Candace Owens, the far right media agitator who turned on President Donald J. Trump in early 2025 has publicly stated she regrets voting for him. The president broke so many promises to the base and it seems like the defeat of Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) now has her and many others threatening to withhold their vote.
Now here's a shocking round of developments.
Owens interview Robert Hunter Biden, the son of former president Joe Biden.
Hunter who is also a prominent podcaster and critic of Trump got very vocal about how the president using his struggles as a weapon.
Owens apologized to Hunter Biden in their interview on Thursday, telling the former president’s son she “felt sh*tty” about contributing to the media storm surrounding his drug addiction.
Biden sat down with the controversial podcaster to talk about his past scandals and the state of politics in America as a whole. During a conversation surrounding religion, Biden claimed to have made peace with his previous missteps through appreciating the place he reached in later life.
“Like I wouldn’t be here, we couldn’t have this honest conversation. I couldn’t get to know you as a human being if every single thing didn’t occur behind it,” he said. “And it’s that piece of life that like the only way I got it is when they just tore off all my clothes, tart and feathered me, and put me in the center of town and said, ‘Look at him.’ And I survived.”
Biden has teased other interviews with Tucker Carlson and others to reach consensus.
Biden is no longer a Democrat. He is an independent voter.
Hunter has privately believes that the establishment stabbed his father in the back by forcing him to drop out of the race 104 days before the election.
What cost former president Joe Biden and former vice president Kamala Harris the election was being tone deaf. The former president constantly pointed the stock markets but not the Main Street. He relied on his stupid Catholic faith to continue support of Israel. His failure to reign in on Joe Manchin, Krysten Sinema and John Fetterman in crucial senate votes. His failure to end aid to Israel. The failure to talk to rural voters.
The DNC autospy was a disastrous rollout.
Biden's son Hunter was not the biggest issue. It should have been used as a sympathy card.
The Democratic National Committee has released their autopsy and it's has progressives outraged. They have called for systematic change from top down. They want Ken Martin, the current chairman to step aside.
Before we get into this....
I continue to get mass spam from the DNC or candidates affiliated with the Democratic Party. I continue to block them. I am withholding my support for any candidate that continues to focus on the status quo.
That status quo meaning supporting Israel, working across the aisle, allowing members to rollback freedoms, platform actual bigots, push candidates out on allegations instead of convictions and continuing electing older members.
So much work.
From Joe Biden to John Fetterman, the Democratic Party and those independent who associate with it are repeating themselves over again. They think that being pissed at President Donald J. Trump will assure them a Blue Wave.
No.
No matter how much the Republicans try to gerrymander, Democrats allow it by not fighting dirtier. They want to play it safe and hope the overreach will drive them back to power.
The DNC refuses to listen to the people who warned them that their votes are not guaranteed if they continue to be weak opposition.
Days are numbered.
Kamala Harris “wrote off rural America” during the 2024 presidential campaign and failed to attack Donald Trump with sufficient “negative firepower,” according to a long-awaited post-election autopsy released Thursday by the Democratic National Committee.
But the document’s key findings, the focus of much mystery over the last year, were almost an afterthought among Democratic officials who expressed deep frustration with DNC chair Ken Martin ‘s handling of the situation and the direction of the party’s political machine.
Martin shared the 192-page report only after facing intense internal pressure from Democratic operatives. He originally promised to release the autopsy even before taking over the committee last year, only to keep it under wraps because he worried it would interfere with Democrats’ focus on the November midterms.
Harris wrote off Arab Americans, Muslims and college educated voters.
Remember the students who were kicked out of college, denied their degrees, sent to the iron college and blacklisted from jobs happened under former president Joe Biden.
Remember when Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) said that "it's all about the Benjamins" when it comes to lawmakers and AIPAC, Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), the former House Speaker forced her to apologize. Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) called Israel an apartheid ethnostate and said that the country is threat to the world. Rep. Rich McCormick (R-GA) introduced a censure vote to her. There were 22 Democrats who voted for that. Reps. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX), Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL), Ritchie Torres (D-NY), Josh Gottheimer (D-NY) and Dan Golden (D-NY) voted with Republicans. Mikie Sherill, then a House member now Governor of New Jersey voted with the 21 Democrats.
Jared Polis, governor of Colorado commuting and pardoning an unrepentant election denier Tina Peters. Democrats were furious about that.
Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) constantly promoting pro Israel propaganda and continues out of touch policies.
Sen. John Fetterman (I-PA). Need I say more.
Yeah. We got problems.
These two are out of touch.
White leadership is the No. 1 problem.
This Big Tent fallacy. The Democratic Party wants to have the impala, leopards, hyenas, lions, wild dogs, cheetahs, crocodiles, zebras, wildebeest, buffalo, gazelles, warthogs and giraffes in the party.
The law of jungle. The lions dominate. The hyenas lurch. The leopards climb. The cheetahs run. The crocodiles swim and the wild dogs run in a pack.
If there's weakness within the jungle, the predators attack. It's survival.
Republicans view themselves as predators. They prey on the weak. They can certainly distract the public with guilt trips and culture wars. Even with their phony nationalism, Republicans claim they are freedom fighters despite being a bunch of authoritarian nannies.
Democrats have to be the party of the predators. They got to prey on the weak.
Enough with having Democrats who are either progressives, liberals, moderates, centrists and conservative. Pick a lane. You cannot be a party that is Republican-lite.
No more centrists or conservative Democrats. Go be Republicans if you value the traditional white supremacy.
Turn a distraction into a victory.
Martin isn't helping much.
“I didn’t want to create a distraction,” Martin wrote on Substack. “Ironically, in doing so, I ended up creating an even bigger distraction. And for that, I sincerely apologize.”
He said the report was withheld because it “was not ready for primetime,” and the DNC covered the document with annotations and disclaimers saying it was incomplete and unsubstantiated.
The report’s release did nothing to temper irritation at Martin, and Democratic insiders were exasperated as they spent the day talking about a two-year-old election instead of focusing on Trump’s unpopular war in Iran, surging prices or the backlash against the president’s White House ballroom.
Joe Biden should have stopped Israel.
Martin faces growing outrage
Indeed, the initial reaction to the report was a mix of bafflement and anger over Martin’s handling of the situation.
Democratic strategist Dan Pfeiffer, formerly a senior adviser to President Barack Obama, said Martin “must go.”
“It’s hard to imagine anyone handling anything worse than Ken Martin handled the DNC autopsy,” he wrote on social media. “It was a disaster of his own making, and it’s sufficient evidence that he is not the right person to lead the DNC at this time.”
Although the autopsy criticizes Democrats’ focus on “identity politics,” it sidesteps some of the most controversial elements of the 2024 campaign. The report does not address former President Joe Biden’s decision to seek reelection, the rushed selection of Harris to replace him after he dropped out or the party’s acrimonious divide over the war in Gaza.
“I am not proud of this product; it does not meet my standards, and it won’t meet your standards,” Martin said. “I don’t endorse what’s in this report, or what’s left out of it. I could not in good faith put the DNC’s stamp of approval on it. But transparency is paramount.”
