Maybe he was still groggy from napping all day, but Donald Trump walked away when asked of he still supports Mike Johnson. Video: Reporter: Do you still support Speaker Johnson? Trump: Reporter: Do you still support Speaker Johnson? Trump: pic.twitter.com/amYthUNlPd — Acyn (@Acyn) April 19, 2024 If I am Mike Johnson, I am feeling pretty nervous after watching that video clip. Trump may have appeared with Johnson a week ago and said that he was doing a good job, but the one thing that the former president did not do was pick up the phone and tell Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene to drop her plann ..read more

Donald Trump spoke to the media on Friday morning without awareness of what he was saying, stating that he was not allowed to talk to the media. Maggie Haberman posted about Trump’s remarks outside the courthouse: Trump spoke in the hallway before re-entering the hold room. Apparently without a sense of irony, he told reporters, “They’ve taken away my constitutional rights to speak and that includes speaking to you.” — Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) April 19, 2024 If Trump’s constitutional right to speak is being taken away, then how was he able to stand outside the courthouse and talk to rep ..read more

The Biden administration went beyond rolling back Trump’s weakening of Title IX sex discrimination protections in schools. President Biden make the protections stronger. Sec. of Education Miguel Cardona told PoliticusUSA during a call with reporters, “These regulations make crystal clear that everyone can access schools that are safe, welcoming and that respect the rights. It clarifies that Title IX’s prohibition of sex discrimination includes all forms of sex discrimination, no one should have to give up their dreams of attending or finishing school because they’re pregnant. No one should fa ..read more

A senior official at Turning Point Action has resigned after allegedly committing election fraud by forging voter signatures on paperwork. The Washington Post reported: State Rep. Austin Smith (R) — who was senior director at Turning Point Action, the campaign arm of Charlie Kirk’s Turning Point USA — was accused by a Democratic activist of submitting petition sheets with rows of voter names, addresses and signatures that “bear a striking resemblance” to his handwriting, according to a complaint. Smith “personally circulated multiple petition sheets bearing what appear to be forged voter sign ..read more

Trump thought that he would never stand trial and now that reality is setting in, he is not taking it well. Trump said: In New Hampshire, I’m supposed to be in Georgia. I’m supposed to be in North Carolina, South Carolina. I’m supposed to be in a lot of different places campaigning. But I’ve been here all day in a trial that really is a very unfair trial. These are all stories. This is over the last few days from legal experts. This is Wall Street Journal experts and it is a story from experts saying how this is not a case. The case is ridiculous. This is another one of the cases. They’re rid ..read more

The  jury has been sworn in at Trump’s hush money trial, as arguments could begin on Monday. NBC’s Lisa Rubin reported: NEW: As I predicted earlier today, we now have a jury of 12 and one alternate. We’re moving in to the alternate process; Merchan has directed that everyone remaining from today’s pool of 96 be included in this next round of jury questionnaires and voir dire. — Lisa Rubin (@lawofruby) April 18, 2024 MSNBC’s Deadline: White House discussed the timeline going forward, “We have to still get through the alternates tomorrow. And I’m gonna say very carefully, the jury has be ..read more

Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) is telling reporters that he wants to delay the vote on aid to Ukraine for as long as possible. Bloomberg’s Jack Fitzpatrick posted: Sen. Rand Paul says he wants to drag out a vote on foreign aid as long as possible. “The longer it takes them, the better. And I’ve told them that if they’re going to make us come back next week then we might as well be here the whole time.” Sen. Paul’s statement is the most blatantly pro-Russia stance imaginable. Ukraine needs the aid right away. It is an emergency situation, so Paul  wants to slow walk everything. This means that eve ..read more

A new large sample poll of youth voters shows Biden leading Trump by double digits among registered and likely youth voters, with the President’s lead skyrocketing if Trump is criminally convicted. The Harvard Youth Poll found: If the presidential election were held today, President Biden would outperform former President Trump among both registered (50% Biden, 37% Trump) and likely young voters under 30 (56% Biden, 37% Trump). When there is no voter screen (i.e., all young adults 18-29), the race narrows to single digits, 45% for President Biden, 37% for former President Trump, with 16 perce ..read more

Trump floated the bizarre claim that Democrats are going to rig his Manhattan criminal trial jury. This is what Trump posted on Truth Social: “They are catching undercover Liberal Activists lying to the Judge in order to get on the Trump Jury,” Jesse Watters Trump has been trying to get around the gag order by reposting quotes from his supporters that are focused on attacking others and saying things that he is not allowed to say. It seems like Donald Trump knows that he is going to be criminally convicted in Manhattan, which is why he is already floating bonkers conspiracy theories about the ..read more

Trump is now demanding that Republican candidates and committees that use his name and likeness for fundraising give him at least a 5% cut of the proceeds. Politico reported: “Beginning tomorrow, we ask that all candidates and committees who choose to use President Trump’s name, image, and likeness split a minimum of 5% of all fundraising solicitations to Trump National Committee JFC. This includes but is not limited to sending to the house file, prospecting vendors, and advertising,” Trump co-campaign managers Susie Wiles and Chris LaCivita wrote in the letter, which is dated April 15. They ..read more