The Democrats’ Trump Wannabe
The Democrats’ Trump Wannabe
Plus: For Once, Trump Couldn’t Escape Justice
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MONA CHAREN: The Democrats’ Trump Wannabe.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the fourth of his line to seek the presidency, is causing eyebrows to arch all over the political world. The 69-year-old son of slain Senator Robert F. Kennedy is a former environmental lawyer turned vaccine conspiracist. On April 19, he announced his candidacy for the Democratic nomination for president. His aim? To “end the corrupt merger of state and corporate power.”
Would you imagine such a platform attracting followers? Well, he’s been racking up some startling poll numbers. An early April Morning Consult poll found 10 percent support among Democratic primary voters. Ten days later, a USA Today/Suffolk poll clocked him at 14 percent. A week after that, Fox News put him at 19 percent and Emerson College found 21 percent support.
Those are some impressive percentages for a challenger to a sitting president. In September 2019, Trump’s three challengers combined received only 8 percent. Former Governor Bill Weld garnered 5 percent, while former Governor Mark Sanford captured 2 percent and former Representative Joe Walsh managed one percent.
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KIMBERLY WEHLE: The E. Jean Carroll Verdict: For Once, Trump Couldn’t Escape Justice.
After three hours of deliberations, a unanimous federal jury in Manhattan returned a verdict Tuesday in E. Jean Carroll’s civil case against Donald J. Trump, finding him guilty of sexual abuse and defamation. Altogether, he’s on the hook for nearly $5 million, pending an inevitable appeal. This is a big win for Carroll, for the rule of law, and for countless victims of sexual assault across the country. Republicans, who have come to accept or even embrace Trump’s cruelty and vulgarity since he was heard bragging about assaulting women on the Access Hollywood tape in October 2016, will likely take no notice. But that’s not a reason to shrug off the jury’s decision.
Trump refused to appear for the trial or mount any meaningful defense to the allegations that he raped Carroll in a Bergdorf Goodman department store dressing room in New York in 1996. Predictably, his defense counsel took its shot at blaming the victim—for not screaming during the attack and for not calling the police afterwards. As Carroll explained, and as two witnesses whom she contemporaneously told of the attack testified, she was afraid of retaliation—the kind of retaliation she experienced when she went public with her story in 2019 and Trump, according to the jury, defamed her.
🚨OVERTIME🚨
Jim Jordan really wants you to know… That his attacks on the FBI do not, repeat do not include the word “defund.” Because that would muddle his message about Democrats wanting to defund the police.
The elephant in the room… Is a donkey. Our friend Lynn Schmidt on the Kamala factor.
Trump on CNN, Pence on Fox… Dogs and cats, living together… Mass hysteria! Should networks be giving this guy a mic? Tonight will be a big night for CNN’s Kaitlan Collins, who appears to be getting her own show.
Feinstein back, still missing votes. Democratic leaders hope she’ll be back tomorrow. In a statement, she says: “Even though I’ve made significant progress and was able to return to Washington, I’m still experiencing some side effects from the shingles virus. My doctors have advised me to work a lighter schedule as I return to the Senate. I’m hopeful those issues will subside.”
TMac goes to Ukraine… Here’s what he saw.
Are Santos’s days numbered? Here’s what his GOP colleagues are saying. Remember: Saying and doing are two very different things. Also, Kevin McCarthy really can’t afford to lose him. It’s getting awkward at press conferences, since the GOP is pushing to extend the statute of limitations for unemployment insurance fraud, one of the things Santos has been charged with. Finally, though, the GOP gets to see a drag queen arrested for committing crimes. (Santos pled not guilty, to the shock of nobody.)
QUESTION: Where did he get $500k for a bond? Rather: Who would lend him that?
Perhaps sealing his fate, or perhaps not, assuming he is able to run for reelection, he doesn’t have Speaker McCarthy’s support. Bold leadership!
“Chairman Comer has failed…” Oversight Dems push back on the Kentucky Republican’s dog and pony show that was supposed to be the GOP smoking gun for a possible impeachment. Former Rep. Joe Walsh says their tactic is basically: “We know that Joe Biden is guilty of serious crimes! Now we need to go see if we can find any evidence. For what we know.”
And here’s RonAnon on Fox Business telling Maria Bartiromo "You have to infer what's happening here ... you're not gonna get necessarily hard proof." Oh.
Kansas City considers becoming… a sanctuary city for gender affirming treatment. The rise of “_______ Sanctuary City” is not a good one for our politics.
The Metaverse… Is dead. Will anyone remember Questy’s?
Pardon Watch… Now that Tucker is off the air, will Gov. Abbott still pardon this killer?
RIP MTV News… Dave Holmes pays tribute: “Media brands are dropping left and right these days, but this one hit differently, and attention must be paid.”
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