During a conversation with staff Thursday, Martin announced that the report’s primary author, consultant Paul Rivera, was no longer working with the DNC, according to a person on the call not authorized to speak publicly about the private discussion.
A spokesperson for Harris did not respond to a request for comment.
Report says Democrats don’t ‘listen to all voters’
The postelection report, which was first released by CNN, calls for “a renewed focus on the voters of Middle America and the South, who have come to believe they are not included in the Democratic vision of a stronger and more dynamic America for everyone.”
“Millions of Americans are suffering from poor access to healthcare, manufacturing and job losses, and a failing infrastructure, yet continue to be persuaded to vote against their best interests because they do not see themselves reflected in the America of the Democratic Party,” the report says.
The autopsy points to a reduction in support and training for Democratic state parties, voter registration shifts and “a persistent inability or unwillingness to listen to all voters.”
Thursday’s release comes as Martin confronts a crisis of confidence among party officials who are increasingly concerned about the health of their political machine barely a year into his term. Some Democratic operatives have had informal discussions about recruiting a new chair, even though most believe that Martin’s job isn’t in serious jeopardy ahead of the midterm elections.
Few were satisfied with how Martin navigated the report’s release.
“The execution, the rollout and the coverup are indicative of how Ken Martin is fundamentally not up to the task,” said Amanda Litman, who leads the Democratic-allied organization Run For Something. “He will be incapable of rebuilding the trust necessary to facilitate a Democratic primary in 2027-2028.”
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) said the Gaza omission was “notable.” She also declined to back Martin when asked by The Associated Press whether she supports his leadership.
“I’m glad that there’s something out,” she said. “It’s, of course, taken a very long time.”
We need that Obama magic.
Were Democrats too nice?
The report found that Harris and her allies failed to focus enough on Trump’s negatives, especially his felony convictions. This was part of a broader criticism that Democrats’ messaging is too focused on reason and winning arguments, “even in cycles when the electorate is defined by rage.”
“There was a decision in the 2024 Democratic leadership not to engage in negative advertising at the scale required,” the report states. “The Trump campaign and supportive Super PACs went full throttle against Vice President Harris, but there was not sufficient or similar negative firepower directed at Trump by Democrats.”
The report continues: “It was essential to prosecute a more effective case as to why Trump should have been disqualified from ever again taking office. The grounds were there, but the messaging did not make the case.”
The DNC appeared to reject these conclusions, adding annotations like “no sourcing or evidence provided.”
Trump’s attack on Harris’ transgender policies was cited as a key contrast.
Specifically, the report suggested the Democratic nominee was “boxed” in by the Trump campaign’s “very effective” ad that highlighted Harris’ previous statement of support for taxpayer-funded gender-affirming surgeries for prison inmates.
Democratic pollsters believed that “if the Vice President would not change her position — and she did not — then there was nothing which would have worked as a response,” the report said.
Democrats can’t exclude rural voters: ‘The math doesn’t work’
The report criticized Harris’ outreach to key segments of America while condemning the party’s focus on “identity politics.”
“Harris wrote off rural America, assuming urban/suburban margins would compensate. The math doesn’t work,” the report says. “You can’t lose rural areas by overwhelming margins and make it up elsewhere when rural voters are a significant share of the electorate. If Democrats are to reclaim leadership in the Heartland or the South, candidates must perform well in rural turf. Show up, listen, and then do it again.”
The report also references Democrats’ underperformance with male voters of color.
“Male voters require direct engagement. The gender gap can be narrowed. Deploy male messengers, address economic concerns, and don’t assume identity politics will hold male voters of color,” it says.
Okay, do you believe the Democratic Party is about to ride the Blue Wave?
Do you believe that Democrats are motivated after seeing the results of President Donald J. Trump's return to power?
Will these No Kings protests be a turning point in American politics?
Are you going to vote "Blue No Matter Who?"
Well before I go into my rant, I want to say that if any Democratic operative reads this, I want to say thank you for getting an opportunity to read this. Maybe I can inspire a change in how the party runs things.
I give them a 47% chance winning the House and a 43% of winning the Senate.
So my honest opinion about the Democratic Party.
They are garbage. Trash. A total colossal cluster fuck.
And they can thank former president Joe Biden, Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and the Democratic National Committee. A party trying to stay popular when their policies are never delivered. A party that continues to gaslight us about the opposition being in the pockets of the elite while doing the same. The party that calls out the opposition for being racial extremists but end up being racial extremists too.
We got a lot a work to do.
The Republican Party is becoming a bunch of big government nannies who want to push culture wars into federal laws. This overreach will generate backlash due to the hypocrisy they've carried as small government and freedom loving patriots.
First things first, the Democrats must focus on issues that matter to all Americans. The economy for one thing is a big issue. We are witnessing the potential for a catastrophic crash thanks to Trump's tariffs, his fly off the handle policies and this government shutdown.
If the Democrats are motivated to talk about how the policies of the past are not working, they better start talking now.
Capitalism isn't prospering for the middle class or the lower class. This trickle down economics is not benefiting the working class. The need to be honest about capitalism being a disaster has to be addressed.
The Democratic Party is still supportive of capitalism which is rooted in white supremacy, economic inequality and greed.
The policies the Republican Party are presenting are status quo. They are becoming the big government nannies they tagged the Democratic Party for years as.
Socialism, once a toxic word and a tag on almost every Democratic politician should no longer be a slur. It is time for Americans to understand that the oligarchy that led to wealth inequality is a product of capitalism. We need to equate capitalism to the rise in food prices, health costs, insurance premiums increasing and private equity firms destroying companies.
Israel, Israel, Israel..... When the party support for Israel is a mere 8%, why is the Democratic Party still trying to encourage their voters to support this country?
They're on their knees giving in to Israel and its minions.
As Israel continues to commit a genocide under the guise of a ceasefire, some Democrats and the influncers are calling out the progressive base for moving on from Gaza.
I haven't moved on from Israel. I am laser focused on ensuring Israel will fall. I am seeing the endless attacks on Zohran Mamdani, Graham Platner, Cori Bush, Katie Porter and even former vice president Kamala Harris.
I get it Harris should face criticism for ignoring the concerns.
I voted for Harris for president. I have told family members that Israel will be a major factor. Trump's near assassination was a big factor. His mugshot too. He tapped into the grievances of the American people.
Democrats wasted too much time scaring voters. I get it. Trump is an essential threat to the country. I posted on this blog numerous times about it. But I also said that Biden's support for Israel and not focusing on the economy could hurt him come 2024.
White men cannot get the U.S. back on the right track. We seen how Trump and Biden led us into endless chaos within their terms. Trump has become the first 21st Century president to never achieve 50% in positive successes. Yet, we reelected him for a second term despite the dangers he posed in his first chaotic term.
White nationalism exists mostly in the Republican Party. But the party is making inroads with Black, Hispanic, Asian, Jewish, Muslim and young voters. Republicans are pitching nationalism and often scapegoating to appeal to these groups.
