Larry Wilmore Tells Rep. Byron Donalds Black Republicans Are A Bit Like ‘Raisins’ In ‘Potato Salad’
'doesn’t make the potato salad any better'
Rep. Hunt explains how Trump made an adversary think twice about messing with America
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Republican Reps. Wesley Hunt (Texas) and Byron Donalds (Fla.) detailed some of President Joe Biden's domestic and international failings on the Tuesday episode of the "Sage Steele Podcast."
Donalds noted, for instance, that under Biden's watch, "we have had to evacuate seven United States embassies. That has never happened in American history. Never. That is how weak we are on the world stage. That's how bad it is."
According to the Daily Signal's accounting, the reality is far worse.
The Signal indicated that as of March, the Biden administration had overseen the evacuation of 11 embassies, more than any other administration to date. President Barack Obama reportedly presided over the second-most embassy evacuations with a total of eight.
The Biden State Department has, however, come up with a different set of numbers concerning ordered or authorized evacuations under both the current and previous administrations.
"When you're weak and our adversaries know you're weak, they push you," continued Donalds. "It's no different than the bully in the school yard. If you're timid and the bully knows he can get away with it, what happens? He comes for your lunch money every single week, every single day ... until you punch back."
After the congressmen emphasized that America's adversaries perceive the U.S. as weak under Biden, Rep. Hunt shared a tale illustrating a better way of doing things — a tale that has ostensibly morphed slightly with each retelling.
'If you harm a hair on a single American, I'm going to kill you.'
"I'm going to give you my favorite President Trump story," said Hunt. "It's my number one favorite of all time."
"When we were negotiating with the Taliban while President Trump was still the president, President Trump wanted to get out of Afghanistan but he wanted a conditions-based withdrawal meaning that you [the Taliban] do what we tell you to do and then we start pulling troops back slowly as long as you abide by our rules," said Hunt.
The congressman suggested that Trump and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met with the Taliban leadership to discuss the withdrawal with a single translator in the room.
"President Trump looked at the Taliban leader and said this: 'I want to leave Afghanistan. But it's going to be a conditions-based withdrawal,' and the translator translated," said Hunt. "And [Trump] said, 'If you harm a hair on a single American, I'm going to kill you.'"
Hunt claimed that the translator sat back in silence, reluctant to communicate Trump's death threat.
"And Trump goes, 'Tell him. Tell him what I said.' [He] reached in his pocket, pulled out a satellite photo of the leader of the Taliban's home, and handed it to him," said Hunt.
Steele interjected with "shut up!"
"Got up and walked out the room," continued Hunt.
Trump told Fox News in 2022 that he had sent Taliban co-founder Abdul Ghani Baradar a photo of his house, and said, "'If you do anything, we're going to hit you harder than any country has ever been hit.'"
A year earlier, Trump told talk radio host Hugh Hewitt that he had threatened Baradar along these lines:
If you do anything bad to the United States of America, if you do anything bad to any of our civilians, to any American citizen, or if you do anything out of the normal, you know, they’ve been fighting for a thousand years, but out of the normal, because you’ve had your wars, and if you do anything out of the normal, but anything bad to America or any American citizens, I will hit you harder than anybody has ever been hit in world history. You will be hit harder than any country and any person has ever been hit in world history. And we will start with the exact location and the exact town, and it’s right here. And I believe I repeated the name of his town. That will be the first place that we start.
Former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows reportedly noted in his book "The Chief's Chief" that Trump vowed in a phone call to flatten Baradar's village in early 2020 if the Islamist group threatened Americans or American interests.
According to Meadows, Trump said, "And your village, Mullah? We know where it is. We know it's the Weetmak village. If you dare lay hands on a single American, that will be the first thing that I destroy. I will not hesitate."
While Hunt's favorite Trump story appears to have morphed over time, the core suggestion that has gone unchanged is that Trump was willing to back American safety with the threat of American vengeance.
"That's the definition of strength," continued Hunt. "That's what I'm talking about. And so you can imagine that kind of sentiment being around the world. If we have an embassy in another country, no one's going to touch it because they're going to be fearful that they're going to get a MOAB on their head. That's how President Trump rolls."
