Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. , seen by some as a spoiler whose candidacy could help Donald Trump , held talks with the ex-president after the assassination attempt, reportedly discussing an endorsement in exchange for a position in a second Trump administration.
Late Saturday evening on July 13, hours after a 20-year old man shot at Trump, apparently causing a bloody ear while killing a Trump supporter and wounding two others at a Pennsylvania rally, Trump and Kennedy spoke by phone. During that call, The Washington Post reports, the two presidential candidates agreed to meet the following week in Milwaukee, on the first day of the Republican National Convention. Audio and video of that Saturday night call was “leaked” by Kennedy’s own son, prompting the anti-vaxxer and conspiracy theorist to publicly apologize to Trump, as NCRM reported last week.
In that video, Donald Trump could be heard telling Kennedy, “I would love you to do stuff and I think it’d be so good for your and so big for you. And we’re gonna win. We’re way ahead of the guy.
” It was not clear in what context Trump meant “do stuff,” although he could have possibly meant endorse Trump, or hand Kennedy a post in his administration. The two candidates’ discussions on Monday, “included possible jobs that Kennedy could be given in a second Trump administration, either at the Cabinet level or posts that do not require Senate confirmation. The discussion also included the prospect of Kennedy leaving the race and endorsing Trump, the people said,” The Post reported.
Read also: Exclusive: Harris? Newsom? Whitmer? GOP delegates dish on who they want Trump to face “The discussions surprised Trump and his aides. But there were concerns among some Trump advisers that Kennedy — a fervent critic of vaccines — would not be appropriate in such a job and that such an agreement could be problematic, the people said. Two of these people did not rule out the campaign eventually wanting Kennedy in the fold or potentially giving him a job in the administration if Trump wins.
” They also “did not result in an agreement amid concerns in Trump’s orbit about the complications of promising a job in exchange for a political endorsement, according to the people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe private conversations.” “Whoa,” remarked Democratic strategist Lis Smith, responding to The Post’s reporting. Kennedy “offered to endorse Trump in exchange for a job.
..the Trump people declined b/c RFK Jr was pushing too explicitly for a quid pro quo.
” Kennedy, who is an environmental law attorney, has focused on his anti-vaxx activism in recent years. The Post reports the discussion between Kennedy and Trump included him possibly “overseeing a portfolio of health and medical issues.” “All I will say to you is I am willing to talk to anybody from either political party who wants to talk about children’s health and how to end the chronic disease epidemic,” Kennedy also told The Post in an interview.
“I have a lot of respect for President Trump for reaching out to me. Nobody from the DNC, high or low, has ever reached out to me in 18 months. Instead they have allocated millions to try to disrupt my campaign.
” Sen. J.D.
Vance (R-OH), the newly-minted running mate for former President Donald Trump , made a bizarre remark at a rally in his hometown of Middletown, Ohio, on Monday, suggesting that Democrats will probably call him racist over his choice of soft drinks. "I had a Diet Mountain Dew yesterday and one today. I'm sure they’re gonna call that racist.
It’s good," said Vance in a clip flagged by the pro-Kamala Harris account Kamala HQ, which noted that the comment was met with "awkward laughing." Vance, who previously caused controversy for implying that illegal immigration caused his mother's drug addiction when she actually stole drugs from patients using her position as a nurse , was speaking facetiously to try to argue that Democrats will find an excuse to call anything racist. But his comments were such a non-sequitur that it left many observers on social media scratching their heads.
"What on Earth?" wrote the account @raderje. "Mt. Dew is basically the state beverage of Minnesota.
Are magas trying to add beverage choice to their culture war now?" Read also: Exclusive: Harris? Newsom? Whitmer? GOP delegates dish on who they want Trump to face "When your hatchet man can't hatchet," wrote the account @weisselbergers. "And they try to make fun of Kamala's laugh?" wrote the account @ArtCandee. "Calling Mountain Dew 'good' shows his bad taste," wrote the account @Dustin_Cone.
"Please clap," wrote the account @InsideP2025 — a reference to an infamous moment when former Gov. Jeb Bush (R-FL), running for president in 2016, told the audience, "Please clap" after not receiving the applause he expected from an important line in his speech. "Makes sense why he declined to debate with [Vice President Kamala] Harris," wrote the account @beyzhive.
"His backers are gonna want a refund," wrote the account @ManiamAkash. "Oh God..
..quit while you are behind," wrote the account @TheRKPodcast.
"He is so pathetic and boring," wrote the account @ML3democrats. Watch the video below or at the link here . — (@) CONTINUE READING Show less WASHINGTON – Accused of sexual misconduct and affairs spanning decades, blamed for strict abortion curbs and criticized for sexism, Donald Trump has a women problem -- and Democrats are gambling that Kamala Harris can use it as a cudgel.
