Trump news – live: Trump forgets Melania in bizarre Mother’s Day post attacking parents of his main foes
Donald Trump posted an oddly phrased Mother’s Day message attacking the parents of his main foes on Sunday, as he rushed to stick it to the “Radical Left Fascists”.
While other former presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama took the opportunity to shower praise on their wives, Mr Trump failed to give a mention to Melania, mother to his youngest son Barron.
“Happy Mother’s Day to ALL, in particular the Mothers, Wives and Lovers of the Radical Left Fascists, Marxists, and Communists who are doing everything within their power to destroy and obliterate our once great Country,” he wrote on Truth Social.
“Please make these complete Lunatics and Maniacs Kinder, Gentler, Softer and, most importantly, Smarter, so that we can, quickly, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!”
Earlier Mr Trump was criticised for his last-minute decision to cancel a rally in Iowa citing tornado warnings, while his potential Republican nomination rival Ron DeSantis continued his voter outreach in the state.
One GOP strategist speculated on CNN that Mr Trump feared he would draw a smaller crowd than Mr DeSantis.
Key points
Jeffries slams Trump on economy as debt limit fight ramps up
Ron DeSantis’s super PAC calls CNN town hall ‘an hour of nonsense’
FBI raids Trump Tower condo owned by two Russian businessmen
Trump’s sexual assault verdict marks a rare moment of accountability
Trump cancels Iowa rally
Ron DeSantis keeps rolling back gun laws
10:45 , Namita Singh
Ron DeSantis is likely to run against Trump by touting his conservative achievements in Florida.
Right now, that looks like rolling back gun safety provisions.
The Florida governor signed a bill into law on Friday that critics say will make it harder to investigate gun crimes.
The legislation, SB 214, prevents credit card companies from affixing purchases of guns and ammunition with a special code, which can later be used to investigate various gun-related transactions.
More details in our full story.
Ron DeSantis makes it harder to track gun criminals with credit card rules
Air Force One doubles as a campaign jet for Biden's reelection run. Who pays what?
10:07 , John Bowden
When Joe Biden was running for president three years ago, he flew on a white private jet with his campaign logo painted on the side.
Now he has a larger, more recognizable ride as he seeks a second term. Like his predecessors, he’ll be crisscrossing the country on Air Force One.
Every president blends their governmental and political duties, but never more than when they’re running for reelection. “Official” events can sound especially political, while “political” events can delve deeply into the policy initiatives of the day. And decisions on how to divvy up the costs of a president’s travels between taxpayers and the campaign is no simple task.
More details in our full story.
Air Force One doubles as a campaign jet for Biden's reelection run. Who pays what?
Congregations ‘either divided or tense’ due to controversies surrounding Trump
09:37 , Namita Singh
Many congregations in the US are ‘either divided or tense’ due to controversies around former president Donald Trump, said Christianity Today editor Russell Moore.
“I mean, one of the most dismaying aspects of the Trump years is the fact that Donald Trump is at the centre of everything. Almost every congregation that I know is either divided or tense about these sorts of political — political controversies coming out of the Trump years,” he told NBC.
“Almost every family that I know has people who don’t speak to each other anymore about this personality and this figure, and I think there are a lot of people, including conservative evangelicals like me, who are looking at this and saying, ‘Are we really going to do this again? Haven’t we seen this already? Do we really want to repeat it?’ And I suppose that will be the question for the rest of the year,” Moore said.
On being asked whether he sees ‘any circumstances’ under which he could imagine supporting Trump, Moore said: “Well, I can’t speak for all evangelicals. I can only speak for myself. And Jesus said, ‘Let your yes be yes and your no be no.’ I’ll let my never [be] never.”
Why does Eric Trump want to sue Rachel Maddow?
09:07 , John Bowden
Eric Trump has reportedly threatened to sue MSNBC‘s Rachel Maddow for pointing out that he will appear alongside anti-Semitic speakers during a ReAwaken America Tour stop at Trump National Doral in Miami this weekend.
