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Police And Journalists Greet Trump -- But Most New Yorkers Don't Bother

Police And Journalists Greet Trump -- But Most New Yorkers Don't Bother

New York (AFP) - Hoards of reporters, police and barriers greeted Donald Trump when he arrived at his Manhattan residence Monday -- but only a small group of supporters.

Just before midday, authorities closed off Trump Tower to the public, as a heavy police presence and barricades surrounded the building situated on Fifth Avenue.

A tiny group of Trump supporters staged a demonstration that relied mostly on a large banner emblazoned with "Finish the Wall Trump 24," referring to the former president's bid to construct barriers on the US border with Mexico.

Among them was Vito Dichiara, 71, who resides in nearby suburban Long Island and told AFP he formerly worked for the right-wing outlet Fox News.

He accused New York District Attorney Alvin Bragg of engaging in a political conspiracy to prevent Trump from retaking the White House next year, and repeated long-debunked claims that the Democratic Party stole the election from Trump when Joe Biden upset him in 2020.

"I'm here to support Donald Trump, the former president of the United States and the next president of the United States," he said.

A couple of anti-Trump demonstrators also turned out, including Marni Halasa, who dressed as a devil.

Her red dress was covered with fake 100-dollar notes, she said to represent "the hush money" at the heart of the historic indictment against Trump over a payment to a porn actress.

But they were all outnumbered by journalists.

Despite the media excitement and small demonstrations, life went on in the city used to the gaze of outsiders.

Amid the towers adjacent to Manhattan's iconic Central Park, it was business as usual for the yellow taxis streaming by, as delivery cyclists and trucks skirted the hoopla.

A passerby smirked as he passed the crush of journalists who'd been at the ready for hours with cameras.

"It's the best show in town," he said before disappearing into the cityscape. "Even Shakespeare can't do that."

Trump is famously unpopular in Democratic-leaning New York, where he made his name as a brash real estate developer-turned reality TV star.

"It is kind of good to show that somebody isn't above the law, because Trump used to say he could shoot someone in the middle of Fifth Avenue and get away with it," 67-year-old retiree Nancy Andrews told AFP near Grand Central station.

"It's good to see that that mindset is being challenged," she added.

New Yorker Lea Sturley said: "I think the country is very divided at this point. So I think it's important that we understand that this is not about sides. It's about justice."

Bellicose Trump Depicts Himself As Victim Of Prosecutors At 'Low Energy' Waco Rally

Bellicose Trump Depicts Himself As Victim Of Prosecutors At 'Low Energy' Waco Rally

Waco (United States) (AFP) - Donald Trump staged his first presidential campaign rally in Texas Saturday, brushing off his potential indictment as he railed against multiple criminal probes threatening his bid for the White House.

The Republican leader addressed several thousand supporters in the conservative bastion of Waco as he braces for possible charges over a hush money payout to a porn star alleging a sexual encounter just days before the 2016 election.

Maintaining the investigation was over "something that is not a crime, not a misdemeanor, not an affair," Trump told supporters how he had been the victim of "one witch hunt and phony investigation after another."

The rally came amid a torrent of increasingly bellicose statements by the former president claiming "misconduct" by prosecutors he refers to as "human scum" who are pursuing cases against him in New York, Washington and Atlanta.

The 76-year-old -- who was impeached for inciting an insurrection -- called last weekend for protests against Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, and claimed falsely that he was about to be arrested. No significant protests occurred, however.

"This is really prosecutorial misconduct. That's what it's called. The innocence of people makes no difference whatsoever to these radical left maniacs," he told an enthusiastic crowd of thousands.

For loyal followers, the lines were likely familiar, with the appearance marking a thrilling opportunity finally to see the ex-president at a rally.

With Trump speaking in the background, Hungarian-American retiree Marianna Bodrogi told AFP the occasion marked "the first time I've seen Trump in person."

"I love him, he's our savior," the 69-year-old said.

Some of those arriving in Waco for the Trump rally came from other states, and said they were eager to see their candidate returned to the Oval Office, with many wearing MAGA caps or waving flags touting his campaign.

"We have huge power behind Donald Trump that has yet to be unleashed," said Kelly Heath, 49, who lives in Georgia. "You will be shocked."

Trump is believed to be the frontrunner to be the Republican nominee in the 2024 presidential election, as polls show him leading among his party's voters.

The chasing pack, led by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, was initially reticent in its criticism of the ex-reality TV star, but has recently begun criticizing his character and the constant whiff of scandal that surrounds him.

Physician Felicia Macik, a Waco resident in the crowd, told AFP "getting ready to move forward into the new election season, it's been just real inspiring."

The 54-year old said that among the rally's joys were "just seeing him in person and feeling his spirit and making our presence known here."

But The Texas Tribune quoted a "longtime rallygoer" who said the mood at Saturday's event was noticeably low-energy. The paper has also noted that most Texas Republican officials, including the governor and both U.S. senators, have declined to endorse Trump's 2024 candidacy so far.

“There’s just not that much excitement today,” said Samantha Drake, who told the paper she has sold Trump merchandise at hundreds of events across the U.S.. “The energy isn’t as high as I thought it would be.”

'Potential death & destruction'

Trump is under federal investigation for his efforts to overturn his 2020 election defeat and inciting the deadly riot at the US Capitol that his supporters launched to halt the peaceful transfer of power to Joe Biden.

Commentators noted that he pointedly neglected to call for protesters to be peaceful this time around.

In the early hours of Friday, Trump issued a dark warning about the consequences of an indictment, predicting "potential death & destruction" that "could be catastrophic for our Country."

He suggested that Bragg, who is leading the hush money probe, was a "degenerate psychopath that truly hates the USA."