Trump was accused of misogyny by his Democratic 2016 opponent Hillary Clinton -- the only woman ever nominated for a White House run by a major party -- and is facing similar attacks from a vice president looking increasingly likely to be the second. Broadening Trump's appeal to women is seen as key to the Republican's electoral success in November, after he won just 42 percent of the female vote on his way to defeat in 2020, against Joe Biden's 57 percent.There was an coordinated push at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee last week to soften the 78-year-old billionaire's rougher edges, with former and current associates effusive in their praise.
Several female family members also weighed in, with Kai Trump, his oldest grandchild, sharing stories of "a normal grandpa" who "gives us candy and soda when our parents aren't looking." The praise was at odds with his public persona as an adjudicated sexual predator who has bragged about groping women and has a reputation for being unfaithful, allegedly cheating on third wife Melania Trump with a Playboy model and a porn star. 'Fat pigs, dogs, slobs' Trump was found liable last year for a mid-1990s sex attack on writer E.
Jean Carroll -- the judge called it "rape" -- and ordered to pay $88 million in damages for the assault itself and for defaming her. During his first primary campaign, he criticized the looks of his only female Republican rival and implied that the wife of another opponent-- Senator Ted Cruz of Texas -- was ugly. Then the "Access Hollywood" footage of him boasting about being able to grab women by their genitals almost brought a swift end to his campaign.
Years earlier he had boasted on Howard Stern's show about entering beauty pageant changing rooms with "incredible-looking women" in various states of undress. Voters were reminded of Trump's controversial statements during one of the primary debates in 2015, when moderator Megyn Kelly brought up his descriptions of women as "fat pigs, dogs, slobs and disgusting animals." He later criticized the questioning, saying Kelly had "blood coming out of her wherever.
" Clinton accused Trump of "stalking" her during their debate in October 2016, after a bizarre performance during which he often stood closely behind her glowering. After he won that election, more than 500 Women's March protests were held in America and scores of foreign cities. Trump has denied more than a dozen sexual misconduct allegations, from groping and harassment to rape.
The official Trump White House position in 2017 was that the women were all lying. 'Formidable female contender' He avoided jail in the Carroll case because it was a civil trial, but incarceration has not been ruled out in his September sentencing for falsifying business records to cover up an affair with adult film star Stormy Daniels. Trump campaign press secretary Karoline Leavitt told AFP the media's portrayal of his treatment of women was "entirely false," pointing to his efforts to expand access to paid family leave and child care in his first term.
Meanwhile, reproductive rights have become a hot-button 2024 election issue after Trump's appointment of three Supreme Court justices who voted to overturn federal abortion protections. Harris, as well as being a former prosecutor who used to put men away for fraud and rape, is a leading proponent of abortion access. A coalition of 22 progressive and women's groups released a statement calling Harris "the leading voice in the Biden administration to restore abortion rights -- the issue galvanizing voters in red states and blue.
" Political strategist Sergio Jose Gutierrez says that while Harris might struggle with moderate and older women, the 2020 Democratic coalition of suburban women and working moms could help her across the line. "Trump's stronghold remains among small-town voters, seniors, and economic conservatives," said Gutierrez, the CEO of consultancy Espora. "But he must adapt to the dynamics of running against a formidable female contender.
" CONTINUE READING Show less WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate Committee on Ethics Monday notified Sen.
Bob Menendez that its members unanimously voted for an “adjudicatory review of his alleged violations of Senate Rules,” in a move that could lead to the New Jersey Democrat’s possible expulsion from the upper chamber or a censure. Last week a jury found Menendez guilty on all counts in his federal corruption trial for taking bribes in the form of gold bars, cash, car and mortgage payments from three New Jersey businessmen to do favors for Egypt and Qatar and to meddle in two criminal investigations. At the time he took the bribes, Menendez was chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
The co-chairs of Senate Ethics, Chris Coons, Democrat of Delaware, and James Lankford, Republican of Oklahoma, said in a joint statement that they anticipate the committee “completing the adjudicatory review promptly.” “At the completion of the adjudicatory review, the Committee will move expeditiously to submit a written report to the Senate including specific findings and any recommendations for disciplinary action,” they wrote. Menendez’s office did not respond to a request for comment from States Newsroom.
Menendez has filed to run for his seat as an independent, even as many of his Democratic colleagues have pressured him to resign. U.S.
Rep. Andy Kim , a Democrat, is running for the Senate seat against Republican Curtis Bashaw. Two-thirds of the Senate would need to vote to expel a member, but only a majority is needed to pass a censure resolution.
A censure is a form of discipline in which the Senate formally disapproves of a member, but it does not lead to removal. Since 1789, the Senate has expelled 15 members, according to Senate archives. The last time a senator was expelled was Jesse D.
Bright of Indiana in 1862 for his support of the Confederate rebellion, though numerous more attempts at expulsion have occurred since then. Two more senators were expelled that year for their support of the Confederacy. GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX SUBSCRIBE New Jersey Monitor is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity.
New Jersey Monitor maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Terrence T. McDonald for questions: info@newjerseymonitor.
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