2024 Presidential Election

[LFC]

Run for office, get a free pass to lie on Facebook!

Meta’s own policies around fact-checking political candidates may be pigeonholing them into hosting a groundswell of new, immaculate Donald Trump-authored ravings.

The former president officially announced his candidacy for the 2024 presidential election on Tuesday evening in front of a rowdy crowd at his Mar-a-Lago estate. That single act of formally declaring his re-election bid triggers Meta policies preventing the company’s third party fact-checkers from intervening on politicians’ posts. And even though Trump himself remains banned on most major platforms, the fact-checking ban still applies to content crafteted by him that’s then shared by others on the plattform, according to a company wide memo obtained by CNN.

“If former president Trump makes a clear, public announcement that he is running for office, he would be considered a politician under our program policies,” the memo reportedly reads.

That memo served as a reminder to the company’s fact-checkers—some of whom had requested guidance ahead of the Trump announcement—that they cannot apply misinformation labels to Trump’s original content. The rule, importantly, doesn’t just apply to Trump but includes all political figures. Still, the former president’s notorious reputation as a leading disseminator of blatantly false bullshit reportedly led a manager on Meta’s “news integrity partnership” team to send out the email to fact-checkers reminding them of their new limitations.

“Political speech is ineligible for fact-checking,” the manager said according to CNN. “We define a ‘politician’ as candidates running for office, current office holders—and, by extension, many of their cabinet appointees—along with political parties and their leader.”

[LFC]

Trump is tapping out his sheeple. And to get to the money he's been raising all along in a way that he'd like he would have to break the law. Oh noes! He would never do that.

When Donald Trump officially announced on Tuesday that he’s running for president again in 2024, the fundraising race reset.

But in many ways, that race never stopped. The former president has been raising money ceaselessly over the last year, and while his massive war chest might seem like an asset, in reality it could also pose some liabilities—especially as Trump tries to lock his grip on an increasingly nervous Republican Party.

The biggest single problem for Trump is that he cannot jumpstart his campaign with any of the money he’s been raising into his flagship Save America leadership PAC, which would otherwise give him an intimidating $70 million advantage.

There’s a hard rule against candidates using leadership PACs to support their own political efforts, so Trump’s campaign can’t touch any of that money. And that fact has led him to adopt some creative, confusing, and possibly unlawful ways of moving it around.

Of course history has proven to him that there are few to no consequences to breaking the law.

[LFC]

That's just sad. Pathetic even.

Quite A Turnout, Sir

The Mussolini of Mar-a-Lago, as Dana Milbank puts it, was only able to draw a single member of Congress for his BIG ANNOUNCEMENT: lame-duck Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-NC), who of course did not survive his own primary. Or at least Cawthorn was the only member reporters spied there.

[LFC]

I'm convinced Pence is angling to run for president. He has a book out now and he's beating the drum that he had the "courage" not to be instrumental in a coup. He doesn't bring up the fact that he actually needed Dan Quayle to school him in basic democracy and morality. He's still a spineless little shit.

Steve Schmidt
@steveschmidtses

Mike Pence lacks the guts to say Trump shouldn’t be President again. He is a sycophant with no moral core who was complicit in vandalizing this country until Dan Quayle told him he couldn’t overturn the election results. He had one virtuous moment in 5 years. He is also unfit

[indy]

Politically I have no idea what Pence is thinking. He seems to be a genuinely bipartisan type of candidate, hated by both sides about equally.

[LFC]

Nov 19, 2022 1:30:15 GMT indy said:

Politically I have no idea what Pence is thinking. He seems to be a genuinely bipartisan type of candidate, hated by both sides about equally.

I think he's kind of a Doug Mastriano light. He truly believes that part of God(tm)'s plan is to make him president.

[goldenvalley]

Paul Ryan is showing himself to be the jerk I always thought he was.  He won't support Trump, no sir-ree because Trump will probably lose.  The fact that Trump supporters invaded the House floor, the chamber he spent his career in, doesn't seem to matter to him.

Just days after Donald Trump announced his third bid for the White House, former Speaker of the House Paul Ryan denounced the twice-impeached former president's political future, calling himself a "Never-Again-Trumper."