Donald Trump‘s younger son is scheduled to speak this weekend along with his wife, former Fox News contributor Lara Trump, alongside right-wing influencers Scott McKay and Charlie Ward, who have been accused of spreading anti-Semitic conspiracy theories and praising Adolf Hitler, according to The Daily Beast.
Maddow made note of the speaker schedule and expressed shock that one of Mr Trump’s sons would publicly appear alongside them.
Graig Graziosi has the full story.
Eric Trump threatens to sue Rachel Maddow
Biden vs Trump in 2024 is a ‘rematch from hell’
08:37 , Namita Singh
A former GOP representative has branded a potential head-to-head between president Joe Biden and former president Donald Trump for the 2024 election as a “rematch from hell”
“The reality is two-thirds of Americans want somebody other than Donald Trump and Joe Biden,” said former representative Will Hurd, R-Texas. “That’s like the rematch from hell,” he told NBC adding that “nobody wants [Trump or Biden] as their choice”.
He said that it was also a responsibility of voters to produce more popular candidates, as he pointed towards low voter turnout in the primary elections.
If there is better turnout “we’ll see better choices in November, choices that we would actually like and be excited to vote for,” he said.
Nikki Haley dodges chance to condemn Trump for E Jean Carroll sex abuse verdict
08:07 , John Bowden
Presidential candidate and former South Carolina Nikki Haley declined to condemn Donald Trump on Sunday, after the former president was found liable this week of defaming and sexually abusing writer E Jean Carroll.
Asked about whether it tarnishes the Republican party that its leading figure was found liable of such crimes, Ms Haley responded that all sides should be heard in a legal proceeding, and that it was up to the American people to pass judgment. And she wouldn’t say whetehr she was confident in the verdict itself.
Read more:
Nikki Haley dodges chance to condemn Trump for E Jean Carroll sex abuse verdict
Ted Lasso 'completely different' before Donald Trump’s presidency
07:37 , Namita Singh
The titular character of Emmy award-winning show Ted Lasso was initially “belligerent”, says its creator Jason Sudeikis.
But the 2016 elections and rise of Donald Trump changed the way the character was written to become exceedingly optimistic soccer coach, he told the Guardian.
“It was the culture we were living in,” Sudeikis said, explaining the decision to move away from an unpleasant lead. “I’m not terribly active online, and it even affected me. Then you have Donald Trump coming down the escalator.
“I was like, ‘OK, this is silly,’ and then what he unlocked in people… I hated how people weren’t listening to one another,” he continued. “Things became very binary, and I don’t think that’s the way the world works. And, as a new parent – we had our son Otis in 2014 – it was like, ‘Boy, I don’t want to add to this.
“Yeah, I just didn’t want to portray it.”
The show won 11 Primetime Emmys in its first two seasons
Ron DeSantis duels the shadow of Donald Trump in Iowa swing
07:07 , John Bowden
Ron DeSantis was in Iowa on Saturday and found himself in the spotlight thanks to a last-minute decision by former President Donald Trump to cancel his own rally in the state’s capital.
The Florida governor was in and around the city of Des Moines this weekend, just a few blocks away from where the former president was originally set to speak, chatting up supporters and schmoozing with local Republican groups — a clear as any indication of his plans to run for president in 2024 or in the future.
Mr DeSantis’s visit was once set to be challenged by the arrival of the former president, but Mr Trump cited severe weather across the midwest in a last-minute cancellation Saturday afternoon.
John Bowden takes a look at the governor’s good day after weeks of bad headlines:
Ron DeSantis duels the shadow of Donald Trump in Iowa swing
DeSantis takes veiled swings at Trump during Iowa rally
06:30 , Namita Singh
Ron DeSantis was campaigning in Iowa on Saturday and found himself in the spotlight thanks to a last-minute decision by former president Donald Trump to cancel his own rally in the state’s capital.
Mr Trump’s team said he pulled out due to severe weather and tornado warnings. Addressing a crowd just a few blocks away from where the former president was originally set to speak, Mr DeSantis seemingly took a swing at Mr Trump.
