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  • Trump raised a lot last month he removed Biden’s money benefit

    Trump raised a lot last month he removed Biden’s money benefit

    Former President Donald Trump’s substantial Might fundraising haul removed President Joe Biden’s longstanding money benefit as the 2 prepare for a rematch.

    Trump’s project had $116.6 million in the bank at the end of Might, compared to $91.6 million for Biden.

    It wasn’t due to bad fundraising on the incumbent’s part — Biden’s project saw a good fundraising rebound in Might after a weak revealing the month prior. However Trump’s fundraising while he was on trial in New york city that month, stressed in the last days when he was founded guilty, sufficed to go beyond Biden in project money, something that had long been viewed as an essential strength of his.

    The most recent project financing filings with the Federal Election Commission likewise exposed how Biden has actually continued to develop out his project device, while Trump has actually mainly kept money. And down-ballot races are likewise warming up, with celebration committees and other outdoors groups generating — and spreading out around — more money than previously.

    After months of a fairly drowsy start, the genuine cash race has actually started.

    Those are amongst the takeaways of the project financing reports submitted by governmental projects, celebration committees and a handful of other groups on Thursday. The reports covered all activity for the month of Might.

    Biden was depending on a money benefit. Trump cleaned it out.

    Trump’s project and the Republican politician National Committee stated they raised $141 million in Might, a figure that consisted of the considerable fundraising increase after the previous president’s criminal conviction on hush cash charges (The complete breakdown behind that number won’t be offered up until mid-July, when Trump’s joint fundraising committees submit their own reports.)

    However the previous president’s project filing Thursday revealed a substantial rise in the last 2 days of the month — the day the jury bied far a guilty decision and the day after.

    Simply taking a look at large-dollar contributions, the project reported getting a minimum of 6 times as numerous everyday contributions those 2 days compared to a normal day. And the fundraising spike was most likely even higher, thinking about that doesn’t consist of unitemized contributions of less than $200 or any contributions that the joint fundraising contributions hadn’t yet moved.

    In overall, Trump’s project and the RNC reported simply over $170 million money on hand integrated at the end of Might, surpassing Biden and the Democratic National Committee, which reported simply shy of $157 million.

    While Trump’s New york city trial and conviction did drive grassroots fundraising, the strong numbers from last month likewise showed standard Republican donors increase their contributions as the basic election cycle began.

    The pro-Trump very PAC Make America Great Again Inc. raised almost $70 million in Might. However the bulk of that overall was a single $50 million contribution from Timothy Mellon, a long time GOP donor who had actually currently provided the very PAC $25 million because the start of in 2015. (Mellon has actually likewise provided $25 million to an incredibly PAC support Robert F. Kennedy Jr.) The very PAC likewise got $5 million each from Richard and Elizabeth Uihlein, long time GOP megadonors.

    Biden’s fundraising rebounded — however he invested even more than Trump

    Biden’s operation stated it raised $85 million in Might throughout his project, the Democratic National Committee and 2 joint fundraising committees — a substantial rebound from the previous month, when it raised simply $51 million.

    The incumbent president’s project likewise invested more than $30 million, according to its report submitted late Thursday, up from $25 million the previous month and almost 4 times as much as Trump’s project invested over the exact same duration.

    Advertisement purchases and media production represented approximately two-thirds of that costs overall, however Biden likewise outspent Trump greatly in a series of other cost classifications, such as payroll, on which Biden’s project invested almost $3.8 million compared to $176,000 for Trump. Part of that variation most likely showed some rejiggering on the Republican side, as numerous staffers just recently paid straight by Trump’s project are now on payroll at the RNC rather. However it likewise shows how Biden’s project has actually constructed out a a lot more robust — and more costly — project facilities.

    Naturally, Trump now has the money offered to match Biden’s marketing. The concern for the remainder of the summertime will be how his project picks to utilize it.

    RFK Jr. (and his allies) are pushed for money

    Kennedy’s project has actually had a hard time for months to raise money, and things appeared to get back at more alarming last month.

    The project invested significantly more than it raised in May amidst a fundraising downturn, and even the main very PAC backing him — which can take limitless funds from rich donors — reported raising a meager $281,000 for the month, though it still had more than $19 million in the bank.

    Kennedy’s delayed fundraising provides obstacles on a number of levels. Initially, it recommends that Kennedy mainly hasn’t had the ability to substantially grow his assistance beyond the base that liked him from the start. It likewise comes at a time when governmental fundraising usually gets, with Biden and Trump both reporting strong fundraising months. However Kennedy, who likewise stopped working to receive next week’s CNN dispute, isn’t constructing any momentum.

    And obviously, absence of fundraising might produce really useful obstacles for Kennedy and his allies. Campaigning down the stretch will need considerable resources, however it’s unclear whether Kennedy will have them.

    Down-ballot Republicans get the rate

    As basic election marketing gets in down-ballot races, both Home Democrats’ and Home Republicans’ project arms stated they set brand-new May fundraising records. And for the very first time this year, the National Republican politician Congressional Committee outraised its Democratic equivalent.

    Your home GOP’s project arm generated $12.6 million to the Democratic Congressional Project Committee’s $11.9 million, which was the Democrats’ second-lowest regular monthly fundraising overall this year because its $9.5 million January haul.

    The windfall after the Trump decision most likely assisted Republicans. The NRCC kept in mind in a news release that it “raised over $1 million from small-dollar donors in the days following” Trump’s conviction, showing how Trump’s fundraising expertise is dripping down-ballot.

    Still, the DCCC has actually raised more up until now this cycle and maintains a substantial money benefit — it had $78.8 million in the bank at the end of Might compared to $64.6 million for the NRCC.

    Senate Republicans’ project arm likewise outraised the Democratic Senatorial Project Committee last month, $12.4 million to $10.6 million. The National Republican Politician Senatorial Committee has actually outraised the DSCC on a monthly basis this year. However the DSCC preserves a minor money benefit — $48.3 million to $41 million.

    AIPAC’s costs is more comprehensive than formerly understood

    The greatest pro-Israel group continued to bend its muscle: The American Israel Public Affairs Committee directed significant funds towards its backed prospects in 2 significant Democratic primaries in Might, raising $890,000 for George Latimer, who is challenging Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.), and $818,000 for Wesley Bell, who is challenging Rep. Cori Bush (D-Mo.).

    AIPAC did not raise more than $140,000 for any other single prospect in Might, showing how those 2 primaries continue to be the group’s greatest top priority. Its associated very PAC, United Democracy Job, made a splash in congressional races over the last month — consisting of Bowman’s — by investing greatly.

    AIPAC likewise silently funneled cash into a congressional race in Might — however the source of the funds, after much speculation, has just now end up being public.

    2 very PACs that invested huge in an open Democratic congressional main in Oregon this year got cash from an AIPAC affiliate. The groups, 314 Action Fund and Voters for Responsive Federal government, invested almost $5.5 million integrated increasing State Rep. Maxine Dexter and assaulting previous Multnomah County Commissioner Susheela Jayapal, who had the support of nationwide progressives. Dexter won the main convincingly and is set to travel to success in the safe Democratic district where Biden won by practically 50 points in 2020.

    Last month, The Intercept reported the link in between AIPAC and 314, which the group pressed back on. Dexter’s main challengers likewise disagreed with the costs throughout the project and implicated 314 of being moneyed by Republican politicians — a refrain that progressives typically utilize as an attack versus AIPAC.

    Thursday’s filings revealed that Citizens for Responsive Federal government got $1.3 million from United Democracy Job, while 314 Action Fund got $1 million. Both contributions were made on Might 1 — a day after the regular monthly disclosure due date that would have led the source of the funds to be revealed ahead of Oregon’s Might 21 congressional main.

  • Trump overshadows Biden in most current fundraising numbers in program of political force after felony convictions

    Trump overshadows Biden in most current fundraising numbers in program of political force after felony convictions

    NEW YORK CITY (AP) — Donald Trump’s project outraised President Joe Biden by more than $60 million last month, according to federal filings revealed Thursday that detailed the Republican fundraising surge stimulated by Trump’s felony convictions.

