Trump's Troubles

Opinion: Look out — Republicans are defecting from Trump’s MAGA army in droves (msn.com)

Now some of Trump’s former allies have apparently seen enough. The cracks in Trump’s political dam widened into a steady leak this week after former Rep. Barbara Comstock (R-Va.) announced that she would cast her ballot for Harris in November. “After January 6, after Donald Trump has refused for four years to acknowledge that he lost, and his threats against democracy — I think it’s important to turn the page,” Comstock told CNN over the weekend.
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Then there’s the far right, terminally online influencers who make up the beating heart of the MAGA movement. Those mostly young political movers include figures like neo–Nazi Nick Fuentes, who was once friendly enough with Trump to score a dinner invitation to Mar-a-Lago. Now Fuentes is casting doubt on the former president, saying he predicts a “catastrophic loss” for Trump and the GOP in November.

Likewise for long-time Trump ally and right-wing performance artist Laura Loomer, who rose to fame in part by riding Trump’s media coattails. “Have you noticed how weak so many of the Trump surrogates sound on TV?” Loomer asked in a post on X. “Needs to change FAST because we can’t talk about a stolen election for another four years.”

All of that criticism from former Trump loyalists has other MAGA culture warriors weaving conspiracy theories to explain away Trump’s weakness. Far-right podcaster Brenden Dilley used his platform to accuse Fuentes of being — of all possible things — a secret Democratic operative paid by the Harris campaign. The mind truly reels at the thought.

 

this says a lot, nothing we didn't know but ..
personally glad he is refusing them

Why Trump is saying no to security briefings: reports (msn.com)

Additionally, Trump says he doesn't need the intelligence briefings because he already knows "what's happening" around the world.

 

only the bad people though. you know, the brown and black ones..smdh

 

he did same deal with Kari Lake...they ain't here to listen to you...check out the teleprompter

 

hopefully someone buys time on fox news so djt has to watch this. RFK for VP?

JD Vance declaring himself a ‘never Trump guy’ becomes viral TikTok hit (msn.com)

JD Vance declared himself a “never Trump guy” in 2016. Now that he’s Donald Trump’s running mate, the Ohio senator’s words have come back to haunt him in the form of a viral hit on social media app TikTok.

The 22-second long audio clip was created by DJ duo Casa Di and Steve Terrell, who sampled Vance’s comments from a 2016 Vance interview with Charlie Rose when he was promoting his memoir Hillbilly Elegy.

 

Kemp making a strong play to take back the pub party? Seeking legal guidance to remove the 3 MAGAts on the Georgia election board. Will djt remain silent or will we see some late night raging tonight?

Republican Picks New Fight With Donald Trump Days After Making Up - Newsweek

In a dramatic shift of political allegiances, Georgia Governor Brian Kemp is exploring the possibility of removing three members of the State Election Board, mere days after receiving a public endorsement from former President Donald Trump. This move underscores the complex and evolving dynamics within the Republican Party, particularly in battleground states like Georgia.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that Kemp, a Republican, has requested guidance from Georgia's Attorney General on whether he has the authority to dismiss members of the State Election Board. This inquiry comes in response to controversial decisions made by the board's right-wing majority, which have drawn criticism from various quarters, including voting rights groups, Democrats, and even some Republicans.

Newsweek contacted Kemp and Trump's office via email on Monday for comment.

The three board members in question—Janelle King, Rick Jeffares, and Dr. Janice Johnston—were appointed earlier this year and have quickly become the center of a political storm. Their recent approval of changes requiring election boards to search for voting discrepancies before certifying results has sparked intense debate and led to ethics complaints being filed against them.

 

Smith finally files appeal but doesn't request her removal. Could the appeals court suggest her removal even if Smith doesn't request it?
no idea why part of this are lined thru

Jack Smith Appeals Trump Documents Case Dismissal—And Doesn’t Ask For Judge Cannon’s Removal (msn.com)

Special Counsel Jack Smith formally appealed Monday the dismissal of federal charges against former President Donald Trump for allegedly mishandling White House documents, arguing U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon “misconstrued” the law by dismissing the charges—but Smith did not ask for the Trump-appointed judge to be removed from the case.
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The Supreme Court ruled in U.S. v. Nixon that attorneys general can appoint special prosecutors—functionally the same as a special counsel—Smith argued, and pointed to federal statutes that allow attorneys general to appoint “officials” to “detect and prosecute crimes against the United States” and “special attorney” who can “undertake any civil or criminal proceedings.”

Cannon’s interpretation of federal law was “nonsensical,” Smith argued, claiming the judge also “erroneously disregarded” the history of attorneys general appointing special counsels, as well as other similar government appointments.

The special counsel asked for Cannon’s ruling to be overturned and for the criminal case to be sent back to district court to move forward to trial—but did not ask for Cannon to be removed from the case, even as the Trump appointee has faced widespread criticism for issuing rulings favorable to the ex-president.

 

Mr. Smith isn't going away.

Donald Trump faces new US indictment in election subversion case (msn.com)

The new indictment dropped allegations that Trump sought to pressure the U.S. Justice Department in his bid to overturn his election defeat, an apparent effort to keep the prosecution alive after the high court found that Trump could not be prosecuted for that conduct.

 

could Texas really be in play? MAGA themes apparently not playing well

abbott and Paxton are even worse than desi and patronis, and that is saying something.

can the feds indict him for this bolded part?

Texas GOP doubles down on fraud claims as Trump, Cruz leads shrink (msn.com)

Texas Republicans are doubling down on claims that Democrats in the state’s biggest cities are attempting to steal the 2024 election – a contest in which the GOP’s leads in the Senate and presidential races are increasingly narrowing. State GOP leaders like Gov. Greg Abbott and Attorney General Ken Paxton have made the state’s large urban counties a focus of allegations of a grand Democratic conspiracy to steal the 2024 election.
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Last Tuesday, Paxton announced investigations into debunked claims that nonprofit groups were “illegally registering noncitizens to vote in our elections” — a talking point that appears to have come from a friend-of-a-friend story from Fox host Maria Bartiromo. Then on Wednesday, Paxton authorized searches of the homes and offices of Democratic Party officials and campaign workers in three Texas counties, including Bexar, the home of San Antonio, the state’s second-largest city.
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A survey in early August of 1,365 state residents by the University of Houston’s School of Public Affairs found that Harris was within 5 points of Trump — with 4 percentage points more voters energized to vote for her than had been for Biden.

Sen. Ted Cruz (R) is also just more than 2 points ahead of challenger Rep. Colin Allred (D), with more than 6 percent undecided. In a sign of the state’s changing political landscape, Trump slightly leads Harris among Latino voters, though Cruz trails Allred among that cadre. Both Democrats lead Trump among Texas women by more than 6 points.