“It’s a beautiful night,” Mr DeSantis remarked in Des Moines, according to the New York Times.
During his speech Mr DeSantis also criticised the Republican party’s recent election record with Mr Trump at its helm, without naming him directly.“We must reject the culture of losing that has impacted our party in recent years,” he said.
“The time for excuses is over.“If we get distracted, if we focus the election on the past or on other side issues, then I think the Democrats are going to beat us again.”
Trump's sexual assault verdict marks a rare moment of accountability. And women are noticing
06:07 , John Bowden
This week, jurors in a New York civil case said they believed that Trump sexually assaulted writer E. Jean Carroll in a dressing room in the 1990s — making him the first U.S. president found liable by a jury in a sexual battery case. The panel awarded her $5 million in damages.
The verdict — a rare moment of accountability for a former president and powerful men like him — comes as women across the U.S. ponder the cultural landscape amid sweeping threats to their hard-won progress, including Hillary Clinton’s loss to Trump in 2016, the Supreme Court’s repeal of abortion rights last year and the uneven success of the #MeToo movement.
One scholar says that this verdict comes at an “ambiguous moment” for American women.
Read more in The Independent
Trump's sexual assault verdict marks a rare moment of accountability. And women are noticing
Ivanka Trump remembers late mother on first Mother’s Day since her death
05:30 , Namita Singh
Donald Trump’s daughter Ivanka Trump took to Instagram to remember her late mother Ivana yesterday on Mother’s Day.
“On the first Mother’s Day following my mother’s passing, I hold space for the beautiful memories of my mom while cherishing the privilege of being a mother to my three amazing kids: Arabella, Joseph, and Theodore,” she wrote, as she shared a series of throwback pictures of her mother.
“Sending so much love to all you superhuman mamas out there,” she added. “Happy Mother’s Day!”
Ivana Trump, 73, died last year in July at her New York City home.
Trump shares bizarre Mother’s Day post
05:00 , Namita Singh
As the US marked Mother’s Day yesterday, Donald Trump posted an oddly-phrased message celebrating mothers – in particular those of his main foes.
Perhaps in his rush to stick it to the “Radical Left Fascists” he failed to mention his wife, Melania, mother to his youngest son, Barron.
The former president wrote on Truth Social: “Happy Mother’s Day to ALL, in particular the Mothers, Wives and Lovers of the Radical Left Fascists, Marxists, and Communists who are doing everything within their power to destroy and obliterate our once great Country.”
He continued: “Please make these complete Lunatics and Maniacs Kinder, Gentler, Softer and, most importantly, Smarter, so that we can, quickly, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!”
Trump shares bizarre Mother’s Day post with no mention of Melania
Rick Perry hasn’t ‘written off’ running for 2024 elections
04:30 , Namita Singh
Rick Perry on Sunday said he has not “written off” the idea of running for 2024 presidential election, adding there was “a lot of time” for that decision.
The former energy secretary said he was “still trying to sort” out in his own mind whether Donald Trump should be the Republican nominee.
“He may get to hear me call him names again,” Mr Perry told CNN, referring to the clashes between him and Mr Trump during the 2016 Republican primaries.
“If you’ll recall, I didn’t announce for president in 2011 until August, so we’ve got a lot of time left.”
He did not give an explicit answer on whether he was considering running next year. “It’s early in the process, I think, for any of us to sit back and say, ‘I’m for this person or that person,’” Mr Perry said.
“It certainly is something that I haven’t taken off the table, but the chances of it happening are probably a little bit slim.“There’s a lot of time left, and we’ll see how this all works out.”
GOP strategist says Trump may have cancelled event over fear of DeSantis’s crowd size
04:00 , John Bowden
A conservative commentator on CNN who formerly worked in the second Bush White House speculated on Sunday that Donald Trump had cancelled his rally in Iowa not over fears of storms, as he had indicated publicly, but rather because the former president was unsure that he could draw a larger crowd in the state than Ron DeSantis, the Florida governor and likely 2024 GOP candidate.