"I'm proud of the accomplishments [during the Trump administration] -- of the tax reform, the deregulation and criminal justice reform -- I'm really excited about the judges we got on the bench, not just the Supreme Court, but throughout the judiciary," Ryan told ABC News' chief Washington correspondent and "This Week" co-anchor Jonathan Karl in an exclusive interview that aired Sunday. "But I am a Never-Again-Trumper. Why? Because I want to win, and we lose with Trump. It was really clear to us in '18, in '20 and now in 2022."

He never got over his Reagan idolatry.

Ryan remains hopeful, he said. As long as the nominee is not named Trump, he believes the Republican candidate will win the White House. He's looking for a "Reagan 2.0."

"I really believe a Reagan 2.0 conservative is something that will be -- that the country will want, I think that our voters will want," he said. "I think that our voters will want someone that is a good, verifiable conservative, problem solver, but also a unifier and somebody who's not so polarizing."

Running for president himself??? 

"You talked about the direction of the party and the direction of the country. Are we ever going to see you back in politics?" Karl asked.

"I like doing it the way I'm doing it now," Ryan said.

When asked if he would run for president in 2024, Ryan said, "No, I mean, I'm definitely not running in 2024. I don't think I -- it just -- I have presidential-sized policy ambition, but I really don't have presidential-sized personal ambition, so I just don't see myself doing that."

"OK, so we can take that as a maybe," Karl joked.

"No," Ryan said, laughing. "I don't think so."

[LFC]

Spineless Mike Pence has a book out. He talked about how brave it was to not be the primary instrument of a coup against America. (Seriously, Mike. WTF is WRONG with you?) And he went full jellyfish on his comments about Trump to keep from offending the MAGAt plaid shirts. It's pretty obvious what all this was leading up to.

Former Vice President Mike Pence is building out his political staff, the latest indication that he’s prepping a White House bid that will pit him against his former boss, ex-President Donald Trump.

Ali Kjergaard, a spokesperson for outgoing Nebraska Sen. Ben Sasse, has been tapped to serve as communications director for Advancing American Freedom, a Pence-aligned non-profit organization that is serving as the former vice president’s campaign-in-waiting. Those familiar with the hiring process say two additional communications officials are expected to be added sometime early next year. Pence’s team is also looking to bring on fundraising aides.

The staffing additions are the latest step Pence has taken toward launching a 2024 bid. Last week, he released a memoir and made an appearance at the Republican Jewish Coalition conference in Las Vegas, an event that attracted a handful of prospective presidential aspirants. The former vice president spent the last year campaigning across the country for Republican candidates in the midterm election – including in early GOP nominating states like Iowa and New Hampshire.

Pence is expected to continue his political travel into the new year, with a trip to New Hampshire among the potential stops. A Christian evangelical, Pence is also slated to embark on a tour of mega-churches.

Yeah, because nothing says "Jesus" like a mega-church and its multi-millionaire pastor.

[LFC]

Florida Republicans are ready to change state law to make it less risky for DeSatanist to run for president.

Florida’s top Republican leaders say they are willing to change state law to smooth the way for Gov. Ron DeSantis to run for president in 2024.

Both House Speaker Paul Renner (R-Palm Coast) and Senate President Kathleen Passidomo (R-Naples), both of whom were sworn into their new posts on Tuesday, agreed it would be a “good idea” to make it clear that DeSantis would not have to resign if he wound up becoming the GOP nominee.

DeSantis was reelected to a second four-year term earlier this month after he defeated his Democratic rival by roughly 20 points.

“If an individual who is Florida governor is running for president, I think he should be allowed to do it,” Passidomo told reporters. “I really do. That’s a big honor and a privilege, so it is a good idea.”

[LFC]

Kanye.

The Daily Beast reporter Zachary Petrizzo, who exclusively reported that right-wing figure Milo Yiannopoulos left Ye’s campaign after infighting, joined the political podcast to spill on all the drama.

