even true Trumpers have grown weary of his post-election conduct. The share of his supporters who categorize his conduct as “poor” has doubled over the past two months, from 10% to 20%. Related – Gallup poll: Trump Approval Rating Continues To Drop More than two-thirds of voters (68%) say Trump should not continue to be a major national political figure while 29% feel he should remain a major figure in U.S. politics. • 75% say Trump bears at least some responsibility for the chaos and carnage that occurred at the U.S. Capitol building last week • 54% support Trump being impeached and removed from office • 58% of Americans approve of the job Joe Biden has done in explaining his plans and policies • 57% approve of Biden’s Cabinet choices and other high-level appointments • 46% expect Biden to improve the way the federal government in Washington, D.C., works, while 28% say he will make things worse Check out more results of the survey at Pew Research Center.