Any hopes that the
Republican party might have that the indictment of
Donald Trump in a Manhattan courtroom last Tuesday will convince outraged independent voters to jump on the Trump train should be put on hold, according to a Wall Street Journal report. While GOP lawmakers are rallying to the former president's side despite a whopping 34 felony counts related to his alleged payment of hush money to an adult film star and a
Playboy model, independent voters and some two-time Trump voters are saying they have had enough and are moving on. According to the Journal's John McCormick, "While the indictment may embolden Mr. Trump’s core supporters, it is unlikely to help him reach more of the centrist voters he would need to reclaim the White House. A poll released by
CNN last week showed 62% of independents approve of the indictment, while
Democrats were nearly universal in their approval of it and
Republicans largely disapproved of it." Case in point, Randy Marquardt, the Republican party chairman in
Washington County, Wisconsin, said a recent get-together broke up when Trump's name came up as the possible 2024 presidential nominee. ALSO IN THE NEWS: GOPer flips out after CNN's Dana Bash fact-checks him on
abortion drug “It got ugly and people eventually went their separate ways to head home,” explained Marquardt. “The other guy argued that Trump came with too much baggage, but there are still quite a few people who are all in with Trump.” Dallas lawyer David Sherwood, who voted for Mr. Trump in 2016 and 2020, has no desire to see the indicted former president on the ballot in 2024, telling the Journal, "The party should avoid Trump and find a younger and fresher candidate,” before adding, “I don’t think Trump can win because he has too much baggage. He has good policies, but an abrasive personality.” Independent Josh Olson, of Huntersville, N.C., predicted Republicans would have trouble appealing to voters like himself. “A lot of us normal people are repulsed by Trump already, whether he was indicted or not,” he explained. Kevin Welch, an independent living Pottsville, Pa. said he would be willing to consider a Republican who is not the former president even though he voted for him twice before. “He’s just too caustic,” he remarked. “I liked some of the things he did for this country, but the division that he causes, because of the words he uses, creates a lot of tension.” You can read more here . The inability of House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) to get his leadership team on the same page as they attempt to come up with a budget plan is being greeted with joy by House Democrats and
White House officials who are more than willing to watch the GOP infighting go public. The once-again embattled McCarthy has been sniping at some of his top lieutenants, with Politico reporting that he"...has taken shots at Budget Chair Jodey Arrington (R-TX) as 'incompetent' and chief deputy Rep. Steve Scalise (R-LA) as 'ineffective,'" with the report adding, "People close to McCarthy tell us that he perceives both men as disloyal (and we know from covering McCarthy for almost a decade that he holds grudges)." According to Axios, things aren't getting any better, and in fact are getting worse, allowing Democrats to sit back and not have to throw him a lifeline. RELATED: Kevin McCarthy's 'chickens are coming home to roost': report One top Democrat who is observing the House Republican's "dysfunction" told Axios, Republicans are "in a hole and digging ...so why take away their shovels?" The report adds, "The report has reassured Democrats that the Biden administration's refusal to move forward with talks before McCarthy releases a GOP budget outline is the correct approach." "A White House official told Axios that Biden's strategy of holding out for a 'clean' debt ceiling increase and only negotiating on the budget once Republicans present a proposal remains unchanged," the Axios report added . CONTINUE READING Show less Fox Business host Liz Clayman defended MSNBC after the left-leaning network decided not to air former President Donald Trump's speech live following his arrest. On the Sunday Media Buzz program,
Fox News host Howard Kurtz and Federalist writer Emily Jashinsky took issue with MSNBC's decision not to air Trump's speech. "I think it's really insulting, not just bad for business, but bad for media," Jashinsky said. "I mean, that speech got really big ratings for a lot of folks." "That's what [MSNBC host] Rachel Maddow is saying," she continued. "You, the audience, can't be trusted to know that this guy might be exaggerating like politicians do... That's not her
Job." RELATED: Bill Barr foresees Trump indictment from feds: 'He had no claim to those documents' Kurtz then prompted Clayman to attack MSNBC. "Liz, it seems almost condescending to me," Kurtz told Clayman. "You know, we don't want you to hear what the Republican frontrunner has to say because you might fall for it." Clayman, however, defended MSNBC. "I'm wondering if Emily would think it's insulting that Fox News in the past has decided on occasion not to cover a Donald Trump rally or speech," Clayman remarked. "That has been happening in the past. And you know, I love people who don't, who just want to throw that out there and say the editorial decision was supposed to be this. Editorial decisions are made for all kinds of reasons." "And MSNBC feels that their viewers probably didn't want to see what maybe they felt was going to be the same old grievances or some lies," she added. Kurtz defended his attack on the left-leaning network. "When Fox didn't take the two January 6th committee hearings in prime time, I was critical of that," he recalled. "It did run all the other daytime hearings. And so I just think, let the viewers decide. They're smart, and you don't have to shield them from this sort of thing." Watch the video below from Fox News or at the link . CONTINUE READING Show less During an appearance on MSNBC's 'The Sunday Show," GOP campaign consultant Susan Del Percio was pressed to answer the question of "what has happened" to Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) who is now making appearances on conservative cable networks desperately fundraising to help pay Donald Trump's legal bills. The South Carolina Republican has been roundly ridiculed for his Fox News appearances where, in one appearance, he appeared teary-eyed after Trump was arraigned in a Manhattan courtroom. Speaking with MSNBC host Jonathan Capehart about Graham, Del Percio bluntly stated, "He has no shame." After watching a clip from
Saturday Night Live where Graham was parodied, Del Percio told the host, "We saw that happen right after Trump's
election in 2016." RELATED: Rick Wilson nails Lindsey Graham for his 'sad-eyed puppy' Trump routine "He was worried about a primary and that is when he went full-Trump. It wasn't right away," she continued. "I don't know, it seems like he is going to next give away a set of knives or started using a tin can, I'm not sure which." "I don't know why he's all in," host Capehart pressed. "He used to pal around with Senator
John McCain (R-AZ). For the Republican party, [he was] kind of a moderate Republican. Lindsey Graham has gone like full MAGA." 'He's gone full tilt even when he tries to break away," Del Percio replied. "'Like January 6 is good example. He said he had enough. And then, I guess, someone chased him around an airport and he got very nervous and then went back full-tilt Trump ." 'He has no shame," she added. "It's embarrassing to see this." Watch below or at the link : MSNBC 04 09 2023 09 48 47 youtu.be CONTINUE READING Show less