    Biden’s project and the Democratic National Committee together raised a robust $85 million in Might and reported $212 million in the bank at the end of the month. The strong proving does not consist of approximately $40 million raised by Biden and his leading surrogates in current days — or a different $20 million contribution from previous New york city City Mayor Michael Bloomberg to pro-Biden groups.

    Still, Trump’s fundraising for, for one month a minimum of, appeared to overshadow Biden’s.

    The Trump project and the Republican politician National Committee stated it raised a jaw-dropping $141 million in Might, consisting of 10s of millions contributed right away after Trump was founded guilty of 34 felonies in the New york city hush cash case. At the very same time, billionaire Timothy Mellon, contributed a sensational $50 million to a pro-Trump extremely PAC the day after Trump’s guilty decision, according to filings revealed Thursday.

    Trump’s project decreased to report just how much cash it had in the bank at the end of Might, triggering Biden’s project to question whether the groups were still investing greatly to cover Trump’s legal costs.

    “Our strong and constant fundraising program grew by countless individuals in Might, a clear indication of strong and growing interest for the president and vice president each and every single month,” stated Biden project supervisor Julie Chavez Rodriguez. “The cash we continue to raise matters, and it’s assisting the project develop out an operation that purchases reaching and winning the citizens who will choose this election –- a plain contrast to Trump’s PR stunts and photo-ops that he’s pretending is a project.

    Taken together, the numbers detailed in the projects’ most current Federal Election Commission filings recommend that Democrats might still keep a money benefit in the 2024 governmental contest. However practically 4 months before Election Day, Trump’s side is closing the space — if it isn’t closed currently.

    The brand-new fundraising figures likewise highlight the degree to which the guidelines of governmental politics are being re-written in the Trump period.

    At practically any other time in U.S. history, a governmental prospect would have been required to leave an election after being founded guilty of lots of felonies. However in 2024, Trump’s guilty decision has actually rather sustained a huge fundraising rise that puts his group in a position to increase marketing and swing state facilities simply as citizens start paying closer attention to the election.

    Backed by Mellon’s huge contribution, the pro-Trump extremely PAC called MAGA Inc. scheduled $3.5 million in tv marketing set to start July 3 throughout Georgia and Pennsylvania on Thursday, according to the media tracking company AdImpact. In general, the group reported a $68.8 million haul for Might, ending the month with $93.7 million in the bank.

    Mellon has actually been amongst the most significant donors to Trump and independent prospect Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., although his assistance for Kennedy might be fading.

    Kennedy raised $2.6 million last month and ended up Might with $6.4 million in the bank. The large bulk of his fundraising overall originated from running mate Nicole Shanahan, a rich Silicon Valley attorney. The Kennedy project invested more than it raised for the month.

    The numbers reported on Thursday did not consist of anything raised in June, consisting of approximately $40 million raised by Biden and his leading surrogates in current days. The large bulk originated from a flashy charity event last Saturday with film stars and previous President Barack Obama in Los Angeles that raised more than $30 million. Very first woman Jill Biden likewise has actually been on her own individual fundraising swing that has actually generated $1.5 million.

    On the other hand, Biden likewise got a huge increase from Bloomberg.

    The billionaire benefactor, who quickly ran for president as a Democrat in 2020, sent out $19 million to the pro-Biden group Future Forward in addition to sending out the legal optimum of $929,600 to the Biden Success Fund, according to an individual knowledgeable about the transfers.

    Bloomberg likewise officially backed Biden on Thursday. “I stood with Joe Biden in 2020, and I am happy to do so once again,” Bloomberg stated in a declaration.

    The Biden project stated that the large bulk of its most current fundraising originated from grassroots donors such as nurses, instructors and retired people. In general, the Biden project and Democratic National Committee brought in more than 3 million brand-new donors last month, according to a declaration from the project.

    “While Trump is seeping off his billionaire sycophants, our project represents the voices of America, and we’re honored to have their assistance as we race towards November,” Democratic National Committee Chair Jaime Harrison stated.

    ___

    AP author Seung Minutes Kim in Washington and Jill Colvin in New york city contributed.

  • Deceptive GOP videos of Biden are going viral. The fact-checks have problem maintaining.

    Deceptive GOP videos of Biden are going viral. The fact-checks have problem maintaining.

    More Americans might believe President Joe Biden attempted to rest on a nonexistent chair a few days ago than understand the dull reality that there was, in truth, a chair.

    The chair-that-was-there was simply among lots of fast video the conservative media community willed into vigor over the previous 2 weeks, leaving fact-checkers and Biden’s group with long shot to capture up.

    The Republican Politician National Committee, significant conservative media outlets and conservative influencers have actually been successful in blasting out videos that they declare program “evidence” of Biden’s straying, freezing up or perhaps filling his trousers with a compound typically represented by a brown swirl emoji.

    Independent fact-checkers and the Biden project have actually explained that the videos, while they are un-doctored by expert system, tend to fall apart under even fundamental examination, such as when the minutes are seen in context or from broader electronic camera angles.

    “Fresh off being truth examined by a minimum of 6 mainstream outlets for lying about President Biden with low-cost phonies, Rupert Murdoch’s unfortunate little incredibly PAC, the New York City Post, is back to disrespecting its readers and itself as soon as again,” White Home representative Andrew Bates stated in a declaration in recommendation to a video of Biden at a fundraising event with previous President Barack Obama over the weekend that arrived at the cover of the Post, a conservative tabloid.

    While “deepfakes” are deceptive audio, video or images that are produced or modified with expert system innovation, a “low-cost phony,” according to scientists Britt Paris and Joan Donovan, is a “control produced with more affordable, more available software application (or, none at all). Inexpensive phonies can be rendered through Photoshop, lookalikes, re-contextualizing video, speeding, or slowing.”

    Still, even if they are misleading, the videos however play into citizens’ existing issues about Biden’s age and are custom-made for web virality, suggesting hectic citizens might be most likely to come across the short incendiary clips than the more strenuous fact-checks that chase them.

    “The lie is running the 100-meter dash and the fact-check is taking a walk on the beach. So it’s never ever going to capture up. And it’s never ever going to have the very same reach,” stated Eric Schultz, a Democratic strategist and Obama representative who on Sunday openly called out the Post’s characterization of the fundraising event as incorrect.

    Recently, Republicans pressed a video of Biden in Europe participating in the Group of 7 top in which he presumably “strayed” in a baffled haze before Italy’s prime minister pulled him back. Uncut video and shots from broader angles revealed Biden was welcoming a parachutist who had actually simply landed as part of the event.

    The debate created by the video grew so big that British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was asked to provide his eyewitness account of the minute.

    “They had all landed, and he was being extremely courteous. And he simply visited sort of talk with all of them separately,” Sunak informed press reporters.

    Before that, the RNC’s opposition research study account recommended Biden was having a medical occurrence since he was not dancing at a Juneteenth occasion, though Biden has long stated he is very little of a dancer and hardly danced at his inaugural ball in 2021.

    At the fundraising event in Los Angeles, Biden and Obama were waving to advocates after having actually gotten a standing ovation when Biden looked into the audience for a minute before the more prompt Obama signified it was time to leave the phase. Numerous individuals at the occasion stated they did not acknowledge the New york city Post’s analysis that Biden appeared to “freeze up.”

    ‘A pattern of habits’

    Republicans are unapologetic about the specific videos — in spite of the fact-checks from traditional media they wonder about.

    “It’s a pattern of habits. It’s not like it’s one circumstances,” Trump project spokesperson Karoline Leavitt stated in an interview. “It’s not like we’re making these videos. This is Joe Biden in genuine time. We’re simply putting it out there for the world to see.”

    Inquired about the clipped video that Republicans stated revealed Biden attempting to being in a chair that did not exist (in truth, it was simply concealed from view by the electronic camera angle), Leavitt stated, “The videos promote themselves.”

    “It’s outrageous that the words ‘low-cost phony’ [are] even being utilized,” she stated. “There’s absolutely nothing low-cost or phony about these videos. They are genuine clips of Joe Biden acting bizarrely.

    “The Biden project’s whole technique is to encourage individuals not to think their own eyes,” she included.