Democrats are not far off. They are bleeding support because of their so called identity politics. We are screaming racism and antisemitism at the progressive base when the base is trying to encourage the party to change economic direction.
In 2026, we will have candidates running for some form of political office. Several of these candidates will be running as Democrats. Some are flawed people. The Democrats continue to push out candidates that are against the status quo. They are still committed to elected members who are old, supportive of Israel, willing to be bipartisan and willing to embrace conservative policies to stay in office.
It's that type of things that keeps Democrats in the minority.
Biden played nice with Republicans. Big mistake.
About NED.
Neverending Distractions.
Words are just words.
Actions have consequences.
With Cori Bush, they were claiming her "defund the police" was divisive. With Graham Platner's tattoo, it represents Nazism. With Zohran Mamdani, not denouncing "globalizing the infitada" means he supports "terrorism." With Omar Fateh, if he is seen with Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN), that means he is either a "terrorist" or a "pirate" but sure enough he is a "foreigner" despite being born in Washington, DC.
When they win primaries, it is oh "we will wait and see" and "I haven't talk to that candidate."
Republicans voted for a sexual predator to be our president. This is America in decline.
No Jeffrey Epstein files.
No end to gun violence.
No end to economic uncertainty.
Still a war with Iran.
We are not a Christian nation. So if any Republican or white nationalist promotes the notion that we are a Christian backed country, let them know that they need to read the fucking U.S. Constitution.
Lastly, more Americans are tired of our politicians not focusing on the needs of our citizens. So when they are talking about other issues outside a government shutdown, a crumbling economy and every fucking thing being expensive, we must resist the notion to fall for these neverending distractions.
Both parties are not doing enough to solve America's problems.
If progressives need to divorce the Democrats, the time is now. I am not voting for the status quo.
I am going to vote for a candidate that focuses on issues that impact the growth of this flawed nation. Not distractions or words. Words do not pay the rent. They do not feed the families. They do not pay my bills. Words do not control the movement of policies.
No more slogans.
It's noise.
Folks, the Democrats must end the rules of engagement. They need to kick out the filth.
End their support of Israel, stop pandering to win votes, embrace embarrassments and stop trying to be friends with MAGAland.
Blue MAGA is a threat too. Because they are too cozy with religion, apartheid, income inequality and racism.
The Democratic Party is now conservative while the Republican Party is now fascist.
The Democrats are ignoring the progressive base.
No more happy clappy liberal.
I am sorry Stephanie Miller, Laurie Daniels Favors, Zerlina Maxwell, Reecie Colbert, Clay Cane and Thom Hartmann: we ain't winning on being positive. I think it time to go negative and embrace the right's definitions of the left.
I am not advocating for violence but I will no longer condemn it if it's done in the name of politics. I am tired of trying to push for issues that are ignored.
I will now be an independent. I will not support the Republican Party or Democratic Party any longer. I am going to stay progressive on most issues involving domestic and social issues. Show some conservative stances on finances giving that things are more expensive and the focus is more on home meals and no longer eating out.
I am no longer tolerating mass texts from Democrats. No more polls. No more we need you.
I will not worry about Biden, Trump or any future president. They will have costly mistakes and proven successes. I must accept it.
If the Democrats get their act together, maybe they might have a shot in 2026. No reference to gun violence.
Kyle Busch has passed away while preparing for Saturday's race.
The NASCAR community mourns the lost of a legendary driver.
President Donald J, Trump, Vice President JD Vance, members of Congress and NASCAR will react to this shocking loss.
Busch, a two-time Cup Series champion who won more races than anyone across NASCAR’s three national series, has died. He was 41.
The Busch Family, Richard Childress Racing and NASCAR issued a joint statement Thursday saying Busch died after being hospitalized. No cause of death was given.
Busch’s family said earlier Thursday that he was hospitalized with a “severe illness,” three days before he was to compete in the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Busch was testing in the Chevrolet racing simulator in Concord on Wednesday when he became unresponsive and was transported to a hospital in Charlotte, several people familiar with the situation told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because details have not been disclosed by Busch’s team or family.
Busch was the younger brother of Kurt Busch, a NASCAR Hall of Famer. He’s survived by wife Samantha and children Brexton and Lennix.
Busch was the younger brother of Kurt Busch, a NASCAR Hall of Famer. He’s survived by wife Samantha and children Brexton and Lennix.
“Our entire NASCAR family is heartbroken by the loss of Kyle Busch,” the statement said. “A future Hall of Famer, Kyle was a rare talent, one who comes along once in a generation. He was fierce, he was passionate, he was immensely skilled and he cared deeply about the sport and fans.”
The statement went on to say that “throughout a career that spanned more than two decades, Kyle set records in national series wins, won championships at NASCAR’s highest level and fostered the next generation of drivers as an owner in the Truck Series. His sharp wit and competitive spirit sparked a deep emotional connection with race fans of every age, creating the proud and loyal ‘Rowdy Nation.’”
The news comes 11 days after Busch radioed into his crew near the end of a Cup Series race at Watkins Glen asking a doctor to give him a “shot” when he finished the race. According to the TV broadcast, Busch had been struggling with a sinus cold exacerbated by the intense G-forces and elevation changes at the New York road course.
Busch finished the race in eighth place.
Busch competed at Dover last weekend and won the Trucks Series race for Spire Motorsports. He then finished 17th at the NASCAR All-Star race, his final race.
“Absolutely cannot comprehend this news,” NASCAR driver and former teammate Denny Hamlin posted on social media. “We just need to think of his family during this time. We love you KB.”
Trump will address Kyle Busch's passing.
Added driver Brad Keselowski on social media: “Absolute shock. Very hard to process.”
A polarizing figure known as “Rowdy” and “Wild Thing” for his post-race fights, regular feuds with other drivers and sometimes outlandish behavior, the multi-talented Busch stormed on the Cup Series scene in 2005 by winning Rookie of the Year.
He went on to win championships in 2015 and 2019 for Joe Gibbs Racing.
“His impact on our organization and on the sport of NASCAR will never be forgotten,” the team said in a statement.
From Las Vegas, Busch experienced unrivaled success across NASCAR’s three national series winning a combined 234 Cup, O’Reilly Auto Parts and Trucks Series races. He had 63 Cup victories along with 102 O’Reilly Auto Parts wins and 69 Trucks victories — both records.
Busch was fired early in his career by Hendrick Motorsports to make room on the team for Dale Earnhardt Jr.
“Kyle and I had a really challenging existence for many years,” Earnhardt said in a statement. “But we luckily took the time to figure out our differences and that was something he instigated with a conversation in his bus around how we each managed our racing teams. I was super eager for us to get on better terms. But it was he who made the effort for that to be possible.”
Busch moved on to Joe Gibbs Racing where he experienced the vast majority of career success. But Busch was let go when there was no sponsor after the 2022 season and joined Richard Childress Racing, where had struggled to win races.
