Category Archives: Republicans

DeSantis v Newsom debate: governors clash on crime, abortion, guns and more

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‘Slugfest’ moderated by Sean Hannity saw the Democrat and Republican speaking over each other in heated ‘shadow campaign’

Ron DeSantis, a hard-right contender for the Republican presidential nomination, took the stage in Georgia on Thursday for a debate one eager website dubbed “The Vendetta in Alpharetta.”

But the Florida governor’s opponent was not Donald Trump, the former president and clear primary frontrunner, or any other Republican contender. His opponent was Gavin Newsom, the Democratic governor of California,who is not seeking his party’s nomination next year, given Joe Biden’s grip on the White House.

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Donald Trump continues attacks on New York trial judge’s wife after appeal court reinstates gag order – live

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Former US president lays into Arthur Engoron’s wife on social media after being barred from making public statements about court staff

“I’m not running for re-election because I chose not to put myself, my family through this process because here’s the reality when it comes down… I would have an uphill battle against the press, I will have an uphill battle against the party,” said Santos.

“There’s a point in time where you just say, you know, enough is enough. I’m 35-years old which doesn’t mean that it’s goodbye forever,” he continued.

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George Santos makes final effort to resist vote to expel him from US House

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Republican congressman, facing possible expulsion following House vote on Friday, gives speech outside the US Capitol

George Santos appealed to democratic norms on Thursday in a last-ditch effort to resist an expected vote to expel him from the US House of Representatives, describing efforts to remove him as “bullying” and warning that “the undoing of a lot of members of this body” would follow.

The embattled Republican congressman, who is facing a third effort to expel him from Congress with a House vote due on Friday, told reporters outside the US Capitol in Washington DC that it was “an unfortunate circumstance to watch Congress waste the American people’s time over and over again on something that is in the power of the people, not the power of Congress”.

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Donald Trump biopic: Sebastian Stan, Jeremy Strong and Maria Bakalova cast in The Apprentice

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Stan, who recently played Tommy Lee in Pam & Tommy, will play the former US president in new film, joined by Strong as Roy Cohn and Bakalova as Ivana Trump

Marvel star Sebastian Stan will play Donald Trump in an upcoming biopic, to be joined by Succession’s Jeremy Strong and Oscar nominee Maria Bakalova in leading roles.

Directed by Iranian film-maker Ali Abbasi, The Apprentice, which commenced production this week, is billed as an exploration of power and ambition in a world of corruption and deceit.

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Pence’s son reportedly convinced him to stand up to Trump over January 6

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Former vice-president had planned to skip process to certify Joe Biden’s election victory but changed mind after son’s plea

Mike Pence reportedly decided to skip the congressional certification process for Joe Biden’s 2020 election win, because to preside over it as required by the constitution would be “too hurtful” to his “friend”, Donald Trump. He was then shamed into standing up to Trump by his son, a US marine.

“Dad, you took the same oath I took,” the then vice-president’s son Michael Pence said, according to ABC News, adding that it was “an oath to support and defend the constitution”.

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Biden hails job creation and mocks Lauren Boebert for dismissing investment as ‘massive failure’ – as it happened

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Asked about the effort to impeach Joe Biden, the Democratic caucus chair, Pete Aguilar, accused the GOP of doing Donald Trump’s bidding.

From the House Democrats’ press conference earlier today:

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Rosalynn Carter memorial service: Jimmy Carter joins mourners at Atlanta church – as it happened

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While Super Pac AFP Action’s endorsement of Nikki Haley may represent a boost to her presidential campaign, all signs point to the former United Nations ambassador facing a steep hill to climb to catch up to Donald Trump’s lead among Republican voters.

Polls consistently show him as the far-and-away favorite for the GOP’s nomination, with Haley and Florida governor Ron DeSantis vying for a distant second place. Nonetheless, Karoline Leavitt, spokeswoman for Trump-supporting Super Pac Make America Great Again Inc, released a statement slamming AFP Action’s endorsement:

The Ron DeSantis campaign finally got it right when they bitterly attacked Americans for Prosperity for being a vessel of globalist shills. That’s exactly why AFP backed Ron Desantis in his 2018 and 2022 gubernatorial races.