    The spread of the videos highlights what academics state might be an especially turbulent election cycle. Numerous significant social networks platforms have actually rolled back the couple of checks and balances on the spread of incorrect or deceptive info under pressure from Republicans. On the other hand, the power and reach of simply a handful of accounts on X can spread out talking indicate countless individuals that is then gotten by more mainstream conservative media.

    Taking liberties with video modifying — or merely misrepresenting what is occurring in a video — is absolutely nothing brand-new. However previous President Donald Trump’s takeover of the Republican politician Celebration has actually pressed the celebration even more throughout the hazy divide in between spin and mendacity, while innovation has actually permitted clips to be cut and relayed continuously.

    Reaching citizens who do not take in much political news is a difficulty in the very best of cases, and it is made harder when companies attempt to reach the very same citizens a 2nd time to attempt to alter their views about a roaming piece of political material they formerly experienced.

    Conservative media outlets distributing such clips consist of not just notoriously ideological ones, like Fox News, however likewise the large network of regional television news stations owned by Sinclair Broadcasting, lots of which re-packaged similar variations of the very same heading about Biden’s appearing to freeze.

    Couple of in conservative media have actually provided any resistance to the assault of videos. Howard Kurtz, a Fox News host and media reporter, is among the couple of significant outliers, having actually called out the New york city Post and fellow host Sean Hannity for their protection of the G7 video.

    And web platforms’ algorithms and their users’ natural habits tend to reward the unexpected and questionable while neglecting the ordinary.

    ‘We can’t stop them from doing this’

    Democrats’ technique for handling the videos is twofold, according to numerous individuals acquainted with the thinking about the Biden project, the White Home and allied outdoors groups.

    Initially, they will attempt to include them to the conservative media community and very online areas of political discourse like X, wanting to avoid them from breaking through into the mainstream as much as possible.

    By being aggressive in fact-checking, rapidly publishing fuller video with proper context and calling out media outlets that report on them, the White Home and the Biden project want to stop them from spreading out too far.

    “We can’t stop them from doing this. What we can do is combat like hell to get fact-checks and to spread out those fact-checks,” stated a Biden project authorities who asked for privacy to speak openly about technique. “Does it possibly penetrate out to independent citizens? Yes, which’s what we’re defending against and battling versus.”

    2nd, Democrats are stepping up their own attacks on Trump online, strongly publishing their own made-to-go-viral videos of Trump’s spoken cul-de-sacs, curious tangents and uncomfortable actions.

    They consist of highlighting what they state are Trump’s senior minutes, such as one at a rally Saturday night when he stated Biden “ought to need to take a cognitive test” — just to minutes later on flub the name of the medical professional who administered a comparable test to him.

    Much of it has actually originated from Biden HQ, an account the Biden project’s research study and rapid-response groups utilize to blast Trump. For example, in one clip from the very same occasion, Trump assured to take concerns after his speech — “This is various than Joe Biden. He doesn’t take any concerns” — however rather left the phase without taking any concerns.

    Schultz stated: “Both prospects are old, however one is meaningful and has sound ideas. So to the degree that that breaks through, then I believe we’ll be okay come November.”

    Trump’s project has actually likewise grumbled about the Biden project’s stealthily representing videos of its own in the past. That consisted of when Trump informed autoworkers there would be a “bloodbath” if he is not chosen. Trump’s project stated that the term particularly described the automobile market which Democrats deliberately mischaracterized it by making it appear that Trump was prompting violence.

    Still, Democrats approximately and consisting of Biden himself — barely a digital local — appear to comprehend the difficulty of reducing viral videos that lots of Americans wish to think.

    “The reality is that the method which we interact with individuals nowadays, there’s extremely little — there’s a lot chance to simply lie,” Biden stated at the fundraising event in Los Angeles. “A lot of it on the web is definitely a flat-out lie.”

    Very first woman Jill Biden handled the problem of Biden’s age head-on Saturday at an occasion for senior citizens in Phoenix: “Joe and the other guy are basically the very same age, so let’s not be tricked.”

    According to surveys, citizens up until now do not concur with her. And some Democrats appear to be continuously bracing for some significant, unedited minute when Biden reveals his age.

    NBC News’ nationwide survey in late January discovered three-quarters of citizens, consisting of lots of Democrats, stating they had significant or small issues about Biden’s physical and psychological health.

    This post was initially released on NBCNews.com

  • The RNC is introducing a huge effort to keep track of ballot. Critics state it threatens to weaken trust

    The RNC is introducing a huge effort to keep track of ballot. Critics state it threatens to weaken trust

    BLOOMFIELD HILLS, Mich. (AP) — The Republican Politician National Committee on Friday introduced a swing state effort to activate some 100,000 ballot location displays, survey employees and lawyers to work as “election stability” guard dogs in November — an effort that right away drew issues that it might result in harassment of election employees and weaken rely on the vote.

    The RNC states its strategy will assist citizens believe the electoral procedure and guarantee their votes matter. Yet, as previous President Donald Trump and his allies continue to spread out incorrect claims that the 2020 election was ruined by prevalent scams, the effort likewise sets the phase for a repeat of Trump’s efforts to weaken the outcomes — a gambit that eventually caused the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.

    Trump allies currently have actually signified that they may decline the outcomes if he loses to President Joe Biden.

    The RNC has stated its brand-new effort will concentrate on stopping “Democrat tries to prevent the guidelines.” The celebration will release displays to observe every action of the election procedure, develop hotlines for survey watchers to report viewed issues and intensify those concerns by taking legal action.

    “What we require to guarantee is stability in our electoral procedure,” RNC Co-chair Lara Trump, the previous president’s daughter-in-law, stated throughout the kickoff occasion in Bloomfield Hills, a city in a rural county that is important for winning Michigan. “We can never ever return and repeat 2020, however we can discover the lessons from 2020.”

    She stated the majority of the RNC is focused today on the committee’s election stability program, which she called “among its kind.”

    Both celebrations have a long history of arranging advocates to work as survey displays, and numerous election authorities in the governmental swing states stated they feel this type of openness and engagement is among the very best methods to assist doubters feel great in the numerous safeguards baked into the electoral procedure.

    Yet the language surrounding the RNC’s effort and how it’s being executed might provide more comprehensive issues must it develop beyond regular political celebration arranging, stated David Becker, a previous U.S. Justice Department legal representative who acts as executive director of the Center for Election Development and Research Study.

    “To do it in such a way that feeds your citizens with the concept that the election is going to be taken, that prepares them to be upset if their prospect loses, that can be really harmful,” Becker stated.

    ___

    Associated Press authors Christina A. Cassidy in Atlanta, Gary D. Robertson in Raleigh, North Carolina, Marc Levy in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and Scott Bauer in Madison, Wisconsin, added to this report. Swenson reported from New york city.

    ___

    The Associated Press gets assistance from numerous personal structures to boost its explanatory protection of elections and democracy. See more about AP’s democracy effort here. The AP is entirely accountable for all material.

  • GOP Senate Candidate Completely Craps On Donald Trump’s Recommendation

    GOP Senate Candidate Completely Craps On Donald Trump’s Recommendation

    Republican Senate prospect Larry Hogan, the previous guv of Maryland, embarrassed Donald Trump by rebuffing the previous president’s recommendation on Thursday.

    “Gov. Hogan has actually been clear he is not supporting Donald Trump simply as he didn’t in 2016 and 2020,” Hogan representative Michael Ricci informed Fox News when inquired about Trump’s statement of assistance.

    Hogan composed in March the GOP couldn’t pay for to have Trump as the candidate. However the criminally founded guilty prospect still put himself out there in backing Hogan.

    “I’d like to see him win,” Trump informed Fox News. “I believe he has a likelihood to win. I wish to see him win. And we’ve got to take the bulk.”

    Asked by the conservative news channel if he was backing Hogan, Trump stated, “Basically, I would be backing, yeah.”

    Larry Hogan and Donald Trump

    Larry Hogan and Donald Trump Getty

    Hogan rattled Trump’s group and allies by prompting Americans to “appreciate the decision and the legal procedure” before Trump was founded guilty in his hush-money trial last month.

    Republican politician National Committee co-chair Lara Trump, the previous president’s daughter-in-law, stated later that Hogan “doesn’t be worthy of the regard of anybody in the Republican politician Celebration at this moment, and rather honestly any person in America.”