His lack of success led to a recent spat with former JGR teammate Hamlin, who appeared to criticize Busch on the “Actions Detrimental” podcast. Hamlin said, “If you’re expecting Kyle Busch to just go back to victory lane on a regular basis, you are kidding yourselves.”
While Hamlin later said he meant no harm by the comments and was just making an observation, Busch took exception and said he could make Hamlin’s life “hell” on the racetrack.
While several laps down at last month’s race at Kansas, Busch raced Hamlin hard instead of allowing the race leader to pass. That decision held up Hamlin during a crucial stage of the race and Tyler Reddick won the race after Hamlin faded late.
Leave behind wife and children.
After winning the Trucks race at Dover last week and showing an uptick in speed, Busch seemed to make a veiled jab at Hamlin, saying “I guess I just remembered how to drive.”
After earning his win at Dover, Busch was asked how many races he wanted to win in his career.
“You take whatever you can get, man,” Busch said. “You never know when the last one is going to be, so cherish them all — trust me.”
Busch’s unexpected death is just the latest tragedy to hit NASCAR. Last December, former driver Greg Biffle, his wife and two children and three others died in a plane crash in Statesville, North Carolina.
The announcement of Busch’s death came after teams had already left Gasoline Alley on media day at the Indianapolis 500. As word spread on Main Street in Speedway, Indiana, just a short walk from Indianapolis Motor Speedway, race fans -- IndyCar and NASCAR -- were saddened.
NASCAR officials confirmed to The Associated Press the Coca-Cola 600 will go on as planned Sunday.
Drivers are expected to begin making their way to Charlotte Motorsports Speedway in Concord on Friday with practice and qualifying beginning on Saturday. Earlier in the day, RCR had announced that Austin Hill would replace Busch in the No. 8 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1.
CBS has decided to cancel The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. It was an extremely controversial decision. Many believe it was a tactical decision for Sheri Redstone to sell her Paramount stakes to investors friendly to President Donald J. Trump.
Larry and his son David Ellison bought Paramount and merged it with Skydance. They are finalizing the deal to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery which will include the ownership of CNN.
Colbert, John Oliver and Jon Stewart are not happy about the decision to have Ellison own all the networks that were critical of Trump.
Colbert plans on addressing CBS and the president tonight in the series finale.
CBS has licensed the Byron Allen Entertainment Studios Comics Unleashed to run in its place for the time being.
Colbert’s long goodbye to late-night TV ends Thursday night when the host of “The Late Show” appears behind his CBS desk for the final time.
What is planned for the finale has not been revealed but the folks at “The Late Show” have had months to prepare for the end of the network’s 33-year franchise.
Guests in the final week have included Michael Keaton, Jon Stewart, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Steven Spielberg, David Byrne and Bruce Springsteen, while there’s been a wacky version of “It’s Raining Men” remade into “It’s Raining Fish.”
CBS announced last summer that Colbert’s show would end, citing economic reasons after 11 seasons. But Colbert is the ratings leader in late-night TV. Many — including Colbert — have expressed skepticism that Trump’s repeated criticism of the show wasn’t a factor.
Could Colbert run for president? Possibility.
The decision to shutter the show came after parent company Paramount’s $16 million settlement of Trump’s lawsuit over a “60 Minutes” interview as Paramount awaited his administration’s approval of a pending sale to Skydance Media. Colbert had called it a “big fat bribe.”
Dustin Kidd, a professor of sociology at Temple University, notes that Colbert leaves at the top of his game and as the ratings leader on late night. Canceling him can’t be explained strictly through economics, he said.
“I would argue that it’s answerable, frankly, through politics,” Kidd said. “There’s been a lot of political pressure levied against this show and a lot of political pressure at work within CBS more generally. And I think that has a lot more to offer in terms of explaining why this show, at this time.”
Colbert’s chief rivals, ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” and NBC’s “The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon,” will both run reruns on Thursday night at the same time as Colbert’s goodbye.
CBS will fill “The Late Show” slot with “Comics Unleashed,” in which comedians share stories. Host Byron Allen has vowed to avoid politics.
The U.S. is stuck on 20th Century politics. The Trump Justice Department indicts Raúl Castro.
The U.S. is preparing an invasion of Cuba to overthrow its president and the former.
President Miguel Díaz-Canel warns the U.S. that they are not going down without a fight.
The U.S. Justice Department announced they have indicted the 94-year old Raúl Castro.
The former president is currently in a retirement center and is apparently experiencing dementia conditions. The U.S. leveling some pretty trumped up charges for the sole purpose to justify another illegal invasion. This is based from the grounds of a perceived enemy of the U.S. and Israeli empire.
International law doesn't mean anything when the U.S., Israel and Russia violate it repeatedly.
The Cubans who left were elitists and did it to avoid taxation.
If the U.S. does invade Cuba, would Russia and China reign in?
You know President Donald J. Trump is a convicted felon and adjudicated sexual predator. So miss me with that bullshit.
The U.S. claims that Castro is responsible for the 1996 downing of civilian planes flown by Miami-based exiles as the Trump administration escalated pressure on the island’s socialist government.
The indictment accuses Castro of ordering the shootdown of two small planes operated by the exile group Brothers to the Rescue. Castro, who turns 95 next month, was Cuba’s defense minister at the time. The charges, which were secretly filed by a grand jury in April, included murder and destruction of an airplane. Five Cuban military pilots were also charged.
“For nearly 30 years, the families of four murdered Americans have waited for justice,” acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said in Miami at a ceremony coinciding with Cuban independence day to honor those killed. “They were unarmed civilians and were flying humanitarian missions for the rescue and protection of people fleeing oppression across the Florida straits.”
Asked to what lengths American authorities would go to bring Castro to face charges in the U.S., Blanche said: “There was a warrant issued for his arrest. So we expect that he will show up here, by his own will or by another way.”
Asked what will happen next for Cuba, Trump said, “We’re going to see.” He added that the U.S. is ready to provide humanitarian assistance to a “failing nation.”
The charges pose a real threat, observers said, following the capture by U.S. forces in January of former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro to face drug charges in New York.
“He’s going to have to keep his head pretty low from now on,” said Peter Kornbluh, a specialist on the U.S.-Cuba relationship at the National Security Archive at George Washington University.
Cuban president condemns indictment
While it remains unclear whether Castro will ever step foot in a U.S. courtroom, the murder and conspiracy charges carry the potential for life in prison or the death penalty upon conviction.
Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel condemned the indictment as a political stunt that sought only to “justify the folly of a military aggression against Cuba.” In a message on social media, he accused the U.S. of lying and manipulating events surrounding the shootdown, including ignoring repeated warnings by Cuban officials at the time that they would defend against “dangerous violations” of their airspace “by notorious terrorists.”
Among those attending Wednesday’s ceremony in downtown Miami was Marlene Alejandre-Triana, whose father, Armando Alejandre Jr, was killed while she was away for her first year of college.
Over the years, she spoke to multiple federal investigators about charging Castro, referring to him as “one of the main architects of the crime.” But none until now had the courage to seek justice for her family and the other victims.
