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Yet another long, gray stretch of concrete is going to have Donald Trump's name plastered on it, except this time rather than rising high above New York City, it will stretch across the Oklahoma panhandle.

Republican lawmakers in Oklahoma slipped a proposal to name a stretch of highway after the former president in the state legislature's annual omnibus bridge and highway-naming bill.

On Friday, Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt signed the legislation into law, officially renaming a 20-mile stretch of US 287 between Boise City and the Oklahoma-Texas border after Mr Trump.

According to The Oklahoman, the legislation was almost derailed in the state legislature when the state Senate Minority Leader Kay Floyd, a Democrat, pointed out that state law requires that a person be dead for at least three years before a highway or bridge can be named in their honor.

(AFP via Getty Images)

That rule is excepted in the case of Medal of Honor recipients.

However, in a not at all unprecedented move, Republicans simply opted to change the rules in order to appease Mr Trump.

In an amendment to SB 624, they nixed the three-year requirement.

The new signage for the stretch of highway named after the former president will be paid for by the Republican legislators who pushed for the bill.

It's not the first time the state has tried to name a stretch of highway after Mr Trump; in 2019, a pair of Republican lawmakers pushed for the former president to have his name added to a portion of Route 66.

However, the proposal was met with immediate push-back from people on both sides of the political aisle, who argued that the historic highway should not be politicised.

The bill will go into effect on 1 November, changing the highway to President Donald J Trump Highway.

It's no secret that Mr Trump likes having his name on things.

Mr Trump has lent his name to his chain of hotels, steaks, a litigation-marred "university," and now a highway.

However, Mr Trump's loftiest hope is not to get his name on a major national monument, but rather his face.

During discussions with South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem, Mr Trump reportedly told her it had always been his dream to have his face carved into Mount Rushmore alongside the visages of George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Thomas Jefferson and Theodore Roosevelt.

She said she initially thought it was a joke, but said the former president appeared to be serious.

Following the discussion, Ms Noem gave Mr Trump a $1,100 bust depicting Mount Rushmore, but with one notable change; his face had been carved into the monument.

She said she gave it to him because she was sure it was something he wanted to receive.

More here:
Donald Trump gets a highway named after him in Oklahoma thanks to Republicans - The Independent

Donald Trump posted a statement ahead of Memorial Day, lamenting higher gas prices and lauding his performance as president.

But despite what you might have seen on Instagram, the statement wasnt made on Twitter, where Trump once had nearly 89 million followers.

The widely shared Instagram post was flagged as part of Facebooks efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Facebook.)

On May 27, Trump posted a statement on DonaldJTrump.com noting the approach of Memorial Day, the recent rise in gasoline prices and "how great of a job Donald Trump did as President."

The full text of the statement appeared in the Instagram post, but it was formatted to make it appear as though it came from @realDonaldTrump, Trumps former Twitter account. The Instagram poster wrote in his caption: "Hes back!!!"

Hes not.

Twitter announced Jan. 8 it had permanently suspended Trumps account in connection with the attack on the U.S. Capitol two days earlier, saying: "After close review of recent Tweets from the @realDonaldTrump account and the context around them specifically how they are being received and interpreted on and off Twitter we have permanently suspended the account due to the risk of further incitement of violence."

Citing two Trump tweets on Jan. 8, Twitter said: "We assessed the two Tweets referenced above under our Glorification of Violence policy, which aims to prevent the glorification of violence that could inspire others to replicate violent acts and determined that they were highly likely to encourage and inspire people to replicate the criminal acts that took place at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021."

A Twitter spokesperson confirmed May 28 that Trump's account remains permanently suspended. It appears the message used by the Instagram account came from an account called @realDonaldTrump onGab.com, an alternative social networking site,that says it is an "uncensored Twitter archive and shares email statements sent by The Office of Donald J. Trump."

When we searched @realDonaldTrump on Twitter on May 28, a message appeared saying the account has been suspended.

We rate the Instagram post False.

Read the original here:
Donald Trump is posting statements online, but he's not back on Twitter - PolitiFact

Former President Donald Trump is frustrated over mounting legal bills amid two ongoing New York investigations into his business, according to a report by the Daily Beast.