    Chris LaCivita, the co-manager of Trump’s 2024 project, menacingly composed to Hogan on X (previously Twitter): “You simply ended your project.”

    Hogan, who served 2 terms as guv in the blue state and has actually stated formerly he wouldn’t choose Trump, is running versus Democrat Angela D. Alsobrooks for the seat of retiring Sen. Ben Cardin (D).

    Trump lost Maryland by more than 30 points in the 2020 election, maybe making him an albatross for Republican prospects in the state. However it appears the possibility of turning a Senate seat under his prospective presidency had him swallowing his pride to back Hogan.

    Associated…

  • Biden project gets in touch with GOP to drop claims over mail tallies, pointing out Trump’s brand-new fondness for it

    Biden project gets in touch with GOP to drop claims over mail tallies, pointing out Trump’s brand-new fondness for it

    DENVER (AP) — President Joe Biden’s reelection project on Thursday gotten in touch with leading Republican politicians to drop lawsuits looking for to reduce elements of mail balloting now that Donald Trump has actually started to welcome the approach.

    Trump for several years wrongly declared ballot by mail was filled with scams, however his 2024 project started a program this month to motivate mail ballot if hassle-free for individuals. It becomes part of Republicans’ effort to increase mail ballot amongst their fans.

    At the exact same time, the Republican politician National Committee, recently under the previous president’s control, has actually taken legal action against or signed up with claims looking for to restrict particular elements of mail ballot. That consists of laws in some states, consisting of Nevada, that permit late-arriving sent by mail tallies to be counted as long as they are sent out by Election Day.

    “If Donald Trump is severe about lastly acknowledging that mail ballot is a terrific choice for citizens to use this November, he ought to require the RNC and his MAGA allies drop each of these claims throughout the nation,” Biden’s project supervisor, Julie Chavez Rodriguez, stated in a declaration, describing Trump’s “Make America Great Again” motion.

    Republicans stated there is no contradiction in between supporting mail ballot and taking legal action against to make it more protected. In their Nevada difficulties, they competed that the state’s treatments for counting mail tallies gotten after Election Day unlocked to possible scams.

    “Democrats are playing dumb about a really easy idea: We support mail ballot, however we likewise support safeguards to make mail ballot protected,” stated Danielle Alvarez, a spokesperson for the RNC and the Trump project. “It’s truly not tough: The left ought to stop its attack on the structure of our election system and accept that Americans do not concur with their severe efforts to make voting less protected.”

    The Biden project kept in mind that in the weeks before Trump revealed a “Overload the Vote” project to motivate ballot by mail, the RNC submitted 2 claims assaulting that approach in Nevada, a critical swing state. One challenged the capability of Nevada — and any state — to accept tallies that show up after Election Day; the 2nd targeted Nevada’s approval of mail tallies doing not have a postmark for as much as 3 days after Election Day.

    The lawsuits follows an RNC case looking for to restrict Mississippi from accepting post-Election Day mail tallies, in addition to numerous other cases in Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

    Trump’s lies relating to mail tallies were a focal point of his incorrect claims that citizen scams cost him the 2020 election, a fallacy that assisted stimulate the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. Ever since Republicans have actually included brand-new constraints to mail balloting in numerous states.

    Trump likewise has actually taken direct control of the RNC, selecting his daughter-in-law Lara Trump as its co-chair in addition to a North Carolina Republican politician who echoed the previous president’s incorrect claims of scams in 2020.

    Before Trump’s attacks, GOP citizens cast mail tallies at similar rates to Democrats, however because 2020 they have actually fallen dramatically behind. Lots of Republican operatives have actually revealed disappointment at Trump’s criticism since it is thought about a benefit for projects to get fans to vote early.

    That becomes part of what pressed Trump to welcome mail balloting, though it has actually been an inconsistent effort. He still wrongly declares that mail tally scams cost him reelection versus Democrat Joe Biden.

  • The Trump project opens a brand-new outreach workplace in a greatly Latino part of Pennsylvania

    The Trump project opens a brand-new outreach workplace in a greatly Latino part of Pennsylvania

    READING, Pa. (AP) — The pastor opened with a prayer in Spanish, asking that the Lord’s spirit and assistance direct the procedures without using an English translation. The majority of the around 50 participants were white and weren’t appearing to follow along, though they understood enough to sing out “Amen!” at the end.

    Therefore started previous President Donald Trump ‘s project coordinating with the Republican Politician National Committee and Pennsylvania GOP to open a “Latino Americans for Trump” workplace Wednesday in the town of Reading.

    “Our company believe in the American Dream and the only method to get the American Dream is striving,” Luis Fortuno, the previous guv of Puerto Rico, informed the exact same crowd. For the smaller sized group of Spanish speakers present, he followed with remarks that leaned greatly on the style of “Necesitamos cambio” — Spanish for “We require modification.”

    Trump and leading Republican politicians are aiming to improve their assistance amongst Hispanic citizens in a swing state that might well choose the election. Having actually shuttered numerous celebration workplaces that concentrated on minority outreach, they are wagering that guarantees to focus on entrepreneurship and smaller sized federal government can resonate with a ballot bloc that traditionally has actually preferred Democrats.

    Checking out is possibly best referred to as the name for the Reading Railway from the Monopoly gameboard. A town of about 95,000 around 65 miles northwest of Philadelphia, Reading is 67% Latino, according to U.S. Census figures, and home to high concentrations of individuals of Dominican and Puerto Rican heritage.

    Biden’s approval score has actually dropped amongst Hispanic grownups in nationwide surveys, however it stays uncertain if Trump can capitalize.

    The Checking out workplace opening comes a week after Trump’s project developed its very first Pennsylvania workplace at a website in northeast Philadelphia. That occasion was billed as a “Blacks for Trump” event and included Republican politician Texas Rep. Wesley Hunt and other popular Black Republican politicians.

    Both in Philadelphia and in Keeping Reading Wednesday, the majority of the participants were white.

    Trump himself held a rally indicated to stimulate Latino assistance on Sunday in Las Vegas, where he quipped: “We require every citizen. I don’t care about you, I just want your vote.” The former president also said immigrants were turning the U.S. “into a dumping ground” and vowed, “We’re not going to let them destroy our country.”

    President Joe Biden ’s campaign says Trump is dealing in dangerous and racist stereotypes and has dismissed his campaign’s office openings as superficial patronizing of minority voters.

    Biden’s reelection campaign, together with the Pennsylvania Democratic Party, has opened 24 offices and has 100-plus staffers across the state, and has spent months organizing house parties and other voter mobilization efforts. It has been spending on ads in Pennsylvania since late last summer with a special emphasis on voters of Puerto Rican or Caribbean heritage.

    Yrene Rodriguez, 46, an accountant at Reading Community College who said she and her whole family are Biden supporters, dismissed Wednesday’s efforts by Trump’s backers as “just propaganda.”

    “They just want to get people to say nice things about him,” Rodriguez said.

    Luis Rodriguez, who owns a real estate wholesaling and rehabbing business with offices in Pennsylvania, addressed the Trump office opening and talked about the importance of extending the U.S.-Mexico border wall, a signature promise from Trump’s first campaign that he pursued in office.

    Asked after the event about concerns Trump’s harsh personal rhetoric might alienate some Hispanics, Rodriguez, who isn’t related to Yrene, said such suggestions do not have “any backing or validity.”

    Michael Rivera, a commissioner in Berks County, which encompasses Reading, spoke at the office opening in English and Spanish and said more effort to reach out to Hispanic voters “demonstrates the Republican Party’s understanding of the power of diversity among the American people.”

    Located in a red-brick building across from a downtown CVS, the campaign office was indistinguishable from most corporate spaces, except for the placards in the front window reading “Latino Americans for Trump,” “Stop Illegal Voting” and “Joe Biden, You’re Fired.”

    Attracting more attention was a table of Trump merchandise set up for the event on the sidewalk outside. Some people walking by rolled their eyes or voiced their objections, but others were delighted with the display.

    “I only desire the true king. The true king of America!” bellowed one man, loud enough to be heard inside the workplace. “That’s Trump.”