“Some people say it was because of the weather. Other people say it was because he wasn’t able to draw a big crowd. I don’t know what the truth is,” Jennings said.
It’s a theory that would likely infuriate the former president but is notable because Mr DeSantis went ahead with his events in Iowa on Saturday despite the weather — likely in an attempt to support that very narrative.
Did Trump cancel Iowa rally to avoid having smaller crowd than DeSantis?
Anderson Cooper tells viewers they have ‘every right’ to never watch CNN again over Trump town hall
03:00 , John Bowden
Following the controversial and highly criticised CNN town hall featuring Donald Trump, one of the network’s top hosts, Anderson Cooper, addressed the backlash and attempt to justify the event.
The town hall featured Mr Trump in a moderated discussion with CNN host Kaitlan Collins, during which he made numerous false statements, advanced conspiracy theories about the 2020 election, and promised to pardon Capitol rioters charged with crimes for their participation in the insurrection attempt two years ago.
Cooper opened his show, Anderson Cooper 360, by addressing the town hall and the negative reaction it generated.
Watch here:
Anderson Cooper says viewers have every right to abandon CNN after Trump town hall
Leaked Dominion texts show Tucker Carlson wanted to ‘start threatening Fox News staff’ for criticising Trump
02:00 , John Bowden
Tucker Carlson discussed trying to steer the overall direction of Fox News in a more pro-Trump direction and threatening colleagues who didn’t go along with his vision following the 2020 election, according to text messages obtained as part of the now-settled Dominion Voting Systems defamation case against the network.
It’s the latest blow for the network’s news side as the fallout from that suit — which was settled for $787m — continues.
Texts show Tucker Carlson wanted to ‘start threatening people’ for criticising Trump
Biden's reelection pitch that he can govern well faces daunting challenges with debt, border, more
01:00 , John Bowden
Joe Biden is officially in the 2024 race, but faces some of the lowest approval ratings of his presidency and worrying signs ahead of his reelection fight.
Three weeks since launching his reelection campaign, President Joe Biden is confronting a sweeping set of problems in his day job that defy easy solutions and are not entirely within his control, writes Zeke Miller for The Associated Press.
Biden's reelection pitch that he can govern well faces daunting challenges with debt, border, more
Faith leaders speak out against ‘toxic’ Christian nationalist conference arriving at Trump’s Miami resort
Monday 15 May 2023 00:15 , John Bowden
A far-right Christian nationalist campaign amplifying conspiracy theories and political violence in a message wrapped in biblical prophecy has arrived at one of Donald Trump’s signature properties.
But a group of Christian leaders of faith communities are speaking out in response.
Alex Woodward has more:
Faith leaders protest Christian nationalist conference at Trump’s Miami resort
FBI raids Trump Tower condo owned by two Russian businessmen
Sunday 14 May 2023 23:45 , John Bowden
The Federal Bureau of Investigation has raided a condo owned by two Russian businessmen at one of the three Trump Towers on Sunny Isles Beach in Florida.
A squad of FBI agents, assisted by local police, carried out the raid on Thursday morning at the luxury beachfront high-rise, The Miami Herald reports.
Read more:
FBI raids Trump Tower condo owned by two Russian businessmen
Ron DeSantis’ super PAC pans Trump’s CNN town hall
Sunday 14 May 2023 23:15 , John Bowden
A super PAC backing Florida Governor Ron DeSantis fired back at former president Donald Trump’s town hall appearance on CNN on Wednesday evening, as the two men prepare to clash in the 2024 Republican presidetial primary.
A host of former Trump administration officials started the Never Back Down PAC to boost a potential 2024 candidacy by the Florida governor. Super PACs are not allowed to coordinate with candidates even if they boost a particular candidate, but they are allowed to spend nearly unlimited amounts of money. The group hit Mr Trump after the event over his criticism of Mr DeSantis and his comments about border security.
“On the same day Ron DeSantis was assailing Joe Biden’s border crisis, Donald Trump was on CNN attacking DeSantis and lying about finishing the border wall,” Erin Perrine, the communications director for the super PAC, said in a statement.
