Donald Trump is supposedly writing a book on how presidency was stolen from him
Donald Trump is facing a complex night of Republican primaries, as two of his most conspicuous endorsees, Madison Cawthorn and Mehmet Oz, await potentially career-changing results in North Carolina and Pennsylvania respectively. Where Mr Cawthorn has become a paraiah in much of the GOP because of various recent scandals, Dr Oz is disliked and even despised by much of Mr Trump’s base because of his long record of liberal positions.
Meanwhile, Florida Governor and popular Republican leader Ron DeSantis has signed a bill making it illegal to protest outside a private home in his state. The issue has become a top GOP talking point since the leak of the Supreme Court opinion that would overturn Roe v Wade, a seismic story that saw pro-abortion demonstrators setting up outside the homes of right-wing justices and senators.
The Republican Party and right-wing media have sought to shift their audience’s focus away from the implications of throwing out Roe and instead towards the circumstances of the leak from the court and the tone of the protests that have ensued.
Report: Jan 6 committee preparing for hearings
As the 6 January select committee gears up for what promises to be a dramatic set of hearings over the summer, one question is central to its members’ discussions: the extent to which they need to focus on former president Donald Trump as they piece together the chain of events that led to the worst attack on the Capitol in more than 200 years.
The Washington Post has released an excellent deep-dive report that includes this account of a discussion between two of the panel’s members last month:
Democratic Rep. Stephanie Murphy (Fla.), insisted the committee should focus less on former president Donald Trump and do more to examine the security and intelligence failures that led to the breach of the Capitol by a pro-Trump mob. She also urged the committee to look harder at what can be done to prevent another attack, according to people familiar with the matter.
The other member, Republican Vice Chair Liz Cheney (Wyo.), argued that the committee should keep an intense focus on the former president.
“Rep. Cheney’s view is that security at the Capitol is a critical part of the investigation, but the Capitol didn’t attack itself,” said Jeremy Adler, a spokesman for Cheney.
The tense discussion — which played out in a conference room tucked inside the world’s largest library, where members posed for pictures with historic texts such as the Gettysburg Address — reflected just one among numerous weighty questions the committee must resolve before nationally televised hearings kick off next month.
Andrew Naughtie17 May 2022 14:25
Trump agrees to limit his Twitter engagement
Many Trump fans are eager to see their leader back on Twitter, and Elon Musk has said that he thinks the former president’s account should never have been blocked. But according to financial filings from the company that will oversee the IPO of his own platform, Truth Social, the ex-president has agreed to limit what he can post on Twitter and when if he returns.
Under the agreement, Mr Trump must post anything unrelated to politics first on Truth Social, and can only post on another social media site six hours later, the federal securities filing shows.
But if Mr Trump wants to post on a personal social media account anything “related to political messaging, political fundraising or get-out-the-vote efforts” he can do so at any time.
Graeme Massie has the story.
Andrew Naughtie17 May 2022 13:51
Ron DeSantis outlaws protest outside private homes
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has signed a bill sent to him by state legislators that bans protests outside private homes, drilling down on the right-wing insistence that the law should not tolerate demonstrators who gathered outside the homes of conservative justices and senators to protest the imminent end of Roe v Wade.
Among those whose homes were visited by anti-abortion protesters was Maine Senator Susan Collins, who phoned the police over a message chalked on the sidewalk outside her house.
Andrew Naughtie17 May 2022 13:00
Trump phones in to Oz event in Pennsylvania
Donald Trump is selective with his in-person appearances on the campaign trail these days, restricting himself mainly to rallies in carefully chosen states with candidates he has heartily endorsed. He held such an event for Dr Mehmet Oz not long ago, but since it became clear the TV medic is in danger of losing his primary, Mr Trump has not appeared in Pennsylvania again.
However, an Oz campaign event last night – billed as a “telerally” – saw the president dial in on speakerphone to address a roomful of supporters, reassuring them that the candidate was in fact pro-life and pro-gun. Dr Oz’s long record of relatively liberal positions on both issues is the main strike against him for many conservatives, who have been resistant to his entreaties despite Mr Trump’s backing.
Andrew Naughtie17 May 2022 12:30
Joe Biden reverses Trump’s withdrawal of US troops in Somalia
Reversing a decision taken by former President Donald Trump, Joe Biden has approved the redeployment of US troops in Somalia.
BBC reported that the deployment was requested by the Pentagon to support the fight against militant group al-Shabab.
In 2020, Mr Trump withdrew about 700 US troops from Somalia.
Andrew Naughtie17 May 2022 11:45
ICYMI: Pelosi calls Trump a ‘creature’ as she dubs Supreme Court ‘dangerous to US freedoms’
House speaker Nancy Pelosi has claimed that former president Donald Trump’s Supreme Court appointees have made the bench “dangerous to the freedoms” of the country.
She criticised the judges as the court prepares to issue a ruling that could end decades of constitutional protections for abortion care and trigger a wave of laws making abortion illegal in roughly half the US.
Read the full story here:
Maroosha Muzaffar17 May 2022 11:00
With echoes of Trump, GOP splinters over $40B for Ukraine
Signs of Republican resistance are mounting over a $40 billion aid package to Ukraine, a reemergence of the Trump-led isolationist wing of the GOP that’s coming at a crucial moment as the war against the Russian invasion deepens.
Read the full story here:
Maroosha Muzaffar17 May 2022 10:00
Ted Budd looks poised to coast to victory with Trump’s support
North Carolina Congressman Ted Budd is poised to claim victory on Tuesday over the state’s former governor in the race to be the GOP nominee for the seat held by retiring Sen Richard Burr.
His ascendancy is being buoyed by Donald Trump’s endorsement as well as that of the affluent Club for Growth, which has poured millions behind Mr Budd after breaking with the former president and being burned by Josh Mandel’s defeat in Ohio.
Mr Budd’s success despite running against an opponent who started with far greater name recognition is a sign of the clear power that Donald Trump still wields.
Read more in this profile of the race from the Associated Press:
North Carolina Senate race tests Trump’s endorsement power
When Ted Budd won a surprise endorsement from former President Donald Trump last year, he was a little-known congressman running for a Senate seat in North Carolina against some of the state’s most recognizable Republicans, including a former governor
John Bowden17 May 2022 09:00
‘Cancel culture’ reason PGA moved from Trump-owned course, says Jack Nicklaus
Jack Nicklaus said that PGA Tour pulled its championship out of New Jersey in favour of Tulsa, Oklahoma because of Donald Trump.
He said that the PGA Tour pulled out because Mr Trump owns the course in New Jersey.
He said: “But this move is cancel culture. Donald Trump may be a lot of things, but he loves golf, and he loves this country. He’s a student of the game and a formidable figure in the game. What he does in the future in golf will depend on what the cancel culture will allow him to do.”
Mr Nicklaus has won 18 majors — the most in history. He also endorsed Mr Trump ahead of the 2020 election.
Maroosha Muzaffar17 May 2022 08:15
Can Madison Cawthorn survive Thom Tillis?
Freshman Congressman Madison Cawthorn has no shortage of political foes but one of his most dangerous in his home state is Thom Tillis, the state’s junior Republican senator who will become the senior senator in January following the retirement of Richard Burr.
Mr Tillis is pouring his own super PAC’s money behind the effort to oust the Trump-endorsed Mr Cawthorn, who is beset by a myriad of scandals.
Read more from The Independent’s Eric Garcia:
John Bowden17 May 2022 08:00