  • Republican politician National Committee’s head office left after vials of blood are resolved to Trump

    Republican politician National Committee’s head office left after vials of blood are resolved to Trump

    WASHINGTON (AP) — The Republican politician National Committee’s Washington head office was quickly left on Wednesday as authorities examined 2 vials of blood that had actually been resolved to previous President Donald Trump following the presumptive governmental candidate’s takeover of the nationwide celebration device.

    Hazardous-materials groups were hired after the vials were found, according to the U.S. Capitol Cops, who stated they would continue to examine. It was uncertain if anybody entered into contact with the blood and to whom it belonged.

    The vials were resolved to Trump, according to an individual acquainted with the circumstance however not licensed to discuss it openly. It was uncertain if any message accompanied the vials describing why they were sent out.

    Spokespeople for the RNC and the U.S. Trick Service did not right away return messages looking for remark. The Metropolitan Cops Department and the regional fire department referred remark to the Capitol Cops.

    Previously Wednesday, the Capitol Cops released a declaration recommending individuals to prevent the block where the RNC lies, a brief walk southeast of the Capitol. Your house sergeant at arms, the U.S. Legislature’ chief police and procedure officer, sent info recommending traffic constraints in the location “due to police activity at the RNC.”

    Trump’s handpicked management — including his daughter-in-law, Lara Trump, as the celebration’s nationwide vice chair and previous North Carolina GOP Chairman Michael Whatley as RNC chairman — just recently took control of the RNC, finishing his takeover of the nationwide celebration as he surrounds a 3rd straight GOP governmental election. A Trump project senior advisor, Chris LaCivita, has actually taken control of as the RNC chief of personnel.

    Wednesday’s circumstance comes less than 2 months from the Republican politician National Convention in Milwaukee, where Trump is slated to end up being the celebration’s main 2024 candidate and substantial demonstrations are anticipated. According to a letter sent out last month to the Trick Service, RNC counsel Todd Steggerda asked authorities to keep protesters back further from the website than had actually been initially prepared, arguing that an existing strategy “produces a raised and illogical security threat to the participating in public.”

    ___

    Kinnard reported from Columbia, S.C., and Rate reported from New york city. AP authors Ashraf Khalil and Alanna Durkin Richer in Washington contributed reporting.

  • Trump tops Biden in month-to-month fundraising for very first time of 2024 project

    Trump tops Biden in month-to-month fundraising for very first time of 2024 project

    WASHINGTON – Donald Trump’s project and his Republican allies raised more cash than President Joe Biden in April, marking the very first time the previous president topped the Democratic incumbent in month-to-month fundraising throughout the 2024 project.

    The Trump project, integrated with the Republican politician National Committee, took $76 million in April, significantly more than the $51 million raised by the Biden project, Democratic National Committee and other joint fundraising arms, according to the projects and filings sent Monday with the Federal Election Commission.

    Trump outraised Biden regardless of investing much of the April reporting duration on trial in a New york city courtroom. The project − as had actually been commonly prepared for − gained from Trump ending up being the presumptive Republican candidate, permitting it to integrate fundraising efforts with the RNC.

    More: Biden’s project raised $90 million in March. Trump’s war chest isn’t even close

    ST PAUL, MINNESOTA - MAY 17: Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump attends the annual Lincoln Reagan Dinner hosted by the Minnesota Republican party on May 17, 2024 in St. Paul, Minnesota. A recent poll has President Joe Biden leading Trump in the state by two percentage points. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images) ORG XMIT: 776147657 ORIG FILE ID: 2153468135

    Biden’s fundraising in April was well listed below the $90 million his project raised in March, that included a profitable fundraising event hosted by previous presidents Barack Obama and Costs Clinton, and somewhat less than the $53 million Biden and his joint project committees raised in February.

    More: ‘A favorable story to inform’: Obama and Clinton rip Trump, increase Biden at $26M New York City project fundraising event

    Trump’s April fundraising was improved considerably by a Palm Beach, Florida, fundraising event at the home of billionaire financier John Paulson, which Reuters reported generated a record-setting $50.5 million.

    Still, Biden takes pleasure in a substantial cash-on-hand benefit. The Biden project ended April with $84.5 million on hand to invest and a combined war chest of $192 million when consisting of other fundraising committees. The Trump project reported having $49 million money on hand.

    For months, the Biden project has actually boasted about its fundraising lead over Trump, who has actually been saddled by legal charges in numerous criminal and civil lawsuit. Fundraising and project company are locations the Biden group declares to have the upper hand while the majority of surveys reveal Biden routing Trump in the election.

    President Joe Biden announces increased tariffs on Chinese products to promote American investments and jobs in the Rose Garden of the White House on May 14, 2024 in Washington, DC.President Joe Biden announces increased tariffs on Chinese products to promote American investments and jobs in the Rose Garden of the White House on May 14, 2024 in Washington, DC.

    President Joe Biden reveals increased tariffs on Chinese items to promote American financial investments and tasks in the Rose Garden of the White Home on Might 14, 2024 in Washington, DC.

    However in a turnaround, the April figures provided the Trump project ammo to strike Biden.

    “The only individuals left in America who support Jagged Joe Biden are out-of-touch billionaires in Hollywood, and it ends up even they are done providing to a stopping working project,” Trump spokesperson Karoline Leavitt stated, calling Trump’s fundraising haul “particularly amazing” provided his everyday court looks.

    Biden’s project ended April with somewhat less in the bank than the $85 million it had at the start of the month, showing costs that considerably increase the previous 2 months to spend for tv advertisements and broadened personnel. The Biden project reported investing $25.2 million in April after investing $29.2 million in March. The Biden project invested $6 million in February.

    Biden project representative Ammar Moussa, in a declaration, worried Biden’s ongoing cash-on-hand edge and implicated Trump of “offering out Americans to huge corporations and billionaires” to raise project funds.

    In June, Biden will get a help from Hollywood allies when stars George Clooney and Julia Roberts, together with Obama, are set to host a host a high-dollar fundraising event in Los Angeles, NBC News reported.

    Reach Joey Fort on X, previously Twitter, @joeygarrison.

    This post initially appeared on U.S.A. TODAY: Trump tops Biden in month-to-month fundraising for very first time of 2024 race

  • Trump tops Biden in regular monthly fundraising for very first time of 2024 project

    Trump tops Biden in regular monthly fundraising for very first time of 2024 project

    WASHINGTON – Donald Trump’s project and his Republican allies raised more cash than President Joe Biden in April, marking the very first time the previous president topped the Democratic incumbent in regular monthly fundraising throughout the 2024 project.

    The Trump project, integrated with the Republican politician National Committee, took $76 million in April, significantly more than the $51 million raised by the Biden project, Democratic National Committee and other joint fundraising arms, according to the projects and filings sent Monday with the Federal Election Commission.

    Trump outraised Biden in spite of investing much of the April reporting duration on trial in a New york city courtroom. The project − as had actually been prepared for − taken advantage of Trump ending up being the presumptive Republican candidate, permitting it to integrate fundraising efforts with the RNC.

    More: Biden’s project raised $90 million in March. Trump’s war chest isn’t even close

    ST PAUL, MINNESOTA - MAY 17: Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump attends the annual Lincoln Reagan Dinner hosted by the Minnesota Republican party on May 17, 2024 in St. Paul, Minnesota. A recent poll has President Joe Biden leading Trump in the state by two percentage points. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images) ORG XMIT: 776147657 ORIG FILE ID: 2153468135

    Biden’s fundraising in April was well listed below the $90 million his project raised in March, that included a profitable fundraising event hosted by previous presidents Barack Obama and Costs Clinton, and a little less than the $53 million Biden and his joint project committees raised in February.

    More: ‘A favorable story to inform’: Obama and Clinton rip Trump, increase Biden at $26M New York City project fundraising event

    Trump’s April fundraising was improved considerably by a Palm Beach, Florida, fundraising event at the home of billionaire financier John Paulson, which Reuters reported generated a record-setting $50.5 million.

    Still, Biden delights in a substantial cash-on-hand benefit. The Biden project ended April with $84.5 million on hand to invest and a combined war chest of $192 million when consisting of other fundraising committees. The Trump project reported having $49 million money on hand.