Read more:
Ron DeSantis’ superPAC slams Trump’s CNN town hall
Trump defends CNN over town hall as his ratings for event drop
Sunday 14 May 2023 22:45 , John Bowden
Donald Trump is singing CNNs praises for hosting his controversial town hall event as viewing figures show his ratings for the event were down.
The chaotic event in New Hampshire, which allowed the former president a broad platform to spread election lies and conspiracy theories, drew 3.3 million viewers — down sharply from numbers he once drew during his two prior campaigns for president.
Graeme Massie has more:
Trump defends CNN over town hall as his ratings for event drop
Ron DeSantis duels the shadow of Donald Trump in Iowa swing
Sunday 14 May 2023 22:08 , John Bowden
Ron DeSantis was in Iowa on Saturday and found himself in the spotlight thanks to a last-minute decision by former President Donald Trump to cancel his own rally in the state’s capital.
The Florida governor was in and around the city of Des Moines this weekend, just a few blocks away from where the former president was originally set to speak, chatting up supporters and schmoozing with local Republican groups — a clear as any indication of his plans to run for president in 2024 or in the future.
Mr DeSantis’s visit was once set to be challenged by the arrival of the former president, but Mr Trump cited severe weather across the midwest in a last-minute cancellation Saturday afternoon.
John Bowden takes a look at the governor’s good day after weeks of bad headlines:
Ron DeSantis duels the shadow of Donald Trump in Iowa swing
Trump's sexual assault verdict marks a rare moment of accountability. And women are noticing
Sunday 14 May 2023 21:18 , John Bowden
This week, jurors in a New York civil case said they believed that Trump sexually assaulted writer E. Jean Carroll in a dressing room in the 1990s — making him the first U.S. president found liable by a jury in a sexual battery case. The panel awarded her $5 million in damages.
The verdict — a rare moment of accountability for a former president and powerful men like him — comes as women across the U.S. ponder the cultural landscape amid sweeping threats to their hard-won progress, including Hillary Clinton's loss to Trump in 2016, the Supreme Court's repeal of abortion rights last year and the uneven success of the #MeToo movement.
One scholar says that this verdict comes at an “ambiguous moment” for American women.
Read more in The Independent:
Trump's sexual assault verdict marks a rare moment of accountability. And women are noticing
Nikki Haley dodges chance to condemn Trump for E Jean Carroll sex abuse verdict
Sunday 14 May 2023 20:44 , John Bowden
Presidential candidate and former South Carolina Nikki Haley declined to condemn Donald Trump on Sunday, after the former president was found liable this week of defaming and sexually abusing writer E Jean Carroll.
Asked about whether it tarnishes the Republican party that its leading figure was found liable of such crimes, Ms Haley responded that all sides should be heard in a legal proceeding, and that it was up to the American people to pass judgment. And she wouldn’t say whetehr she was confident in the verdict itself.
Read more:
Nikki Haley dodges chance to condemn Trump for E Jean Carroll sex abuse verdict
Trump shares bizarre Mother’s Day post with no mention of Melania
Sunday 14 May 2023 19:46 , John Bowden
As the US marks Mother’s Day, Donald Trump has posted a predictably oddly phrased message celebrating mothers, in particular those of his main foes.
Perhaps in his rush to stick it to the “Radical Left Fascists” he failed to mention his wife, Melania, mother to his youngest son, Barron.
Trump shares bizarre Mother’s Day post with no mention of Melania
GOP strategist says Trump may have cancelled event over fear of DeSantis’s crowd size
Sunday 14 May 2023 18:31 , John Bowden
A conservative commentator on CNN who formerly worked in the second Bush White House speculated on Sunday that Donald Trump had cancelled his rally in Iowa not over fears of storms, as he had indicated publicly, but rather because the former president was unsure that he could draw a larger crowd in the state than Ron DeSantis, the Florida governor and likely 2024 GOP candidate.
“Some people say it was because of the weather. Other people say it was because he wasn't able to draw a big crowd. I don't know what the truth is,” Jennings said.