Everything old is new again. The Republican primary is split between career politicians who are tools of the billionaire class and the one man who delivers for the American people. Americans for Prosperity has already lit millions of dollars on fire this primary only to watch President Donald Trump’s lead grow. No amount of money can break the bond President Trump has with voters. He kept his promises.

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Georgia prosecutors oppose plea deals for Trump, Meadows and Giuliani

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Exclusive: sources say Fulton county prosecutors unwilling to offer deals to key trio, preferring instead to force them to trial

Fulton county prosecutors do not intend to offer plea deals to Donald Trump and at least two high-level co-defendants charged in connection with their efforts to overturn the 2020 election in Georgia, according to two people familiar with the matter, preferring instead to force them to trial.

The individuals seen as ineligible include Trump, his former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, and Trump’s former lawyer Rudy Giuliani.

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Joe Biden and first lady ‘horrified’ by Vermont shooting of three Palestinian students – as it happened

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Police in Vermont on Sunday announced the arrest of a suspect in the shooting of three Palestinian students, the Guardian’s Chris Michael reports. Here’s the latest on the story:

A suspect was arrested on Sunday in the shooting of three Palestinian students in Burlington, Vermont the night before, police said, adding that contrary to media reports the shooter did not speak before firing.

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Liz Truss backs Trump with call for Republican presidential victory

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Short-lived PM does not mention frontrunner for nomination by name but says ‘I hope a Republican will be returned in 2024’

Liz Truss, the shortest-serving prime minister in British history, who was memorably shown to have a shorter shelf life than a lettuce, has in effect backed Donald Trump in next year’s US presidential election.

Writing in the Wall Street Journal, Truss – who spent just 49 days in No 10 Downing Street before being turfed out by her own Conservative party in large part for pitching the UK economy into crisis – said she wished for a Republican president next.

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‘It doesn’t look good’: George Santos expects to be expelled from Congress

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On X Spaces Friday night, Republican congressman charted his rise from ‘It girl’ to ‘Mary Magdalene of the United States Congress’

Republican George Santos has said he expects to be expelled from Congress following a scathing report by the House ethics committee that found substantial evidence of lawbreaking by the lying New York representative.

In a defiant speech Friday sprinkled with taunts and obscenities aimed at his congressional colleagues, Santos insisted he was “not going anywhere”. But he acknowledged that his time as a member of Congress may soon be coming to an end.

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Abortion activists across US launch fresh efforts to add measures to 2024 ballots – live

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Abortion rights groups in Missouri and Nebraska are proposing measures to expand rights; 2022 clip surfaces of Mike Johnson saying allowing people to receive abortions is ‘causing an American Holocaust’

Democrats in Virginia this week proposed amending the state constitution to enshrine abortion rights.

The proposal follow Democrats’ win in the state earlier this month in which they gained control of the state legislature, signifying a blow to Republicans’ plans that included curtailing abortion access.

“Throughout the campaign cycle we told Virginians that a Democratic majority meant that abortion access would be protected in the Commonwealth.

Today, that reigns true. Our resolution will begin the process of amending our constitution to protect reproductive rights in Virginia, building on the work that I and congresswoman Jennifer McClellan started many years ago.

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Jill Stein formally launches 2024 White House bid as Green party candidate

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Stein is latest in a series of mostly leftist figures to announce candidacies with the potential to erode Biden’s core support

A new front opened in the growing threats to Joe Biden’s presidency on Tuesday when the left-wing environmentalist Jill Stein formally launched her third presidential bid in an online conversation with two fellow progressive activists.

Stein, 73, who is bidding to become the US Green party’s nominee, is the latest in a series of mostly leftist figures to announce candidacies with the potential to erode Biden’s core support in an expected re-match against Donald Trump in next year’s poll.

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Wisconsin supreme court to hear high-stakes case challenging legislative maps

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State assembly map may be the most gerrymandered in US, and lawsuit could end more than a decade of Republican dominance

Wisconsin’s supreme court will hear oral argument on Tuesday in a high-stakes lawsuit seeking to strike down the maps for the state’s legislature. The result could bring an end to what may be the most gerrymandered districts in the United States and upend politics in Wisconsin.