    For months, the Biden project has actually boasted about its fundraising lead over Trump, who has actually been saddled by legal costs in numerous criminal and civil lawsuit. Fundraising and project company are locations the Biden group declares to have the upper hand while many surveys reveal Biden tracking Trump in the election.

    President Joe Biden announces increased tariffs on Chinese products to promote American investments and jobs in the Rose Garden of the White House on May 14, 2024 in Washington, DC.President Joe Biden announces increased tariffs on Chinese products to promote American investments and jobs in the Rose Garden of the White House on May 14, 2024 in Washington, DC.

    President Joe Biden reveals increased tariffs on Chinese items to promote American financial investments and tasks in the Rose Garden of the White Home on Might 14, 2024 in Washington, DC.

    However in a turnaround, the April figures provided the Trump project ammo to strike Biden.

    “The only individuals left in America who support Misaligned Joe Biden are out-of-touch billionaires in Hollywood, and it ends up even they are done offering to a stopping working project,” Trump spokesperson Karoline Leavitt stated, calling Trump’s fundraising haul “specifically amazing” provided his day-to-day court looks.

    Biden’s project ended April with a little less in the bank than the $85 million it had at the start of the month, showing costs that considerably increase the previous 2 months to spend for tv advertisements and broadened personnel. The Biden project reported investing $25.2 million in April after investing $29.2 million in March. The Biden project invested $6 million in February.

    Biden project representative Ammar Moussa, in a declaration, worried Biden’s ongoing cash-on-hand edge and implicated Trump of “offering out Americans to huge corporations and billionaires” to raise project funds.

    In June, Biden will get a help from Hollywood allies when stars George Clooney and Julia Roberts, in addition to Obama, are set to host a host a high-dollar fundraising event in Los Angeles, NBC News reported.

    Reach Joey Fort on X, previously Twitter, @joeygarrison.

    This short article initially appeared on U.S.A. TODAY: Trump tops Biden in regular monthly fundraising for very first time of 2024 race

  • Trump gets NRA recommendation as he swears to safeguard weapon rights

    Trump gets NRA recommendation as he swears to safeguard weapon rights

    DALLAS (AP) — Previous President Donald Trump prompted weapon owners to enact the 2024 election as he attended to countless members of the National Rifle Association, which formally backed him right before Trump took the phase at their yearly conference in Texas on Saturday.

    “We’ve got to get weapon owners to vote,” Trump stated. “I believe you’re a defiant lot. However let’s be defiant and vote this time.”

    Trump, in his speech, stated the 2nd Modification “is quite on the tally” in November, declaring that, if Democratic President Joe Biden “gets 4 more years they are coming for your weapons, 100% particular. Misaligned Joe has a 40-year-record of attempting to rip guns out of the hands of obedient residents.”

    The Biden administration has actually taken a variety of actions to attempt to fight weapon violence, consisting of a brand-new guideline that intends to close a loophole that has actually enabled 10s of countless weapons to be offered every year by unlicensed dealerships who do not carry out background checks.

    Trump has actually vowed to continue to safeguard the 2nd Modification, which he declares is “under siege,” and has actually called himself “the very best pal weapon owners have actually ever had in the White Home” as the United States deals with record varieties of deaths due to mass shootings. In 2015 ended with 42 mass killings and 217 deaths, making it among the most dangerous years on record.

    The presumptive Republican governmental candidate has actually been slammed by Biden, particularly for remarks that Trump made this year after a school shooting in Iowa. Trump called the occurrence “really horrible” just to later on state that “we need to overcome it. We need to progress.”

    Trump, throughout his speech, likewise laced into independent governmental prospect Robert F. Kennedy Jr., calling him “extreme left” and “a catastrophe,” and keeping in mind that Kennedy had actually as soon as called the NRA a ”fear group.”

    “Don’t think of it. Don’t squander your vote,” he stated. “He calls you a terrorist group, and I call you the foundation of America.” (Kennedy later on stated in a Fox News interview that he didn’t remember his 2018 tweet. “I don’t consider them a fear group, and I support the 2nd Modification,” he stated.)

    Trump noted he will be speaking next week at the Libertarian Celebration’s convention and stated he will advise its members to elect him.

    “We need to accompany them,” he stated. “We need to get that 3% due to the fact that we can’t gamble on Joe Biden winning.”

    Previously Saturday, Trump’s project and the Republican politician National Committee revealed the development of a brand-new “Weapon Owners for Trump” union that consists of weapon rights activists and those who operate in the guns market.

    Biden has actually made cutting weapon violence a huge part of his administration and reelection project, developing the White Home Workplace of Weapon Violence Avoidance managed by Vice President Kamala Harris. Biden likewise has actually prompted Congress to prohibit so-called attack weapons — something Democrats shied from even simply a couple of years back.

    “Tonight, Donald Trump validated that he will do precisely what the NRA informs him to do — even if it suggests more death, more shootings, and more suffering,” stated Biden spokesperson Ammar Moussa.

    When Trump was president, there were minutes when he vowed to reinforce weapon laws. After a high school mass shooting in Parkland, Florida, that eliminated 17 individuals and injured 17 others, Trump informed survivors and relative that he would be “really strong on background checks.” He declared he would withstand the NRA however later on he backpedaled, stating there was “very little political assistance.”

    On Saturday, Trump likewise raised the criminal cases versus him as his hush cash trial heads into the last stretch next week and implicated Democrats of lagging these cases due to the fact that he is Biden’s challenger.

    “Always remember our opponents wish to eliminate my liberty due to the fact that I will never ever let them eliminate your liberty,” he stated.

    Trump slammed Biden’s border policies, duplicating his promise that he will purchase the biggest domestic deportation operation. He discussed abortion and cautioned Republicans not to be so severe on abortion to stay electable.

    “In my viewpoint, Republicans have actually not been speaking about it wisely. They haven’t been speaking about it with understanding,” he stated. “Keep in mind, speak from your heart. However you likewise need to get chosen once again.”

    ___

    Associated Press author Jill Colvin in New york city added to this report. Follow the AP’s protection of the 2024 election at https://apnews.com/hub/election-2024.

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  • Maddow Blog | RNC troubles continue as party parts ways with its chief counsel

    Maddow Blog | RNC troubles continue as party parts ways with its chief counsel

    Almost immediately after Donald Trump’s handpicked team took the reins at the Republican National Committee — team that includes his daughter-in-law — the party’s new leaders got to work making significant staffing changes. In fact, in mid-March, the RNC hired two new lawyers to oversee the party’s election-year legal efforts.

    Ordinarily, that wouldn’t be especially notable, but nearly two months later, it’s worth checking in on the duo.

    One of the attorneys hired at the RNC was Christina Bobb, who was tapped to serve as the party’s senior counsel for election integrity. It wasn’t long, however, before an unfortunate problem emerged: Bobb was recently indicted for alleged election-related crimes.

    The other attorney was longtime Republican lawyer Charlie Spies, who was hired to serve as the RNC’s chief counsel. At least, that was the idea two months ago. NBC News reported over the weekend:

    After the news was made official, Trump turned to his social media platform to celebrate the developments. “Great news for the Republican Party. RINO lawyer Charlie Spies is out as Chief Counsel of the RNC,” the former president wrote, denouncing the experienced Republican lawyer who’d been hired by his own RNC team.

    At first blush, Spies appeared to bring an impressive partisan resume to the table. The attorney has worked for a variety of prominent Republican officials and party entities, including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Jeb Bush’s super PAC, and Mitt Romney’s 2008 presidential campaign.

    But that’s not the kind of experience Team Trump finds impressive. In fact, Spies’ recent history related to the former president helps explain his brief RNC tenure.

    NBC News’ report added, for example, that in 2021, Spies publicly contradicted false claims about voting machines switching votes. When asked during a Conservative Political Action Conference panel what he’d do about voting machines switching votes, he pushed back against the false conspiracy theory that has been backed by Trump allies.

    “I may get booed off the stage for this, but I have to say that’s simply not true. There is just zero evidence that’s true,” Spies said at the time.

    Indeed, a Washington Post report over the weekend noted that the lawyer’s RNC career was cut short, at least in part, because Trump “grew angry about his criticism of the former president’s false claims that the 2020 election was stolen.”