“Milo was the first character hired on to this informal 2024 Kanye West exploratory-type presidential campaign. Then we saw, of course, Nick Fuentes, who is the Unite the Right Rally attendee/white nationalist hired on. And then most recently at The Daily Beast, we reported that the informal campaign hired on this racist YouTuber named “Sneako,” whose big claim to fame was trying to get random pedestrians to say the N-word on video,” says Petrizzo.

[LFC]

John Bolton. As far as I can tell this is a man who has failed repeatedly and whose only qualification to run for president is that he honestly believes he's smarter than everyone else. Sounds like Rumsfeld, another abject failure.

John Bolton, who served as national security adviser to former President Donald Trump, said Monday that Trump’s candidacy and his suggestion that the Constitution be terminated to put him back in office has led him to consider launching a presidential campaign.

On the upside his heart, mind, and words are actually in a better place than the overwhelming majority of Republicans, in particular the eerily silent Republican leadership.

Appearing on NBC News’ Meet the Press Now, Bolton called Trump’s run for office “an existential threat” to the nation.

“He has said that he wants the Constitution terminated. Now he’s tried to walk it back today, but he failed… He is saying the same thing in slightly different words. It is not merely wrong and outrageous. It is disqualifying.”

Bolton added that he’s also concerned by top Republicans who do not forcefully condemn the former president. Regarding potential GOP presidential candidates, Bolton said that before they enter the race, they “should say, ‘Donald Trump is wrong, we repudiate him, [and] he doesn’t belong in the Republican Party.’”

“And honestly, if they don’t, there is one thing that would get me to get into the presidential race…it would be to make it clear to the people of this country that Donald Trump is unacceptable as the Republican nominee,” Bolton said.

[LFC]

Republicans are talking about running the black guy. He at least doesn't sound anything like Herschel Walker. I must admit it would be interesting to see if the MAGAts would support him since he's not one of them ... in several ways.

Joni Ernst is “very excited” about a potential Tim Scott presidential run. John Cornyn would “advise him to go for it.” And John Barrasso said it “doesn’t get any better than Tim Scott.”

Even Sen. Lindsey Graham, who spent much of Donald Trump’s presidency sticking to his side, said he’s intrigued by the possibility of a Scott presidential bid in 2024 and wants to see “what Tim does” before he makes any endorsements.

Scott would “bring something to the table on day one,” Graham said, adding his South Carolina colleague has “one of the most compelling stories of any Republican out there.”

Scott’s not personally chatty about the prospect of a 2024 presidential run, declining to talk and directing questions to his staff. But his Republican colleagues are buzzing about his massive reelection victory this year, rising national profile, substantial fundraising hauls and cross-country travels for other candidates. And they’re happy to talk him up.

The South Carolinian carved out a unique lane in the GOP, well-liked by mainstream leaders like Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell but never publicly at odds with Trump world, even when he’s offered halted criticism of the former president. And as the only Black Republican senator, he’d offer his party a compelling chance to build on its long-running effort to boost diverse candidate recruitment by further appealing to Democratic-leaning constituencies.

Of course, the 2024 Republican presidential primary is already shaping up to be a tough fight.

The anarchic opening month of former President Donald Trump’s bid — including meetings with antisemites and suggesting the Constitution should be terminated — has not narrowed the field of interested candidates. Rather, Senate Minority Whip John Thune (R-S.D.) said he thinks Trump’s latest bout of scandals may encourage more members of the GOP conference to take another look at a presidential run, even those who previously said they wouldn’t challenge Trump.

[LFC]

Josh Marshall on Trump in the primaries (paywalled). I really hope he puts in the effort to get on all the state ballots and turns the Republican Primary into a bigger shitshow than usual.

On the issue of whether Trump is “done,” as I put it below, the primary itself really isn’t the question. There seems little doubt that another Republican could defeat Donald Trump for the nomination, though I’m skeptical of whether that person is Ron DeSantis. The more operative question is what you do with Trump after you beat him. Normally you have a primary battle and one candidate comes out on top. It may be a cakewalk or a brutal slog. But one candidate gets the most delegates and the others fall in behind that candidate.

It’s very difficult, though, to imagine Donald Trump losing a hard fought primary struggle and then just gracefully falling in line as a surrogate for the guy who beat him. In fact, it’s basically impossible to imagine that happening.