“It has been long overdue,” she said standing before a giant photo of her father.
Trump has threatened military action for months
Trump has been threatening military action in Cuba ever since U.S. forces captured Maduro, the Cuban government’s longtime patron. After ousting the Venezuelan leader, the White House ordered a blockade that choked off fuel shipments to Cuba, leading to severe blackouts, food shortages and an economic collapse across the island.
Since Maduro’s capture, Trump has ratcheted up talk of regime change in Cuba after pledging earlier this year to conduct a “friendly takeover” of the country if its leadership did not open its economy to American investment and kick out U.S. adversaries.
Trump’s first administration indicted Maduro on drug-trafficking charges and used that to justify removing him from power and whisking him to New York to face trial.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Wednesday urged the Cuban people to demand a free-market economy with new leadership that he said will chart a new course in relations with the U.S.
“In the U.S., we are ready to open a new chapter in the relationship between our people,” Rubio, the son of Cuban immigrants, said in a Spanish-language video message. “Currently, the only thing standing in the way of a better future are those who control your country.”
Raúl Castro believed to wield power behind the scenes
Castro took over as president from his ailing older brother Fidel Castro in 2006 before handing power to a trusted loyalist, Díaz-Canel, in 2018.
While he retired in 2021 as head of the Cuban Communist Party, he is widely believed to wield power behind the scenes, underscored by the prominence of his grandson, Raúl Guillermo Rodríguez Castro, who previously met secretly with Rubio.
Last week, CIA Director John Ratcliffe traveled to Havana for meetings with Cuban officials, including Castro’s grandson. Two other senior State Department officials met with the grandson in April.
The investigation into Castro stretches back to the 1990s
In 1995, planes flown by members of Brothers to the Rescue buzzed over Havana dropping leaflets urging Cubans to rise up against the Castro government.
After Cuban protests, the Federal Aviation Administration also opened an investigation and met with the group’s leaders to urge them to ground the flights, according to declassified government records obtained by the National Security Archive.
But those calls went unheeded and on Feb. 24, 1996, missiles fired by Russian-made MiG-29 fighter jets downed two unarmed civilian Cessna planes a short distance north of Havana just beyond Cuba’s airspace. All four men aboard were killed. A third plane, carrying the group’s leader, narrowly escaped.
Raúl Castro faced earlier indictment
Guy Lewis, who was a federal prosecutor in Miami in the 1990s, first uncovered evidence linking senior Cuban military officials to cocaine trafficking by Colombia’s Medellin cartel. Following the shootdown, the investigation expanded, and prosecutors pursued charges against Raúl Castro for leading a vast racketeering conspiracy by Cuba’s armed forces.
In the end, only the head of the Cuban air force and two of the MiG pilots involved in the downing of the planes were indicted but have never been apprehended.
A fourth individual was convicted of leading a Miami-based spy ring called Operation Scorpion that collected intelligence about the flights. He was later swapped for a U.S. intelligence asset imprisoned in Cuba as part of President Barack Obama’s outreach to Cuba.
The shootdown led the U.S. to harden its position against Cuba, even though the Cold War had ended and the Castros’ support for revolution across Latin America was a fading memory.
But Castro himself was spared as the Clinton administration raised concerns about such a high-profile indictment.
One of the first openly gay members of the U.S. House who served in Congress until hus retirement has passed away. Barney Frank, a Democratic lawamker who was openly gay, a proud Zionist and at the time one of the proud progressives has passed away.
Frank, the quick-witted Massachusetts congressman and liberal lion who helped overhaul Wall Street regulations after the 2008 financial crisis and made history as one of the first openly gay members of Congress, died Wednesday, his sister confirmed to NBC Boston.
He was 86. He had entered hospice care at his home in Maine last month.
“He was, above all else, a wonderful brother. I was lucky to be his sister,” Frank’s sister Doris Breay told NBC Boston.
Frank represented southern Massachusetts in the House for 32 years and established himself as a leading voice in debates over banking, affordable housing and LGBTQ rights. He chaired the Financial Services Committee amid the 2008 meltdown and co-authored the milestone Dodd-Frank Act, a sweeping law that sought to put Wall Street firms under tougher scrutiny.
He blazed a trail for other openly gay American elected officials, and in 2012, he became the first member of Congress to enter into a same-sex marriage, tying the knot with his longtime partner, Jim Ready.
“It was life-changing, lifesaving for me,” Frank told NBC News in a phone interview in last month.
“I think the key to our having made the enormous progress we made in defeating anti-gay prejudice had to do with us all coming out and people discovering the gap between our reality and the way we were painted,” he added.
Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., the former House speaker, who served with Frank for more than 25 years, described him as progressive and an idealist in an interview with NBC News last month.
“He has been about idealism and pragmatism to get the job done,” said Pelosi, who was speaker when Frank shepherded Dodd-Frank through Congress. Frank called Pelosi last month to inform her that he was receiving hospice care, she said.
“He was a real mentor to so many of us here,” Pelosi said. “I was with him” on the Banking Committee “in the beginning. I learned so much.”
Frank was known for his colorful and sometimes combative persona. He earned a reputation as an eloquent debater, a cutting questioner during hearings and a quotable subject for reporters. In a 2012 interview with The New Republic, for instance, he said President Barack Obama’s effort to “govern in a post-partisan manner” gave him “post-partisan depression.”
Frank did not seek re-election to a 17th term in the House in 2012 and retired from politics the following year.
In a recent interview with Politico, Frank said he was “very proud of Dodd-Frank,” adding: “I think we have been vindicated against our critics from both the left and the right.”
In his final months, he publicly chided his party’s left flank and wrote a book, “The Hard Path to Unity: Why We Must Reform the Left to Rescue Democracy,” set for publication in September.
In an interview with NBC Boston, Frank said he believed the American left was correct on the issue of economic inequality, but he criticized progressives for pushing for sociocultural change “in ways that went beyond what was politically acceptable.”
Barnett Frank was born in Bayonne, New Jersey, on March 31, 1940, and raised in a working-class Jewish household. He showed early academic promise and earned a bachelor’s degree in 1962 from Harvard University, where he stayed for six more years as a government instructor and Ph.D. student.
He left Harvard to take a job as chief of staff to Democratic Boston Mayor Kevin White, serving in the role from 1968 to 1971 during a period of racial tumult in the city. Then came a staff assistant position in the office of Rep. Michael F. Harrington, a Democrat who represented Massachusetts’ 6th Congressional District.
In 1972, Frank entered electoral politics, winning an open seat in the Massachusetts Legislature. He was re-elected three times, earning a J.D. from Harvard Law School while he was serving in the state House, before he climbed the next rung in his political career: a bid for the U.S. House.
In 1980, he was narrowly elected to represent Massachusetts’s 4th Congressional District, winning just under 52% of the vote. The tight margin in his first House race proved to be an anomaly; Frank won his 15 re-election bids handily and became a familiar liberal mainstay in the lower chamber of Congress.