Trump's choice of Waco for his rally was laden with symbolism -- the city is marking the 30th anniversary of a deadly 1993 standoff between an anti-government cult and federal agents and has become a touchstone for far-right fringe activists glorying in its history of government resistance. Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, a Trump supporter who spoke at the rally, said he had chosen the city at the candidate's behest.

Some Trump supporters trickled into the Waco Siege Memorial on Friday to commemorate the 80 or so people who died in the 1993 standoff at the compound of the Branch Davidian sect, which was besieged by federal agents.

Trump, however, made no mention of the episode Saturday evening.

His spokesman was quoted by US media as pointing to the choice of the central Texas city for its ease of access to others across the state.


George Soros

Hyping Bragg's Tenuous Link To Soros, Fox Ignored Trump's Violent Threats

Fox News has completely ignored recent Truth Social posts by former President Donald Trump that included a racist attack and suggestions of violence.

In a series of posts on his Truth Social platform, Trump referred to Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg — Manhattan’s first Black DA — as a “Soros backed animal,” a “degenerate psychopath,” and warned of “death and destruction” should he be indicted. Bragg is investigating the former president’s alleged involvement in a hush money scheme to silence porn actor Stormy Daniels just days before the 2016 election.

Fox News has not covered Trump’s posts. The network has, however, spent time attacking Bragg this week over the potential indictment, including by attempting to tie him to philanthropist George Soros:

  • Fox host Rachel Campos-Duffy called Bragg a “George Soros-funded DA” who “has to pay his master back.”
  • Fox host Mark Levin called Bragg a “radical left-wing legal bomb thrower who’s inserted into this position by George Soros.”
  • Former Trump senior adviser Stephen Miller called the probe evidence that “we are living in a post-Constitution, post-truth era where progressive, Soros-backed prosecutors will decide for themselves who is free and who is not.”
  • Fox host Greg Gutfeld claimed Alvin Bragg “has more blood on his hands than the Wuhan market” and warned that “no one is safe if he can do this.”

In reality, both Trump and Fox have greatly exaggerated the supposed connection between Soros and Bragg, who was one beneficiary among several campaigns supported by the Color of Change PAC, which also endorsed him. Soros had donated to Color of Change since before Bragg’s candidacy, and a spokesperson for Soros said the two men have never communicated. A Color of Change spokesperson clarified that the endorsement process is “independent of funders.” Soros has made no direct contributions to Bragg, though his wife and son donated a combined $20,000 to his 2021 campaign.This isn’t the first time that Fox has ignored or downplayed damagingstatementsandactions by Trump, and it comes as the network is seemingly lifting its “soft ban” on the 2024 GOP front-runner.

Methodology

  • Media Matters searched transcripts in the Snapstream video databases for all original programming on Fox News Channel for the term “Trump” within close proximity to any of the terms “Soros,” “Bragg,” “Daniels,” “truth,” “social,” or “post,” or the terms “death” and “destruction” within two words of one another or the term “Manhattan” within five words of either of the terms “district attorney” or “DA” from March 23, 2023, when Trump published his Truth Social post labeling Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg a “Soros backed animal,” through 3 P.M. ET March 24, 2023.
  • We timed segments, which we defined as instances when Trump’s Truth Social posts were the stated topic of discussion or when we found significant discussion of the posts. We defined significant discussion as instances when two or more speakers in a multitopic segment discussed the posts with one another.
  • We also timed mentions, which we defined as instances when a single speaker in a segment on another topic mentions the posts without another speaker engaging with the comment, and teasers, which we defined as instances when the anchor or host promotes a segment about the posts scheduled to air later in the broadcast.

Reprinted with permission from Media Matters.

Matt Gaetz

Gaetz Attacks DeSantis For Declining To 'Stop Any Extradition' Of Trump

Florida man Rep. Matt Gaetz is feeling his oats these days, seemingly having evaded legal ramifications in connection to his former best buddy, convicted sex trafficker of a minor and corrupt official, Joel Greenberg. Now that he is apparently in the clear, Gaetz assures us he will be devoting himself full-time to what he knows best: political theater.

Gaetz was interviewed Wednesday morning on NewsNation, where he gave his ha’penny on the potential indictment of Donald Trump. Trump is Gaetz’s king, and Gov. Ron DeSantis is in Trump’s crosshairs, as it were. During the interview, Gaetz angled the avalanche of potential charges against Trump as being the same as “despots in other parts of the globe who want to jail their political enemies who want to arrest the prior administration who want to ensure that their upcoming rivals don’t have the opportunity to stand for election.”

But stumping for the world’s most corrupt American leader is only worthwhile if you can wet your beak, as they say. Gaetz, above all, is an opportunist, so it was only a mild surprise that he began one of his answers with, “If I were governor of Florida...”

What exactly would Mr. Gaetz do if he were governor? Well, he says, for starters:

“I would not allow any Floridian to be hauled before some Soros-backed prosecutor, in some blue city, over politics, and I wouldn’t make an exception to not protect the president of the United States.”

That’s sweet of him. It’s also not how prosecutors or governors or states or courts work, but okay, Matt.

Trump’s decision in 2020 to become a Florida resident—and the strange tax issues it creates, especially for a man with a globally recognized dubious tax history—aside, this is a very strange argument to make concerning states’ rights. But Gaetz isn’t concerned about any of this, really; he’s only making the argument that he wants to run for governor—and that he wants Donald Trump’s support when he does.

“Ron DeSantis should be standing in the breach to stop any sort of extradition of President Trump from Florida. And the fact that he’s not doing so puts every Floridian at risk—who could be the subject of a false allegation,” he said.

There is clearly a mountain of evidence pointing to the fact that the charges against Trump aren’t “false,” and saying that Gaetz cares about justice is like saying he cares about Floridians.

Reprinted with permission from Daily Kos.