Bill Ackman pledges $1 million donation to boost Biden challenger Dean Phillips



Bill Ackman, founder of Pershing Square Capital Management, has pledged to give $1 million to help back Democratic Rep. Dean Phillips' White House bid.

"On Tuesday, I am wiring $1 million to wedeserve.org, a political action committee that supports Dean's run. This is by far the largest investment I have ever made in someone running for office, and I am making this investment at a high-risk, but critically important moment for his campaign," Ackman in a very lengthy social media post.

Phillips, a lawmaker from Minnesota, launched a self-admitted long-shot Democratic presidential primary bid last year.

"I met Dean two months ago. I have kept in pretty close touch with him over the last two months, and spent 90 minutes with him yesterday when he presented to nearly all of our employees, which inspired me to top up my initial $3,300 donation to his campaign," Ackman noted.

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Ackman suggested that there is a possibility incumbent Democratic President Joe Biden will have to drop his re-election bid.

"Biden is polling poorly against @realDonaldTrump, and his numbers are only going to get worse as he ages, and he is not looking good as it is. There is also a reasonable chance that Biden is forced to withdraw for health reasons," Ackman opined.

Ackman previously noted that he had already donated to Phillips and several GOP presidential primary candidates. "I have made direct and PAC donations to three Republican candidates in this election, @GovChristie, @NikkiHaley and @VivekGRamaswamy. I recently wrote a check for @deanbphillips," Ackman tweeted. Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie dropped out last week.

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Billionaire grad Bill Ackman excoriates Harvard, effectively leaves Democratic Party over DEI nonsense



A billionaire who has previously donated lavishly to his alma mater, Harvard University, has since slammed the school and even distanced himself from the Democratic Party over what he called "the fundamentally flawed and racist ideology" of diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Bill Ackman, 57, is the founder and CEO of Pershing Square Capital Management, a hedge fund management company based out of New York City. He also holds a B.A. and an M.B.A. from Harvard and has reportedly donated to the school generously, giving perhaps more than $40 million to the Harvard Kennedy School alone since he graduated.

However, he has recently become concerned about various leftist ideologies adopted by Harvard, especially its embrace of DEI, which Ackman called a destructive "oppressor/oppressed framework." When then-President Claudine Gay — who helped establish Harvard's Office of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging — told Congress last month that calls for Jewish genocide were not necessarily a violation of school policy, Ackman, who identifies as Jewish, joined a chorus of voices in calling for her resignation.

"I have always believed that diversity is an important feature of a successful organization, but by diversity I mean diversity in its broadest form: diversity of viewpoints, politics, ethnicity, race, age, religion, experience, socioeconomic background, sexual identity, gender, one’s upbringing, and more," Ackman wrote in a lengthy X post on January 3.

"What I learned, however, was that DEI was not about diversity in its purest form, but rather DEI was a political advocacy movement on behalf of certain groups that are deemed oppressed under DEI’s own methodology."

— (@)

Gay stepped down last week amid multiple accusations of plagiarism. She will remain at Harvard as a professor and collect a staggering annual salary of $900,000.

In the X post following her resignation, Ackman admitted that his previous support for DEI was "naive" and called for a return to merit-based policies at Harvard and the permanent closure of Harvard's ODEIB.

"Harvard must once again become a meritocratic institution which does not discriminate for or against faculty or students based on their skin color, and where diversity is understood in its broadest form so that students can learn in an environment which welcomes diverse viewpoints from faculty and students from truly diverse backgrounds and experiences," Ackman wrote.

His disgust with DEI is not just limited to Harvard. It has even affected his political views — including the direction of his considerable political largesse. "I am no longer a Democrat," he announced in a tweet directed to anti-DEI crusader Christopher Rufo on Sunday. "I am a centrist. I care only about the truth. ...

"I have made direct and PAC donations to three Republican candidates in this election, @GovChristie, @NikkiHaley and @VivekGRamaswamy. I recently wrote a check for [Democrat] @deanbphillips," the post continued.

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Elsewhere, Ackman praised Rufo's book, "America's Cultural Revolution: How the Radical Left Conquered Everything," calling it "excellent and carefully researched" and "a definite must read." He also stated that he had registered as a Democrat to vote in a previous primary but that his vote remains up for grabs.

"I will vote for and support whoever is best for our country regardless of their party affiliation," he said.

Critics on the left, however, have accused Ackman of harboring resentment against Harvard for not catering to his whims despite his healthy donations. The Nation called Ackman "America's most entitled donor." Yale epidemiologist Gregg Gonsalves described Ackman as an "odious" "bully" who "thinks his money equals wisdom."

"Time to stand up to people like him," Gonsalves said.

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'Blustery coward who plays the tough guy': Tucker Carlson and Chris Christie trade barbs



Fresh off hosting The Summit – where Tucker Carlson took on several noteworthy Republican politicians – the former Fox News anchor took aim at Chris Christie.

