Trump says his $355m fraud penalty is ‘a form of Navalny’
Donald Trump appeared on stage in Nashville, Tennessee, almost 90 minutes late on Thursday night to address the National Religious Broadcasters association, delivering a speech as wild as it was incoherent.
Tripping over words his Christian audience might have expected him to master like “evangelical”, the Republican presidential front-runner declared that he had made “Israel” the capital of Israel during his presidency (presumably confusing the decision to move its US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem), that he planned to close down the Department of Education and praised the Capitol rioters for their “tremendous spirit”.
He also claimed that “everybody” agreed with the US Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe vs Wade ruling on access to abortion, among other falsehoods intended to endear him to conservative believers.
On Thursday, Mr Trump failed to secure a delay in his $355m fraud trial and asked a federal court to drop criminal charges against him alleging that he unlawfully held onto confidential national security documents after his presidency had ended.
The candidate will address the Conservative Political Action Conference over the weekend before jetting out for the South Carolina primary, where he faces off against Nikki Haley.
Key Points
Show latest update
Trump says ‘life of our country’ at stake in November
Fox News broadcast some further unseen clips from Tuesday night’s South Carolina town hall with Trump last night.
Really getting their money’s worth out of this, aren’t they?
Among the dregs were Trump’s thoughts on Bitcoin, oil prices and what’s at stake in November’s election as a toadying Tim Scott sat in to play Robin to his Batman.
Joe Sommerlad23 February 2024 10:15
Trump arrives 90 minutes late and delivers wild, incoherent speech to Christian audience
Sleepy Don looked absolutely shattered last night as he took to the stage an hour and a half late in Nashville, Tennessee, to address the National Religious Broadcasters association and boy was he on one.
Tripping over words you might hope he had down for this audience like “evangelical”, he declared, among other things, that he had made “Israel” the capital of Israel during his presidency (presumably confusing the decision to move the US embassy in that country from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem), that he planned to close down the Department of Education (!) and praised the Capitol rioters, or “J6 hostages”, for their “tremendous spirit”.
He even claimed that “everybody” agreed with the US Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe vs Wade, which, I don’t know, I’m sure can’t be right… Everybody? Really? No one had a problem? You’d think someone would have mentioned it…
It really was an astonishing performance, some of which amounted to outright gibberish.
Joe Sommerlad23 February 2024 09:45
Who’s on the shortlist to be Trump’s running mate?
The names you’d expect… and one surprise…
Oliver O’Connell23 February 2024 09:00
Where’s Melania? (again)
Mike Bedigan ponders the whereabouts of the former first lady:
Oliver O’Connell23 February 2024 07:30
Trump mocked for comparing himself to Alexei Navalny
Lydic attacked Mr Trump for “making it about himself” after the one-term president posted an essay on Truth Social titled ‘Biden:Trump::Putin:Navalny.”
The post included a line which read, “Alexei Navalny’s untimely death shines a light on the Left’s lawfare on Trump.”
However, Lydic thought that to compare Navalny with Trump was “unacceptable.”
Amelia Neath has the story:
Oliver O’Connell23 February 2024 05:30
Trump asks court to dismiss charges accusing him of mishandling classified documents
He faces a 40-count indictment in a federal court, charged with the illegal possession of classified documents at his Florida estate post-2021 and impeding efforts by the US government to reclaim them.
US special counsel Jack Smith’s team charged Mr Trump with storing documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, which contained sensitive details about the US nuclear programme and potential national security weaknesses.
Read the full story here:
Maroosha Muzaffar23 February 2024 04:19
New poll has Trump ahead of Biden on age and mental and physical fitness
Gustaf Kilander has the details:
Oliver O’Connell23 February 2024 03:30
After refusing to go up against Republican rivals, Trump challenges Biden to debate him
Despite refusing to show up for any of the Republican primary debates – or for the presidential debates in 2020 – Donald Trump is now challenging PresidentJoe Biden to debate him this time around.
Speaking at a town hall on Fox News Tuesday night, the former president and Republican frontrunner said there was “an obligation” for the pair to go head-to-head in the lead-up to the election in November.
“Frankly, I think we have an obligation. When you have the final Republican, the final Democrat, you have the two people, you have to debate regardless of polls,” Mr Trump told Laura Ingraham in South Carolina.
Mr Trump said he would like to have as many debates as necessary, adding: “I would like to do it starting now”.
Oliver O’Connell23 February 2024 02:00
Biden ‘bombshells’ all lead back to Trump… and Russia
Andrew Feinberg reports that it has become increasingly apparent that the sources of whatever ‘dirt’ Republicans claim to have on President Joe Biden and his family can all be traced back to one man…
Oliver O’Connell23 February 2024 01:00
Critics warn Biden’s alleged anti-asylum plan revives failed Trump-era policy and violates international law
President Joe Biden’s reported plan to restrict the right to claim asylum at the US-Mexico border has alarmed members of Congress and civil and humanitarian rights groups who fear the administration could be in breach of international law.
Such a proposal, which would bypass Congress, would mirror an illegal Trump-era measure that a federal judge had previously rejected as an unlawful attempt to “rewrite” the nation’s immigration laws to “impose a condition that Congress has expressly forbidden.”
Oliver O’Connell23 February 2024 00:00