Earlier this month, The New York attorney general's office announced that it was conducting a criminal probe into the Trump Organization's finances and whether they violated state laws. Another civil case launched by the Manhattan District Attorney's Office has been ongoing.

The former president is reportedly frustrated with the investigations because of the possible legal peril they bring and the financial costs attached to them.

One source told the Daily Beast that Trump has complained that the legal bills are becoming "such a pain in the ass." The former president is reportedly also worried that investigators could drag the case out for years.

Read more: Inside Trump's hot vax New Jersey summer, where he's playing golf and plotting rallies while legal storms form

Close advisors and Trump's legal team have reassured the ex-president that they don't believe he will actually be indicted, two people familiar with the situation told the Daily Beast.

"I told him that he has nothing to worry about," one advisor said.

Trump has been very vocal about his feelings toward the New York probes.

After Manhattan DA Cyrus Vance Jr. announced this week that he had convened a grand juryto consider evidence on the case, Trump claimed the probe was a "continuation of the greatest Witch Hunt in American History."

"It began the day I came down the escalator in Trump Tower, and it's never stopped," Trump said in a press release.

On top of this, Trump is still at loggerheads with former attorney Rudy Giuliani, whose legal team continues to call on the former president to pay for his efforts around the election.

According to New York Times, Trump has still not paid Giuliani for his work and instructed his aides not to pay the legal feesbecause he was upset that Giuliani had not done more to push back against his second impeachment that month.

Michael Cohen, Trump's former onetime personal attorney, told Insider that the ex-president should expect yet more bad news.

"As more documents are reviewed by the NYAG and NYDA, it appears that the troubles for Donald Trump just keep on coming," he said. "Soon enough, Donald and associates will be held responsible for their actions."

See the article here:
Trump is frustrated about his mounting legal fees as probes into Trump Organization heat up, report says - Business Insider

May 30th 2021

DALTON, GEORGIA

MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE, a first-term Republican congresswoman from north-west Georgia, was in high spirits. She was celebrating her 47th birthday at an America First rally in her district, on the third stop of a roadshow through Republican heartlands with Matt Gaetz, an equally Trumpy congressman from Florida best known for his check suits, 1950s quiff and burgeoning sex scandal. This is the best birthday I could have had, she beamed from the stageand the crowd loved her back. Linda Arnold, a 67-year-old who had travelled up from Atlanta, approvingly called Ms Greene a fire-breather.

All the elements of a MAGA rally were there: red hats, American flag T-shirts, not a mask in sight. This is the Donald Trump Republican Party, Mr Gaetz roared. He is not wrong. A majority of Republican voters believe that Joe Biden stole the election from Mr Trump. And one day after the rally, Senate Republicans blocked the creation of a bipartisan commission to investigate the storming of the Capitol on January 6th by disaffected Trump supporters. Political parties tend to slough off losers, but Mr Trump retains a firm grip over Republicans. Were he to run for president again, he might well win. But he is 74 years old and embroiled in legal trouble, including a criminal investigation in New York. Mr Gaetz and Ms Greene are positioning themselves to be the inheritors of his base.

Both have followed Mr Trumps recipe for political success. They are light on substantive policy proposals, heavy on theatrics and outrage. Even fellow Republicans have scorned some of Ms Greenes antics, such as the equivalence she drew between making congressmen wear masks and forcing Jews to wear yellow stars in 1930s Germany, and her suggestion that a laser beam controlled by a corporate cabal that includes the Rothschild family caused the California wildfires.

But she has put herself on a permanent campaign footing since being sworn into office five months ago. Her taunts, provocative behaviour and QAnon kookery have already made her one of the best-known names in American politics, and she has proven a skilled fundraiser. In the first quarter of this year she raised $3.2mmore than any other House Republicanmostly from small donors paying an average of $32.

The America First tour is adding to her coffers, and those of Mr Gaetz. Five hundred people turned up to hear the pair speak, with VIP guests paying $100 to meet them. The custodian of their joint fundraising committee is Rick Thompson, who runs RTA Strategy, a Georgia-based consultancy with the slogan You dont know what you can get away with until you try.