It’s a theory that would likely infuriate the former president but is notable because Mr DeSantis went ahead with his events in Iowa on Saturday despite the weather — likely in an attempt to support that very narrative.
GOP strategist Scott Jennings suggests Trump may have canceled Iowa rally die to small crowd size “Some people say it was because of the weather. Other people say it was because he wasn't able to draw a big crowd. I don't know what the truth is.” pic.twitter.com/uTApmMlZnR
— Sarah Reese Jones (@PoliticusSarah) May 14, 2023
Donald Trump: Happy Mother’s Day to moms of ‘Marxists'
Sunday 14 May 2023 16:51 , John Bowden
Donald Trump issued one of his typically aggressive holiday greetings on Sunday as he wished his followers on Truth Social a happy Mother’s Day.
“Happy Mother’s Day to ALL, in particular the Mothers, Wives and Lovers of the Radical Left Fascists, Marxists, and Communists who are doing everything within their power to destroy and obliterate our once great Country. Please make these complete Lunatics and Maniacs Kinder, Gentler, Softer and, most importantly, Smarter, so that we can, quickly, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!” wrote the former president.
Obscure trust tie to porn-linked bank could take stake in Trump media company after merger
Sunday 14 May 2023 16:45 , John Bowden
ES Family Trust, an obscure financial entity tied to a Caribbean bank known for taking payments from the adult entertainment industry, could become a prominent shareholder in a Trump media company, The Washington Post reports.
The trust, whose owners are still unclear, reportedly offered Trump Media and Technology Group an $8m loan in exchange for eventual shares in the company once it completed a still-stalled merger.
The opaque identity of ES Family Trust, or the fact it reportedly never disclosed to regulators it would assume partial ownership of the Trump company, may be why the former president’s planned special purpose acquisition company merger hasn’t been approved.
Why does Eric Trump want to sue Rachel Maddow?
Sunday 14 May 2023 14:52 , John Bowden
Eric Trump has reportedly threatened to sue MSNBC‘s Rachel Maddow for pointing out that he will appear alongside anti-Semitic speakers during a ReAwaken America Tour stop at Trump National Doral in Miami this weekend.
Donald Trump‘s younger son is scheduled to speak this weekend along with his wife, former Fox News contributor Lara Trump, alongside right-wing influencers Scott McKay and Charlie Ward, who have been accused of spreading anti-Smitic conspiracy theories and praising Adolf Hitler, according to The Daily Beast.
Maddow made note of the speaker schedule and expressed shock that one of Mr Trump’s sons would publicly appear alongside them.
Graig Graziosi has the full story.
Eric Trump threatens to sue Rachel Maddow
Trump turned his liabilities into laugh lines at CNN town hall, underscoring GOP rivals' challenge
Sunday 14 May 2023 13:52 , Josh Marcus
The Republicans in the audience laughed when former President Donald Trump mocked a woman who accused him of rape. They cheered when he defended his role during the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol. And they applauded again after he said he was “honored” to “terminate Roe v. Wade.”
Trump’s defiant performance at the CNN town hall on Wednesday may ultimately hurt his standing with key groups of voters in next fall’s general election, especially women, suburbanites and independents. But the reaction of those who attended also demonstrated his extraordinary grip on the conservative voters who will soon decide the fight for the GOP presidential nomination.
The magnitude of the challenge ahead for Trump’s Republican rivals was clear as the former president repeatedly turned his greatest political liabilities into jokes and applause lines for the GOP base. On Thursday, a day after the town hall, Trump’s Republican critics conceded they don’t know how to stop him.
More details in our full story.
Trump turned his liabilities into laugh lines at CNN town hall, underscoring GOP rivals' challenge
Air Force One doubles as a campaign jet for Biden's reelection run. Who pays what?
Sunday 14 May 2023 12:52 , Josh Marcus
When Joe Biden was running for president three years ago, he flew on a white private jet with his campaign logo painted on the side.
Now he has a larger, more recognizable ride as he seeks a second term. Like his predecessors, he’ll be crisscrossing the country on Air Force One.