The possible outcomes range from Trump mounting a third party run to simply becoming a sullen and antagonistic thorn in the side of the new nominee. But even the latter, low octane route is potentially devastating in a closely fought national election, which basically all elections are today. I could write a few posts about all the possible scenarios and permutations. But you get the idea. How do you get Trump to go away quietly, or accept the role as a man of the past politically?

Of course this assumes Trump will run at all rather than just being a spoiler. If he runs, he risks losing. His eggshell ego can't handle losing. He may just go straight to spoiler or trying to find some other role that doesn't mean him risking another public humiliation.

[goldenvalley]

Dec 16, 2022 15:15:23 GMT LFC said:

Josh Marshall on Trump in the primaries (paywalled). I really hope he puts in the effort to get on all the state ballots and turns the Republican Primary into a bigger shitshow than usual.

On the issue of whether Trump is “done,” as I put it below, the primary itself really isn’t the question. There seems little doubt that another Republican could defeat Donald Trump for the nomination, though I’m skeptical of whether that person is Ron DeSantis. The more operative question is what you do with Trump after you beat him. Normally you have a primary battle and one candidate comes out on top. It may be a cakewalk or a brutal slog. But one candidate gets the most delegates and the others fall in behind that candidate.

It’s very difficult, though, to imagine Donald Trump losing a hard fought primary struggle and then just gracefully falling in line as a surrogate for the guy who beat him. In fact, it’s basically impossible to imagine that happening.

The possible outcomes range from Trump mounting a third party run to simply becoming a sullen and antagonistic thorn in the side of the new nominee. But even the latter, low octane route is potentially devastating in a closely fought national election, which basically all elections are today. I could write a few posts about all the possible scenarios and permutations. But you get the idea. How do you get Trump to go away quietly, or accept the role as a man of the past politically?

Of course this assumes Trump will run at all rather than just being a spoiler. If he runs, he risks losing. His eggshell ego can't handle losing. He may just go straight to spoiler or trying to find some other role that doesn't mean him risking another public humiliation.

Trump's in a bad spot.  He really wants to avoid all the litigation and thinks being president will stop it all or at least delay it.  But as you say, he doesn't want to be a loser and if he runs he might become one.  So what does he fear more?  Losing a presidential run (for the second time) or face the ongoing litigation?   Note: the ongoing litigation wouldn't stop anyway but maybe he doesn't accept that reality.

[jackd]

I'm not so sure he'd lose the primaries. He's still got a very substantial number of cult members.

[LFC]

Dec 16, 2022 19:03:44 GMT jackd said:

I'm not so sure he'd lose the primaries. He's still got a very substantial number of cult members.

I'm not so sure either but he'll look like a major loser (which, of course, he already is). I could easily see him losing by not so much, screeching about fraud, and challenging the nomination at the convention. Simply put, he can shovel a LOT of cluster-f***ery throughout 2024 if he's got the desire and energy.

[LFC]

Things could get ugly for the Republicans if Trump goes full metal spoiler. (paywalled)

The Bulwark has a poll out today which shows a greatly weakened Donald Trump but one who still holds an iron grip on about a third of the GOP primary electorate. In this poll he loses to Ron DeSantis in a head to head match up (52-30), in a three way race with “another candidate” (44-28) and even in a ten candidate race (39-28). These numbers are substantially different from other recent polls which have consistently shown Trump leading DeSantis in an actual multi-candidate race, usually by double digits. (538; RCP)

But the kicker in that Bulwark poll is that 28% of the GOP primary electorate is going to vote for Trump for President even if he decides to run as a third party candidate. They also point out that this isn’t very different from what happened in 2016. He generally won a third or a bit more of a given state primary, piled up delegates and the rest of the party fell into line once Trump was clearly the guy.

My own sense, given some but not clear backing by polls, is that DeSantis has actually peaked a bit early.

[LFC]

DeSatanist is campaigning by shoveling out as much support for white supremacy, without using the words "white supremacy", as he possibly can. He is the face of Jim Crow 2.0. This is exactly how I'd expect a fascist leader to operate. He's identified the "others" to his base of racists and will now give them an endless diet of virtue signalling and red meat while burying all inconvenient history and reality. He's the leader of the snowflakes.