In Dalton, a camera crew was on hand to record the nights events, which included Ms Greene asking the crowd, Do you think the election was stolen?, and the crowd whooping its agreement. It is about raising money, but there are secondary benefits, says Tom Edmonds, a Republican consultant in Washington. Its a very Trumpish thing to do, and they will cut the film into a commercial and make 500 people look like 5,000.

The pumped-up audience was only too willing to boost the cause. Im going to send them $50 each when I get home, said Ms Arnold. A lot of people think that we are cultish. That we follow one man. They are wrong. I love Donald Trump, but we follow his policies.

And indeed, both Mr Gaetz and Ms Greene talked about immigrants swarming the southern border, jobs lost because of Joe Bidens stimulus package and unfair trade dealsall greatest hits from the Trump songbook, though precisely what they want to do about any of them remains unclear. America First policies are the only way to save America and stop socialism,Ms Greene insisted. Its our job to do it. It is our generations turn.

This sort of red meat thrilled attendeesbut inspiring a crowd of 500 while turning off hundreds of thousands does not a victory make. As Ms Greene and Mr Gaetz held the stage in Dalton, Paul Ryan, a Republican former House speaker and the partys vice-presidential candidate in 2012, soberly addressed guests at the Reagan Library in California. If the conservative cause depends on the populist appeal of one personality, or on second-rate imitations, then were not going anywhere. Voters looking for Republican leaders want to see independence and mettle, he warned. They will not be impressed by the sight of yes-men and flatterers flocking to Mar-a-Lago.

Mr Gaetz derided Mr Ryans comments (although his own visits to Mr Trumps Florida resort have dried up while he is under investigation for paying a 17-year-old for sexan allegation he denies). Taking advice on party-building from Paul Ryan would be like taking advice on how to interact with your in-laws from Meghan Markle, he said. Ms Greene has also defied current party leaders, suggesting that Kevin McCarthy, the top House Republican, should not have condemned her remarks comparing mask mandates to Nazi-era Jewish-star laws (which he waited days to do).

Yet whether the pair can be more than attention-grabbing irritants remains to be seen. On one hand, Mr Trumps unlikely rise in 2016 cautions against quickly dismissing their political prospects. But that lesson may be overlearned. Mr Trump was already a celebrity when he entered politics; indeed, much of his hold over his base may stem from the appeal of a famous person pandering to those who feel overlooked. Mr Gaetz and Ms Greene can mimic Mr Trumps style all they like, but they will never have his star power, which he cultivated for decades before running for office.

And Mr Gaetzs legal troubles may imperil his future. Joel Greenberg, his former wingman, has pled guilty to several charges, including sex-trafficking of a minor. He is reportedly co-operating with federal investigators. Mr Gaetzs Republican colleagues have not exactly rushed to his defence. Ms Greene also has few defenders; perhaps one reason she and Mr Gaetz are headlining their tour together is that nobody else wants to appear with them.

But because personal fealty to Mr Trump, and his lies about the election being stolen, is now the core tenet of Republicanism, party leaders cannot easily bring them to heel. To condemn them is to invite the wrath of Mr Trump and his base. They are, after all, among the most vociferous practitioners of Trumpism, in that they anger liberals, stoke grievances and want power. That is probably not enough to win a general election, and, as 2022 and 2024 draw nearer, they may find themselves shunted to the side by equally ambitious but savvier Republicans.

Link:
Greene and Gaetz, staunch Trump fans, take their show on the road - The Economist

The ESPN story had been online less than 24 hours. Shanin Specter was astonished as the calls and emails were still pouring in Thursday. Hatred of Donald Trump, he surmised, was driving it all.

It didnt help that the New England Patriots were in the mix, too.

The gist: Trump in 2008 reportedly told Specters father, then-U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter, thered be a lot of money in Palm Beach if he dropped his push to examine the NFLs controversial handling of the Patriots 2007 Spygate scandal.