Every president blends their governmental and political duties, but never more than when they’re running for reelection. “Official” events can sound especially political, while “political” events can delve deeply into the policy initiatives of the day. And decisions on how to divvy up the costs of a president’s travels between taxpayers and the campaign is no simple task.
More details in our full story.
Air Force One doubles as a campaign jet for Biden's reelection run. Who pays what?
ICYMI: Trump to appeal E Jean Carroll $5m verdict after being found liable for sexual abuse
Sunday 14 May 2023 11:52 , Josh Marcus
Donald Trump is appealing the verdict in the E Jean Carroll case after he was found liable for sexual abuse and defamation.
Ms Carroll was awarded $5m earlier this month by the jury in the civil trial in Manhattan.
The appeal was filed not long after Judge Lewis Kaplan entered the judgement in the case, according to CNN.
Gustaf Kilander has the full story.
Trump to appeal E Jean Carroll verdict
Trump's sexual assault verdict marks a rare moment of accountability. And women are noticing
Sunday 14 May 2023 10:52 , Josh Marcus
Cassandra Nuñez and her grandmother cast their first ballots in a U.S. presidential election in 2016. She was a first-year college student; her grandmother, a newly minted citizen. They both hoped to elect the first woman president over a man who bragged about grabbing and kissing women at will.
But Donald Trump became president, and it would be nearly seven years before a Trump accuser could press her claims at trial. This week, jurors in a New York civil case said they believed that Trump sexually assaulted writer E. Jean Carroll in a dressing room in the 1990s — making him the first U.S. president found liable by a jury in a sexual battery case. The panel awarded her $5 million in damages.
“It’s a victorious moment, but why did the people of the United States let this happen?” said Nuñez, now 25, of Los Angeles, noting the number of sexual misconduct accusations against Trump during the campaign and since his election. “It’s kind of late.”
More in our full story.
Trump's sexual assault verdict marks a rare moment of accountability. And women are noticing
Trump campaign ad uses bizarre Ukraine footage
Sunday 14 May 2023 08:52 , Josh Marcus
The Trump campaign used stock footage of a man sitting in a basement, claiming that it was an American unable to afford a home while it was actually filmed in Ukraine 25 miles from the frontline.
The dramatic footage shows a man working on his laptop as he shelters from the shelling of the Russian invasion in Zaporizhzhya, Ukraine last year, according to the New York Post.
In the ad released on Wednesday, the Trump campaign slammed President Joe Biden for the effect inflation has had on Americans during his time in the White House.
Gustaf Kilander has the full story.
Trump campaign uses footage from Ukraine in ad about US
The two-word slur that tells us everything we need to know about Donald Trump
Sunday 14 May 2023 07:52 , Josh Marcus
“A whack-job”. That is what Donald Trump called E Jean Carroll after a nine-member jury found him guilty of sexually abusing her in the 1990s. The former US president, to widespread laughter from CNN Town Hall attendees, dismissed Carroll’s testimony of what she experienced “fake” and “made up”.
What does this teach us? That once again, women’s accounts of what happens to them – to their bodies – are all too easily dismissed as false and invalidated. Want to keep women quiet? It’s easy: call us “crazy” or “hysterical”.
Read Pragya Agarwal’s full column for Voices.
Opinion: The two-word slur that tells us everything we need to know about Trump
Why is CNN defending its Trump town hall despite all the controversy?
Sunday 14 May 2023 06:52 , Josh Marcus
Pundits and critics have been pretty much united in denouncing CNN’s disgusting Donald Trump town hall. The former president predictably spread his usual lies about the 2020 election. He also again insulted E Jean Carroll, a journalist he was found liable of sexually assaulting.
CNN’s Anderson Cooper tried to defend the debacle by insisting that the network had helped people get out of their “silo” and see the danger Trump posed. But no one was impressed. “I don’t believe the choices are between hosting live a firehose of falsehood and ‘staying in your silo,’” NYU journalism professor Jay Rosen tweeted. Former George W Bush speechwriter Matthew Dowd summed up the general sentiment, saying that CNN “failed journalism and our country.”
