Billionaire Paul Singer’s Elliott Management has taken a ‘sizable stake’ and intends to ‘push for changes’, reports Bloomberg News
A major Republican donor has purchased a stake in Twitter and is reportedly seeking to oust its chief executive, Jack Dorsey.
Bloomberg News first reported that Elliott Management has taken a “sizable stake” and “and plans to push for changes at the social media company, including replacing Dorsey”.
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It’s been a busy day in US politics. Here’s a rundown of the top stories:
Trump is ad-libbing on the coronavirus at his rally in South Carolina, Oliver Laughland reports.
Trump is ad libbing significantly. Breaking off from prepared remarks on coronavirus to ask Graham and Scott to pass legislation that allows him to serve for 25 years
“Lets term limit ourselves at 25 years. Tim pass it in the senate with Lindsey. A 25 year term limit, please.”
We are doing everything in our power to keep the infection and those carrying the infection from entering the country. We have no choice. Whether it’s the virus that we’re talking about, or the many other public health threats, the Democrat policy of open borders is a direct threat to the health and wellbeing of all Americans.
Now you see it with the coronavirus… when you have this virus, or any other virus, or any other problem coming in, it’s not the only thing that comes in through the border… and we’re setting records at the border, we’re setting records, and now, just using this, important, so important.
Continue reading...At the annual CPAC conference in Maryland, Republicans were in buoyant mood about the president’s re-election prospects
“Four more years!” the crowd chanted at Mike Pence, the vice-president. “Four more years!”
Not so long ago, under the shadow of investigations, impeachment and dismal approval ratings, Donald Trump’s re-election seemed a long shot. But at the biggest annual gathering of grassroots conservatives on Thursday, self-belief was surging and some were already looking ahead to what a second term might bring.
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The White House said that Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron spoke over the phone yesterday.
“The two leaders discussed the importance of NATO, French and United States counterterrorism efforts in the Sahel, and other bilateral issues,” the readout says.
Bernie Sanders may also be asked about this during tonight’s debate: the Atlantic is reporting that the Vermont senator considered challenging Barack Obama for the 2012 Democratic nomination.
The Atlantic reports:
Bernie Sanders got so close to running a primary challenge to President Barack Obama that Senator Harry Reid had to intervene to stop him.
It took Reid two conversations over the summer of 2011 to get Sanders to scrap the idea, according to multiple people who remember the incident, which has not been previously reported.
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The good polling news for Michael Bloomberg just keeps on coming this morning.
A new poll from Oklahoma, which will also hold its primary on Super Tuesday, shows Bloomberg leading the field with 20%.
In addition to qualifying for the next Democratic debate, Michael Bloomberg also got some good news from a Virginia poll out this morning.
According to the Monmouth University survey, Bloomberg and Bernie Sanders are tied among likely voters in Virginia, which will hold its primary on Super Tuesday.
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Tech entrepreneur Andrew Yang, who has signaled in recent days that the future of his candidacy depends on the results in New Hampshire, thanked his supporters as most of the state’s polls closed.
I am so proud of this campaign. Thank you to everyone who got us here.
It is 7 pm ET, so most New Hampshire polls have now closed, although a few polling locations will remain open for another hour.
Depending on the results, it could be a relatively early night -- especially in comparison to the days-long debacle that was the reporting of results for the Iowa caucuses.
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With Pete Buttigieg and Bernie Sanders still neck and neck amid the ongoing Iowa debacle (still no official winner), and Buttigieg surging into a position as surprise threat in New Hampshire, Sanders has been chewing the fat at the traditional Politics & Eggs breakfast in event the Granite State.
“I’m reading some headlines from newspapers about Pete Buttigieg,” he said. “Pete Buttigieg has most exclusive billionaire donors of any Democrats, that was from Forbes. The Hill: Pete Buttigieg tops billionaire donor list. Fortune: Pete Buttigieg takes lead as big business candidate in 2020 field. Washington Post: Pete Buttigieg lures even closer look from Wall Street donors following strong Iowa caucus performance. Forbes magazine: here are the billionaires backing Pete Buttigieg’s presidential campaign,” Time reports.
(FACT) Of the eight candidates in the BOSTON GLOBE and EMERSON polls of New Hampshire from February 6-7, only *two* increased their standing poll-to-poll: Pete Buttigieg and Elizabeth Warren—who many would call the top moderate and top progressive option for New Hampshire voters. pic.twitter.com/RAJYHXVdLR
Donald Trump retweeted this afternoon two tweets that recommended he fire Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, an adviser on the national security counsel who testified in the impeachment trial. This morning, Trump said he wasn’t happy with Vindman and that decisions would be made about his post. Here are the tweets – one is from November.
I’d fire him. I listened to his testimony in the SCIF. He’s a leaker, not a whistleblower. Vindman was upset that @realDonaldTrump didn’t follow the script Vindman prepared for the phone call. Current Commander in Chief doesn’t take orders from a Lt. Col.!https://t.co/a9KYrfiVFN
Vindman's behavior is a scandal. He should be removed from the @RealDonaldTrump White House ASAP to protect our foreign policy from his machinations. https://t.co/mgL9X9w75M
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Related: Trump unleashed: what's next for a president who feels invincible?
Both Pete Buttigieg and Bernie Sanders have claimed victory in Iowa, even as technical delays and reporting issues have prolonged the delay in tallying the Democratic caucus votes. Sanders has touted his raw vote tally; Buttigieg holds a narrow lead in the number of state delegate equivalents he’s amassed.