In 1987, during his fourth term in the House, Frank became the first member of Congress to voluntarily come out as gay. (The first was outed during the congressional page scandal four years earlier.) “If you ask the direct question: ‘Are you gay?’ the answer is yes,” Frank told The Boston Globe. “So what?”
“I’ve said all along that if I was asked by a reporter and I didn’t respond, it would look like I had something to hide, and I don’t think I have anything to hide,” Frank told the Globe. “I don’t think my sex life is relevant to my job, but on the other hand, I don’t want to leave the impression that I’m embarrassed about my life.”
Frank’s political career was imperiled in 1989 after a news report detailed his relationship with a male sex worker who worked for him as a personal aide. Frank acknowledged that he paid the escort, Steve Gobie, for sex but fired him after he learned that Gobie had been using Frank’s apartment in Washington to run a prostitution service.
Barney Frank and his husband James Ready.
In 1990, the House voted 408-18 to reprimand Frank after the Ethics Committee found that he had fixed some of Gobie’s parking tickets; an attempt to censure Frank failed to gain traction. Frank’s constituents remained loyal to him, and he won re-election in 1990 with a comfortable 66% of the vote.
Frank amassed a staunchly liberal record in the House over three decades, publicly advocating for abortion rights, environmental protections, anti-discrimination measures in employment and housing, and LGBTQ equality, including pushing for the repeal of “don’t ask, don’t tell,” a policy that barred openly gay and bisexual people from serving in the U.S. armed forces.
“He was a fighter and fearless,” said Mary Bonauto, the senior director of civil rights and legal strategies at GLAD Law, who was one of the lawyers who argued before the Supreme Court in the historic decision that legalized same-sex marriage nationwide.
“When you look at his record more generally, you see his advocacy for people of color, women — you know, it wasn’t just gay people,” Bonauto added. “He had his sharp eye on a lot of people and a lot of issues, and I think it’s partly from his own journey.”
Frank’s most notable piece of legislation was the one that bears his name: the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, Congress’ response to the 2008 financial calamity. The bill sought to stabilize the markets, end the era of “too big to fail” Wall Street institutions and shield U.S. consumers from predatory practices.
Obama signed it into law July 10, 2010 — with Frank and his co-author, Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., standing at his side.
In the years that followed, Dodd-Frank proved divisive on both ends of the ideological spectrum, decried by the Obama administration’s progressive critics as insufficiently tough on Wall Street banks and blasted by Republicans and some business interests as overly burdensome.
Frank also drew scrutiny for having advocated for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which were privately owned but had implicit government backing. Frank supported giving mortgages to lower-income customers through the companies, which critics say led to their near collapse and contributed to the housing crisis.
In 2010, Frank faced an unexpectedly strong challenge from Sean Bielat, a Republican tea party candidate. Frank ultimately prevailed, though with a more modest vote share than usual (roughly 54%), and he decided not to seek re-election in 2012. (He was succeeded by Joe Kennedy III, a fellow Democrat.)
The same year, Frank married Ready. “It’s nice,” Frank said of married life in an exit interview with the Harvard Law Bulletin. “Life really hasn’t changed day to day, but I still feel that afterglow from the ceremony.”
Three years later, Frank published an autobiography, “Frank: A Life in Politics from the Great Society to Same-Sex Marriage.” That summer, on the day the Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage nationwide in the landmark Obergefell v. Hodges decision, Frank tweeted a simple hashtag: “#lovewins.”
He is survived by Ready, Breay and another sister, Ann Lewis, and brother, David Frank.
President Donald J. Trump finally endorsed a candidate in the Texas U.S. Senate Republican primary runoff.
He throws his support to Ken Paxton, the controversial Texas Attorney General over longtime incumbent Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX). The failure to pass that SAVE Act and his tepid support for several of his nominees led to the Paxton endorsement.
Republican were angry over this endorsement. They wanted the president to stay out of the race.
Trump on Tuesday endorsed Ken Paxton in the Republican runoff for U.S. Senate in Texas, ending over a year of furious lobbying and giving the attorney general a significant boost in his campaign against Sen. John Cornyn.
“Ken is a true MAGA Warrior who has ALWAYS delivered for Texas, and will continue to do so in the United States Senate,” Trump wrote on social media, praising Paxton’s support for ending the Senate filibuster and the GOP’s signature voting restrictions bill, and dinging Cornyn for being late to support his 2024 presidential bid.
“John Cornyn is a good man, and I worked well with him, but he was not supportive of me when times were tough,” Trump said. “John was very late in backing me in what turned out to be a Historic Run for the Republican Nomination, and then, the Presidency, itself, both of which were Landslide Victories and, more importantly, gave us the Country that we have today.”
In a statement, Paxton said he was honored by the endorsement and looked forward to “championing his America First agenda in the Senate.”
“I have consistently stood by President Trump, even when the Washington establishment and career politicians like John Cornyn turned their back on the President,” Paxton said. “Now, I look forward to winning this critical Senate seat and delivering victory after victory for the people of Texas.”
The endorsement comes more than two months after Trump initially pledged to weigh in on the race and with just a week to go until the election. Tens of thousands of ballots have already been cast during the state’s early voting period, which began Monday and will run through the end of the week.
The day after the March primary, Trump said that he would endorse “soon” in order to stop a primary battle that, he said at the time, “cannot, for the good of the party, and our Country, be allowed to go on any longer.”
Despite promising to intervene quickly after March 3, when Cornyn finished narrowly ahead of Paxton, Trump kept both campaigns on edge for months. He initially said he would ask his non-endorsed candidate to drop out, but his neutral stance meant the opportunity to do so came and went.
Instead, the two camps and their allies have spent nearly $25 million on advertising in the runoff, much of it used for the two candidates to bash each other in intensely personal terms. It brings the total ad cost of the Republican primary to nearly $125 million, most of which has come from the pro-Cornyn side.
In teasing the endorsement Tuesday morning, Trump said he’s “had my mind made up for a long time.”
Thune and McConnell are angry that Trump picked Paxton over Cornyn.
The endorsement is a serious blow to Cornyn and his political allies, including Senate Majority Leader John Thune, who have repeatedly pushed the White House to back their colleague both publicly and privately. On the trail, Cornyn has hugged Trump closely, boasting of his 99% voting record with the president’s position and going so far as to propose a bill last week to rename U.S. Highway 287 as Interstate 47 in honor of Trump.
The Cornyn camp has made the case that Paxton’s candidacy, given his ethical and personal baggage, would endanger Republican control of both the Senate seat and down-ballot races, including the U.S. House seats that the Legislature redrew last summer to elect Republicans. Cornyn allies put out a memo detailing nine such districts, and 25 Texas House seats, where Paxton’s presence at the top of the ticket creates a big enough drag to put the districts in jeopardy.
In a statement Tuesday, Cornyn emphasized his pro-Trump voting record, noting that the president “has consistently called me a friend in this race,” and asked Republican voters to consider the general election stakes.