All of the vilification is well deserved. CNN’s Trump town hall did harm the country. But there’s been little discussion of those perhaps most directly damaged by the event: Trump’s Republican opponents. Just as in 2016, the media is convinced that Trump can boost ratings. And just as then, their fascination with him is likely to give him a big boost not in the general, but in the GOP primary.
Noah Berlatsky unpacks the scandal in his latest Voices column.
CNN is defending its disgusting Trump interview. But the consequences have just begun
What does Tucker Carlson really think about Donald Trump?
Sunday 14 May 2023 05:52 , Josh Marcus
Tucker Carlson discussed trying to steer the overall direction of Fox News in a more pro-Trump direction and threatening colleagues who didn’t go along with his vision following the 2020 election, according to text messages obtained as part of the now-settled Dominion Voting Systems defamation case against the network.
In the 19 November 2020 messages, obtained by The Daily Beast, Carlson reportedly responds to a message from producer Justin Wells regarding a story viewed as critical of Mr Trump, which featured references to “the growing number of coronavirus cases nationwide and the ongoing upheaval over President Trump’s refusal to concede the election to President-elect Joe Biden.”
“We’re not going to succeed if this continues,” Carlson allegedly said in the messages. “The brand will be too damaged. We should jump on a couple of examples just to send a clear message. Let’s start with this one. Can we find out who did this?”
“I’m happy to start threatening people individually,” he added. “It’s too much. And again, it will hurt us badly if we let it continue.”
More details in our full story.
Texts show Tucker Carlson wanted to ‘start threatening people’ for criticising Trump
Ron DeSantis keeps rolling back gun laws
Sunday 14 May 2023 04:52 , Josh Marcus
Ron DeSantis is likely to run against Trump by touting his conservative achievements in Florida.
Right now, that looks like rolling back gun safety provisions.
The Florida governor signed a bill into law on Friday that critics say will make it harder to investigate gun crimes.
The legislation, SB 214, prevents credit card companies from affixing purchases of guns and ammunition with a special code, which can later be used to investigate various gun-related transactions.
More details in our full story.
The fallout from the CNN-Trump town hall continues
Sunday 14 May 2023 03:52 , Josh Marcus
Following the controversial and highly criticised CNN town hall featuring Donald Trump, one of the network’s top hosts, Anderson Cooper, addressed the backlash and attempt to justify the event.
The town hall featured Mr Trump in a moderated discussion with CNN host Kaitlan Collins, during which he made numerous false statements, advanced conspiracy theories about the 2020 election, and promised to pardon Capitol rioters charged with crimes for their participation in the insurrection attempt two years ago.
Cooper opened his show, Anderson Cooper 360, by addressing the town hall and the negative reaction it generated.
“Many of you are upset that someone who attempted to destroy our democracy was invited to sit on the stage in front of a crowd of Republican voters to answer questions and predictably continued to spew lie after lie after lie. And I get it. It was disturbing,” he said during the broadcast.
Graig Graziosi reports.
Anderson Cooper says viewers have every right to abandon CNN after Trump town hall
Christian leaders are abandoning Trump
Sunday 14 May 2023 02:50 , Josh Marcus
A far-right Christian nationalist campaign amplifying conspiracy theories and political violence in a message wrapped in biblical prophecy has arrived at one of Donald Trump’s signature properties.
The ReAwaken America Tour has launched a three-day event at Trump National Doral Miami resort this weekend, featuring far-right personalities and Trump-supporting pastors for a conference that draws from tent-revival preaching and trafficks in far-right conspiracy theories and antidemocratic attacks.
The tour, created by Covid-19 conspiracy theorist Clay Clark and supported by one-time Trump administration official and prominent QAnon figure Michael Flynn, has held more than 20 conferences in more than a dozen states over the last two years. The events often draw from or are hosted by megachurches with large congregations.
Faith leaders protest Christian nationalist conference at Trump’s Miami resort