As he “actively” prepares for a presidential run, Governor Ron DeSantis (R-FL) announced Tuesday that he plans to defund diversity, equity and inclusion programs in every public university in the state.

The plan is part of the Republican governor’s larger plot to remake the Florida public school system into a hub for far-right ideology, which reportedly includes grounding curricula in “the history and philosophy of Western Civilization” and “course correct universities’ missions to align education for citizenship of the constitutional republic and Florida’s existing and emerging workforce needs.”

It’s also seemingly part of a broader scheme for DeSantis to stay in the national news cycle as he riles up the most far-right members of his base ahead of 2024.

During a press conference on Tuesday afternoon, the governor said that he intended to eliminate all DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) “bureaucracies” in Florida, claiming the programs impose “an agenda” and force people to “take a political oath.”

“No funding, and that will wither on the vine,” he said.

DeSantis seems to have chosen so-called “Critical Race Theory” as the focus of his attacks as he seeks national attention going into the likely launch of a presidential bid this year: Earlier this month, he overhauled the board of New College of Florida, a state school that is known to serve students from marginalized communities, and filled it with staunch conservatives, like far-right, anti-CRT activist Christopher Rufo.

His administration also rejected a proposed AP African American Studies course from the College Board for “lack[ing] educational value” and approved a new training program that could force teachers to avoid books on race and LGBTQ+ issues.

While it is clear that DeSantis’ war on “woke” education is rooted in a broader political calculus, the chill from his initiatives can be felt on a granular level. Earlier this month, for example, Manatee County teachers received directives from their school district instructing them to “remove or cover all classroom libraries” until they can be reviewed to make sure they adhere to the state’s standards.

[LFC]

The Republican shitshow is in full swing. Trump's big opening shot at DeSatanist is to sort of accuse him of being a pedophile. Gee, how original. And this from the guy who admitted that he ogled half nude 15-yr old girls at the backstage of his teen beauty pageant.

The 2024 GOP primary race has long been predicted to be a showdown between former president Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. On Tuesday, it seems Trump cast the first stone, giving us a taste of the mess to come.

Trump reposted a photo on his social media app, Truth Social, depicting a 23-year-old DeSantis with three unidentified young women. The unverified content he reposted alleged that the photo was taken when DeSantis was drinking alcohol with “high school girls” at a party. “That’s not Ron, is it?” Trump wrote in the caption. “He would never do such a thing!”

The photo was taken after the 2001 to 2002 academic year at the elite private Darlington School, where DeSantis taught history and government before attending Harvard Law, according to the New York Times. Several former students told the Times that DeSantis often went to parties, including those where alcohol was served, with the seniors.

“It was his first job out of Yale, he was cute,” a former student said. “We didn’t really think too much about it.”

The shady post portends how the coming GOP primary race could go: With Trump throwing jabs based on the lowest hanging fruit, while DeSantis tries to steal his voters by passing Trumped up policy. The Florida governor has spent the past year escalating far-right culture wars via changes to public education, voting rights and immigration policy in Florida, throwing a bone to Trump’s base.

[LFC]

Abbott is racing DeSatanist to the bottom as he eyes 2024.

It’s been clear for some time that Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis is using his constituents as pawns and his gubernatorial powers as props to prep his national image for a 2024 bid.

While each of his various policy proposals and attacks on public education, people of color, the LGBTQ community, immigrants, the media, etc. have been projected as the hardline governor’s humble war on woke-ism in his state, he knows quite well how to appeal to the MAGA crowd. And he’s been using his tenure as governor to boost his national relevance ahead of what is shaping up to be a nasty GOP primary.

And Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) is following his lead.

The two have been in some unofficial race to out-MAGA each other for several years, a sad frenemyship made most obvious when DeSantis beat Abbott at his own game and shipped undocumented immigrants in Florida to Martha’s Vineyard — taking the cake for the most cruel twist on the two’s migrant-shipping one-upsmanship

Compared to DeSantis, there have been fewer solid indications of what Abbott has planned for 2024, but in an interview with Fox News late last month, he left the door for a potential bid subtly ajar.