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Blaze News original: One heartbeat away — who will Trump tap for VP?
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Who will former President Donald Trump select as his running mate?
While the presumptive 2024 Republican presidential nominee has not yet announced a pick, some reports earlier this month suggested figures being vetted included North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas, Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio, Rep. Elise Stefanik of New York, Rep. Byron Donalds of Florida, and former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson.
"Anyone claiming to know who or when President Trump will choose his VP is lying, unless the person is named Donald J. Trump," Brian Hughes of the Trump campaign has noted, according to reports.
President Joe Biden is currently the oldest president in U.S. history, but if Trump wins the 2024 election and completes the full term, he would become the oldest person ever to serve as president.
'But given Trump's endorsements lately, it's unlikely that he will suddenly shift to the right when it comes to his running mate.'
Blaze Media's Daniel Horowitz told Blaze News that Trump is so well-known that his vice presidential pick won't change voters' minds about him.
But Horowitz said the choice of running mate does matter for conservatives because of the chance "that the vice presidential candidate could become president," and because if Trump loses the 2024 contest, the person who was chosen "as his running mate will instantaneously have the inside track on a leadership role in the party and the movement going forward."
Horowitz said that Vance "most closely represents the values of" Trump's "core supporters. But given Trump's endorsements lately, it's unlikely that he will suddenly shift to the right when it comes to his running mate."
Vance, who authored the book "Hillbilly Elegy," entered office last year.
Before Trump won the 2016 presidential election, Vance described himself as a "never Trump guy," saying, "I never liked him."
But Vance now says he was wrong about Trump, stating that while he did not think Trump would be a good president, Trump was a "great president."
The senator has a 93% session score from Heritage Action.
"Unfortunately, most of the names being bandied about as his top prospects, such as Doug Burgum and Tim Scott, represent the antithesis of why Trump was elevated to prominence to begin with. They embody the old GOP," Horowitz said.
Scott, who has served in the Senate since 2013, launched a GOP presidential primary bid last year only to later drop out.
The senator has an 88% session score from Heritage Action.
'No thank you.'
Burgum, who has served as North Dakota governor since late 2016, also launched a Republican presidential primary run last year before later dropping it.
But during his short-lived White House bid, he made the unorthodox move of offering people a $20 gift card if they donated $1 to his campaign.
"Struggling under Biden's economy? Let us help. Donate $1 and we'll send you a $20 gift card in the mail. That's a pretty good deal!" Burgum tweeted.
The peculiar tactic likely helped Burgum meet the unique donor thresholds required to take part in Republican presidential primary debates last year, because he made it into the first two debates.
In 2021, Burgum vetoed a bill that would have barred public schools from knowingly allowing males to participate on female sports teams. But then in 2023, Burgum signed a bill stipulating that school sports meant for females may not be open to male students.
"If Doug Burgum is the pick, you have an uninspired selection who has an unrealistic view on green issues, excuses ESG and has ties to big government globalists like Bill Gates. No thank you," Keith Malinak of BlazeTV's "Pat Gray Unleashed" told Blaze News in a statement.
"My hope is that Trump picks Byron Donalds. Donalds clearly has a love for America, respects the US Constitution and can beautifully deliver a liberty minded message to an audience hungry to hear it articulated," he stated.
Donalds, who has served in the U.S. House of Representatives since 2021, announced a House speakership bid last year after Kevin McCarthy had been ousted from the role. Ultimately, House Republicans tapped Rep. Mike Johnson (La.) for the role.
While Donalds has a 100% session score from Heritage Action, Stefanik has a score of just 58%.
Stefanik was tapped for the role of House Republican Conference Chair after the House GOP booted Liz Cheney from that post in 2021.
Trump has issued a ringing endorsement of Stefanik, calling her "SMART, STRONG, and TOUGH."
'Conservatives have nowhere else to go, and Trump is certainly behaving as if he knows that.''
Cotton has a 46% session score from Heritage Action, while Rubio has a 67%.
Carson, a retired neurosurgeon, served as HUD secretary during Trump's White House tenure.