The case, Clarke v Wisconsin Elections Commission, could bring an end to more than a decade of Republican dominance in the Wisconsin legislature. In 2011, Republicans drew districts for the state legislature that were so distorted in their favor that it made it impossible for them to lose their majorities. Last year, the state supreme court implemented new maps that made as little change as possible from the old ones when lawmakers and the state’s Democratic governor reached a redistricting impasse.

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Trump legal team and prosecutors face off in court over gag order in election interference case – live

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Trump’s attorneys say the gag order impede on ‘core political speech’ while Justice department prosecutors say its’s crucial for a fair trial

Politicians are posting tributes to Carter, with many remembering the former first lady for her public service.

From US representative Cori Bush:

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Biden celebrates birthday as polls show struggles against Trump

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Voters concerned that Biden, who turns 81 on Monday, is too old for second term while Trump, 77, makes headway among key groups

As he turned 81 on Monday, Joe Biden was presented with unwelcome gifts: more polling showing him struggling against Donald Trump, his likely opponent next year who is just three and a half years younger but whom many fewer Americans think is too old to be president.

In its US Election Watch Report for November, the Morning Consult polling organisation said Trump is gaining ground among key voter segments including Black, Hispanic and young Americans. “Throughout 2023, Trump has made up ground with Joe Biden in our head-to-head tracking by improving his margins” among such groups, also including independents, it said.

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Republicans secure all statewide offices in Louisiana after sweeping runoff races

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GOP win elections on Saturday in once-bipartisan state for attorney general, secretary of state and treasurer

Upon January’s arrival, Republicans will control every elected statewide office in once-bipartisan Louisiana after the GOP swept runoff races Saturday for attorney general, secretary of state and treasurer.

The Republican success, in a state that has had a centrist Democrat in the governor’s office for the past eight years, means that political conservatives have secured all of Louisiana’s statewide offices for the first time since 2015. Republicans secured the governor’s mansion in October and also hold a two-third supermajority in the state house as well as the senate.

The Associated Press contributed reporting

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Mike Johnson to publicly release 44,000 hours of sensitive January 6 footage

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US House speaker to make good on promise to far-right Republicans including Matt Gaetz and Donald Trump

House speaker Mike Johnson said Friday he plans to publicly release thousands of hours of footage from the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol, making good on a promise he made to far-right members of his party when he was campaigning for his current job.

“This decision will provide millions of Americans, criminal defendants, public interest organizations and the media an ability to see for themselves what happened that day, rather than having to rely upon the interpretation of a small group of government officials,” Johnson said in a statement.

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Democratic leadership says ceasefire protest ‘exceeded a peaceful demonstration’ and commends police amid activist criticism – as it happened

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Another video posted online appeared to show Capitol police officers rolling their bikes over candles that were laid out to mourn the 11,000 Palestinians killed by Israeli airstrikes.

In a caption accompanying the video, Jewish Voice for Peace Action said:

“Last night, in DC Jews and allies carried out a vigil and a nonviolent, moral act of civil disobedience to call on Democrats to support a ceasefire to save Palestinian and Israeli lives. Within moments, police brutally assaulted peaceful protestors, injuring over 90.”

“Every hour of this horrific bombardment, more Palestinians are killed. Every hour, the lives of the hostages hang in the balance. Every hour increases the risk of a broader regional war, endangering the lives of millions of people across the entire region.

We the base of the Democratic party are here to say if you care about Palestinians, if you care about Israelis, if you care about Jews, if you care about humanity, we need you to call for a ceasefire, a hostage exchange, a deescalation, and to chart a path toward freedom and safety for all. Instead of heeding our call for a ceasefire, police violently attacked nonviolent protesters with pepper spray.”

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Marjorie Taylor Greene claims Democrats failed to defend House from Capitol rioters

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Extremist Republican says in book ‘not one Democrat was willing to stay to defend the chamber’ but claim rejected as ‘patently false’

In a new book, the extremist Republican congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene claims no Democrats stayed in the House chamber on January 6 to help defend it against rioters sent by Donald Trump to block the certification of Joe Biden’s election win – a claim one Democrat who did stay labeled “patently false”.

Greene’s book, MTG, will be published next week. The Guardian obtained a copy.

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