“It is now time for Texas Republican voters to decide if they want a strong nominee to help our GOP candidates down ballot and defeat [Democratic nominee James] Talarico in November, or a weak nominee who jeopardizes everything we care about,” Cornyn said. “I trust the Republican voters of Texas.”
News of Trump’s endorsement frustrated Senate Republicans, who have routinely advocated for Cornyn.
“None of us control what the president does,” Thune said Tuesday. “That doesn’t change the way I feel. I am certainly supportive of, continue to be supportive of, Senator Cornyn and his re-election.”
The president’s decision to endorse Paxton reflects his confidence that Talarico is a weak candidate. The Austin Democrat has polled ahead of both Cornyn and Paxton on numerous occasions this cycle, leading those in Cornyn’s camp to urge voters to nominate the senior senator, who has outrun fellow Republicans on numerous occasions.
Trump initially said in early March that Republicans needed to come together to “focus on putting him away, quickly and decisively.” But in the weeks since, Trump has bashed Talarico over his liberal social views and said that either Cornyn or Paxton should beat him easily.
“I believe that any human being running against him, sick, incompetent, close to death or, even a child, would win,” Trump said in late March.
Talarico reacted to the endorsement by renewing his contention that “it doesn’t matter who wins this runoff.”
“We already know who we’re running against: the billionaire mega-donors and their corrupt political system,” Talarico said in a statement. “For decades, John Cornyn and Ken Paxton have embodied a broken politics that enriches wealthy donors while costs skyrocket for the rest of us.”
Democrats have made no secret of their preference for Paxton, who they believe is beatable. In a statement, Senate Majority PAC, the campaign arm for Senate Democrats, noted Paxton’s prior scandals and the fact that Trump endorsed against a candidate backed by some $100 million from Republican establishment groups and donors.
“With all the baggage, it’s no wonder that one-in-four John Cornyn voters say they’ll vote for James Talarico if Paxton is the nominee,” SMP spokesperson Lauren French said. “Talarico has $27 million, leads in the polls, and has never once had his own staff call the FBI on him. We’ll take those odds.”
Happy trails.
Trump has backed challengers to Republican incumbents on numerous occasions this cycle. He endorsed against Indiana state senators who voted against his redistricting push and is currently trying to force out Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie, who frequently votes against the Republican majority. Trump also successfully weighed in against Louisiana GOP Sen. Bill Cassidy, who voted to convict the president in his 2021 impeachment trial and finished third in his primary on Saturday.
But Trump’s endorsement against Cornyn represents a new phase of his reshaping of the GOP. Unlike others, Cornyn routinely votes with the GOP majority, voted to acquit Trump in both impeachment trials and was part of the Senate Republican leadership team during Trump’s first term.
In throwing his weight behind Paxton, Trump is rewarding a loyal soldier who led the legal efforts to overturn the 2020 election and spoke at the pro-Trump rally that preceded the deadly U.S. Capitol riot in January 2021. Like Trump, Paxton has faced federal prosecution and impeachment, and survived both. And Paxton has similarly raucous support among the MAGA base that has powered Trump’s political career — a constituency that came out in full force to loudly protest Trump’s reported inclination to endorse Cornyn more than two months ago.
The president noted that loyalty in his endorsement.
“Ken Paxton has gone through a lot, in many cases, very unfairly, but he is a Fighter, and knows how to WIN,” Trump said. “Our Country needs Fighters, and also Loyalty to the Cause of Greatness. We can never allow what happened to the United States of America during the Corrupt Biden Administration, to happen again.”
On the trail, Paxton has routinely tagged Cornyn as a career politician with limited accomplishments, saying that Texas can do better. He’s also highlighted Cornyn’s rare breaks with Trump, including his support for a bipartisan gun safety bill Trump opposed and Cornyn’s doubts about Trump’s electability in 2023.
In 2023, Cornyn said that Trump’s time “has passed him by,” saying, “I don’t think President Trump understands that when you run in a general election, you have to appeal to voters beyond your base.”
Cornyn ultimately endorsed Trump’s presidential bid in January 2024, after he had won nominating contests in Iowa and New Hampshire. That hesitancy appears to have been decisive in Trump’s endorsement.
Trump’s decision to weigh in now for Paxton also validates an ultimatum the attorney general proposed shortly after his second-place finish in the primary.
Paxton offered to consider dropping out of the race if the Senate passed the SAVE America Act, a voting restrictions bill that is a top priority of Trump’s.
This is going to be a challenge. Talerico has a 40% of winning.
Senate passage is inhibited by the legislative filibuster, a procedural tool that requires 60 votes to end debate on most legislation. Unless Senate Republicans end the filibuster, which the conference lacks the support to do, passage of the SAVE America Act is effectively impossible.
But Paxton’s play centered the race on the bill. Though Cornyn dropped his longtime opposition to ending the filibuster in mid-March, saying he would support scrapping it in order to pass the elections bill, Trump remained mum on the runoff during the critical period in which a candidate could have dropped out.
Trump directly shouted out Paxton’s anti-filibuster stance in his endorsement.
“Ken is a Strong Supporter of TERMINATING THE FILIBUSTER and, very importantly, THE SAVE AMERICA ACT, something which polls at 87%, including Dumocrats [sic], and yet can’t seem to get approved,” Trump said. “Perhaps Ken can help move these important elements of Government forward.”
Polling of the runoff has shown a tight race between Cornyn and Paxton, with most surveys indicating a tie or a narrow Paxton lead. Cornyn finished first in the primary with 42% of the vote to Paxton’s 40.5%.
Rep. Wesley Hunt, who finished third with 13.5% in the March primary, endorsed Paxton shortly after Trump did Tuesday, and asked his supporters to unite behind the attorney general.
“He has the total and complete endorsement of President Donald Trump, and he has mine as well,” Hunt said. “NOW is the time to come together, fight TOGETHER, and deliver a strong America First victory for Texas and for our nation.”
Win or lose, Cornyn will still be in the Senate for the rest of the year, when the chamber is set to take up various Trump priorities including judicial and cabinet nominees and funding for a White House ballroom.
Pennsylvania state representative Chris Rabb trounced his two Pro Israel opponents in a district Democrats demanded change to the status quo.
Welcome to the Squad.
A self described democratic socialist, Rabb said the Democratic Party is tone deaf and its time for some progressive change.
He is boldly telling the public that he doesn't give a fuck, stop funding apartheid. Israel isn't our ally, it's our burden and we must put an end to it by any means necessary.
Hasan Piker, the progressive agitator appeared with Rabb and it helped him win. Rabb went against Sharif Street, an American Muslim who supports Israel and Ala Stanford, a Philadelphia activist who was wishy washy on policies.
Running as a progressive and taking left-wing stances on issues such as health care (such as supporting "Medicare for All"), Rabb notched the endorsement of left-leaning organizations as well as nationally known figures such as Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who campaigned with him last week.
As results came in Tuesday night, supporters rushed to the stage as Rabb took the podium, joined by his sons and parents.