Last month, Trump declared on Truth Social that former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley was not being considered for vice president, stating, "Nikki Haley is not under consideration for the V.P. slot, but I wish her well!"
"The dominant hiring trend for Trump has been strong and attractive women, and beta males — Trump likes to be the only rooster in the hen house. There have been a few exceptions to this, but by and large this is the trend. Given that, I have been predicting for months he would pick Tulsi Gabbard to further the (correct) narrative the Democrat Party has gone insane," BlazeTV host Steve Deace told Blaze News in a statement.
Then-Rep. Gabbard mounted a Democratic presidential primary bid in 2019 but ultimately dropped out and backed Joe Biden in 2020.
In 2022, the former Democratic lawmaker declared that she was ditching the Democratic Party, which she said is "under the complete control of an elitist cabal of warmongers who are driven by cowardly wokeness."
She has indicated that she would accept the role of Trump's running mate if he were to offer it to her.
"As for what conservatives should think, I don't think they should think anything or have any expectations," Deace said in his statement to Blaze News. "Trump is king and can do what he wants. Conservatives have nowhere else to go, and Trump is certainly behaving as if he knows that."
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EXCLUSIVE: GOP House Candidate Racks Up MAGA Endorsements Ahead Of Primary
'will be a champion for our America First Agenda'
Ex-Hillary Clinton Spox Guffaws, Says ‘Black Voters Are Not Gonna Vote For Byron Donalds As Trump’s VP
'Black voters are not going to vote for Byron Donalds at all'
Steve Bannon sentenced to prison; says ‘look at the rise of MAGA’
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Former Trump advisor Steve Bannon has been ordered to report to prison on July 1 due to contempt of Congress charges after defying the subpoena from the January 6 committee.
His sentence is set to last four months, which Sara Gonzales notes is suspicious.
“It’s not lost on me, shouldn’t be lost on you — it’s July 1. It’s a four-month prison sentence, ok? So, July, August, September, October, November. So, Steve Bannon will now be sidelined until November during campaign season,” she says wearily.
The judge had previously paused the sentence when it was handed down in October 2022 while Bannon appealed his conviction, but the judge has just ruled that the original reasons behind the postponement no longer apply after the Circuit Court of Appeals ruled unanimously against his position.
But Bannon could not have made it clearer that he’s not giving up and that Trump supporters have a lot to look forward to as the election nears.
“I’ve got great lawyers, and we’re going to go all the way to the Supreme Court if we have to,” Bannon said after his bail was revoked.
Bannon then addressed the Justice Department: “They’re not going to shut up Trump. They’re not going to shut up Navarro. They’re not going to shut up Bannon, and they’re certainly not going to shut up MAGA.”
“Look at the rise of MAGA. Look at the rise of Donald Trump. If the election was held today, according to Harry Enten over at CNN, President Trump would win in a landslide,” he added. “This is about one thing. This is about shutting down the MAGA movement, shutting down grassroots conservatives, shutting down president Trump.”
“Not only are we winning, we are going to prevail, and every number and every poll shows that. There’s nothing that can shut me up, and nothing that will shut me up. There’s not a prison built or jail built that will ever shut me up.”
“All victory to MAGA, we’re going to win this, we’re going to win at the Supreme Court, and more importantly we’re going to win on November 5 in an amazing landslide with the Senate, the House and also Donald J. Trump back as President of the United States,” he concluded.
Like Gonzales, Stu Burguiere is well aware that this has everything to do with the upcoming election.
“It would be great if the people in Washington trusted us to make the decision that is really our decision to make. They keep trying to take it away from us in every way possible,” Stu Burguiere says. “They want to do everything except let this jury of 330 million people, and you know, millions of those voters, make the decision ourselves.”
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EXCLUSIVE: ‘Seriously Depressing Place’ — Trump’s Top Allies, VP Contenders Describe Sights & Sounds Of NY Courtroom
EXCLUSIVE: 'Seriously Depressing Place' -- Trump's Top Allies, VP Contenders Describe Sights & Sounds Of NY Courtroom
Republicans Rip ICE Program That ‘Failed’ To Properly Monitor Illegal Immigrants
'Social services scheme'
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