Now it appears he is ripping yet more pages from DeSantis’ messaging playbook, using his pulpit as governor to appeal to most far-right, rabid members of the Trump base, the ones who buy into Fox News headlines that suggest every mention of race in the classroom is destroying the fabric of our nation.

You can get the goods yourself here at the Texas Tribune, but the topline is this: Abbott is seemingly working to make Texas also the place where “woke goes to die.” Per the Tribune:

[LFC]

Nikki Haley announced that she has entered the 2024 race. Her politicking has been pretty sad and pathetic for years as she tries to find a place for herself.

[goldenvalley]

Feb 14, 2023 14:01:49 GMT LFC said:

Nikki Haley announced that she has entered the 2024 race. Her politicking has been pretty sad and pathetic for years as she tries to find a place for herself.

I had to laugh when I saw her announcement.  She was against Trump before she was for him. No way would he pick her for VP running mate now that she has declared.  There are so many other women who are in line for that "honor" before she is.  Lake, Marge Greene, Stefanik specifically.  

[pnwguy]

Feb 14, 2023 17:09:52 GMT goldenvalley said:

Feb 14, 2023 14:01:49 GMT LFC said:

Nikki Haley announced that she has entered the 2024 race. Her politicking has been pretty sad and pathetic for years as she tries to find a place for herself.

I had to laugh when I saw her announcement.  She was against Trump before she was for him. No way would he pick her for VP running mate now that she has declared.  There are so many other women who are in line for that "honor" before she is.  Lake, Marge Greene, Stefanik specifically.  

Dumpster's criteria will be who can best polish the Mango Mushroom.  Obviously Mike Pence didn't do a very good job. He had to keep closing his eyes and think of how he was going to explain things to JC.

[jackd]

Well Kamala Harris is sort of a precedent isn't she?

[LFC]

Nikki Haley's current brand is full out white (ironic) Christian nationalist and fascist.

Nikki Haley has launched her uphill battle for the Republican presidential primary in disastrous fashion with an invocation from John Hagee, an antisemitic, homophobic, doomsday-believing pastor.

Haley—who has tried to paint herself as a more traditional Republican to guide the party into a post-Trump era—proudly took the stage following Hagee’s prayer, co-signing the unhinged pastor.

“To Pastor Hagee, I still say I want to be you when I grow up,” she said with a smile as she launched her campaign in South Carolina Wednesday.

Hagee has made a controversial name for himself through his claims that Hitler was a “half-breed Jew,” that the Antichrist is gay, and that Catholics were somehow to blame for the Holocaust.

In 2008, he claimed that Hurricane Katrina was God’s punishment for homosexuality, although he later retracted the statement.

The San Antonio pastor, who has also spread doomsday beliefs that the end days began in 2014, tried to sue schools to force them to reopen during the pandemic in 2020, before he contracted COVID himself.

Her first endorsement out of Congress is a seditionist who told Trump to overthrow the government using the military.

Freedom Caucus staple Rep. Ralph Norman (R-SC) announced on Wednesday he will back former South Carolina governor and UN ambassador Nikki Haley over Donald Trump in the next presidential race, saying the Republican Party is in need of a “new vision.”

The very MAGA Norman’s endorsement comes a day after Haley officially announced her bid to secure the Republican nomination for the 2024 presidential election with a Twitter post and video.

“In 2016, President Trump was exactly who the Republican Party needed at the time. For too long, Republicans had been marginalized. Then Trump came along and reminded us how to fight what we believe,” Norman told Fox News. “We are better off now for what President Trump accomplished while he was president.”

“However, the Republican Party has entered a season of change. We’re at a pivotal juncture, and most of the Republicans I know are now looking for new leadership with a new vision at the top of the ticket. Nikki Haley has that vision, and she’s going to be an outstanding President,” Norman continued.

Norman appears to be the first South Carolina lawmaker — and the first member of Congress — to publicly back Haley’s bid for presidency.

“Our LAST HOPE is invoking Marshall Law!! PLEASE URGE TO PRESIDENT TO DO SO!!,” Norman wrote in a text to former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows on January 17, 2021, three days before Joe Biden was set to take office.