Two days after The Summit, presented by Blaze Media, Carlson mounted a counterattack on Christie – who said Tucker has "always been wrong" about the Ukraine war.

On Sunday, Christie appeared on "This Week" and attacked Carlson for his apprehension of any excessive involvement in the Ukraine war by the United States.

"This Week" host George Stephanopoulos asked Christie how he would have responded to Carlson's questions about the Ukraine war that he presented to several of the GOP presidential candidates during The Summit – the first presidential forum of the 2024 primary season.

Stephanopoulos asked, "If you were being pressed on Ukraine like that, how would you have responded?"

Christie responded, "I would have said, 'You've always been wrong about this, Tucker, and you're still wrong.'"

The former Republican governor of New Jersey continued, "That, in fact, what’s going on, George, is that this is a proxy war with China. The Chinese are funding the Russian war by buying Russian oil. They're coordinating with the Iranians to provide lethal weapons to the Russian army."

"And we can decide when to have this conflict. Right now the Ukrainians are willing to fight this fight for themselves if they have our support to be able to win it," Christie added. "If the Chinese watch us back away from Ukraine, as Tucker Carlson and others would advocate, believe me, the next move will be Taiwan."

Carlson responded to Christie's comments on Twitter. The conservative commentator shared a screenshot of a Mediaite article with the headline: "'You’ve Always Been Wrong About This, Tucker' Chris Christie Pummels Carlson Over His Opposition to Ukraine."

Carlson hit back, "Sounds like this could use a longer conversation. We just asked @GovChristie to sit down and explain his views on Ukraine. He refused."

Tucker wrote, "You hate to think that Chris Christie is a blustery coward who plays the tough guy with sycophants at ABC but won’t answer real questions, but who knows? We hope he reconsiders."

At the time of publication, Christie had not responded to Carlson's tweet or invitation.

Christie is a Republican presidential candidate for 2024. According to Real Clear Politics polling data, Christie only sits at 2.6%.

When asked by Stephanopoulos about winning the GOP nomination, Christie said, "Through Donald Trump. There's no other way to do it, George. There’s not a separate lane or a – you know, we’ve heard these conversations before in presidential races. In this Republican primary there is one lane to the nomination, and that lane is right through Donald Trump. He's at the head of it."

"And you have to make the case against Donald Trump and convince Republican primary voters two things," Christie said. "One, that he is not electable, and he will not beat Joe Biden. He's lost to him before and would lose to him again, and probably Joe Biden would bring a Democratic House and Senate with him. And, two, that his record doesn't merit him to be the nominee again given all the failures, both personal and policy, that he's had."

You can watch The Summit in its entirety below.

Blaze Media Presents: The Summit, hosted by Tucker Carlson www.youtube.com

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Chris Christie distinguishes himself from Republican field, signaling support for child gender transition surgeries



Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie announced late last month that he is running for president in 2024. In an apparent effort to distinguish himself from better-performing candidates in the Republican field, Christie — presently ranked seventh on average with less than two points to his name in the polls — has come out in support of child gender transition surgeries.

The Republican presidential candidate told CNN's Jake Tapper during his Sunday appearance on "State of the Nation" that he doesn't think "the government should ever be stepping into the place of the parents in helping to move their children through a process where those children are confused or concerned about their gender."

Tapper prompted the response in part by referencing Christie's past support for the transgender agenda.

Rebuffing the warnings of groups like the NJ Family Policy Council, Christie ratified Democrat legislation (S-3067/A-465) in 2017, barring public school districts from requiring transvestic students to use bathrooms or locker rooms corresponding with their biological sex.

As the result of this law, schools in the state are required to allow students to dress in accordance with their "gender identity," keep parents in the dark about a student's "transgender or transition status," and allow students to participate in gym sports with members of the opposite sex.

The LGBT lobby group Garden State Equality celebrated Christie at the time, stating, "Governor Christie took a stand for LGBT youth in New Jersey by signing this important legislation, and he deserves our thanks," reported the Gothamist.

The head of Garden State Equality noted on Twitter that Christie "did good today" and welcomed him "to come sit at the gay beach" — referencing an incident where the former governor was photographed sunbathing on a state beach he had ordered closed to the public.

\u201c.@GovChristie you did good today. You're welcome to come sit at the gay beach! Thank you for signing those bills. #LGBT #Equality\u201d
— Christian Fuscarino (@Christian Fuscarino) 1500667115

In reply to Tapper, who noted that other Republicans were "going in the opposite direction" of the LGBT activist-affirming efforts he employed as governor, Christie said, "The fact is that folks who are under the age of 18 should have parental support and guidance and love as they make all of the key decisions of their life, and this should not be one that is excluded by the government in any way."