Both candidates will be speaking tonight in a CNN town hall ahead of the New Hampshire primary contest next week. Deval Patrick and Amy Klobuchar will be participating as well, answering questions from supporters and network hosts.
Related: Sanders and Buttigieg nearly tied in Iowa amid new claims of counting errors
Continue reading...In a hyperpartisan era, Republicans cast Trump as a victim while Democrats lamented his ‘normalisation of lawlessness’
Donald Trump’s short but indelible political career has been based around the principle of divide-and-fool. His acquittal in the impeachment trial by the US Senate will further fan the flames of the most profound national split since the Vietnam war, perhaps even the civil war.
First, expect Trump to be cocky and take a victory lap, falsely claiming “exoneration” just as he did after special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation left him bruised but unbowed. A day after Mueller’s leaden testimony to Congress, the president felt able to act with such impunity that he made his bullying phone call to the leader of Ukraine.
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Pete Buttigieg threw everything into winning the Iowa Democratic caucuses and – with 71% of the vote in following Monday’s results debacle – his gamble may well have paid off.
If so, the former mayor of tiny South Bend, Indiana, may look back on this moment as the peak of his political career, or the start of a long, hard slog that could take him all the way to the White House.
Hello and welcome to another big day in American politics.
It’s fair to see Donald Trump is probably having a pretty good week. Last night he got 80 minutes to make his case for a second term on primetime TV with his State of the Union address, as the Democrats continued to struggle to publish results from their first primary contest on Iowa on Monday.
Continue reading...Donald Trump appeared to snub Nancy Pelosi's request for a handshake during the start of his State of the Union address. At the speech's conclusion, Pelosi was seen tearing up her copy of the speech, later saying 'it was the courteous thing to do'
Trump used speech to brag about ‘the great American comeback’ but House speaker said she couldn’t find ‘one page with truth on it’
An emboldened Donald Trump bragged about the “great American comeback” in his State of the Union address on Tuesday night, in a speech resembling an 81-minute re-election rally that prompted the most powerful woman in Congress to rip up her copy of the speech on national television.
The House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, said she tore up the address, which he delivered on the eve of the verdict in his impeachment trial, because she couldn’t find “one page with truth on it”.
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Some Iowans expressed frustration on Tuesday that the state Democratic party had bungled its moment in the national spotlight after the state Democratic party delayed releasing the results of the caucuses because of a technical glitch.
“They’re not complete, but results are in from a majority of precincts, and they show our campaign in first place,” said Pete Buttigieg, grinning widely as he addressed supporters in New Hampshire. “This is what we have been working more than a year to convince our fellow Americans: that a new and better vision can bring about a new and better day.
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That’s it from me after a very anti-climatic night in Des Moines. The Democratic presidential candidates and the media circus accompanying them are leaving Iowa with no sense of who won the first voting state in the nominating contest.
Here’s where things stand:
One reporter described Iowa Democratic party chairman Troy Price’s voice on the press call as “deflated”, which is understandable considering the organization saw its worst nightmare unfold before its eyes tonight.
"Thank you and we will be in touch soon," Price said.
An understatement to say he sounded deflated. Since his election in 2017, it's been his sole mission to try to make a fairer, more transparent Iowa caucus that would also run seamlessly. Tonight was IDP's worst nightmare.
The midwestern state is the first to vote in the presidential primary race. So what are caucuses, and how do they work? Here’s your guide to the night
The Iowa caucuses take place on Monday 3 February, kicking off the long process of nominating a Democratic presidential candidate who will eventually take on Donald Trump in November’s US election.
The primary race is made up of a series of contests called primaries and caucuses that take place in all 50 states plus Washington DC and outlying territories, by which the parties select their presidential nominee from the candidates who are running.
Continue reading...As a growing number of Republican senators confirmed they will vote to acquit Donald Trump at the conclusion of his impeachment trial on Wednesday, the saga threatened to overshadow the first contest of the Democratic primary season in Iowa on Monday.
Related: 'My party is a cult': Republican Joe Walsh on his Iowa challenge to Trump
Continue reading...Outraged by what they see as a coverup in the impeachment trial of Donald Trump, grassroots activists are planning a massive “payback project” designed to punish Republican senators at the ballot box.
Related: By denying witnesses, Republicans made clear even a smoking gun would not be enough
Continue reading...Trump has handed his ultra-loyal evangelical base policy victories and in return they turn a blind eye to his scandals
Joanne Craig, a lifelong evangelical Republican and resident of Sioux City, Iowa, couldn’t be more satisfied with the first three years of Donald Trump’s presidency.
Donning a large, blue “Christians for Trump” button on a blue pantsuit, the 80-year-old Craig emerged from the Country Celebrations Event Center in this small Iowa city satisfied to have heard Mike Pence and a cadre of Baptist pastors coo about the president’s policy victories.
Continue reading...Senate voted 51-49 to block witnesses, with Republicans Mitt Romney and Susan Collins joining Democrats
The US Senate voted against hearing witnesses in the impeachment trial of Donald Trump on Friday, paving the way for Trump’s acquittal on charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.
The Senate voted 51-49 to block witnesses, with only two Republicans, Mitt Romney of Utah and Susan Collins of Maine, crossing party lines to support the Democratic call for witnesses.
Continue reading...The US Senate has voted against calling witnesses and collecting new evidence in the impeachment trial of Donald Trump, clearing the way for a near-certain acquittal. The Republican-controlled Senate voted 51-49 to block the Democrats' drive to hear testimony from witnesses including former national security adviser John Bolton. Only two Republicans, Mitt Romney and Susan Collins, supported the motion. Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer called the result a 'tragedy on a very large scale'.
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