    When the former president recently sat down with Time magazine, he said he’d have a problem hiring someone who rejected his ridiculous election lies. Evidently, this attitude extends to the RNC, too.

    All was not well at the RNC before its new leadership team took over. Recent developments suggest the party’s troubles persist.

    This article was originally published on MSNBC.com

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  • RNC Chair Michael Whatley urges party unity amid GOP turmoil in the House

    RNC Chair Michael Whatley urges party unity amid GOP turmoil in the House

    PALM BEACH, Fla. — Republican National Committee Chair Michael Whatley urged party unity when asked about Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene‘s threat to force a vote to oust House Speaker Mike Johnson this week, months before House Republicans defend their slim majority in the November elections.

    “We need to flip the Senate, and we need to expand our majority in the House. We’re not going to do that if we’re not unified,” Whatley said during an interview with NBC News when asked for his message to Republicans backing Johnson’s ouster.

    “We need to make sure that all of the Republicans understand the gravity of this election cycle, and they do, and we need to make sure that we are on the same page as we’re moving forward,” he continued.

    Whatley’s plea for unity comes just days before Johnson’s grip on his chamber faces a key test.

    Greene, R-Ga., said last week that she will call a motion to vacate for Johnson, R-La., forcing members of both parties to consider whether they will vote to save his speakership.

    Democrats have already said they will oppose Greene’s motion, effectively defending Johnson’s speakership, a role he took on after Kevin McCarthy was booted in October.

    Whatley, former President Donald Trump‘s hand-picked choice to helm the RNC, was elected as the committee’s chair in March to succeed Ronna McDaniel. Just months into his position, he faces the major task of shaping the party organization in the image of Trump, who chose him for the position after publicly casting doubt on McDaniel’s ability to lead the party apparatus.

    McDaniel had agreed to resign after facing criticism from fellow Republicans about the party’s underperformance in recent elections. In February, Trump endorsed Whatley, previously the North Carolina Republican Party chairman, in addition to his daughter-in-law Lara Trump for co-chair.

    Weeks into Whatley’s leadership, the RNC faced media reports alleging that job applicants were asked during interviews whether the 2020 election was stolen — a false claim that Trump and some of his supporters have long promoted.

    “The only litmus test that I have is whether or not you support our Republican candidates and whether you’re willing to work 24/7 from now through Nov. 5 to make sure that we win,” Whatley said.

    When pressed on the issue, Whatley said he wants to hire people “who support him and who support his agenda,” referring to Trump.

    Whatley also discussed Trump’s recent comments in support of absentee and early voting, which some saw as a departure from his previous criticism of voting by mail.

    Trump said in a post to Truth Social last month, in all capitalized letters, “Absentee voting, early voting, and Election Day voting are all good options.”

    Trump frequently and forcefully railed against mail-in voting for years, arguing without evidence that it is “totally corrupt.”

    Whatley said Trump is “very consistent in saying that ultimately, you know, he would like to see some changes nationally and a state-by-state basis.”

    “But we are going to win by the rules of the road that we have in place today, and we need to compete,” Whatley added.

    As NBC News has reported, Republican officials pushing voters to accept voting by mail and early voting have run into resistance from some of Trump’s most fervent supporters.

    While the party is encouraging its supporters to vote by mail, it’s also pursuing lawsuits to make it more difficult for those votes to count. The RNC is engaged in 82 lawsuits in 25 states focusing on mail-in ballot deadlines, purging voter rolls, and ballot drop boxes.

    The RNC has succeeded on some fronts — it notched a win in battleground Pennsylvania, where the party and other Republican groups challenged efforts to count absentee ballots missing a date. But tactics in other lawsuits, such as recent ones filed in Nevada on mail-in voting and purging voter rolls — have already faced pushback from judges.

    When pressed on whether these lawsuits are paving the way for Trump to claim the 2024 election was stolen in the event he loses to President Joe Biden for a second time, Whatley said that is “absolutely not” the RNC’s goal.

    “This is this is a system designed to make it easy to vote and hard to cheat,” said Whatley. “These are things that are strongly supported by a vast majority of the American people. That has nothing to do with voter suppression.”

    After a rally in Wisconsin last week, Trump gave an interview to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel in which he would not commit to accepting the election results if he loses.

    “If everything’s honest, I’d gladly accept the results,” Trump told the Sentinel. “If it’s not, you have to fight for the right of the country.”

    “But if everything’s honest, which we anticipate it will be — a lot of changes have been made over the last few years — but if everything’s honest, I will absolutely accept the results,” he said.

    Dasha Burns and Abigail Brooks reported from Palm Beach, Florida. Megan Lebowitz reported from Washington, D.C.

    This article was originally published on NBCNews.com

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  • RNC lawyer Charlie Spies to step down just 2 months after taking the job

    RNC lawyer Charlie Spies to step down just 2 months after taking the job

    Republican National Committee chief counsel Charlie Spies is parting ways with the party apparatus just months after stepping into the role. He was “pushed out,” according to a source familiar with the move.

    “Charlie approached RNC Chief of Staff, Chris LaCivita, about potential time commitment conflicts and it was agreed that, while we appreciate and value Charlie’s expertise and professionalism, he cannot do this role full time and still maintain the obligations to his law firm that he has spent years successfully building,” said RNC spokesperson Danielle Alvarez in a statement first to NBC News.

    Spies did not immediately respond to a request for comment Saturday night.

    NBC News previously reported that Spies was hired in March to lead the committee’s legal efforts amid the RNC leadership overhaul, when former President Donald Trump endorsed Michael Whatley to helm the organization, effectively reshaping the committee in his image.

    Spies was previously described by a campaign official as “the best at what he does, knows the FEC loopholes better than anyone” but a “gun for hire.”

    However, Spies was not a fan of the former president.

    He previously worked for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis during the GOP primary. The longtime Republican lawyer is known for expanding the use of super PACs after the landmark Citizens United decision.

    Spies was also behind Right to Rise, the super PAC that Jeb Bush used during the 2016 cycle to raise a record-breaking $100 million in the months before formally announcing his candidacy. Spies filed a complaint in 2015 with the Federal Election Commission against the Trump Organization while in his super PAC role.

    Spies has also worked with Rep. John James, R-Mich., and served in Mitt Romney’s 2008 presidential campaign.

    His wife, Lisa Spies, a well-known GOP fundraiser, has been working for the campaign heading up donor coalitions. Lisa Spies was a fundraiser for DeSantis before joining the Trump campaign.

    The chief counsel’s hiring came as Whatley took the helm of the organization in March. Whatley was hand-picked by Trump along with the former president’s daughter-in-law Lara Trump as co-chair.

    Whatley’s RNC chair predecessor Ronna McDaniel had resigned after facing internal party criticism and public skepticism from the former president.

    Spies has also previously rejected election-related conspiracy theories that have been touted by Trump allies.

    In 2021, Spies publicly contradicted false claims about voting machines switching votes. When asked during a Conservative Political Action Conference panel about what to do about voting machines switching votes, he pushed back against the false conspiracy theory that has been backed by Trump allies.

    “I may get booed off the stage for this, but I have to say that’s simply not true. There is just zero evidence that’s true,” Spies said at the time.

    This article was originally published on NBCNews.com

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  • Trump, RNC raise over $76 million in April, half from small donors

    Trump, RNC raise over $76 million in April, half from small donors

    WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Former U.S. President Donald Trump‘s election campaign and the Republican National Committee said on Saturday that they raised more than $76 million in April, over half of it from small donors.

    The monthly fundraising haul exceeded the $65.6 million raised in March by Trump, the Republican presidential candidate, and the RNC.

    “With half of funds raised coming from small dollar donors, it is clear that our base is energized. The Republican Party is united, and voters nationwide are ready to FIRE Joe Biden and elect Donald J. Trump,” Trump campaign senior advisers Chris LaCivita and Susie Wiles said in a statement.

    Democrat Joe Biden’s re-election campaign has routinely surpassed Trump’s in fundraising ahead of the Nov. 5 election.

    Saturday’s announcement came as Trump and the RNC hosted a retreat in Florida for donors and high-profile politicians including vice-presidential hopefuls.