While the former governor is presently supportive of conversion therapies that seek to alter a patient's sex organs, he previously banned conversion therapies intended to alter sexual preferences.

Christie said at the time of the 2015 ban that on "issues of medical treatment for children, we must look to experts in the field to determine the relative risks and rewards," reported Fox News Digital.

"I believe that exposing children to these health risks without clear evidence of benefits that outweigh these serious risks is not appropriate," added Christie.

\u201cChris Christie arguing against state laws banning puberty blockers and surgical treatments for minors dealing with gender dysphoria.\n\nThis will certainly go over well with the base.\n\nWhy is he running, again?\u201d
— Jeff Charles, Liberty Nerd\ud83c\udff4 (@Jeff Charles, Liberty Nerd\ud83c\udff4) 1687121411

Unlike Christie, other declared Republican presidential candidates oppose child gender surgeries and irreversible puberty blockers for minors.

Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley said in May, "You shouldn't allow a child to have gender-changing procedure until the age of 18 when they are an adult and they can make that decision. But we shouldn't have taxpayer dollars going to that," reported WCIV-TV.

Gov. Ron DeSantis has not simply condemned the transmogrification of minors with gender dysphoria but also banned the practice outright in the state of Florida.

Vivek Ramaswamy said he would implement a nationwide ban on so-called "gender-affirming care for minors," noting it's "actually the compassionate thing to do for children. ... Affirming their confusion is ... cruelty. For most of our history, we have viewed that as a mental health disorder. That's not a stigma. That's actually the first sign to asking how we, as adults and leaders, help our children by protecting them."

Former Vice President Mike Pence told the Des Moines Register, "If there was a move in the Congress to protect children from this radical gender ideology and to ban chemical or surgical transition treatment for kids under the age of 18, you bet I would support it."

Trump vowed in video posted to Truth Social in January that if re-elected, "madness will end": Men would no longer be able to compete in women's sports; federal law would recognize only two genders; sex-change surgeries on minors would be banned; and doctors responsible would be punished.

Christie, who trails Trump in the polls by roughly 50 points, tweeted Sunday, "Just hit 15k donors. Don't worry Donny, I'm coming."

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Report: Chris Christie's friends say he's thinking about running for president in 2024



Add Chris Christie's name to the list of Republicans thinking about running for the White House in 2024 if a certain former president doesn't clear the field.

The former governor of New Jersey is reportedly telling his friends he's "seriously considering" another run for president should Donald Trump, who would be 78 years old, pass on running in 2024. The rationale for his candidacy, according to Axios, would be that he's the only person in a hypothetical GOP field who has executive experience and who has run for president before.

Ten years ago, Christie was a Tea Party favorite who earned national recognition from conservatives for the way he stood up to teachers' unions in the state of New Jersey. His tough-talking, no-nonsense attitude as the Republican governor of a blue state who rode into office on the Tea Party wave excited Republicans looking for a contender to run against President Barack Obama in 2012. Though Christie declined to run that year, he did run in 2016 — only to lose in a crowded field dominated by Trump, who was tougher-talking and who wielded his status as a businessman and an outsider like a club against the "politicians" and "establishment."

Christie went on to endorse Trump and briefly served as the leader of the president's transition team. In 2018, he joined ABC News as a commentator, and now in that capacity he is a vocal critic of President Joe Biden.

.@GovChristie rebukes Pres. Biden's infrastructure package, suggesting he's "lying" about included elements in the… https://t.co/SSaujNTCWD
— This Week (@This Week)1618147892.0

He has previously said that were it not for Trump entering the race in 2016, he would have won the Republican nomination.

"The reaction I would get from people, and Mary Pat got this from going door to door, you know, they'd say, 'Oh gosh, you're Gov. Christie's wife? We love him. He's so smart. He's so direct, he's so blunt. We love him. We're voting for Trump. But we love your husband. He's amazing," Christie told NJ.com in 2018.

"It's incredibly frustrating to think to yourself, 'Wow, if this guy were not in the race, we'd win this thing,'" Christie said, pointing to internal polling from his campaign. "And I absolutely believe if Trump had not gotten into the race, I think we would have won."

If he does run for president again, he would attempt to appeal to Trump's supporters with more tough talk but without "the president's recklessness," according to Axios' sources.

The former governor has openly talked about running for president again. Last August, he told the Washington Post that he "certainly wouldn't foreclose any possibility, right? So, would I consider running? Sure. Absolutely. I'm 57 years old. I still am very involved in political life and public life in this country."

On Hugh Hewitt's radio program in December, Christie said he would "make [his] own decision without regard to anybody else who's running. Whether it's the president or anybody else." Axios reported that he's told his aides the same thing, that he will make a decision about running for president regardless of what Trump ultimately decides to do in 2024.