Shanin Specter told ESPN and Clout his father informed him in 2008 that Trump was a messenger for Patriots owner Robert Kraft. Arlen Specter died in 2012, four years before Trump was elected president.

If Trump was dead and my father was living this wouldnt be a story, Specter said. Ive gotten emails from across the country, thanking me for speaking out. I didnt speak out. A reporter called and asked me some questions.

READ MORE: More Clout: Bill McSwain lands a clean jab against Josh Shapiro

Specter still recalls how angry his father was at Trumps offer. He scoffed at denials by the Patriots and a Trump adviser.

I just never thought it was that big of a deal, said Specter, cofounder of the powerhouse personal-injury law firm Kline & Specter. Stuff like this happens in Washington all the time. It wasnt the only time my father felt someone had crossed the line with him in conversations about his official business and mixing in campaign contributions.

Still, his father was disappointed in Trump, a friend since the 1980s. And he wondered if the improper videotaping of coaching signals by the Patriots in a New York Jets game also played a role in the Eagles Super Bowl loss to the Patriots in 2005.

He was angry that it involved the Patriots, who he absolutely despised, Specter told Clout. That was his position as an Eagles fan, not as a U.S. senator.

Specter said ESPN did an unbelievable job sifting through his fathers papers, where a reporter found a 2008 note to Trump suggesting he seek a cabinet position in a presidential administration.

How quaint is it to think about Donald Trump being encouraged to be a cabinet secretary, Specter said. Think of how much better wed be as a country if thats all that happened.

A group of retired Philadelphia police officers set two goals last summer: counterpunch billionaire George Soros power in electing progressive prosecutors, and prevent Philly District Attorney Larry Krasner from winning a second term.

One year later with almost $1 million raised Protect Our Police PAC outspent Soros to influence last weeks Democratic primary. But Krasner defeated challenger Carlos Vega by a ratio of 2-1.

Protect Our Police president Nick Gerace said the group is very proud of our hard work to hold Larry Krasner accountable, but declined to answer questions.

READ MORE: How Philly DA Larry Krasner won and won big

The group, which has consistently missed filing deadlines to show how it raises and spends money, filed four overdue campaign-finance reports Saturday. It raised more than $932,000 in 11 months and spent 57% of that on consultants. A half million came from billionaire Timothy Mellon, a Republican megadonor.

The biggest spend: $419,232 for Media Stream Consulting LLC, a firm set up in Bensalem last August. An attorney for the firm, which placed $134,000 in television buys in the race, said its owners want to remain anonymous.

Gerace, who was paid almost $62,000, refused to identify the consultant who last month issued a fund-raising email that blamed George Floyd for his own murder by a former Minneapolis police officer. The group apologized and said it fired the consultant.

Chuck Peruto knows a thing or two about getting attention. Thats made for a rocky May for the longtime defense attorney and Republican nominee for Philadelphia district attorney.

John Oliver, host of HBOs Last Week Tonight, on Sunday used a video on Perutos campaign website to cast him as an example of extreme cartoonishness being a selling point for some candidates following Trumps presidency. Oliver zeroed in on Perutos claim that he understands Black people just about as well as a Black person because he grew up in West Philly.

The whole video is 35 minutes long and shot in a single take with real no one in my family wants to listen to me anymore, so they showed me how to use a webcam energy, Oliver said.

Andrew Giuliani, a Trump staffer, and Rudy Giulianis son, took some lumps, too, for his New York gubernatorial bid.

The point is, yes, these people look like clowns, Oliver concluded. But its important to remember that clowns, while funny are also fing terrifying.

Peruto tells Clout he likes Oliver but doesnt think the comedians staff did enough research.

My gripe is, if you take anybodys website and use a few phrases out of context, you can make anyone look like Attila the Hun, Peruto said.

Peruto, a former Democrat who supported Krasner four years ago but now disagrees with what he sees as lenient plea deals in gun gases, ran unopposed in the Republican primary. Less than 10% of the citys Republicans came out to vote in that election.

Clout provides often irreverent news and analysis about people, power, and politics.

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The story about Donald Trump, Arlen Specter, and the Patriots that set the internet ablaze - The Philadelphia Inquirer