    The event was expected to help shore up Trump’s finances, which have been drained by legal fees, and to reassure donors about the state of the campaign with Trump currently spending the bulk of his time in a Manhattan courtroom at his criminal trial over a hush-money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels.

    (Reporting by David Morgan; Editing by Daniel Wallis)

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  • At a private donor retreat, Trump team says Minnesota and Virginia are in play

    At a private donor retreat, Trump team says Minnesota and Virginia are in play

    PALM BEACH, Fla. — Top officials for former President Donald Trump’s campaign believe they can flip Democratic strongholds Minnesota and Virginia into his column in November, they told donors behind closed doors at a Republican National Committee retreat Saturday.

    Brandishing internal surveys, pollster Tony Fabrizio and senior advisers Susie Wiles and Chris LaCivita delivered a set of presentations that focused on finances, messaging and the political map, according to two people who were present at the Four Seasons resort here. Fabrizio’s numbers, posted on a slide shared with NBC News, showed Trump ahead of President Joe Biden by small margins in the key swing states from 2020 — including Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Arizona and Georgia.

    The Trump camp’s discussion of expanding the electoral map deeper into the Democratic territory of Minnesota and Virginia comes as Biden’s re-election team says it is eyeing North Carolina — which Republicans have won in three consecutive presidential races — and Florida, where the GOP has prevailed in the last two presidential elections. Biden took the 2020 contest by a margin of 74 electoral votes, with victories in the pivotal states of Wisconsin, Arizona and Georgia coming from a cumulative advantage of about 44,000 votes.

    “I think that the Biden campaign is deliberately playing a faux game by talking about [how] they’re going to expand the map in Florida and North Carolina,” LaCivita said in a telephone interview with NBC News. “But we have a real, real opportunity in expanding the map in Virginia and Minnesota.”

    The top lines of the internal polling shared with donors are relatively consistent with sparse public surveys that show Biden with a small edge in Virginia, while Trump’s advantage in his own polling in Minnesota is at odds with the few public surveys in that state. But all of the public polls in Minnesota and Virginia — and the trials run by Trump’s campaign — fall within their margins of error, suggesting tight races in both states.

    Trump’s team tested head-to-head, four-way and six-way races in each state, according to LaCivita. In the six-way trial in Minnesota, which includes four independent candidates, Trump and Biden were tied at 40% apiece, with Robert F. Kennedy Jr. at 9%, he said. When the field was narrowed to four candidates, Trump led Biden 46% to 41%. In a head-to-head matchup, Trump led Biden 49% to 46%.

    Biden won Minnesota by about 7 percentage points in 2020, and the state has not favored a Republican nominee for president since Richard Nixon’s 1972 re-election campaign.

    In Virginia, Trump’s internal survey showed Biden leading Trump 40% to 37% in a six-way test that included Kennedy at 8%. Biden led Trump 48% to 44% in a head-to-head matchup. And, in a four-way race, Biden had a 42%-to-41% advantage over Trump.

    Trump aides declined to make the full surveys, including their methodology, available to NBC News. Campaigns often use the promise of playing offense on new turf as an incentive for donors to give money to support those efforts.

    “Trump’s team has so little campaign or infrastructure to speak of they’re resorting to leaking memos that say ‘the polls we paid for show us winning, don’t ask us to show you the whole poll though.’ Sure, guys,” Biden campaign spokeswoman Lauren Hitt said.

    “While we have 150 offices open with hundreds of staff across the key battlegrounds, the RNC is closing offices and hemorrhaging money on legal fees,” she added. “Joe Biden has hit every battleground at least once, while Trump’s in the courtroom or on the golf course. We’ll see how that translates in November.” “

    Jonathan Allen reported from Washington, D.C.; Matt Dixon from Orlando, Florida; and Olympia Sonnier, Dasha Burns and Abigail Brooks from Palm Beach, Florida.

    This article was originally published on NBCNews.com

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  • ‘They’re just attacking me like crazy right now.’

    ‘They’re just attacking me like crazy right now.’

    Kristi Noem cast herself as the victim of a liberal- and media-run smear campaign at a Republican donor retreat on Saturday, the latest in a string of defensive appearances as her star power and chances of a vice presidential nomination seem to have dimmed.

    The South Dakota governor did not explicitly mention the firestorm she is facing for her decision to shoot and kill her 14-month-old dog Cricket 20 years ago, a grisly story detailed in her upcoming book, “No Going Back.” But she appeared to allude to it at several points during her roughly 30-minute appearance at a private donor retreat hosted by former President Donald Trump’s campaign and the Republican National Committee in Palm Beach, Florida.

    “Listen, going through hard things, and I’ve been through a few of them — I’m going through one right now, I mean they’re just attacking me like crazy right now,” Noem said, according to an audio recording obtained by POLITICO. “But listen, that’s a good thing. It’s a good thing because it makes you stronger, and it teaches you really what you’re up against, and it makes you recognize how much they lie, how much they will twist, how much they will manipulate. And you just have to be strong and be happy warriors.”

    Earlier in the speech, Noem said the Republican Party was “in a war” with the media and Democrats who “don’t care about the truth.”

    Noem’s remarks came during what was billed as a “breakfast conversation” with North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum at the retreat, where Trump is also expected to speak.

    The event represents a de-facto tryout for vice presidential contenders: Several Republicans seen as candidates to be Trump’s running mate were also expected to appear, including Sens. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and J.D. Vance (R-Ohio).

    Noem has long been mentioned as a possible pick, though people close to the former president say her prospects waned even before controversial excerpts from her book began to appear.

    Noem has come under ongoing — and bipartisan — criticism for her decision to shoot and kill her dog. She has spent recent days defending her decision, describing Cricket as a threat to her family.

    Noem used much of her appearance to highlight her record as governor, a position she has held since 2019, and to praise Trump. She highlighted, among other things, her lopsided 2022 reelection win.

    “Yes, you get a lot of criticism,” Noem said at one point. “Every day I dread reading what the press says and how they’re twisting the facts and you just have to be OK with that.”

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  • Trump and Republicans file suit to nullify Nevada ballots mailed on Election Day

    Trump and Republicans file suit to nullify Nevada ballots mailed on Election Day

    Donald Trump in court last month. (Photo by Jabin Botsford-Pool/Getty Images)

    Policy, politics and progressive commentary

    The Trump campaign and its Republican allies on Friday filed a lawsuit challenging Nevada’s ballot receipt deadline.

    Nevada law allows for mail ballots postmarked on Election Day to be accepted and counted if they are received by county election officials within four days. This year, Election Day is Nov. 5, meaning ballots postmarked on or before that date must be accepted and counted if they are received by election offices by 5 p.m. on Nov. 9.

    Plaintiffs in the new lawsuit argue that practice violates federal law and as a result “valid, timely ballots are dilated by untimely, invalid ballots.” They are asking the court to block the counting of any mail ballots received after Election Day..

    The lawsuit was filed in federal court by Trump’s reelection campaign, the Republican National Committee, the Nevada Republican Party and Donald J. Szymanski, a Nevada voter. Nevada Secretary of State Francisco Aguilar, Clark County Registrar of Voters Lorena Portillo and Washoe County Registrar of Voters Cari-Ann Burgess are named as defendants, as are the county clerks for Clark and Washoe.

    Aguilar, in a statement provided by his office, said Nevada’s elections are “some of the most secure, transparent, and accessible elections in the country” and that voting by mail is a key component of accessibility.

    “Our office will not comment on ongoing litigation,” his statement continued, “but I hope the RNC is putting as much time and energy into educating voters on how to participate in elections as they put into suing the state of Nevada.”

    Nevada Democrats were quick to call the lawsuit baseless. Nevada State Democratic Party Executive Director Hilary Barrett said in a statement the lawsuit is “yet another tactic to undermine democracy and disenfranchise thousands of Nevada voters by limiting when ballots can be accepted — even when postmarked by Election Day.”

    The ballot receipt deadline lawsuit is one of three Republicans are pursuing in Nevada. The others are challenging a state law protecting election workers and its voter roll maintenance policy.

    The post Trump and Republicans file suit to nullify Nevada ballots mailed on Election Day appeared first on Nevada Current.

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