Rabb told the crowd that many doubted his chances in the race - and said he even considered dropping out just a few months ago.
But he said ultimately his sons were his inspiration for running.
That Hasan Piker is a problem. I guess that problem is a winning solution.
He framed the victory as a collective effort.
"This is what our district looks like, and we deserve the very best. They're going to try to tear us apart. We're not going to let that happen because we see our power when we believe in collective action. We are indomitable," said Rabb to supporters.
Rabb is likely to succeed U.S. Rep. Dwight Evans, age 71, who has served in the House of Representatives since 2017 and announced last June that he is retiring from Congress at the end of his term.
While this race is not one of the "battlegrounds" for the U.S. House, it does represent a distinct example of generational change among Democrats, given that it shows a longtime representative ceding his seat to a new generation of lawmakers.
Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) who refused to endorse Zohran Mamdani in his race for New York City mayor quickly endorsed Sharif Street. He appeared with Street in a last minute get out to vote rally. Cherrelle Parker, the mayor of Philadelphia endorsed Street and it didn't matter.
Gov. Josh Shapiro who faced controversy for trying to taint primaries refused to endorse fearing potential backlash.
Stanford had backing of most U.S. House members and Patti LaBelle, the legendary singer/actress.
Kentucky tossed him out like a dirty sack of potatoes.
Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) falls to Trump backed opponent in closely watched primary.
Ed Gallrein will be the Republican nominee. The Israel lobby and the Trump team poured millions into a race that pitted MAGA against one another. A huge defeat to Republicans who felt that Massie's support to release the Jeffrey Epstein files and America Only stance would stick with Kentucky Republicans.
Nope.
They care about getting things done and if there's a distraction, they got go.
Should have voted for the Biden Infrastructure Law.
Even with support from Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) and Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) it wasn't enough.
Massie became the latest Republican lawmaker to anger President Donald Trump and then fall to a primary challenger backed by the president.
Trump handpicked and endorsed Gallrein, whose victory is a demonstration of the president’s powerful influence over GOP voters. In recent weeks several other Republicans have been defeated by Trump-endorsed challengers, including Sen. Bill Cassidy in Louisiana and several Indiana state senators who defied him on redistricting.
Massie, who has served in Congress since 2012, was one of the most outspoken holdouts. He pushed for the release of the Jeffrey Epstein files, criticized the war in Iran and voted against the president’s signature tax legislation last year. Still, he tried to convince voters that they could be for both him and Trump.
After losing, Massie took the stage before a fired-up crowd that cheered and chanted, including slogans such as “no more wars” and “America First!”
“We stirred up something. There is a yearning in this country for someone who will vote for principles over party,” Massie said in his speech, which lasted over 20 minutes.
He also criticized unwavering fealty to Trump in Congress: “If the legislative branch always votes whichever way the wind is blowing, then we have mob rule,” he said. But if lawmakers follow the constitution, “we have a Republic.”
Massie signed off by teasing a run in 2028, saying, “we’ll talk about it later.”
Gallrein delivered a shorter, more muted speech at his victory party in Covington, where he first thanked Trump, who visited Kentucky in March to give Gallrein a boost.
Gallrein, a former Navy SEAL, ran on his military service and loyalty to the president and accused Massie of forsaking Trump and the party. He is favored to win the general election against Democrat Melissa Strange in the deeply red district.
Speaking with reporters after Massie’s defeat, Trump said: “He was a bad guy. He deserves to lose.” And presidential spokesperson Steven Cheung said via social media: “Do not ever doubt President Trump and his political power.”
The primary turned white hot in the final stretch of the campaign as Massie recruited a phalanx of other Republicans, including Rep. Lauren Boebert, in an attempt to show voters that a vote for him was not a vote against Trump. The president, in turn, ratcheted up his social media attacks, calling Massie “an obstructionist and a fool.” On Monday, Gallrein shared a stage with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
The race was the most expensive U.S. House primary in history.
Also Tuesday, Republicans statewide chose U.S. Rep. Andy Barr as their nominee to replace Mitch McConnell, the longtime U.S. Senate leader. In a contest representing a generational changing of the guard for the party, Barr, who was endorsed by Trump, bested Daniel Cameron, a former state attorney general who leaned into his Christianity on the campaign trail.
Trump continues to have a strong base with Republicans despite low poll numbers.
Massie’s challenge
Massie’s challenge was to win over voters who generally think favorably of Trump, the same man telling them to vote for Gallrein. Gallrein embraced the role Trump gave him and focused his pitch to voters on his personal history and unwavering loyalty to the president.
Capitalizing on voters fed up with Massie bucking the party appears to have worked. Kim Dees, who attended Gallrein’s event, said he was “ecstatic,” calling the candidate “very authentic” and “a man of honor.”
Massie noted that he voted with his party the vast majority of the time. As for the remainder, he said those were on proposals that violated his America First principles such as adding to the national debt and getting into military entanglements like the war with Iran.
That’s what Jeanine Thomas, from Union, who attended the congressman’s party, appreciated about Massie.
“He and Trump had the same campaign promises, and he stuck with them,” Thomas said. “He was courageous enough to not toe the line when it was going against what he had promised his constituents that he would do, and unfortunately he was punished for it.”
Massie has voted against U.S. aid to Israel and faced accusations of antisemitism. Denying those accusations, he repeatedly argued that he is generally against all foreign aid. But the race drew in millions of dollars against him from pro-Israel interest groups, including from the Republican Jewish Coalition Victory Fund.
That became a stump topic for Massie, and he alluded to it in his concession speech.
“I would have come out sooner, but I had to call my opponent and concede and it took a while to find Ed Gallrein in Tel Aviv,” Massie told the crowd.
Trump’s ire in recent days turned to Republicans backing Massie. After Boebert posted her support for the incumbent, Trump posted on Truth Social asking for a Republican to challenge her — even though the filing deadline in her home state of Colorado has already passed.
“Anybody that dumb deserves a good Primary fight!” Trump said.
Trump also influenced the Senate primary
The president swayed the race not just through his endorsement but by offering a third challenger, Nate Morris, an ambassadorship just over two weeks before Election Day. Morris, who fashioned himself as the MAGA candidate, withdrew from the race and encouraged his backers to support Barr.
Barr was first elected in 2012 in the 6th Congressional District. He too is favored to win the general election in the Republican-dominated state, against Democrat Charles Booker.
During the campaign both Barr and Cameron tiptoed around their relationship with McConnell, whom they previously called a mentor.
McConnell criticized Trump over the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol and more recently voted against some of his Cabinet picks. He is stepping down after becoming the longest serving Senate leader in American history, coinciding with a transformation of the party under Trump.
Many Republicans, while admiring McConnell’s achievements, see him as out of step with the Make America Great Again and America First movements spawned by Trump. Both Barr and Cameron took note, and while ingratiating themselves to the president, they put some distance between themselves and the senator.
Well WLW is looking for a host, Massie a frequent guest on the Cincinnati right wing radio station will be a likely choice once he leaves office.
